Extended and Legacy Zoo Primer Part 1
06 Mar 2010 | Jack Ding
Introduction:
There has been a lot of discussion on the rise of Zoo in both Legacy and Extended to become a clear Tier 1 archtype. This has resulted in a lot of development resulted in huge variation between different builds. In this first part of this primer I will outline all of the possible creatures available to Zoo decks in both Extended and Legacy and discussing their advantages, disadvantages, what build they fit in and their role. While there are some obvious differences between Legacy and Extended the general premise of the deck remains the same in both formats; play the most efficient creatures possible backed up with burn and/or disruption to kill your opponent. This means that you can analyse decklists from both formats as if you were considering a straight port. However there are a few things that you should keep in mind.
Firstly Extended Zoo decks will generally start at a lower life total than Legacy Zoo decks as a result of needing to run the Ravnica dual lands instead of the original dual lands. This affects a few certain matchups but not much else (for example Zoo v Burn in Legacy is almost impossible to lose for Zoo while the same matchup in Extended is a little closer). The second and somewhat obvious issue is that Legacy has a larger pool of cards available and so if you are considering a port you may need to find a suitable substitute if possible (such as replacing Chain Lightning with Rift Bolt).
The last and most relevant consideration is that the metagames for the formats are different. Extended is more combo centric than Legacy as it does not have Force of Will among other things to keep the large number of possible combos in check. This means that Zoo decks in Extended are forced to either be built for speed or trade this potential goldfish velocity for more disruption (case in point: Bant Charm). Zoo decks in Legacy do not need to worry as much as they can rely on the blue decks to keep combo in check and thus focus on playing the best cards for every non-combo matchup. This is mostly relevant in how the various matchups play out.
Keep in mind that Zoo in Extended is almost always the aggressor while in Legacy Zoo plays the control route in a lot of matchups (Goblins Merfolk Threshold Suicide Black basically anything running creatures). I will discuss this difference further in the card evaluations but it is important to keep this in the back of your mind when comparing decklists across these two formats which would otherwise look the same. [Note: I am only including cards which are maindeck material]
One Drops:
Wild Nacatl is hands down the best one drop (and arguable the best creature) available to Zoo decks in both Extended and Legacy. Every Zoo deck should start with 4 of these as your creature base. This card is the main reason the Zoo deck runs the colours that it does.
The only other one drop which has the potential to dethrone Wild Nacatl is Steppe Lynx. I will admit that I have a love/hate relationship card. There have been many arguments raised for and against this card and I will list the major ones. The most common one is that this card is only good when you are mana flooded and not very good with a typical good hand which includes 3 lands and all spells. However, while this is true in a sense the important thing to realize that in that situation the Steppe Lynx will deal 4-8 damage before it becomes a useless 0/1. This makes it superior to Lava Spike and pretty much the most efficient face burn spell ever printed. Thus in decks which are hyper aggressive and are only interested in reducing their opponents life total from 20 to 0 as quickly as possible this is potentially a better turn 1 play than Wild Nacatl. As an aside please do not use the presence of Steppe Lynx to keep an otherwise poor hand. Five land double Steppe Lynx is a fine hand in Zendikar Limited but not in Extended or Legacy most of the time. Another argument against Steppe Lynx is that it is a horrible topdeck. This is true but it is only marginally worse than topdecking a Kird Ape in the late game and should not deter you from playing this card if goldfish speed is what you are after. Some metagame specific issues that may arise include not being able to block on the first turn (Goblin Lackey) and dying to 2 damage burn spells which would otherwise have little or no targets in your deck (Punishing Fire).
I have put these two cards next to each other because they are most intents and purposes the same card. Kird Ape can be Loam Lion 5-8 and vica versa. They are obviously different colours and thus steers your manabase in different directions. Kird Ape is vulnerable to Blue Elemental Blast in Legacy while Loam Lion is vulnerable to Deathmark in Extended, both of which are popular sideboard cards in their respective formats.
Goblin Guide is an interesting choice in a Zoo deck. The ‘Zoo’ decks which run Goblin Guide in Legacy are referred to as GoyfSligh and streamline their build to maximize goldfish velocity. However in Extended Goblin Guide only seems limited play in some Tribal variants and as a singleton target for Ranger of Eos in other Zoo decks. Playing this card effectively concedes any chance of winning a game of attrition going into the midgame. That being said there is nothing scarier than being on the receiving end of a multiple Goblin Guide draw.
Figure of Destiny is not a common sight in Zoo lists. While it provides an undeniably powerful effect in the mid and late game, it is extremely mana intensive. Zoo decks in Extended do not have spare mana for the first three turns nor can they afford to trade early pressure for late game scalability. While an 8/8 flying first strike is strong it cannot compete with most of the combo engines present in the format. However, in Legacy Figure of Destiny does see some play as a 1-2 of as it is a very strong topdeck against all of the creature based decks while there is not as much pressure to goldfish as fast due to the lower saturation of combo decks.
Remember when Isamaru ruled the one drop slot alongside Kird Ape in Zoo lists? Well that was back in 2005. Wild Nacatl is to Isamaru what Baneslayer Angel is to Serra Angel. Unless you need Kird Ape 9-12 this card is obsolete these days.
This card is obviously no longer relevant to the current Extended format. However it is ubiquitous in Legacy Zoo with most lists running the full playset. This card single handedly destroys tribal decks such as Merfolk Goblins and Elves and there is no reason not to run 4. Just remember that it does not count as a one drop if you are trying to put pressure on your opponent’s life total.
If this was pre-M10 I would have Mogg Fanatic on this list but now it barely warrants an honourable mention.
Two Drops:
There is not much that needs to be said about Tarmogoyf which has not already been said. While it is the most efficient beatstick ever printed, in Zoo Tarmogoyf is one of the least aggressive creatures, especially on turn 2. However, in the mirror (and against other creature decks) its ability to single handedly halt every other creature in the deck while on defense duty makes it an easy choice. In most Zoo lists this is an easy 4 of with the only exception being extremely aggressive lists which eschew any two drop which is not effectively a burn spell (Keldon Marauders).
Unlike Tarmogoyf, Qasali Pridemage is the swiss army knife of Zoo. This card does everything that Zoo wants to do but is unwilling to devote slots for. Qasali Pridemage solves that dilemma by combining this flexibility onto a body which can not only attack for 3 on its own but boosts your one drop the turn it comes into play. Unless your Zoo list is fast enough to ignore most opponents (hint: it probably runs Steppe Lynx and Goblin Guide) then you should be running between 2-4 copies of this card in the maindeck.
Gaddock Teeg is mostly a sideboard card although it occasionally makes it into the main deck. In Legacy this is usually a 1 of as the matchups in which he is effective are generally not a high priority for the Zoo deck. However in Extended where he has seen maindeck play as a 3 of in Tribal Zoo variants, usually replacing Qasali Pridemage. Gaddock Teeg is most effective in Tribal Zoo variants because the deck is the most aggressive. Gaddock Teeg is not a permanent solution to any of the decks which it is effective against as they will inevitably find an answer. However, he does buy valuable time and even one or two turns that the combo deck needs to spend searching for their removal is usually enough for the Zoo deck to get the job done. Conversely, he is far less effective in less aggressive Zoo lists (such as Blue Zoo) as they are not able to take advantage of the temporary setback to their opponents and is generally inferior to Qasali Pridemage in that slot. The final thing to note is that Gaddock Teeg is not good against every combo deck in the format. While it shuts down Scapeshift it has no effect on Thopter Foundry and its effectiveness and thus maindeck potential waxes and wanes depending on the metagame.
Dark Confidant (or Bob as he is affectionately known) does not see play in Legacy as Zoo decks are almost exclusively Naya colours. He has seen a lot of play in Tribal Zoo variants in Extended although his popularity has dropped this season. Once again this comes back to the combo centric nature of the format. The less aggressive Zoo lists do not play black for Tribal Flames and have no reason to splash Bob over more disruptive cards such as Bant Charm or even Meddling Mage. The Tribal Zoo Variants cannot afford to spend their second turn investing in a card advantage engine which may or may not survive.
Knight of the Reliquary is the premier three drop in both Legacy and Extended Zoo lists. Unless your deck is aggressive enough to eschew three drops altogether you will usually start with a playset of these. Knight of the Reliquary will on average be a 4/4 when he enters the battlefield (assuming your list runs 8-12 fetches which most lists do). In Legacy there is the potential to fetch a Horizon Canopy and in Extended most lists run a single Treetop Village as a target although most of the time you will just dig out a fetchland to give it 2/2 and thin your deck marginally.
Woolly Thoctar plays 2nd fiddle to Knight of the Reliquary these days. This will make your list if you need more than 4 three drops or you really want to attack for 5 instead of an average of 4 the turn after it comes into play. Note that both Woolly Thoctar and Knight of the Reliquary are vulnerable to Deathmark but only Woolly Thoctar is vulnerable to Blue Elemental Blast.
Ranger of Eos is the only four drop to realistically see play in Zoo decks. Legacy Zoo decks generally do not need the card advantage he provides as they have better alternatives (which I will cover in Part 2). However Ranger of Eos has been extensive play in the sideboards and now maindecks of Extended Zoo lists, mostly to gain an edge in the mirror. This matchup is a battle of attrition and the Ranger is the most efficient and reliable source of card advantage available (Bob is somewhat unreliable and can become a liability at times).
For discussion.