Introduction

This primer is written for someone who already knows how to play Legacy Lands. I will not go into basic concepts but instead focus on the differences between Sphere Lands and the classic builds. You can therefore think of this document as an addendum to the excellent primer that already exists on this website. Lands Grandmaster Jarvis Yu recently released his primer for Lands and this is also a great resource if you are new to the deck. In case you want to jump around in the article here is a quick table of contents:

Definition of Tempo

My previous article gave my definition of the concept of Tempo, and explained why this dictates how fair vs fair magic plays out. If you really want to be successful playing Sphere Lands (which I assume that you do since you are reading my primer) then you need to grasp this concept because we use it in our main strategy. In fact I think this is so important that I am going to recap it for you. What is Tempo? Reid Duke has written a fantastic article about Tempo and he explains it as follows: 

Tempo, in the most basic form, is board presence. It’s derived from how your creatures, lands, Planeswalkers, artifacts, and enchantments match up against those of your opponent, and the consequences that follow from it. We call it “tempo” because of the way the two players jockeying for the resource dictates the pace of the game. As a resource, tempo is very closely related to mana. It’s often (but not always) related to life total as well.

If you are ahead in terms of Tempo, then you have an advantage as you will win the game unless “something changes”. Your opponent is forced to change things up, by either removing your creatures or playing bigger ones of their own, or they will eventually lose the game. I tried to visualize this advantage with an emblem that I call the Tempo Emblem. This is something that you and your opponent fight over. Every turn that you are in control of this emblem you get to walk a room in the Tempo Undercity, but the rooms don’t do much except the last one that wins you the game. The closer you are to the Throne of the Dead Three the more pressured your opponent is to act. 

Sphere of Resistance as removal

So what does Tempo have to do with Sphere Lands? If you compare my decklist from the May Showcase Challenge with a classic creatureless RG Lands list you can see that I basically just cut Punishing Fire for Sphere of Resistance (and swapped Grove of the Burnwillow for Ancient Tomb and more copies of Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth). I kept all the grindy cards, like Sylvan Library and Crucible of Worlds, but I only have Maze of Ith, Blast Zone and Karakas as reactive answers to creatures. 

Many people say “oh they must have expected a lot of combo” when they see a Sphere Lands list. This a misunderstanding of the deck in my opinion. Sphere of Resistance is not only good vs combo, it’s actually great vs the midrange creature decks as well. Let’s do some Sphere math to demonstrate how it can work as removal. In this example we are on the play and we assume that the game ends by turn four (this is how you should play this deck anyways, more on this later). We cast Sphere of Resistance on our first turn. How does this impact the board for our opponent? If we assume that they make a land drop on every turn then we get the following:

• Turn 1: Opponent has a land.
• Turn 2: Opponent has 2 lands, and they can cast a 1 drop.
• Turn 3: Opponent has 3 lands and a 1 drop, and they can cast a 2 drop.
• Turn 4: Game is over.

Let’s compare this to us having Lightning Bolt on turn 1 instead of a Sphere of Resistance.

• Turn 1: Opponent has a land (and they can cast a 1 drop that we kill with Lightning Bolt).
• Turn 2: Opponent has 2 lands, and they can cast a 2 drop.
• Turn 3: Opponent has 3 lands and a 2 drop, and they can cast a 3 drop.
• Turn 4: Game is probably not over.

If you compare these two boardstates you will see that the Sphere effectively was a removal spell every turn, but it removed the most expensive creature on every turn. Lightning Bolt permanently removed the 1 drop but Sphere “removed” the 1 drop on turn 1, it “removed” the 2 drop on turn 2, and it “removed” the 3 drop on turn 3. Here are some quick pros and cons for Sphere of Resistance contra a conventional spot removal spell.

Pros for Sphere of Resistance

• Effectively removes (delays) the most expensive creature on every turn that it stays in play.
• Speeds up our clock by growing our Constructs (this is important because, according to Tempo theory, if we have the biggest creature on board then we don’t need removal).
• Can give free wins if our opponent has a land light draw.
• Improves our worst matchups (spell based combo).

Cons for Sphere of Resistance

• Does nothing if we are behind on board.
• Can sometimes hurt ourselves, such as if we fail to draw more lands, or if our opponent has Wasteland.
• Cannot answer specific problematic creatures such as Magus of the Moon. 

Choosing your gameplan

We have four main strategies available to us: namely Prison-Aggro (Tempo), Construct-Factory (Grinding Station), Marit Lage (Combo) and Mana Denial Lockdown (Pox). I estimate (based on gut feeling and not statistics) that I play Prison-Aggro 50%-60% of the time, Marit Lage Combo 30%-40% of the time, Construct-Factory and Mana Denial Lockdown 5%-10% of the time. It’s fairly seamless to switch between Prison-Aggro, Construct-Factory and Marit Lage Combo as Saga can find Expedition Map with its 3rd chapter (and Saga can also be Crop Rotated away in response to the 3rd chapter) to find whatever missing piece that we need. 

alli note: If you have played RG Lands with Gamble then you are used to having Life from the Loam as an engine. The best hands would involve Exploration and Gamble to find Loam (and ideally discarding it as well) and then we would count on Loam to find the rest for us. This play-pattern is less common in Sphere Lands. I prefer to keep hands that already have a plan, and then use Life from the Loam as the follow up. Urza’s Saga, Wasteland, Dark Depths, Thespian’s Stage, or Crop Rotation are therefore important to look for in our opening hands. If our hand does not have any of these cards then it’s unlikely that it has a plan to win and should be binned.

Plan A: Prison-Aggro (Tempo)

Urza’s Saga is the best and most powerful card in the deck. In fact if it wasn’t for Urza’s Saga then Sphere Lands would not exist as a deck in my opinion. In the Prison-Aggro Strategy we want to curve out as follows:

• Turn one: Acceleration piece, Urza’s Saga (or Crop Rotation for Saga) and a 1 or 2 drop. 
• Turn two: Make Construct
• Turn three: Make Construct.

This ensures that we are ahead on the board by turn three. We now have the Tempo emblem and should focus on preventing our opponent from taking it back. Here are some things to consider.

• Does the opponent struggle on mana? Waste them to lock this game up.
• Did the opponent forget to fetch in response to Saga’s 3rd Chapter. Find Pithing Needle and lock this game up. 
• Is the opponent trying to flood the board with small creatures? Find Shadowspear and make the race heavily in our favor. I often see other Lands lists cut Shadowspear but that would be suicide in Sphere Lands. We need the lifegain to offset Ancient Tomb and Sylvan Library. Shadowspear is also the best removal spell for us. It even answers untouchable creatures such as True-Name Nemesis. 
• Is the opponent trying to escape Uro? Find Lantern or Expedition Map for Karakas.
• Do we need green mana, or do we need more mana to explode our hand? Find Mox Diamond and cast Life from the Loam to get Saga back. 
• Do we need to continue making Constructs, or do we need to switch our plan to Marit Lage Combo? Find Expedition Map.

My favorite starting hands (on the play) include Mox Diamond, Urza’s Saga and Sphere of Resistance. This will ensure that I have two 5/5’s by the end of turn three, and my opponent has a 1 drop. I can’t think of any 1 drop in Legacy that can beat two 5/5 Constructs and a Sphere of Resistance (outside fringe things like Engineered Explosives cast via a colorless land). 

Ancient Tomb is secretly the second best card in the deck. There are so many situations where I am clogged under my own Sphere, but then draw Ancient Tomb and it opens up my entire hand. Many people have told me that I play too few green sources but Ancient Tomb actually mitigates this issue. I often keep hands with Urza’s Saga and Ancient Tomb but no green source. I will go Saga into a one mana artifact (for example Pithing Needle naming Wasteland). I follow this up with Ancient Tomb, make some Constructs, and find Mox Diamond (with Saga’s 3rd Chapter) to finally Loam Saga back and start over.  

alli note: Here are some perhaps unintuitive tips for Crop Rotation when playing the Prison-Aggro strategy.

• Always keep a stop in your draw step. If you top deck Crop Rotation then you can find Urza’s Saga in your draw step to ensure that it gets 2 counters this turn, and you can start making Constructs ahead of time.
• It can be beneficial to cast Crop Rotation for Ancient Tomb on turn one in order to cast Sphere of Resistance. If my hand already has Saga and Loam then I like to ramp put Sphere on turn one. Crop Rotation will be hard to cast post a Sphere anyways, and this sequence ensures that we use our mana much better than our opponent.
• You can Crop Rotate Urza’s Saga in response to the 3rd chapter. This still allows us to search for an artifact with Saga. This is a very powerful line, and it can be worth waiting one turn to play out Saga in order to ensure that we have four mana in play when it gets its 3rd counter.

Plan B: Marit Lage (Combo)

Dark Depths is typically my Plan B, but it comes up more often than you might think. My gut feeling is that I win something like 30%-40% of my games with Dark Depths. I usually start out by trying to execute the Prison-Aggro strategy, but not every game goes according to plan. Maybe my opponent had Wasteland for Saga, or maybe they countered my Exploration and I felt behind on the board. In these situations I will change focus and make a Marit Lage. It’s so cool that we can press the Combo button and just end the game in one swing, and this makes it incredibly difficult to play against Lands. 

If you decide to change to Plan B then go all in. This means, for example, that you should not make a Construct in response to Saga’s third chapter, but instead tap Saga for mana so that you can have mana to activate both Expedition Map and Thespian’s Stage in the same turn. I still get surprised by how effective Marit Lage is in a deck like Lands. Most opponents who spend their resources trying to fight our mana denial and Constructs just to get caught off guard when the 20/20 monster finally gets summoned.

alli note: If your hand has Exploration, Thespian’s Stage, Dark Depths and Life from Loam (and you don’t expect your opponent to have graveyard hate) then Dark Depths becomes your Plan A. Making a recurring 20/20 is actually more powerful than Urza’s Saga. In recent lists I have included a Sejiri Steppe to make the Marit Lage plan even more reliable. This also allows me to transform my deck for the post sideboard games, and add creatures such as Elvish Reclaimer and Endurance when my opponent sides in Meltdown and Dress Down. 

Plan C: Construct-Factory (Grinding Station)

Thespian’s Stage can copy Urza’s Saga, and after Stage has reached its second chapter then you can copy another land and still keep the ability to make Constructs. Yes, this is unfair but it’s how it works. This article explains it in more detail. 

It should be noted that I almost only do the Construct-Factory strategy vs Control. Against midrange decks (without sweepers) it’s easier to just go Saga into Expedition Map into another Saga, and run them over this way. 

alli note: Here are some edge cases that might help you when executing the Construct-Factory strategy:

• If you suspect that your opponent has Dress Down (or Meltdown) then it can be a good idea to copy a basic land on your opponent’s end step when Stage has two counters (instead of making a Construct and then copying a basic in your following main phase). This way you ensure that you have the Construct-Factory online one turn earlier and you can start rebuilding your board.
• Remember, once again, to always keep a stop in your draw step! If you top deck a Crop Rotation then you can find Saga and copy it in your draw step. This ensures that you get your Construct-Factory online one turn earlier compared to if you had used Crop Rotation in your main phase or on your opponent’s turn. 

Plan D: Mana Denial Lockdown (Pox)

Mana denial has always been a core element to a Lands decks, and in this version you might think that we focus more on mana denial thanks to the synergy with Sphere of Resistance. I don’t find this to be the case though. It’s rare that I win by totally locking my opponent out of casting spells. This comes up in maybe less than 10% of my games. You should always be looking for this avenue to win though, as it’s the least risky strategy when it works. Here are some signs that indicates that the Mana Denial Lockdown plan is a good idea: 

• Your opponent started with a dual into Ponder and chose to shuffle.
• Your opponent missed their second or third land drop.  

alli note: Try to always represent the combo of Thespian’s Stage and Dark Depths when executing the Mana Denial plan. If you have one of the combo pieces in play then try to keep three mana open (to represent Crop Rotation into the missing piece). This will make it super awkward for your opponent as they won’t be able to tap out.

How to build your sideboard

We have talked about the four main strategies that we can apply when playing Sphere Lands. It’s now time to think about how to build a sideboard. First thing to note is that we haven’t gained sideboard space by moving Sphere of Resistance to the main deck. This is because we literally cannot win with Magus of the Moon in play, so we need to have 3-4 answers to that card in our 75 (and Sphere is certainly not an answer to Magus). 

Second thing to note is that the Prison-Aggro Strategy can get worse post-sideboard (at least vs fair blue decks). This is because people bring in Dress Down and Meltdown against us. My sideboards are therefore pretty simple. Here are the must haves:

• Four answers to Magus of the Moon.
• Three answers to Blood Moon (we also have Boseiju main).
• Four graveyard hate pieces that work on turn 0.

This leaves me with four flex slots that I tend to dedicate to fair blue decks (Choke, Pyroblast, Reclaimer, etc). In my latest iteration of GW Sphere Lands I have a bit of a transformational sideboard as I can take out Sphere of Resistance for Elvish Reclaimer and Endurance to play the post sideboard games as something that reminds you of a GW Depths deck. 

Color Combinations

Most cards are kind of set in the deck. My decklist from the May Showcase Challenge has 4 flex slots in the main (2xSylvan Library, 2xRishadan Port) and 4 flex slots in the sideboard (2xChoke, 2xPyroblast). This leaves us with eight slots to play around with. We are already shaving on colored mana sources so I would not recommend playing more than one splash color. I have tested all color combinations, but I have had most success with GW and GR. 

• GR is better vs Moon Stompy, Jeskai Control, Sneak & Show, Cephalid Breakfast, Doomsday, and High Tide (that has increased in popularity after the Mind’s Desire unban).
• GW is better vs Delver, Death Shadow, GW Depths, Reanimator, Black Stompy and RW Initiative.

In my opinion the best fair blue decks are UBx Tempo, and I therefore like to have access to Swords to Plowshares in my deck (it’s so important vs Troll of Khazad-dum, Murktide Regent and Death Shadow). This is why I am currently running GW Sphere Lands.

Matchups

In this section I will discuss how to approach a few common matchups. I’m not gonna give a sideboard map in this article, but rather focus on what strategies are effective against each archetype. I think a sideboard map is only valid in the context of a specific 75 and my list changes week on week. I recommend that you follow me on Twitter if you want to see my latest lists. I also share my sideboard map fairly regularly on Twitter (such as in this tweet). You can also find them in the #decklist section of the Lands discord.

URx Tempo decks

I have written this guide on how to approach Delver decks with Lands. It’s a bit old but most things still hold true today. Our best strategies are:

1. Marit Lage (Combo).
2. Mana Denial Lockdown (Pox).
3. Prison-Aggro (Tempo): This only really works in G1, and only if we are on the Play in G1.

Sphere Lands is worse vs Delver compared to a classic build, and I find that whoever wins the dieroll is favored to win game one. I do think that the post sideboard games improve significantly for us though, and I really like Swords to Plowshares against the current iterations of Delver decks.

Cards to consider when sideboarding:

• In: Removal, Choke, Elvish Reclaimer, Endurance.
• Out: Sphere of Resistance, Sylvan Library, Pithing Needle, Soul-Guide Lantern, Urza’s Saga (at least 2 can go), Karakas (unless we play Swords to Plowshares), 1-2 Ancient Tomb.

Blue Control decks

I have written this very detailed guide on how to approach Control decks with Lands. Nothing has really changed. Our best strategies are:

1. Construct-Factory (Grinding Station).
2. Prison-Aggro (Tempo).
3. Marit Lage (Combo).
4. Mana Denial Lockdown (Pox).

Sphere Lands is better vs Control compared to a classic build as we are kind of boarded already in game one. 

Cards to consider when sideboarding:

• In: Choke, Blasts, Reclaimer, Endurance / Surgical (vs Uro decks only).
• Out: 1xExploration, 1xMox Diamond, 3-4 lands (Maze, Tabernacle, Karakas, Wasteland, Bog), Soul-Guide Lantern, Shadowspear, Crop Rotation.

Ancient Tomb decks

This includes Red, Black and RW Stompy decks as well as 8Cast. I think that these matchups are very Play /  Draw dependent as they (as well as us) are built to get ahead on the board. Our best strategies are:

1. Prison-Aggro (Tempo): This is much better on the Play than on the Draw. Sphere can be a liability for us on the Draw, but most of these decks are built around resolving 4 mana creatures so Sphere is very strong on the Play.
2. Marit Lage (Combo): The first Marit Lage is often enough vs both Red and Black Stompy. However, vs RW Stompy we often need to create a boardstate where we can recur Marit Lage every turn with Life from the Loam.
3. Mana Denial Lockdown (Pox).

Sphere Lands is better vs Ancient Tomb decks compared to a classic build. We are favored on the Play and can also win on the Draw unless they have a very good hand.

alli note: Swords to Plowshares has improved my winrate tremendously vs both Black and RW Stompy. They often mull aggressively to a hand that 1-for-3 themselves to ramp out a large creature such as Sheoldred, the Apocalypse or Seasoned Dungeoneer. It’s so nice to be able to remove these creatures, for a single mana, and then leave us with a hand that is full of action whereas they are hellbent. Swords to Plowshares is not as strong vs Red Stompy though. This matchup revolves around Magus of the Moon. We want to let them cast Magus, then we play out Dark Depths and remove Magus to get a 20/20 monster. Red removal such as Lightning Bolt can be cast under Magus but Swords cannot (so we now also require a Mox Diamond and this is much harder to set up). 

alli note: 8Cast is a very interesting matchup. Most games are lopsided, we either lose heavily or we win by stopping them from casting any spells. Their Constructs are larger than ours so we first have to destroy their Saga before activating our own. My plan is therefore first to stop them and then to find a way to win. This sequence is different from how I approach the other Stompy matchups. Sphere of Resistance is an answer to Emry by the way, and it’s very strong against 8Cast.

Combo decks

Reanimator, Cephalid Breakfast, Sneak & Show, Doomsday, Storm, and Mississippi River are the most popular Combo decks in the current Legacy format. You should make your special hand sign and thank Satan (or God or whatever) every time that you get paired into the Mississippi River deck because it’s a bye for Sphere Lands. They can’t beat a Sphere of Resistance nor a Wasteland and we play plenty of both (just remember that post side they can sometimes go off turn two so make a play that stops them already on your first turn).

Sphere Lands is much better vs Combo compared to a classic build as we are prepared with Sphere of Resistance already in game one. My general advice is to keep hands that have both interaction and a plan to win (Urza’s Saga or Crop Rotation for Saga). We need to pressure these decks as they often can draw out of any hate. Our best strategies are:

1. Prison-Aggro (Tempo).
2. Marit Lage (Combo).
3. Mana Denial Lockdown (Pox).

Here are some quick notes on each popular Combo deck:

• Reanimator: This is a pretty 50/50 matchup in my experience, and it’s very Play / Draw dependent. I play four turn zero interaction cards in my sideboard, and I have found that my winrate does not really improve much by playing more hate (see this article for more info about this logic). They tend to have some sort of transformational sideboard such as small creatures or Show and Tell. I think it’s much easier for us if they side into the small creature package than Show and Tell. 
• Cephalid Breakfast: This is a hard matchup as we need interaction, or we can easily lose on turn two, but we cannot keep hands with only interaction because they are favored going long (since Orim’s Chant and T3feri will blank all of our spell based interaction). We therefore need to keep hands that can put pressure on them and that also have interaction, otherwise we will most likely lose.
• Sneak & Show: This is a tricky matchup that gets harder if they play Archon of Cruelty. The Prison-Aggro plan is strong vs Sneak & Show, and we have a lot of tools to disrupt them such as Pithing Needle for Sneak Attack / Griselbrand, Boseiju for Omniscience, Karakas for Emrakul, but nothing that interacts with Archon (outside Swords to Plowshares). A common trick is to let Show and Tell resolve and put in Sphere. This often means that they cannot interact with our next play, and we can then answer whatever they put in, and untap to slam Choke for the win. 
• Doomsday: If you expect a lot of Doomsday then put Thran Foundry and Endurance in your sideboard. It’s tricky to stop them from resolving Doomsday but we can often disrupt them afterwards. This is either done via an Endurance effect or via heavy Mana Denial. They seldom play around Ghost Quarter in their piles. I have also found that activating Boseiju (in their end step after they cast Doomsday) is extremely effective. Surgical Extraction is also nice and can sometimes buy us a lot of time by forcing them to shuffle after their Personal Tutor.
• Storm: This is a pretty good matchup for Sphere Lands. I think we are favored in game one thanks to Sphere of Resistance. They bring in some answers to Sphere in the post sideboard games, but these games still tend to be pretty 50/50 in my experience. Storm is on the uprise thanks to the unbanning of Mind’s Desire and a card that has impressed vs these decks is Veil of Summer.

Midrange Creature decks

Death & Taxes, Orcs, Painter, and GW Depths are the most common midrange creature decks in the current Legacy format. These are very good matchups (except GW Depths that is horrendous) and my winrate has not gone down vs these decks since I cut spot removal for Sphere of Resistance. Most effective strategies are:

1. Prison-Aggro (Tempo): This plan is really strong vs all of these matchups and how I most often win.
2. Marit Lage (Combo): This is a really strong plan vs Painter and Orcs but less effective vs Death & Taxes and GW Depths.
3. Mana Denial Lockdown (Pox): They do play basics so it’s hard to destroy all their lands but Tabernacle, Wasteland and Sphere of Resistance is often enough to completely stop them from casting spells.

Final words

I hope that this primer has shown the differences in how to play Sphere Lands contra old lists. I also hope that more people will give the deck a try, and feel the raw power and speed of Ancient Tomb. If you are an old time Lands player then just clear your head, press the gas pedal, and ensure that you are ahead on the board by turn 3 or 4. I’m sure that the rest will flow naturally for you from there. If this does not work out, well then you can always switch plans and try to end the game with Marit Lage. Urza’s Saga makes this switch almost seamless thanks to the fact that it can find Expedition Map on its 3rd chapter.

alli note: My final tip of the day is to remember to mulligan aggressively. Lands always mulled extremely well, and this is perhaps even more true for Sphere Lands. We are such a powerful deck, and our best 5 card hand is much better than an average 7 card hand. We cannot afford to fall behind so we need to get an aggressive start, and this often requires mulligans.

Many people have asked me if Sphere Lands should be considered the “stock” list going forward, and I have given this some serious thought. Let me first answer with a rhetorical question: 

What strategy (Tempo, Control or Combo) has been most successful in Legacy during the last 12 years?

We can all agree that the answer to my question is Tempo, and this is why I believe that Sphere Lands will in fact become the most played, and most successful, version of Lands. This does not mean that there are no other viable builds. But it is harder to build a controlly version of Lands since you have less free wins, and a wider matchup spread. You have to predict the metagame very accurately (as you will have to accept that not all matchups are winnable with a 15 cards sideboard). This is not impossible to do, and I have had enormous success, over many years, doing exactly this (see this article for more details on my strategy for getting an edge in Legacy). However, if I went to a paper Tournament tomorrow, where I didn’t know the meta, then there is no doubt in my mind that I would register a version of Sphere Lands. I think this will be the case until WoTC prints a more powerful land than Urza’s Saga.

Speaking about new printings. Modern Horizon 3 is coming next year and I am sure that we will see some nice printings for Lands in that set. I am hoping for the following cards.

• Red-Green Canopy Land.
• Mountainborg (land that makes all lands into Mountains).
• More Channel Lands. In particular a red land with Channel R1 to deal 3 damage to target creature or planeswalker would be insane.
• One mana Sphere of Resistance that only taxes Instant and Sorceries (this could be found off Saga).
• Wasteland that only works for basics (I would be glad if it only worked for basic Island even).

Thanks for reading!

// alli

https://linktr.ee/alli_84