It’s not totally gone. Still sees some niche play, eg reacaminator was sometimes playing it out of the SB in the fair juke and stoneforge decks can also make decent use of it. But really, just power creep. Cryptic coat is one recent additional contender.
the meta has developed in a way that a 3 mana evasive untargetable creature is no longer oppressive or worthwhile to invest in.
There are many factors that have led to this, but I think the biggest one is that the format can very easily go over the top of a 3/1 (especially one that costs 3 mana). even in delver shells, If looking at pure mana->damage rate, DRC costs 1 mana and is the same clock (while also having a potentially more powerful ability). And if looking at pure damage output per turn only, murktide is 2x the clock tnn is (while also costing less mana).
To add to this, WOTC has a bad habit of stapling "Menace" to creatures now, making blocking unlikely. This exacerbates damage races, and a faster format incentivizes combo decks that win outside of combat, which further erodes True-Name's likelihood of seeing play. I think Broadside Bombardiers is the worst offender on the ground, swinging past a blocker immediately and then being able to fling damage to the face. Among fliers, Murktide has the biggest impact, and you're so right that it's like getting double the damage for even less mana. It's trivial to play Murktide early (WOTC learned nothing from earlier delve bannings), and sometimes you get to kill out of nowhere by playing a second one and growing the first.
Also, the one that stopped him from being played originally is Plague Spreader, including in Grixis delver sideboard for mirror match (originally to kill Young Pyromancer or this)
marsh casualties, council's judgement, sword of fire and ice, plague engineer (assuming that's what you meant), and orzhov pontiff were all "solutions" to TNN at some point, but I don't think any of these narrow answers to tnn is what caused delver eschew the threat.
it was far more about opportunity cost of playing tnn than it was about ease of answering.
The meta is just way too fast for it these days. Nobody wants to spend 1UU for a 3/1 with evasion when you can spend 1B for a 6/5 with evasion + draw a swamp.
If the grindy control and midrange decks return to prominence in the format it might become useful again, but that would probably require banning Grief and OBM.
Cards TNN can't typically race:
Uro
Early Grief
Troll of Khazad-Dum
Atraxa
Archon of Cruelty
Murktide regent
Solitude
Kaldra Compleat
Marit Lage
Urza's Saga construct with a Shadowspear
the list goes on, but it's bad against ~80% of the meta so only a fringe option now.
Forgot the most important one: Thassa provoking Dress Down x2 out of every not-Delver, not-combo blue deck. TNN's whole selling point was "good against control"
When I used to play, Legacy was my favorite format because it was more diverse in the way that tier 3 won more often than any other format. Is it no longer that way?
Oh, sad. Power creep was why I stopped playing competitively. To me, the whole point of Legacy was that I only had to buy expensive cards every few sets. I never liked Standard for that reason.
Coming down or turn 3 feels kinda slow. Between Delver, DRC, Murktide, Bowmaster, and Questing Drui blue tempo decks love having all their threats be 1-2 mana, which also lets them wasteland more aggressively instead of needing 3 lands. Same thing for the UB scam decks whose threats are being reanimated off of 1-2 mana reanimation spells
Even for more midrange shells like UWx stoneblade decks, now in stead of playing TNN or turn 3 you can play Triumph of Saint Katherine, which comes with 5power of lifelink to stabalize agaginst aggro, or you can play Frorth Erolingus on 1, which is alot easier to interact with than TNN, but whose grabbing of the monarch can easily run away with the game if left unchecked.
Meanwhile combo kills you before TNN even gets started and Up the Beanstalk control just outmuscles TNN with Uro. It's definitely not the worst card ever, and you still see it show up as a 1-2 of here and there, but no where near the maindeck power house it once was.
Too slow and Uro negates it
It’s not totally gone. Still sees some niche play, eg reacaminator was sometimes playing it out of the SB in the fair juke and stoneforge decks can also make decent use of it. But really, just power creep. Cryptic coat is one recent additional contender.
the meta has developed in a way that a 3 mana evasive untargetable creature is no longer oppressive or worthwhile to invest in. There are many factors that have led to this, but I think the biggest one is that the format can very easily go over the top of a 3/1 (especially one that costs 3 mana). even in delver shells, If looking at pure mana->damage rate, DRC costs 1 mana and is the same clock (while also having a potentially more powerful ability). And if looking at pure damage output per turn only, murktide is 2x the clock tnn is (while also costing less mana).
To add to this, WOTC has a bad habit of stapling "Menace" to creatures now, making blocking unlikely. This exacerbates damage races, and a faster format incentivizes combo decks that win outside of combat, which further erodes True-Name's likelihood of seeing play. I think Broadside Bombardiers is the worst offender on the ground, swinging past a blocker immediately and then being able to fling damage to the face. Among fliers, Murktide has the biggest impact, and you're so right that it's like getting double the damage for even less mana. It's trivial to play Murktide early (WOTC learned nothing from earlier delve bannings), and sometimes you get to kill out of nowhere by playing a second one and growing the first.
Broadside is one of the crazier creature designs, menace, haste, fling on a sol land + R pip cost. That card is absolutely cracked sideways.
Also, the one that stopped him from being played originally is Plague Spreader, including in Grixis delver sideboard for mirror match (originally to kill Young Pyromancer or this)
marsh casualties, council's judgement, sword of fire and ice, plague engineer (assuming that's what you meant), and orzhov pontiff were all "solutions" to TNN at some point, but I don't think any of these narrow answers to tnn is what caused delver eschew the threat. it was far more about opportunity cost of playing tnn than it was about ease of answering.
The meta is just way too fast for it these days. Nobody wants to spend 1UU for a 3/1 with evasion when you can spend 1B for a 6/5 with evasion + draw a swamp. If the grindy control and midrange decks return to prominence in the format it might become useful again, but that would probably require banning Grief and OBM.
Wait which one draw swamp? Edit: oh wait Troll is seeing play?
It's part of the core rescaminator package.
[Just a bit](https://imgur.com/a/bGBJx1e).
Better answers and more aggressive threats make a 3 mana 3/1 not the thing it once was.
Power creep
Cards TNN can't typically race: Uro Early Grief Troll of Khazad-Dum Atraxa Archon of Cruelty Murktide regent Solitude Kaldra Compleat Marit Lage Urza's Saga construct with a Shadowspear the list goes on, but it's bad against ~80% of the meta so only a fringe option now.
Forgot the most important one: Thassa provoking Dress Down x2 out of every not-Delver, not-combo blue deck. TNN's whole selling point was "good against control"
Great point, Dress Down is a beating
plague engineeer is a good answer
Is he not in merfolk?
And merfolk is like tier 3?
When I used to play, Legacy was my favorite format because it was more diverse in the way that tier 3 won more often than any other format. Is it no longer that way?
Oh it still is. But Merfolk isnt tier 3 as op said, but tier 5. It is barely a functional deck.
There's so many strong card released that they also create new T2 and T3 decks, that they pushed Merfolk even lower.
Oh, sad. Power creep was why I stopped playing competitively. To me, the whole point of Legacy was that I only had to buy expensive cards every few sets. I never liked Standard for that reason.
I still think that merfolk is decent. You can probably win with it a solid amount.
Pretty much!
It's a triple-costed Delver that dies to more stuff.
Coming down or turn 3 feels kinda slow. Between Delver, DRC, Murktide, Bowmaster, and Questing Drui blue tempo decks love having all their threats be 1-2 mana, which also lets them wasteland more aggressively instead of needing 3 lands. Same thing for the UB scam decks whose threats are being reanimated off of 1-2 mana reanimation spells Even for more midrange shells like UWx stoneblade decks, now in stead of playing TNN or turn 3 you can play Triumph of Saint Katherine, which comes with 5power of lifelink to stabalize agaginst aggro, or you can play Frorth Erolingus on 1, which is alot easier to interact with than TNN, but whose grabbing of the monarch can easily run away with the game if left unchecked. Meanwhile combo kills you before TNN even gets started and Up the Beanstalk control just outmuscles TNN with Uro. It's definitely not the worst card ever, and you still see it show up as a 1-2 of here and there, but no where near the maindeck power house it once was.
Sheoldreds edict
TNN It's a good creature for stoneblade or some deck with equipaments, even it's have protection, the clock of murktide or other creatures are better.
I'm cutting 4th Ponder from BUG Beanz to play TNN. Saved me some games.
I miss TNN being a legit card.
You should try playing it and see how it feels!
Too many fliers in delver mirror nowadays