Dimir Tempo Finds a Late-Game Engine in Shadow of the Second Sun
Dimir Tempo usually wins by trading efficiently, protecting a small threat, and making every opposing spell awkward. Shadow of the Second Sun asks for a different kind of commitment: six mana for a powerful extra-turn-style engine that rewards a deck capable of surviving long enough to deploy it. That tension makes the card an intriguing Legacy brew rather than an automatic inclusion.
The plan is to begin as a familiar blue-black tempo deck, then transform into a control deck once the battlefield is stable. Readers can find tournament coverage, deck discussions, and Legacy community resources through The Legacy Pit, a useful home base for testing ideas that sit between established archetypes and experimental builds.
| Element | Dimir Tempo Role | Value With Shadow of the Second Sun |
|---|---|---|
| Cheap threats | Delver-style pressure, Orcish Bowmasters, and Murktide Regent | Converts extra combat steps into a faster clock |
| Disruption | Force of Will, Daze, Thoughtseize, and counterspells | Protects the six-mana enchantment and clears the way |
| Card selection | Brainstorm, Ponder, and Preordain | Finds lands early and action late |
| Mana development | Underground Sea, fetch lands, and a few utility lands | Reaches six mana without flooding |
| Late-game engine | Shadow of the Second Sun | Creates additional beginning and combat phases |
Why This Blue-Black Shell Works
Legacy rewards decks that operate on several mana levels. A Dimir tempo list can spend the first turns on Brainstorm, Ponder, discard, and a one-mana threat. It can then shift into a reactive posture with Force of Will and removal. Shadow of the Second Sun belongs at the far end of that curve, where it functions as a finisher instead of the deck’s primary plan.
The enchantment’s strength is its sequence of extra phases. After the postcombat main phase, it gives the controller an additional beginning phase and then another combat phase. That means untapping, drawing, upkeep triggers, and attack steps all become relevant. A Murktide Regent that survives the first attack can potentially end the game quickly when the second combat arrives.
The drawback is clear: a six-mana spell is dangerous in a format built around Wasteland, fast combo, and free interaction. The list should therefore avoid becoming a slow pile of expensive cards. Most of the deck remains lean, with the enchantment acting as a single-copy or two-copy payoff that rewards careful resource management.
Building Around the Six-Mana Enchantment
A sensible starting point is a 60-card Dimir shell with roughly 18 lands, 10 to 12 cantrips or selection spells, 8 to 12 pieces of disruption, and a compact threat package. Underground Sea and Watery Grave support the colour requirements, while Polluted Delta and other blue fetch lands make Brainstorm more reliable. A basic Island is valuable against Wasteland-heavy opponents.
Shadow of the Second Sun should usually be cast only after the opponent’s hand has been reduced or their mana has been constrained. Thoughtseize can remove Force of Will, while Daze and Force of Negation provide protection without requiring the deck to leave six mana available. The card is much better when it follows a turn spent attacking with Murktide Regent than when it is cast into an open board.
For players comparing the idea with existing brews, The Legacy Pit’s Own 50 Decklists: What We Learned offers a helpful reference point for how varied Legacy construction can be. The important lesson is to identify the deck’s actual axis: this version is tempo first, combo-control second, rather than a dedicated extra-combat deck.
Tempo Tools and Matchup Roles
Orcish Bowmasters is an excellent bridge between the two plans. It pressures opposing card-draw engines, answers small creatures, and supplies an additional body for later combat steps. Baleful Strix can perform a similar stabilising role, especially when the local metagame contains large attackers or creature-heavy strategies.
Fatal Push, Snuff Out, and Sheoldred’s Edict each cover different problems. Fatal Push is efficient against early creatures, Snuff Out allows the deck to interact while tapped out, and Edict handles threats that evade conventional removal. The exact mixture depends on whether the expected field is dominated by Delver mirrors, Initiative, Reanimator, or graveyard-centric strategies.
Against combo, the enchantment should often be sideboarded out for additional graveyard hate, discard, or stack interaction. Against fair blue decks, it becomes more attractive because games tend to produce enough time and cards to make a six-mana investment realistic. Against creature decks, the extra combat phase matters only if the deck can first establish a stable life total and remove the opponent’s most threatening blocker.
Testing in the Australian Legacy Scene
Australian Legacy players often face a smaller and more interconnected local metagame than players in major North American circuits. A weekly event in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, or Perth may include familiar opponents and repeated archetypes, making targeted sideboard planning especially valuable. If a local store has several Reanimator pilots, dedicate sideboard space to Surgical Extraction, Grafdigger’s Cage, or Leyline effects rather than assuming broad answers will be enough.
Online testing also needs to account for time zones. A stream scheduled for North American prime time can land in the early morning in Australia, while European events may overlap with the evening after work. Recording leagues or using community Discord discussions can help players compare games without forcing every session into an inconvenient Australian Eastern Standard Time window.
The local market affects the build as well. Dual lands, reserve-list staples, and imported singles can be costly once shipping and currency conversion are included, so Watery Grave and additional basics may be practical testing substitutes before a player commits to Underground Seas. Australian Consumer Law applies to many goods sold by businesses, including apparel and accessories, while GST and postage costs can influence the final price of an online order. Players can also support the community through Legacy Pit apparel when they want a visible connection to the format.
Recommended Build Priorities
The deck will improve faster when every card is tested against a defined job rather than included because it is individually powerful.
- Start with one Shadow of the Second Sun and add a second copy only if the first consistently improves post-sideboard games.
- Keep the early curve concentrated at one and two mana so the deck can still play a convincing tempo game.
- Use Murktide Regent or another resilient threat as the primary payoff for extra combat steps.
- Test discard and free counterspells together, since the enchantment needs both hand disruption and stack protection.
- Record whether six mana is reached naturally before adding mana acceleration or trimming interactive spells.
- Build the sideboard around the actual Australian local field, especially graveyard, combo, and Wasteland strategies.
The most promising version is unlikely to look like a conventional control deck. Its identity comes from forcing the opponent to respect a fast clock while quietly preserving a powerful late-game line. When the battlefield is clear, the hand is protected, and a large threat is already attacking, Shadow of the Second Sun turns a narrow opening into overwhelming momentum.
Sleeve up a proxy version, test it through local events or online leagues, and share the results with the Legacy community. The best Dimir brews are refined through real games, clear notes, and repeated challenges from players who know exactly how to punish a slow draw.