Pseudo Newb and the Important thing about the "Legendary Rule"

I'm reading an e-book that's almost exactly what I was looking for by a group called "the Casual Planeswalker"

It's a basic deckbuilding and strategy guide - with actually usefull things including this lovely chart about mana based on deck archetype - which it breaks down in a better and more complete way than Chapins book

Land

aggro = 18-22

control = 24-28

combo = 14-19

And then it also does this radical thing and tells you why, and then it tells you when you might not want to follow that guideline and what the other cards are supposed to be doing.

I like this book but . . . .

Sigh. It was written in 2009. So they have a section on the legendary rule for Planeswalkers which is no longer true. The legendary rule gets tinkered with alot it seems.

In the Ultimate Guide to Strategic Deckbuilding it seems planeswalkers did not yet have the supertype/subtype rule that means when Jace the Invincible is out on the board and your opponent puts down Jace the Less Invincible both Jaces go into the graveyard because like all good time travellers you can't exist in two places at once without things going BOo0m.

But if you have Glissa the I'm on YOUR side legendary creature and Glissa the I Can't Believe You Fell For That legendary creature comes out on the opponents side they do actually need the full name to match so both Glissa's get to stay.

This is apparently called the Planeswalker Uniqueness Rule

• 306.3. Planeswalker subtypes are always a single word and are listed after a long dash: "Planeswalker — Jace." Each word after the dash is a separate subtype. Planeswalker subtypes are also called planeswalker types. Planeswalkers may have multiple subtypes. See rule 205.3j for the complete list of planeswalker types.
• 306.4. If two or more planeswalkers that share a planeswalker type are on the battlefield, all are put into their owners' graveyards as a state-based action. This is called the "planeswalker uniqueness rule." See rule 704.

Yep, that's a real thing. The there's what it means to be legendary which invokes "the Legend Rule":

• 205.4c Any permanent with the supertype “legendary” is subject to the state-based effect for legendary permanents, also called the "Legend rule" (see rule 420.5e).
• 420.5e If two or more legendary permanents with the same name are in play, all are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “legend rule.” If only one of those permanents is legendary, this rule doesn’t apply

So this is the kind of thing when I finally find some kind of useful text there is a possibility of being led astray. I understand why it discourages this kind of writing but the overall fact of it existing makes it worth it for me to double check specific texts.

I'd also like to say how nice it was that they decided not to use cards when giving the examples - they use scroll-like blocks with just the card text on them which actually makes it easier to understand the point being made instead of all the visual noise of the card itself. The strategies and tactics are clearer without the art as a learning tool. I love the art and all but not when I'm studying.

I just wish they had updated - the book is better than the free sample they provided. If they decide to update for 5.00 like Chapin just has I would pay it. I also like the way they continue to show what you would do differently if you were going to slant competitve.

Their website hasn't been updated since September but someone had a link in a response thread on something at Star City Games. http://casualplaneswalker.com/category/blog/ I hope that they're just having an overwhelming semester like I have and that they'll update soon, but they are exactly that kind of missing midstep I was looking for - not perfect, but very helpful. Perhaps after completing their book I'll appreciate aspects of Chapin's better.