Humble Stax (WGr)

[frogger42]

So the big problem with Stompy/Stax decks tends to be the lack of draw and filtering. Outside of Blue (you'll see why there's no blue here) there's very little to make those decks play consistently. So, if you can, I've got two questions at the end:

30 Mana:
4 Mox Diamond
4 City of Traitors
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
3 Wasteland
3 Windswept Heath
2 Plains
1 Plateau
1 Savannah
2 Horizon Canopy
1 Kher Keep
1 Karakas

30 Spells:
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Sylvan Library
4 Punishing Fire
4 Crucible of Worlds
4 Timely Reinforcements
4 Humility
3 Nahiri, the Harbinger
2 Batterskull
1 Centaur Vinecrasher

What else could I run for recurring filtering/tutoring in Naya colors? Daretti, Scrap Savant? Is that it? This deck just about folds to an active Jitte, too, and I want a way to beat it that's better than just Ye Olde Shatter. Preferably something also recurring. Thanks!
-Frogger

[TLK]

Ancient Grudge is solid removal for artifacts in these colors, or Krosan Grip.

[kinda]

So the big problem with Stompy/Stax decks tends to be the lack of draw and filtering. Outside of Blue (you'll see why there's no blue here) there's very little to make those decks play consistently. So, if you can, I've got two questions at the end:

30 Mana:
4 Mox Diamond
4 City of Traitors
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
3 Wasteland
3 Windswept Heath
2 Plains
1 Plateau
1 Savannah
2 Horizon Canopy
1 Kher Keep
1 Karakas

30 Spells:
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Sylvan Library
4 Punishing Fire
4 Crucible of Worlds
4 Timely Reinforcements
4 Humility
3 Nahiri, the Harbinger
2 Batterskull
1 Centaur Vinecrasher

What else could I run for recurring filtering/tutoring in Naya colors? Daretti, Scrap Savant? Is that it? This deck just about folds to an active Jitte, too, and I want a way to beat it that's better than just Ye Olde Shatter. Preferably something also recurring. Thanks!
-Frogger

-4 timely reinforcements (sb...possibly...) -3 nahiri -1 centaur

+4 some combination of good cards. suggestions: ensnaring bridge, better planeswalkers that can win the game with humility in play, o-ring.

[frogger42]

-4 timely reinforcements (sb...possibly...) -3 nahiri -1 centaur

+4 some combination of good cards. suggestions: ensnaring bridge, better planeswalkers that can win the game with humility in play, o-ring.

Good idea. But totally wrong.

Don't play Ensnaring Bridge. Ever.

[Scott]

What else could I run for recurring filtering/tutoring in Naya colors? Daretti, Scrap Savant? Is that it? This deck just about folds to an active Jitte, too, and I want a way to beat it that's better than just Ye Olde Shatter. Preferably something also recurring. Thanks!
-Frogger

Have you considered Life from the Loam over Crucible of Worlds? It's card filtering (+ advantage obviously) and plays well with your a.) Punishing Fire b.) Mox Diamond c.) even SB Ancient Grudge if you include it.

Some off-the-wall-but-you-never-know card selection possibilities:

- Magma Jet
- Crystal Ball

[frogger42]

Have you considered Life from the Loam over Crucible of Worlds? It's card filtering (+ advantage obviously) and plays well with your a.) Punishing Fire b.) Mox Diamond c.) even SB Ancient Grudge if you include it.

Some off-the-wall-but-you-never-know card selection possibilities:

- Magma Jet
- Crystal Ball

Hmm, cool ideas Scott. I didn't think to use Scry as a way of filtering. That said, this deck takes FOREVER to win, so ideally, something that hits the field and scry's every turn would be idea. I think that's why I'd rule out Magma Jet... for now.

Crystal Ball is a cool idea, though. I'm going to rule that one out because I don't feel it's all that powerful in Legacy - Sylvan Library barely makes the cut in a lot of decks, and Ball needs mana to activate, plus it's another mana to cast (plus it doesn't draw cards). But I could definitely hunt down something that scry's, especially with Sylvan in the deck. Thanks!

PLUS - LftL seems really solid, too. I personally like my Crucibles better, it's just more in the Stax style of playing, because you win in like 17 turns. I think Sol Lands -> Crucible is a bit more natural for this deck, less mana intensive, but either would be fine, really.

[Scott]

You're welcome and good luck!

[jafar]

I tried a deck like this,being a stax lover, and I strongly suggest awakening zone if you are planning to play 4x humility. Zone serves for multiple purpose: finisher, mana "dork" and food for smokestack.

Bye

[bruizar]

Play sudden shock. You need it against mentor and infect which are both capable of denying you humility (wear/tear and counterspells, and infect just killing you before can blink).

Wear // tear is also an idea against counterbalance. You are also missing something against true name nemesis besides humility.

[frogger42]

Play sudden shock. You need it against mentor and infect which are both capable of denying you humility (wear/tear and counterspells, and infect just killing you before can blink).

Wear // tear is also an idea against counterbalance. You are also missing something against true name nemesis besides humility.

Wear/Tear is okay, I guess, but I have half that in Nahiri. Also, I've played against a playset of TNN. 4x Humility is plenty.

And Sudden Shock... play the deck before you suggest bad MUs. That's jumping the gun, I'd say. Thanks though.

(Awakening Zone is kinda neat, though. I wish there were a token generating PW'er that filtered...)

[bruizar]

Wear/Tear is okay, I guess, but I have half that in Nahiri. Also, I've played against a playset of TNN. 4x Humility is plenty.

And Sudden Shock... play the deck before you suggest bad MUs. That's jumping the gun, I'd say. Thanks though.

(Awakening Zone is kinda neat, though. I wish there were a token generating PW'er that filtered...)

Good luck developing your deck

[Mr. Headshot]

Interesting deck! I'd played dutch stax for a while (splashing blue for jace,...)

Some suggestions:
- Adding "elspeth the knight errant". 3 nice abilities.
- Adding "Goblin Charbelcher + Proteus Staff", but you need te splash for blue and run some manlands. Destroy you own token/manland and rearrange your library putting lands down en Goblin Charbelcher on top. Win next turn.
- Adding "Ghirapur Æther Grid". Perhaps increasing the artifact count.

Opponents who run equipments can be very tough.

[ntropy]

So the big problem with Stompy/Stax decks tends to be the lack of draw and filtering. Outside of Blue (you'll see why there's no blue here) there's very little to make those decks play consistently. So, if you can, I've got two questions at the end:

30 Mana:
4 Mox Diamond
4 City of Traitors
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
3 Wasteland
3 Windswept Heath
2 Plains
1 Plateau
1 Savannah
2 Horizon Canopy
1 Kher Keep
1 Karakas

30 Spells:
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Sylvan Library
4 Punishing Fire
4 Crucible of Worlds
4 Timely Reinforcements
4 Humility
3 Nahiri, the Harbinger
2 Batterskull
1 Centaur Vinecrasher

What else could I run for recurring filtering/tutoring in Naya colors? Daretti, Scrap Savant? Is that it? This deck just about folds to an active Jitte, too, and I want a way to beat it that's better than just Ye Olde Shatter. Preferably something also recurring. Thanks!
-Frogger

Abundance can combo with Sylvan Library for raw card advantage and acts as a filter on its own. Mirri's Guile filters, but it runs into your Chalices. Life from the Loam can work with cycling lands as a draw engine. Trading Post can produce tokens and draw cards. Staff of Nin draws cards and shoots down humble foes.

I think
Ajani Vengeant
Life from the Loam
Awakening Zone
Enlightened Tutor
are all worth considering. Tutor can give you access to a toolbox of hate cards as well:
Rest in Peace
Ghostly Prison
Suppression Field
Oblivion Ring
Leyline of Sanctity
Story Circle
Smokestack
Ensnaring Bridge
Elephant Grass
Ground Seal
Pyrostatic Pillar
Blood Moon
Choke
whatever you need in addition to the card advantage engines of Sylvan and Crucible and the Board control of Humility and Chalice.

Wrath of God
Cataclysm
Earthquake
are all considerations as well.

[frogger42]

Abundance can combo with Sylvan Library for raw card advantage and acts as a filter on its own. Mirri's Guile filters, but it runs into your Chalices. Life from the Loam can work with cycling lands as a draw engine. Trading Post can produce tokens and draw cards. Staff of Nin draws cards and shoots down humble foes.

I think
Ajani Vengeant
Life from the Loam
Awakening Zone
Enlightened Tutor
are all worth considering. Tutor can give you access to a toolbox of hate cards as well:
Rest in Peace
Ghostly Prison
Suppression Field
Oblivion Ring
Leyline of Sanctity
Story Circle
Smokestack
Ensnaring Bridge
Elephant Grass
Ground Seal
Pyrostatic Pillar
Blood Moon
Choke
whatever you need in addition to the card advantage engines of Sylvan and Crucible and the Board control of Humility and Chalice.

Wrath of God
Cataclysm
Earthquake
are all considerations as well.

Hi ntropy! These are all awesome suggestions! I just want to highlight a few:

En Tutor - runs into my own Chalices... :(. Also card disadvantage... I'm not a huge fan of it outside of DnT.

BUT:
Trading Post - Gain 4 life is great with Sylvan.
Choke - I totally forgot about this bad boy. Going in the SB.
Ajani Vengeant - Also really cool with Sylvan, gain 3 life, zap a dude.
Abundance - I'm super happy you found this card. I was thinking of initially jamming a few copies in, but... I think Alhammarret's Archive is simply better, and easier to cast with Sol Lands. Still... I feel like Archive is a "win more" kinda of card, even with Batterskulls. But mentioning Abundance is an awesome step in the right direction for this deck. Glad you paid attention to the list.
Wrath of God - Yes, good. Quite good. Cataclysm - eats my PW'ers and lands. Probably not so hot.

I also found a Stax answer to Jitte. I'm going to try it tonight, if my store has any of them. It fits perfectly in the deck, minus the "eh" factor of the casting cost.
(Ideally I'd jam Dack Fayden, he's perfect. But no room for a 3rd color...)

Oh, and lastly - Suppression Field. The deck as it stands can just about run 4x of them, MD or SB. Few changes to this list, and it only slows down the lands, which really is fine (stops DRS, PW'ers, Top, Aether Vial). I've been tinkering with a list that's not so hot on Suppression Field, though...

[Jakobian1010]

Am I missing something? Smokestack isn't even in the list?

[frogger42]

Am I missing something? Smokestack isn't even in the list?

Terrible card is terrible.

Smokestack didn't name the archetype, though a common confusion.

[apocolyps6]

Realms Uncharted might be worth looking at. Especially with a Petrified Field and maybe a Buried Ruin.

[morgan_coke]

I think you want a Realms Uncharted package, including singleton copies of Dark Depths and Thespian's Stage. You won't always have Humility in play, so including a "low cost" way to win with it missing is a good idea. I'd also look at some cycling cards. Forsake the Worthy is strong in White, Decree isn't the worst card in the world, and for draw have you looked at Cathartic Reunion? It's about as close as you're going to get to a Red Brainstorm, it works well with Crucible and extra lock pieces. Unlike Faithless Looting it also doesn't cost 1, so it dodges your chalices if you're worried about that. I'd keep the Nahiri's and add a single Emrakul, it protects you from decking, and again, if they get rid of Humility, or if you just haven't found it, "I win" button's are a good thing.

[frogger42]

I think you want a Realms Uncharted package, including singleton copies of Dark Depths and Thespian's Stage. You won't always have Humility in play, so including a "low cost" way to win with it missing is a good idea. I'd also look at some cycling cards. Forsake the Worthy is strong in White, Decree isn't the worst card in the world, and for draw have you looked at Cathartic Reunion? It's about as close as you're going to get to a Red Brainstorm, it works well with Crucible and extra lock pieces. Unlike Faithless Looting it also doesn't cost 1, so it dodges your chalices if you're worried about that. I'd keep the Nahiri's and add a single Emrakul, it protects you from decking, and again, if they get rid of Humility, or if you just haven't found it, "I win" button's are a good thing.

Realms Uncharted is pretty neat. I tend to run Blue, so... my main complaint is that "it's no Intuition," which is simply an amazing card. I think Realms is really great when you have Crucible of Worlds, but otherwise, it's probably fairly weak. Netting the two weakest lands out of 4... on its own, I feel Realms is tool-box-y, but maybe lacking the power I'd like just as a card on its own, minus Crucible. The thing I like about it better than Living Wish is that it shuffles the deck for Sylvan to become more useful.

Cathartic Reunion is kinda cool, but I think Daretti Scrap Savant is a far better choice. The reasoning behind that is that a PW'er gets to activate every turn, and Stax decks in particular take several, too many turns to win. By the time you pressure your opponent, they've been locked down for 3-4 turns (Humility, Chalice) and also, Daretti is far more flexible a draw spell than Reunion. But that's a cool card to bring up. (I just want a draw spell like Dack Fayden...) I can't seem to find room for Daretti, tbh.

Emrakul is in the SB. I'm not positive I want to add it MD! With Crucible, discarding Emrakul sets you back. And Vinecrasher Centaur... while no Emrakul, does get through Humility.

Thanks for the suggestions! Decree does sound fun to run... I've kinda missed it these past 10 years...