Affordable Legacy Decks for 2025

(Updated for Sept 2025)

By uburdub

This list is made to help provide players with a path to getting into one of the best eternal formats.  Whether you are 100% new or coming from modern/commander/cedh hopefully there will be a deck that interests you so you can start playing legacy as soon as possible.

Blue Decks:

• Budget UB Death’s Shadow: ~$950

• Upgrade path to Underground Sea (ideally 1-2)
• For extra budget savings null rod can be swapped with energy flux but its not ideal

• Mono U Delver: ~$550

• Mono U Control: ~$660

• Merfolk: ~$590

• Great option if you already own the modern version

• No RL 8-cast: ~$1800

• Due to the Mox Opal price spike I wouldn't recommend buying into this deck
• Great to build if you already own mox opals

• No RL OmniTell: ~$950

• No RL UB Ninja’s: ~$830

• Upgrade path of Underground Sea

• High Tide: ~$530

• Alternate builds use time spiral; could be an option to upgrade the deck

• UW Control: ~$970

• Upgrade path of 2x Tundra

• Jeskai Wizards Control: ~$750

• Upgrade path of Tundra, Volcanic Island & Null Rod

• No RL Jeskai Stoneblade: ~$640

• Prioritize upgrading Tundra, Volcanic is still ideal but isn't nearly as important

• No RL Jeskai Control: ~$690

• Prioritize upgrading Tundra, Volcanic is still ideal but isn't nearly as important

• Mono U Thoracle Combo: ~$1080

• No RL Mono U Cloudpost: ~$1260

Red Decks:

• Burn: ~$240

• The deck can be made cheaper if necessary but it does struggle in postboard games against more of legacy’s unfair strategies.  A lot of the cost is baked into the sideboard for cards like null rod and mindbreak trap.

• No RL Painter: ~$1200

• Upgrade path of City of Traitors (ideally 1-2)

• Budget Goblins: ~$820

• Upgrade path of Badlands (ideally 1-2)

• No RL Sneak and Breach: ~$820

• Upgrade path of City of Traitors (Replace Crystal Vein)

White Decks:

• Mono White Death & Taxes: $420 (nice)

• Legacy HammerTime: ~$1000

• Great to build if you already own modern hammertime

• Ocelot Pride Midrange: ~$995

• Null rod’s can be swapped for stony silence or clarion conquerer

• Boros Energy: ~$890

• Upgrade path of Plateau (Life gain should offset damage done by shocks)

• Mardu Energy: ~$900

• Upgrade path of Scrubland, Plateau & Badlands (Life gain should offset damage done by shocks)

Green Decks:

• No RL NicFit: ~$700

• Upgrade path of bayou (ideally 1-2)

• Cloudpost

• No RL Karn Cloudpost: ~$770

• Recommended way to build

• Titan Cloudpost: $750

• No RL 8 Mulch: ~$600

• Upgrade path of Taiga

Black Decks:

• Pitch Black (Necrodominance Midrange): ~$750

• Budget Variation: ~$320
• ToR Variation: ~$1080

• Budget GB Reanimator: ~$500

• Upgrade path of bayou

• GB Chain of Smog Combo: ~$600

• Upgrade path of bayou

• Mono B Pox: ~$560

• Mono B Aggro: ~$770

Spell Based Combo:

• Oops all Spells: ~$415

• Currently the strongest budget deck and is a fantastic option if you have to buy a new deck to get into the format

• Necrodominance Storm: ~$600

• Less consistent than oops but it's one of the hardest deck to hate out due to it not having to rely on gy or heavily rely on artifacts

• Ruby Storm: ~$580

• No RL Creative Technique Combo: ~$700

• Upgrade path City of Traitors (1-2) and a Taiga

Colorless:

• Eldrazi Stompy: ~$1050

• Formerly a tier 1 strategy that is still quite viable
• Upgrade path of grim monolith over mind stone

Rainbow:

• Turbo Depths: ~$430

Personal Suggestions:

If you would have to build the most viable Legacy deck to win a tournament right now I would say Oops, Eldrazi Stompy and one of the Energy Decks would be the best options to take down a tournament from this list.  Since they are optimized and don't need many upgrades plus they are the most powerful strategies available from this compilation of decks.

As far as decks that have great longevity and good upgrade paths I’d recommend Death’s Shadow and Painter.  Death’s shadow is the best budget option to start with since it gives you a great upgrade path into blue decks of the format + it's a very skill intensive tempo deck that will reward dedicated play.  Painter is a very powerful strategy and another deck that will reward dedicated play.  It also has consistently been a tier 1-2 strategy in the metagame since 2022.  Financially speaking it also doesn't need too much more as far as RL upgrades as well since 1 city of traitors will bring you up to speed with most lists.