[Deck] UG Stax

[MysticBlue]

I'd like to seek your feedback on this build:

1 Academy Ruins
1 The Tabenacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Wasteland
1 Faerie Conclave (Recurring defense, alternate wincon, picked over Mishra's Factory because it flies)
1 Gods' Eye, Gate to the Reikai (feed Stax!)
4 Crystal Vein
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
4 Tropical Island
4 Island

1 Silent Arbiter (vs swarm decks based on EtW or Goblin-esque)
1 Eater of Days (primary wincon) [still deciding vs Meloku: Eater ends the game faster, but really requires you to have Stax-lock before hitting the table. Meloku is handy on defense, but cannot recur via Academy Ruins if destroyed, which is a BIG minus for a singleton win-con!]

4 Lotus Petal (these two are here to allow for sufficiently explosive starts to keep up with the modern aggro/combo game...)
4 Mox Diamond
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Pithing Needle
1 Winter Orb
1 Powder Keg
3 Trinisphere
1 Crucible of Worlds
2 Smokestack
2 Chalice of the Void
4 Intuition (These two are the heart and soul of the deck. There are so many permutations based on board state that it would be impossible to explain how each works given what situation!)
4 Gifts Ungiven
4 Exploration (feed Stax! multiple Wasteland-ing!)
1 Regrowth
1 Recollect (included over Regrowth no. 2 for interaction with Gifts, 1 mana is not generally a big problem)

SB:
so far, i've only come up with -
1 Defense Grid (vs control)
1 Jester's Cap (to truly eviscerate combo decks)
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Vedalken Shackles (I'm not sure I have enough Islands to support it!)
4 Naturalize (all-round useful)
(1 Life from the Loam as backup?)
(1 Mishra's Factory as backup?)
(1 Petrified Field as part of Gifts suite?)



This deck relies more on a toolbox build than previous Stax builds that I have seen, and achieves reliability by the use of Gifts and Intuition. To give time and space for use of these though, I have included Mox Diamonds and Lotus Petals, which when combined with the Stax 2-mana-land base, allows for a very decent chance of opening your turn with either a Gifts or an Intuition for lock pieces missing from your hand, or even with a relevant lock piece. There are a number of different lock pieces, each useful in different situations, and it really is up to the player to decide which is the most relevant! I'd expect to have 1, maybe 2 *relevant* lock pieces out by turns 2/3 each game, making life difficult for any opposing deck.

There are a number of recur-ers, from Crucibles, to Academy Ruins, to Regrowth/Recollect, which provide robustness against disruption/counterspelling.

From personal experience, if I'm not dead already I'm always impatient to find Eater of Days and end it by turns 4-6, when an almost unbreakable lock is achieved, but I guess I'm impatient that way.

[ClearSkies]

If you have a hard-lock, why can't you just use Mishra's factory or that Fairy Conclave you got there.. They go well with Crucible of Worlds...

Something about that Eater of Days seems like a win-more card...

Why the Winter Orb? It would seem like it would slow you down quite a bit since your stuff don't all cost 2 mana or something.

How about Propaganda? Relying on a single Silent Arbiter seems a bit risky.

[technogeek5000]

Umm, 2 quick suggestions. Take out lotus petal, this deck wants permanent mana sources. Try Sylvan library, its good for finding lock pieces.

Also no propaganda?

[Aggro_zombies]

jamest was working on a deck like this, so PM him about it. I also think you should drop the Lotus Petals, but replace them with Elvish Spirit Guides, as the ESGs can always be hardcast in the late game to beat down ftw. Also, not so keen on a Stax deck not packing Chalice...Chalice at one and two is such a kick in the nuts to so many decks in the format that it's hard to justify not running it. Exploration is not very good in Stax (you'll blow through your hand very quickly), so replace them with Chalice.

EDIT: Eater is the biggest fucking win-more card you could possibly put in this deck, followed by Meditate. Hell, I'd use Chronatog Totem over the Eater any day, because the Totem is at least useful all the time.

[outsideangel]

You could include the Time Vault combo in here as a Gifts target. It's probably better than a toolbox, because usually just winning is a pretty strong play.

[MysticBlue]

Hmm... after taking on board the suggestions, here is an updated decklist

1 Academy Ruins
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Gods' Eye, Gate to the Reikai
1 Nomad Stadium (More than anything else, this allows continued use of Ancient Tombs late game, and prevents a single creature which escaped your lock to beat you down before you can recur an answer like EE, or wait for the Stax to get rid of it)
1 Wasteland
1 Mishra's Factory (I realized that by the time I'm using this to beat, flying shouldn't be an issue, and since the Factory doesn't CITP and costs 1 less to activate, it's much more relevant early game when it matters most)
4 Crystal Vein
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
4 Gemstone Mine (I have switched to a 5c manabase to support Nomad Stadium and the Time Vault-Flame Fusillade combo)
3 City of Brass

1 Silent Arbiter

4 Lotus Petal [This was not dropped, either altogether or in favour of ESG, because 1) This deck needs accel turns 1 and 2. 2) This deck frequently needs colourfixing for U, which ESG cannot provide! In summary, swapping Petal for ESG sacrifices VERY IMPORTANT early game consistency/explosiveness for some (probably unnecessary) late game finishing speed]
4 Mox Diamond
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Defense Grid (to defend the combo, and generally screw control over)
1 Time Vault
3 Trinisphere
1 Crucible of Worlds (Will just having one of Crucible and Smokestack be risky? They are supported by Academy Ruins after all...)
1 Smokestack
1 Engineered Explosives (5c manabase allows this to be run over Powder Keg much more effectively)
2 Chalice of the Void (If you notice, this was already in the original list)
1 Propaganda
4 Intuition
4 Gifts Ungiven
4 Exploration
1 Regrowth
1 Recollect
1 Flame Fusillade


Depending on the matchup, the typical turn 1 plays for this deck are Trinisphere, Chalice, Intuition, or more rarely, Gifts. A rather funny, but rare one which I've come across in random testing against Goblins (splashed G) was Wasteland, Petal, Exploration, Tabernacle - bye bye Lackey :tongue:.

I have included the Time Vault-Flame Fusillade combo as an addition, rather than as a centrepiece main wincon because in this deck, to recur the Time Vault/Flame Fusillade might take a few turns, which you might not have the luxury of in the early game. It's a good finisher though!

[Maveric78f]

You should have a look to the eternal garden thread. It's a bit less stax oriented but the game plans are just the same.

http://mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3668

[Nihil Credo]

Time Vault - Flame Fusillade doesn't work anymore (see the latest Oracle wording on Vault). You want to use Time Vault - Mizzium Transreliquat, which gives you infinite turns.

[MysticBlue]

You should have a look to the eternal garden thread. It's a bit less stax oriented but the game plans are just the same.


I originally drew inspiration from that and the various Stax builds running around. The fundamental change in philosophy I made from 5cGarden was focusing on bursting out of the gates early (a Stax mindset, achieved by sacrificing slots to Lotus Petal, and maxing out 2-mana lands) in order to allow Intuition and Gifts to play a larger role and thus to be able to play a more toolbox type deck which is more adaptable without seriously sacrificing stability/consistency over any of its predecessors.

The way this deck plays early game can sometimes seem closer to Suicide-style aggro, by devoting 2 or 3 cards into getting a single card on the table on turn 1/2. Difference is that this card is usually a relevant lock piece or significant speedbump rather than a beatstick, of course.

I must admit I sort of gave up reading long threads, but having been referred again, it appears that Eternal Garden and this build seem to be converging, but are still some way off from being the same...

I'll continue accepting suggestions and making changes here, and we'll see if these two decks converge one day!

--------------------

1 Academy Ruins
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale (or Maze of Ith - metagame dependent)
1 Gods' Eye, Gate to the Reikai
1 Wasteland
1 Mishra's Factory
4 Crystal Vein
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
4 Gemstone Mine
3 City of Brass

1 Silent Arbiter

4 Lotus Petal
4 Mox Diamond
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Zuran Orb [better than Nomad Stadium, tech from 5cGarden]
1 Defense Grid
1 Time Vault
3 Trinisphere
1 Mizzium Transreliquat
1 Crucible of Worlds (Will just having one of Crucible and Smokestack be risky? They are supported by Academy Ruins after all...)
1 Smokestack
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Chalice of the Void
1 Propaganda (or Arcane Laboratory - again metagame dependent!)
4 Intuition
4 Gifts Ungiven
4 Exploration
1 Regrowth (In an ideal world unlimited by deck space, I'd have 2 of each to allow 2 reliable Intuition/Gifts piles)
1 Recollect

Sideboard:

1 Pithing Needle (I really want this MD, but I don't have sufficient playskill to recognize decks and use it game 1)
1 Arcane Laboratory (or Propaganda!)
1 Life from the Loam (again, this combo might be useful MD if I could find space for it!)
1 Solitary Confinement
1 Tranquil Thicket
3 Constant Mists
3 Yixlid Jailer (Questionable inclusion in the SB vs Cephalid Breakfast/Tog-builds)
1 Krosan Grip
1 Disenchant
1 Naturalize
1 Crucible of Worlds

-------------------------

The way this deck plays now, you spend turns 1-3/4 playing speedbumps, which can also turn into lockpieces eventually when enough of them turn up.

By about turns 4-6/7, you should have a good lock, solidifying gradually into Stax strangle in a turn or 2.

Once you've stabilized, an Intuition or Gifts should dump Time Vault and Mizzium Transreliquat into your graveyard, recur with Academy Ruins (generally fetched early as part of a Intuition/Gifts pile with Crucible) ftw in another 2-3 turns before decks manage to find an answer to the Stax-lock.

After sideboarding, you have Loam-Confinement as an additional lock, Arcane Laboratory to speedbump/lock combo, Mists to speedbump/lock aggro.

Unfortunately, there really isn't anything else to improve the control matchup (other than Naturalize effects to remove the usual opposing enchantment/artifact based lock pieces), but mana-denial is usually sufficient, when combined with 3sphere and Defense Grid in the MD. Against control, one could consider an aggressive combo game, using the first Gifts pile of Transreliquat-Vault-Regrowth-Recollect to set up a turn 4/5 combo.

[ClearSkies]

If you set up the Time Vault / Mizzium Transreliquat combo, it kind of makes the lockdown a win-more in a way. Also, once you achieved infinite turns, the lock doesn't really affect the opponent at all.

Having only 1 Smokestack and only 1 Crucible of the World seems rather inconsistent.

[MysticBlue]

Having played around with the new build a bit, I've realized what ClearSkies says is true - drawing one of the 2 combo pieces early = dead draw.

In a deck which already has an early game teetering on an edge, one cannot afford dead draws early, well, as dead as this anyway. So, I've moved the combo to the sideboard and brought in the more relevant, more synergistic Loam-Confinement combo instead.

Also, recurring beats has been changed from Factory to Genesis, partly for minor synergy with Confinement, more so for synergy with Eternal Witness, which acts as Regrowth effect no. 3 as well to stabilize Intuition/Gifts piles.

Updated build:

1 Academy Ruins
1 Maze of Ith (or The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale - metagame dependent, but I've changed my mind. I prefer the interaction of Maze with Arbiter)
1 Gods' Eye, Gate to the Reikai
1 Wasteland
1 Tranquil Thicket
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Secluded Steppe
4 Crystal Vein
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
4 City of Brass
1 Riftstone Portal

1 Silent Arbiter
1 Genesis As a finisher, it's faster than Factory. And it recurs Witness. And it comes back on its own if shit hits the fan and Crucible eats a Naturalize type effect. And it's a relevant size for the modern Legacy metagame. Included.
1 Eternal Witness Sometimes, it all goes pear shaped and your stuff gets RFGed. For all other occasions, there's the Witness Protection Programme. Seriously though, useful for fetching Solitary Confinement if you've used it as a temporary measure in the past, for reusing Gifts/Intuitions, stabilizing the Gifts piles, etc. etc.

4 Lotus Petal
4 Mox Diamond
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Zuran Orb
2 Trinisphere
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Smokestack
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Chalice of the Void
1 Propaganda (or Arcane Laboratory - again metagame dependent!)
4 Intuition
4 Gifts Ungiven
4 Exploration
1 Life from the Loam Crucible backup, lock piece on its own, easier to set up with Intuition/Gifts than Crucible, and therefore better early game and more relevant than Mizzium Transreliquat/Time Vault anytime before combo goes off!
1 Regrowth
1 Recollect
1 Solitary Confinement Lock piece, can convert cards in hand into stalling time if desperate. Recur via Eternal Witness if so abused.

Sideboard:

1 Pithing Needle (I really want this MD, but I don't have sufficient playskill to effectively recognize decks and use it game 1)
1 Defense Grid SBed because I figure Stax should be sufficient vs Control builds in game 1, or rather, including Grid at the expense of anti-aggro or combo weakens the overall game 1 of this deck
1 Time Vault In SB in case you want to race the control mirror
1 Mizzium Transreliquat
1 Smokestack In case someone is packing some sort of RFG effect
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Arcane Laboratory/Propaganda
3 Constant Mists
2 Yixlid Jailer (Questionable inclusion in the SB vs Cephalid Breakfast/Tog-builds, please discuss/comment)
1 Krosan Grip
1 Disenchant
1 Naturalize


What I really like about this deck is the extremely complex decision tree involved in Intuition/Gifts (I think practicing with something like this is the best way to improve my playskill), which stems from the flexibility and adaptability inherent in the wide variety of 1-ofs in this deck. It is also robust in as much as there are a variety of ways to recur your threats, and therefore less prone to control/disruption. Also, because there's such a wide variety of answers, the loss of 1 or 2, whilst a setback, will rarely leave you stranded. Can you tell I'm a Johnny at heart? :smile:

This is really turning into UGw Gifts Stax, isn't it?