[Deck] Stay Still (LandStill Revisited)

[quodo]

A long time ago, when Legacy was just a dream and people could play Mana Drain in their decks, control had a name : Landstill.
The aim of the deck was to wipe the board as many time as possible with Nevinyral's Disk, counter what needed to be countered, and then win the game using manlands such as Mishra's Factory.
But the golden era is far back, and despite all the good cards in the format, pure control in Legacy has never been as successful as it was.

Hopefully, the new sets brought us a few good cards and interactions which are still not used enough, despite there potential.

Stay Still is a Landstill-Based deck using a few different locks to win the game, using either Counterbalance+Sensei Divining Top or Humility+Moat.
The win conditions are either the man-lands, the dragon or the library when using the recursion engine provided by Academy Ruins.

But before continuing, here is the decklist I am currently testing.

// Lands
4 Flooded Strand
2 Faerie Conclave
1 Seat of the Synod
2 Plains
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Tundra
2 Polluted Delta
2 Island
1 Adarkar Wastes
1 Academy Ruins

// Creatures
1 Eternal Dragon

// Spells
4 Force of Will
4 Counterspell
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Humility
3 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Counterbalance
1 Moat
3 Standstill
3 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Repeal
1 Pithing Needle
1 Tormod's Crypt or AEther Spellbomb or Sunbeam Spellbomb
2 Enlightened Tutor

// Sideboard
2 Pithing Needle
2 Tormod's Crypt
4 Meddling Mage
4 Orim's Chant
3 Porphyry Nodes

So, let's discuss the main differences between this and Landstill :

First, the absence of board sweepers. I chose not to play any because I think they are not needed in today's metagame. And Nevinyral's Disk sadly disrupts the locks, and is therefor quite bad.

Then, the use of Counterbalance. This card is huge in Legacy. Many decks are just wiped away when you have either a 1 or 2 drop on top of your library, and this is good because your curve just fits in it. Moreover, the use of Sensei's Divining Top and to a lesser extent of Academy Ruins, Enlightened Tutor and Brainstorm allows for multiple ways to lock your opponent, and also to force him to play spells when you have dropped a Standstill.

The card advantage of the deck is mainly achieved through Thirst for Knowledge and Stanstill, but Counterbalance can also be seen as a card advantage generator.


Now, lets talk about the cards that could be considered maindeck :

Chimeric Sphere
Ensouled Scimitar
Thunder Totem
Those cards are all kills, and can be tutored and recursed.

Brain Freeze+Helm of Awakening
This combo kill could fit in the sideboard against control matchups, but would need BF in multiples because it is not tutorisable.

As of now, I can tell you the deck is a bit slow, and tend to stabilize around 5 life against aggro.
Against combo, preboard doesn't seem really good, but can be transformed thanks to counterbalance.
Against control, you will need counter+top+pithing in most cases, and you should be quite positive.

Matchups will be up as soon as possible, when I'll have tested against a good gauntlet.

Till then, feel free to comment.

[Cait_Sith]

You have no way on winning through Humility - Moat, and because of deck thinning and Standstill you will often end up decking yourself.

You play Academy Ruins but have far too cards to interact with it. It is just a source of colorless mana and a Wasteland target.

Speaking of Wasteland how do you win through it? Prayer? You have 6 man lands and 1 Eternal Dragon.

Ok, my recommendations: Drop Humility for a 2nd Moat, turn Academy Ruins into Faerie Conclave (If we have a Wasteland target, let's make it a good one).

You might want to try Crucible SB if your lands get hated on to often (or Stifle. Stifle is versatile and amazing vs Wasteland)

[quodo]

You have no way on winning through Humility - Moat

Why would you say that ? Under this lock, I have the choice either to kill with Conclave (which remains a flying creature) or to deck my opponent, either by locking my own draw with Ruins, or by making my opponent draw with my own Standstill.

About LD, I just played a few games against goblins and I'm still undefeated, even in games where he drew 2X wastelands+ Port and still won through it so I don't think I am that bad.

Last, the sideboard is not fixed right now, and will change a lot.

[Maverick676]

Under humility faerie conclave will lose flying.

[quodo]

In fact you are wrong (I think).

(quoted from the humility post)

For example, a Nantuko Monastery will have first strike if you activate it after Humility enters play. This is because Humility's "all creatures lose all abilities" text and Monastery's "Monastery becomes a creature with first strike" text both apply in layer 5, and thus timestamp is applied.



Other example :

Phyrexian Totem 3
Artifact

T: Add B to your mana pool.
2B: Phyrexian Totem becomes a 5/5 black Horror artifact creature with trample until end of turn.
Whenever Phyrexian Totem is dealt damage, if it's a creature, sacrifice that many permanents.
When you activate the Totem's second ability, it creates a continuous effect with three parts, each of which apply in a different layer:

1) Totem becomes a Horror artifact creature until end of turn. This applies in layer 4.
3) Totem is black and has trample until end of turn. This applies in layer 5.
2) Totem becomes a 5/5 until end of turn. This applies in (sub)layer 6b.

The Oracle text of Humility:
Quote:
2WW
Enchantment

All creatures lose all abilities and are 1/1.
Humility creates a continuous effect with two parts:

1) All creatures lose all abilities. This applies in layer 5.
2) All creatures are 1/1. This applies in (sub)layer 6b.

Obviously, there is no conflict with Totem becoming a Horror artifact creature. Humility has no control over types.

However, there is a conflict in layer 5. Totem's ability wants Totem to be black and to have trample. Humility doesn't care what color Totem is, but it doesn't want it to have trample. Since all of this is going on in layer 5, we have to look at timestamp to figure out which effect wins out. Assuming Humility is already in play when the Totem's ability resolves, the Totem's ability will have the later timestamp, and thus will overrule Humility's effect.

So, the Totem will be black and will have trample.


Now I may be wrong but I don't think so.

[outsideangel]

Manlands > Humility, if I remember correctly.

Moat > Mishra's Factory, however.

[ForceofWill]

// Spells
3 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Counterbalance

[scrumdogg]

You have no way on winning through Humility - Moat, and because of deck thinning and Standstill you will often end up decking yourself.

You play Academy Ruins but have far too cards to interact with it. It is just a source of colorless mana and a Wasteland target.

Speaking of Wasteland how do you win through it? Prayer? You have 6 man lands and 1 Eternal Dragon.

Ok, my recommendations: Drop Humility for a 2nd Moat, turn Academy Ruins into Faerie Conclave (If we have a Wasteland target, let's make it a good one).

You might want to try Crucible SB if your lands get hated on to often (or Stifle. Stifle is versatile and amazing vs Wasteland)

Academy Ruins allows him to get back Crypt/Spellbomb infinitely for a draw-out win. Ruins also allows him to get back a Top, if for some mysterious reason they end up in the yard. You are correct in stating that Crucible would be a good fit, to recur man-lands & the lone Academy. Humility + Moat is a fine lock condition, if you can find it in time & then survive the process. How has 1x of Moat & Humility with only 2x Enlightened Tutor been holding up for you, especially with out any board sweep? I'm having difficulty believing that is fast enough Game 1 vs Goblins & robust enough Games 2 & 3 if they are sideboarding correctly (unless they are mono-red, in which case you have the possibility to make them cry....).

Have you considered a red splash (1x Volcanic Island or Plateau) with the Crucibles & the Spellbomb that can actually produce a victory? Academy Ruins + Pyrite Spellbomb would be an actual win condition under your Locks, which might very well become important in tournament conditions. Going to time every round is not only draining but dangerous, as going 0-0-4 isn't likely to move you into Top 8, just ask those Shaharazad players (the ones we haven't burned at the stake yet, that is) :cool:

[Nihil Credo]

I notice two things in the deck:
1) A strong lack of board control. If you don't draw into the 2 Tutors/1 Moat, you are left to handle aggro with 6 manlands, 4 StP, and a bunch of countermagic. Anyone who's ever played against Goblins know that that isn't enough to contain them, and the other aggro decks (Faerie Stompy, Red Death, Angel Stompy) have powerful creatures that trample all over manlands.
2) What's the use for Repeal? It's a bounce spell that actually loses you tempo (against Goblins, that is). Oddly enough, Unsummon would work better, since you don't care about the card disadvantage as you're going to lock them out with Moat anyway. But more realistically, I'd see those three slots used for some more board control (see point #1).

I agree with you that Wrath is not quite powerful enough in the format. My suggestion is Ghostly Prison. It slows Goblin down to a crawl, hoses TES' Empty the Warrens plan, and it's annoying for Threshold as well. It's pretty redundant with Moat, but hey, so is Wrath. At least Ghostly Prison can be cast off a single W (which is VERY important against Wastes and Ports).

[Cait_Sith]

I think Propaganda would be better than Ghostly Prison in this deck because he pretty much loses without a U source anyway, he'll be careful to keep one, and it can be pitched to FoW in a pinch.

[Finn]

I have been wondering why it has taken so long for Humility to end up in Landstill. Since the new rules surrounding its relationship to manlands, this seems like the way to take the deck. I would seriously consider trying out elements of whatever version of Rabid Wombat IBA is backing right now, and upping the Humility count. That card can wreck plenty of opponents out there on its own. Also, there were a bunch of Wombat variations a year or two ago. You may want to look for a UW one to see what it did.

BTW, your game against fast combo looks a bit weak. It could stand some work.

Nice deck. Lots of small improvements imo.

[Epheniculles]

I think Propaganda would be better than Ghostly Prison in this deck because he pretty much loses without a U source anyway, he'll be careful to keep one, and it can be pitched to FoW in a pinch.

Ghostly Prison > Propaganda

Ghostly Prison doesn't die to a REB.

[Cait_Sith]

Propaganda > Ghostly Prison

Propaganda can feed a Force of Will while staying in the primary color for this deck.

Other than that I love Prison more, but we gotta do what we gotta do.

[Nihil Credo]

Yeah, absolutely Propaganda > Prison. I actually realised it after turning off my computer last night.

[quodo]

Ok so after further testing, and having considered everyone's comments, here is my new version of the deck :

// Lands (22)
4 Flooded Strand
2 Faerie Conclave
2 Plains
4 Mishra's Factory
3 Tundra
2 Polluted Delta
2 Island
2 Volcanic Island
1 Academy Ruins

// Spells
4 Force of Will
4 Counterspell
4 Brainstorm
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Humility
3 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Counterbalance
2 Standstill
3 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Crucible of Worlds
4 Fire/Ice
1 Pithing Needle
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
2 Enlightened Tutor


Some of the changes have been made in order to facilitate the aggro matchup, because it was most of the time 50/50.

I am currently asking myself if Landstill is that usefull to the deck.

Removing the 2 last one would allow me to bring Eternal Dragon (or a Decree) back, and to add at least another good part to the Enlightened toolbox. (Which could be an artifact land).

Fire/Ice should improve the combo matchup a bit, either by killing goblins or stalling the game.

Any suggestions ?

[holkenborg]

Although this topic is dead for over 2 years now, I'll try to give a new impulse :smile:

My build of toolbox Landstill (as I'm calling it)

2 Academy Ruins
1 Faerie Conclave
4 Flooded Strand
2 Island
4 Mishra's Factory
2 Plains
1 Polluted Delta
4 Tundra
3 Wasteland
1 Windswept Heath

4 Brainstorm
3 Counterspell
2 Crucible of Worlds
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Enlightened Tutor
1 Exalted Angel
4 Force of Will
2 Hoofprints of the Stag
1 Humility
1 Moat
1 Seal of Cleansing
4 Standstill
4 Stifle
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Wrath of God

Sideboard
1 Circle of Protection: Red
1 Humility
1 Mana Maze
1 Moat
1 Pithing Needle
1 Rule of Law
2 Sacred Ground
4 Spell Snare
1 Tormod's Crypt

[raharu]

How is the lack of the CounterTop engine treating you?

[holkenborg]

I've played a long time with this deck (variant of it, without the Hoofprints) and tried to optimize it. Therefor I also tried CounterTop once, but I found the converted mana costs of the cards too high to be used for Counterbalance. If you want to run Counterbalance, your entire deck (90%) should be of mana costs 1 or 2, not 3 or 4.

[raharu]

TEC is using it fairly well, and thier curve is about as spread out than this deck's.

EDIT: really, CB would be better in the control "mirror" for this deck.

[holkenborg]

I changed my deck a little (please look for it is relevant for my sideboard). Maybe I could change the sideboard to:

1 Circle of Protection: Red
4 Counterbalance
3 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Moat
2 Sacred Ground
3 Spell Snare
1 Humility

[raharu]

I like that a good bit better, but I'm not really the one to be asking. Maybe Mr. Nightmare would be a better person to ask?

[Peter_Rotten]

HOLY Necro!

We have plenty of threads for Landstill already.