Before Legacy (then Type 1.5) got it's own Banned List, Mana Drain helped fuel one of the most absurd control decks in the format, pushing it to be able to beat both aggro decks and combo decks simultaneously, pre-board. Even with the ability to Drain into a Nev's Disk gone, many people found the archetype was still viable. The initial port of the deck from the previous format brought it's white splash with it, and this thread is dedicated to discussing, essentially, versions of Landstill that have stuck to a single splash color, opting for consistency over power (where as the originators of BHWC/BHWW Landstill opted for power).

An important note, is that this thread is not attempting to answer the question of "Which is better, power or consistency?" as (in my opinion) that is really more of a question of your metagame. Instead this thread assumes that there is a particular metagame for which a consistent build of Landstill is the correct choice and attempts to build from that.

For reference, the definition of power being used here is "The amount of the advancement of your strategy (or the amount of hinderance to your opponent's strategy) divided by the amount of 'work' required for that advancement (or hinderence)." Work, in most cases, is the cost of the spells you're playing, however it's extremely important to note here that it also involves any set up required to make those spells work or any other hidden costs (this is more relevant than it is elsewhere as Standstill needs to be set up and built around, Wastelanding your opponent has the cost of a land drop, Mishra's Factory has a continuous cost as well as a land drop cost, etc).

If you want more of a history lesson, I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here and I'll let Jander78 and Nightmare do the talking for me:

The 2005 Landstill Thread by Jander78
The 2007 Landstill Thread by Nightmare


Commonly agreed upon card choices (for the White Splash)

4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Counterspell
2 Standstill
1 Crucible of Worlds

4 Flooded Strand
4 Mishra's Factory
3 Wasteland
4 Tundra


I'll assume that the reasoning behind these cards being a "must" in a white Landstill build is obvious, however if it isn't, feel free to ask the Adepts here as I'm sure their answer will be the most comprehensive.

Not commonly agreed upon card choices

0cc spells, and Land:

Additional Wasteland
Academy Ruins
Island
Plains
Polluted Delta
Ghost Quarter
Faerie Conclave
Tolaria West
Mutavault
Tormod's Crypt
Quicksand

1cc spells:

Sensei's Divining Top
Enlightened Tutor
Stifle
Spell Snare
Phyrexian Furnace (generally held that this is only playable in conjunction with Academy Ruins)
Ponder
Phyrexian Dreadnought (clearly only playable with Stifle)
Pithing Needle
Meekstone
Porphyry Nodes

2cc spells:

Addtional Standstills (generally held that 4 is the correct number if you don't have a way to tutor for it)
Additional Counterspell (generally held that 4 is the correct number if you aren't cramming your list)
Counterbalance
Rune Snag
Mana Leak
Hoofprints of the Stag
Seal of Cleansing/Disenchant
Daze
Trickbind (generally held that this is only playable with Dreadnought)

3cc spells:

Additional Crucible of Worlds (generally held that 2 is the correct number if you don't have a way to tutor for it)
Cunning Wish
Vedalken Shackles
Jace Beleren
Trinket Mage (clearly only playable with a host of tutor targets)
Ghostly Prison/Propaganda
Oblivion Stone
Oblivion Ring

4cc spells:

Fact or Fiction
Moat
Wrath of God
Humility
Control Magic
Nevinyrral's Disk

Other:

Eternal Dragon
Akroma's Vengeance
Engineered Explosives
Decree of Justice
Morphling
Meloku, the Clouded Mirror
Mindslaver


I have attempted to be as complete as possible in compiling the information that can mostly be found here. I have intentionally left out cards that are red, black or green as those choices for Landstill builds are less popular (among 2 color builds), as well as sideboard choices. The amount of information presented at this point is substantial, so let's focus on what we want to get out of this thread:

  • For those on the consistency side of the dichotomy of Landstill, what are the most powerful cards and strategies we can run in just blue and one splash?
  • What is the largest acceptable number of colors (defined by the non-basic land hate available in Legacy and the fetchlands available to it)?
  • How can we optimize our power level without compromising our consistency (which colors can we add, and how big or small of a splash can it be without dicking ourselves)?
  • Do Tutors (in the form of Enlightened Tutor or Cunning Wish) and Silver Bullets (Moat, Counterbalance, etc) give us a dominant strategy (Zvi seems to think so as you can see here), or are the tutors themselves unplayable?
  • What's the most powerful win condition?


While answering all of those questions is something to be focused on, that last one is particularly disturbing to not have a consensus on (aside from Mishra's Factory) considering that as Magic theory develops, it is becoming quickly apparent that the notion of "It doesn't matter what you win with once the game is locked up" is incorrect. Is Stifling Phyrexian Dreadnought legitimately good, or is the work required for this strategy too much (we have to do here is to find a Stifle once we have found a Dreadnought, and the obvious 2 mana to cast it, the pay off is also obvious, and just as vulnerable as every other creature in the format to Swords to Plowshares). If not, do we have time to set up Meloku, Decree of Justice, Eternal Dragon or any other 5+ casting cost win condition, or is something like Hoofprints of the Stag a better option as it can slip in on turn 4 with Counter back up and has synergy with Standstill and Brainstorm? Is going to 6 or 8 manlands with Mutavault and Faerie Conclave better?

Discuss.