GradStudentGuy
02-24-2012, 01:00 AM
Ok after a few months of testing I have come up with a very different approach to a Stax deck. Be warned this is a metagame deck. In a metagame that is soaked with non-basics it will do extremely well. Before further ado, here is my list.
3 Back to Basics
4 Parallax Tide
4 Ponder
4 Stifle
3 Trickbind
4 Wasteland
4 Mox Diamond
13 Island
3 Crucible of Worlds
3 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
3 Pendrell Mists
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Ancient Tomb
3 Preordain
1 Karn Liberated
SB: 3 Propaganda
SB: 4 Force of Will
SB: 4 Spell Pierce
SB: 2 Wipe Away
SB: 1 Grafdigger's Cage
SB: 1 Tormod's Crypt
Three things become noticeable immediately when looking at this Stax List. First, it lacks spheres and chalices. It is built this way for a reason. Stax has traditionally had almost no ways to manipulate its draws turning it to a mulligan heavy deck. The answer I have come up with is playing low cost can trips. This leads to the second feature its mono blue. Furthermore, blue allows Jace as a draw engine and win condition. The last noticeable trait of this deck is it runs no counters main even though it is blue.
Game one is always a surprise factor playing this deck. Spell Snare is cold to you and daze is easily played around. Beside for pride mage very little main deck enchantment hate is around. Force of will is the only spell that can really stop the lock game one. Even then, they are two for oneing themselves. With all the can trips we will easily find another lock piece. The storm match up is not horrible game one. They are not going to expect seven stifle effects. If they don’t have the turn one or two kill you may be able to catch them off guard. Game two you can add a few counters to help the match.
You may notice there is no brainstorm but this is only because there are no fetchlands in the deck. I have tried it with fetch lands but prefer that the few islands I do play don’t have to worry about stifle. Besides, I am the one doing the land destruction.
Playing this deck is very straight forward. The trick is just slow rolling game one if you can by acting like a tempo deck when you are not. You want a hand that contains a stifle like effect or wasteland and at least one blue source. In the first two or three turns, you want to use the tempo cards to slow your opponents down so you can hit the land drops. Next, you drop a mana denial pieces: Tide, Crucible, or Back to Basics. You follow up with a tabernacle effect, which can stack in this deck. This should clear there board making it safe to drop karn or jace to end the game in quick order.
Card Choices : Mana Denial
Crucible: Recurring wastelands and tabernacles is a good thing for a mana denial deck and has great synergy with mox diamonds. It also a good bate for counter spells as it one of your weaker lock pieces.
Back to Basics: Some decks run no basics and wins games by itself. Even if people start fetching basics this deck still has answers.
Parallax Tide: The reason to play this deck. It can target basic lands and removes them from game to prevent them from recurring the lands. Combined with trick bind or stifle it’s a one sided Armageddon. By the time they realize what is happening it is too late.
Stifle/Trick Bind: Stop fetchlands and helps Tides.
Wasteland: Staple land denial enough said.
Taxing Effects:
Tabernacle an uncounterble creature removal spell in this deck. It also slows decks down since they cant deploy as many threats.
Pendrell Mists: It is your Tabernacle 3-6 but they can stack. Paying two or more mana per creature is just back breaking for most legacy decks.
Win Conditions:
Jace: He does everything this deck wants. He can buy turns with his bounce, draw you lock pieces or fate seal away lands.
Karn: Follows the land denial theme by exiling lands. Like Jace, he can also hit problematic creatures. Most opponents concede before his ultimate goes off. No one likes starting the game when there are already lock pieces in play.
Comments and Suggestions are welcome.
3 Back to Basics
4 Parallax Tide
4 Ponder
4 Stifle
3 Trickbind
4 Wasteland
4 Mox Diamond
13 Island
3 Crucible of Worlds
3 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
3 Pendrell Mists
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Ancient Tomb
3 Preordain
1 Karn Liberated
SB: 3 Propaganda
SB: 4 Force of Will
SB: 4 Spell Pierce
SB: 2 Wipe Away
SB: 1 Grafdigger's Cage
SB: 1 Tormod's Crypt
Three things become noticeable immediately when looking at this Stax List. First, it lacks spheres and chalices. It is built this way for a reason. Stax has traditionally had almost no ways to manipulate its draws turning it to a mulligan heavy deck. The answer I have come up with is playing low cost can trips. This leads to the second feature its mono blue. Furthermore, blue allows Jace as a draw engine and win condition. The last noticeable trait of this deck is it runs no counters main even though it is blue.
Game one is always a surprise factor playing this deck. Spell Snare is cold to you and daze is easily played around. Beside for pride mage very little main deck enchantment hate is around. Force of will is the only spell that can really stop the lock game one. Even then, they are two for oneing themselves. With all the can trips we will easily find another lock piece. The storm match up is not horrible game one. They are not going to expect seven stifle effects. If they don’t have the turn one or two kill you may be able to catch them off guard. Game two you can add a few counters to help the match.
You may notice there is no brainstorm but this is only because there are no fetchlands in the deck. I have tried it with fetch lands but prefer that the few islands I do play don’t have to worry about stifle. Besides, I am the one doing the land destruction.
Playing this deck is very straight forward. The trick is just slow rolling game one if you can by acting like a tempo deck when you are not. You want a hand that contains a stifle like effect or wasteland and at least one blue source. In the first two or three turns, you want to use the tempo cards to slow your opponents down so you can hit the land drops. Next, you drop a mana denial pieces: Tide, Crucible, or Back to Basics. You follow up with a tabernacle effect, which can stack in this deck. This should clear there board making it safe to drop karn or jace to end the game in quick order.
Card Choices : Mana Denial
Crucible: Recurring wastelands and tabernacles is a good thing for a mana denial deck and has great synergy with mox diamonds. It also a good bate for counter spells as it one of your weaker lock pieces.
Back to Basics: Some decks run no basics and wins games by itself. Even if people start fetching basics this deck still has answers.
Parallax Tide: The reason to play this deck. It can target basic lands and removes them from game to prevent them from recurring the lands. Combined with trick bind or stifle it’s a one sided Armageddon. By the time they realize what is happening it is too late.
Stifle/Trick Bind: Stop fetchlands and helps Tides.
Wasteland: Staple land denial enough said.
Taxing Effects:
Tabernacle an uncounterble creature removal spell in this deck. It also slows decks down since they cant deploy as many threats.
Pendrell Mists: It is your Tabernacle 3-6 but they can stack. Paying two or more mana per creature is just back breaking for most legacy decks.
Win Conditions:
Jace: He does everything this deck wants. He can buy turns with his bounce, draw you lock pieces or fate seal away lands.
Karn: Follows the land denial theme by exiling lands. Like Jace, he can also hit problematic creatures. Most opponents concede before his ultimate goes off. No one likes starting the game when there are already lock pieces in play.
Comments and Suggestions are welcome.