Magic: The Gathering’s Second Most Expensive Format is Suddenly Broken By a $49 Deck

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With over 30 years of history, Magic: The Gathering boasts more than 40 different ways to play. This includes officially supported formats, approved competitive scenes, and online-exclusive options. The game constantly changes and adapts, proving its willingness to embrace popular formats. While some formats, like Pauper, are very affordable-decks typically cost around $50-$60-others, such as Vintage and Legacy, can be extremely expensive.

As a long-time Magic player, I’ve always been amazed – and a little intimidated – by how pricey the Vintage and Legacy formats can be. A lot of that comes down to those original dual lands from the game’s early days. Vintage, though, really takes the cake, adding incredibly rare and expensive cards like the ‘Power Nine’ to the mix. Honestly, building a competitive Vintage deck usually costs upwards of $10,000, and can easily hit $20,000 or more – that’s a huge barrier for most of us. Legacy is a bit more reasonable, typically around $4,000 to $6,000. So, when I heard that someone actually *won* a major tournament with a Mono Red Burn deck that cost less than $50 to build, I was blown away! It’s a seriously impressive underdog story.

Magic: The Gathering’s Legacy Meta Explained

The NRG Series, a major Magic: The Gathering tournament in the US Midwest, recently saw a surprising win. Simon Kamerow took first place in the $2,500 Legacy Trial with a Mono Red Burn deck, which quickly became a hot topic online. Mono Red Burn isn’t usually a top contender in Legacy tournaments – Mono Red Stompy is much more common – making this victory particularly noteworthy. What’s even more impressive is that the main deck cost only $49, excluding any cards in the sideboard.

The popular Mono Red Aggro deck is performing well in Magic: The Gathering’s Standard format. This deck, which focuses on quickly dealing damage, has some strategies in common with similar decks used in the Modern format.

Currently, the most played decks in Legacy are the following:

  • Dimir Reanimator, over 19% meta share (estimated cost of $4,500-5,000)
  • Red Stompy, over 7% meta share (estimated cost of $3,000-3,5000)
  • Mystic Forge Combo, around 6% meta share (estimated cost of $4,500-5,000)
  • Dimir Tempo, around 6% meta share (estimated cost of $4,800-5,300)
  • Izzet Delver, around 6% meta share (estimated cost of $3,400-3,900)

Simon Kamerow’s Mono Red Burn deck is quite affordable, costing around $49 to $54. The only significant addition to its price comes from the sideboard, specifically four copies of the card Mindbreak Trap, which each cost around $8.50. It’s important to remember that the prices of Magic: The Gathering cards can change quickly. Here’s the decklist:

  • Creatures
    • 2x Eidolon of the Great Revel ($1.60-1.90 each)
    • 4x Goblin Guide ($1.20-1.60 each)
    • 4x Monastery Swiftspear ($0.25-0.40 each)
  • Sorceries
    • 4x Boltwave ($2.50-2.80 each)
    • 4x Chain Lightning ($0.30-0.40 each)
    • 4x Lava Spike ($0.75-1.30 each)
    • 4x Rift Bolt ($0.15-0.30 each)
    • 4x Skewer the Critics ($0.15-0.30 each)
  • Instants
    • 4x Fireblast ($0.50-0.80 each)
    • 4x Lightning Bolt ($0.90-1.70 each)
    • 4x Price of Progress ($5-7 each)
  • Lands
    • 18x Mountains ($0.02-0.05 each)
  • Sideboard
    • 3x Faerie Macabre ($4.50-5.50 each)
    • 3x Mindbreak Trap ($8-9 each)
    • 1x Pyroblast ($5-6)
    • 1x Red Elemental Blast ($3-4)
    • 2x Searing Blaze ($0.45-0.85 each)
    • 3x Smash to Smithereens ($0.30-0.50 each)
    • 2x Surgical Extraction ($0.80-1.10 each)

Why MTG’s New $49 Legacy Burn Deck is a Welcome One

Even in a pricey format like Legacy, surprisingly affordable decks can sometimes dominate the competition. While Mono Red Burn has been played before, it’s been a while since a version performed so well for such a low cost. A particularly welcome aspect of Kamerow’s deck is its use of only 18 basic Mountains, which is a relief considering how expensive lands often are in Legacy.

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2025-09-23 01:05