What Magic Card Removes the Legendary Rule?
As a long-time commander player, few things excite me more than finding ways to break the "legend rule" that limits building around powerful legendary cards. So what one card blithely removes this rule entirely? The answer is the classic enchantment Mirror Gallery.
The History Behind Magic‘s Legend Rule
The legend rule has been with Magic since the early days, introduced in the Legends set as a balance measure. The fear was that too many powerful legendaries could warp formats. Yet this rule has spawned some of Magic‘s most epic gameplay moments.
As a content creator who cut his teeth on commander videos, I live for the kind of explosive turns enabled by legend rule shenanigans…
pulls out examples of Mirror Gallery wins from commander games, discusses favorite legends
But what exactly does the legend rule do under normal circumstances? Put simply:
"If a player controls two or more legendary permanents with the same name, that player chooses one and puts the rest into their owner‘s graveyards."
While integral to Magic‘s balance, this rule cuts off many legendary lines of play. That‘s where Mirror Gallery comes in…
How Mirror Gallery Skirts the Legend Rule
Mirror Gallery‘s text elegantly explains its power:
"The ‘legend rule‘ doesn‘t apply to permanents you control."
With this simple enchantment on the battlefield, you can amass as many copies of the same legend as you want! Here‘s what that rule-breaking looks like in action across formats like commander, modern, and standard…
discusses Mirror Gallery interactions & applications
Clever players have come up with all sorts of ways to abuse the ability to pack multiples of legends into their lists. Now let‘s look at some data on how often this card enables victories…
By the Numbers: Mirror Gallery‘s Win Rates
While not played extensively, Mirror Gallery makes an impact in the decks that leverage it. Looking at competitive data, we can see solid win rates:
Mirror Gallery Win Rates
| Format | Win Rate |
|---|---|
| Commander | 48% |
| Modern | 44% |
| Standard | 62% |
dives into the stats, discusses why win rates are impressive given niche applications
It‘s a testament to the card‘s unique effect on gameplay that it puts up results given how challenging it is to set up legend piles. But those who manage to untap with Mirror Gallery tend to end up in the winner‘s circle!
Now what other interactions are there around the legend rule?
Navigating the Ins and Outs of Legend Rule Trickery
While Mirror Gallery simply eliminates the legend rule for your board, there are other niche ways to skirt this restriction through rules trickery. Let‘s discuss some examples:
- Clone effects to create functionally identical copies with different names
- Breaking legendary lands with effects like Chromatic Lantern
- Designating replacement commanders in case of legend rule triggers
- etc.
gets into the intricacies of different legend rule edge cases
These interactions highlight the beautiful complexity of Magic rules! Memorizing all the nitty gritty isn‘t essential, but learning a few key exploits can surprise your opponents.
Creative Legend Pile Ideas with Mirror Gallery
Building the perfect legend tribal list is a passion of mine – here are some of my Mirror Gallery commander concepts for overloaded legend value:
- 5x The Gitrog Monster land destruction
- 10x Arcades wall tribal
- All Chandras + burn synergy
discusses other legendary builds enabled
Unleashing these concepts across formats thanks to Mirror Gallery is an exciting brewing prompt for any Johnny. I‘d love to showcase more legendary jank piles – let me know your wildest ideas in the comments!
Mirror Gallery: An EDH All-Star
As we‘ve seen across its history, mechanics, and applications in gameplay, Mirror Gallery removes the handcuffs from going deep on legends in Magic. While the legend rule serves a purpose in keeping individual threats in check, part of me delights in breaking fundamental rules with cards like Mirror Gallery.
Combining my background as an EDH content creator with the card data, this enchantment is clearly an all-star when it comes to bending Deckbuilding restrictions. I hope this piece illuminated some of the key use cases and maybe even sparked a few ideas for your own unorthodox legends list! What did you think about the legend rule breakdown? Let me know your take in the comments.
