MTG Salvation

I think you're definitely right about a few issues here: Hellrider is just too good not to run more -- and I've since upped it to 4.

Similarly, I have removed any thought of Vexing Devil from my list and upped the Mizzium Mortars. It's really nice to clear out (especially GW) creatures.

That said, I've also gone into a heavier-red build, since I was realizing that the clock a Gr presented wasn't as imposing as the clock Rg presented. I'll update later with a revised decklist. Thanks for the input!

Yeah, not everyone was lucky enough to get their playset before the PT jacked the price of the Huntmaster sky high, so for that slot I'd probably fill in with some combination of:
- the fourth Ghoultree
- Kessig Cagebreakers
- more Phyrexian Metamorph (because they're your best creature, even if that just means a legend-killer
- maybe even Hero of Oxid Ridge if you have it around.

The goal is not to extend too heavily on the casting cost, but to provide big, useful utility... or a beater.

Currently Thrun is in to hose the control-heavy meta I play in. However, when testing previously, I had given those two slots to mainboarding the Daybreak Rangers. I just found that they never flipped, and I really only needed them to fight off flying creatures... so i switched them.

Thrun mb just plays better for me, not that this deck cares so much for its curve (often enough Splinterfright is the T4 drop).

If you're really going the Pod in the sb, you'd need to add more filler creatures for the pod chain. Viridian Emissary at 2, for example, to get you up to a Fright, or Solemn Simulacrum at 4, to get you to the Cagebreakers.

Regarding Ghoultree: yeah, 10/10 is a big beater though, especially if you can cast him T3 or T4. T5 is way too easy, especially with as much ramp as the deck has.

Ezuri's Archers is actually a really cool idea. Costing only G is a nice touch, and not having to pay each turn to block a flyer is also great. I'll need to test it! True, it makes me all that much more vulnerable to Crusaders, as you note, but I have found my meta shifting much more heavily into Delver decks. It's actually quite frustrating, since that seems to be the one deck I consistently have issues with. (Probably why they're all shifting over, as I can run roughshod over other Tier1 decks, especially with proper sideboarding.)

Which brings us to that topic: Gnaw to the Bone is a beast. Mental Missteps deal with Nihil Spellbombs, Vapor Snags, Delvers, Bears, Surgical Extractions... all sorts of useful things.

Vapor Snag helps to provide the tempo boost this deck is crying for. Once it gets ahead, it's darn near impossible for the opponent to catch up without a Spellbomb.

I haven't had the need to go after the Replicas of late, but they're remnants from when my friends ran tons of Tempered Steel. They still have their uses. And it, combined with Ratchet Bomb, deals with many White variants, be it Angelic Destiny or tokens or what have you.

I think you make several very valid points. As someone who took a multiple-year break from the game, just to be dragged back into it by friends, I've been amazed (or is it appalled?) by how expensive building a "good deck" is.

That said, I've also taken up the challenge of trying to build a GOOD budget deck. For the most part, that involves playing under-used cards, or finding those odd combinations that you mention. Or just going for the decks that people don't see the potential in and running with them, refining them, and striving to improve them.

For what it's worth, I think I got in on the ground floor of the UG Mill Yourself format before the cards got crazy expensive, and I also got lucky on a few Innistrad packs. The reason I stuck with it, though, beyond all that, was that it was a fun deck to play.

Find one of those, that you really enjoy, and let the rest just be what it is. Best of luck!

Which colors do you enjoy more? Do you have a favorite archetype? Do you know if you're more of a Johnny, Timmy, or Spike in terms of player?

These are the questions you might consider when figuring out what you want to play and how to get started. Legacy is expensive, but if you don't want to spend lots up front, consider reading this. It might help you out (and that forum is all about Legacy, so it could answer the starter questions, too).

It's true. The early game is all about setting up the mill, and against aggro or tempo it's preferably getting Gnaw to the Bone either in-hand or in the yard. When a single cast of that averages 12+ life, though, it helps a ton. That's why there are more in the sb, too.

Any other suggestions to negate the opening weakness?