Stone Stax

[Guy I Don't Know]

Stax seems well metagamed at the moment. It dodges mental misstep completely, is good versus control, people are playing less pridemages, ensnaring bridge interacts with show and tell emrakul decks, etc. I think the two main things holding stax back is less card advantage/selection than other decks compounded with a slow clock. This allows any deck with deck manipulation to find the cards it needs versus staxs and staxs can draw four lands in a row and lose. With the printing of batterskull, You have a clock and card advantage. stoneforger speeds up the clock and supplies more card advantage as well as acceleration. Here is the list I am testing at the moment:

4 Chalice of the Void
4 Tangle Wire
4 Trinisphere
4 Crucible of Worlds
3 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Smokestack
3 Batterskull
4 Stoneforger Mystic

4 Mox Diamond
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
4 Plains
3 Maze of Ith
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
1 Karakas
2 Flagstones of Trokair

Sideboard:
4 Pithing Needle
3 Silent Arbiter
1 Manriki Gusari
4 Tormod's Crypt
3 Phyrexian Revoker

Possible sideboard cards:
Pithing Needle
Tormod’s Crypt
Leyline of Sanctity
Ensnaring Bridge
Phyrexian Revoker
Oblivion Ring
Karmic Justice
Silent Arbiter
Ratchet Bomb
Welding Jar

So an interesting interaction with batterskull and smokestack is that you can sac the germ token each turn to pay for stacks. Most likely not the correct play but an option. I am trying to find the correct number of white mana sources. Having too many can lead to losing games because your lands do not do anything and having too little can lead to losing games by not having stoneforger mystic. I think right now there is just enough. I am unsure if upping the flagstones count is relevant, and if horizon canopy is worth taking damage for. I could change the mana base by -1 Karakas -1 Horizon Canopy +1 plains +1 Flagstones

Changes:
-2 Horizon Canopy
+1 Plains
+1 Flags of Trokair
SB:
-4 Leyline of Sanctity
+1 Tormod's Crypt
+3 Phyrexian Revoker
-1 Silent Arbiter
+ 1 Manriki Gusari

[mort-]

Why don't you play Lodestone Golem? It just seems too good not to play it.

[ScatmanX]

How do you intend to attack with Batterskull while Ensnaring Bridge is on the battlefield?

[nedleeds]

How do you intend to attack with Batterskull while Ensnaring Bridge is on the battlefield?

Carefully.

I think you could slow roll then finally sac it to a Smokestack (?). Probably need a misers Mox Opal somewhere in here as well.

[Guy I Don't Know]

How do you intend to attack with Batterskull while Ensnaring Bridge is on the battlefield?

Well you don't always have ensnaring bridge in play. Some decks flat out lose to bridge plus no cards in hand such as merfolk, so it is irrelevant if you can't attack. Also, I would suggest keeping bridge in hand until it is profitable to play it. In the end, you can always go up to four cards.

To be honest I never really have had a problem with bridges



Why don't you play Lodestone Golem? It just seems too good not to play it.

First of all what would come out for it? Maybe Trinisphere? It costs four which would increase the curve but it is a possibility. I would probably cut 3 Bridges, A batterskull, and a Smokestack and put in 4 Lodestone Golem and 1 Sword. It would make the deck more aggro, but I don't know if I like not having Ensnaring Bridge, I like having outs to Natural Order and Show and Tell as well as it is good versus aggro.

Thanks for the feedback

[JCLe]

Stax seems well metagamed at the moment. It dodges mental misstep completely, is good versus control, people are playing less pridemages, ensnaring bridge interacts with show and tell emrakul decks, etc. I think the two main things holding stax back is less card advantage/selection than other decks compounded with a slow clock.

This is pretty false, there are so many pridemages (maverick + zoo, 2 very dominant forces right now) along with merfolk being so popular, as well as various aggro-control strategies like stoneblade.

You are right about the luck factor (card selection), but still, you need to be running really good right now to do any good in a reasonably sized tournament with stax.