[Deck] UW(x) Landstill

Regarding Crucible of Worlds I have to say that I'm in line with TakeYourTime's argumentation that it'll get more useful against the respective decks once they board their otherwise useless point removal (Decay) out so in the end it remains its longevity. Besides there is always Academy Ruins. However, as like Iron Buddha correctly stated, they overall prevalence of Deathrite Shaman decreases the validity of many grave-based strategies, hence we might often find us not having enough targets for Crucible because fetchlands or wasted lands had been removed earlier. Nevertheless, this becomes less severe as the game further progresses because I think we are all content that Deathrite Shaman is to be removed as soon as possible so you can still make use of Crucible in the long run. Then again, I've found myself in situations where I'm pressingly in the need of answers because my opponent had a good Delver or Mongoose start-off and in these moments it feels highly awkward having a CC3 artifact in hand that does next to nothing in the first place. But, as we consented above, we have to keep in mind that Landstill's main strength is the late game and therefore we have to keep a sufficient mass of late game cards in the deck, hence Crucible seems legit once more. I hope we can get more notions of other landstill players on this matter.

As for Geist as a 1-of I can only say for now, due to limited testing, that he definitely serves his purpose of a fast clock quite well and altogether I think its safe to say that draws can be reduced by including him. On the other side, his neither an answer for threats (except for opponent's planeswalkers) nor specifically strong as a late game card because he doesn't play well along with mass removal and still gets outclassed by bigger creatures easily. I'm currently under the impression that he can provide nothing which you couldn't achieve with Elspeth and fast playing as well.

Moreover, I'd say that we have to share thoughts on Humility once again. I torn between running it maindeck and putting it in the sideboard or to leave it at all. First of, I'm definitely aware of it's power not just in tribal and creature-heavy areas. Humility is Landstill's way to establish a lastingly superior board situation when paired with cards like Mishra's Factory and Elspeth because now your creatures become at least equal or better than each of your opponent's. Also, as we all know, it shuts down utility creatures like Confidant, Stoneforge and mother of Runes. On the other hand, it's not necessarily the best answer when being under pressure, because 1/1s can still become a threat when in high quantities, especially when your on low life. It's also possible that the aforementioned permanent turning of the game state to your favor can also be achieved by Engineered Explosives when being recurred with Academy Ruins, but then again, we can't really assess the reliability of this strategy because of Abrupt Decay's and Deathrite Shaman's high prevalence right now.

I have found this thread( http://www.thecouncil.es/foro/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2255 ) about Antonio Escamilla's Landstill. He is one of the best spanish players of Landstill. He talks about his years playing Landstill and how he has changed the deck list. This is the last tournament he has participated with Landstill, in February 2013. http://www.mtgdecks.net/decks/view/45959 That's interesting see the experience of expert players

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Erdvermampfa

Moreover, I'd say that we have to share thoughts on Humility once again. I torn between running it maindeck and putting it in the sideboard or to leave it at all. First of, I'm definitely aware of it's power not just in tribal and creature-heavy areas. Humility is Landstill's way to establish a lastingly superior board situation when paired with cards like Mishra's Factory and Elspeth because now your creatures become at least equal or better than each of your opponent's. Also, as we all know, it shuts down utility creatures like Confidant, Stoneforge and mother of Runes. On the other hand, it's not necessarily the best answer when being under pressure, because 1/1s can still become a threat when in high quantities, especially when your on low life. It's also possible that the aforementioned permanent turning of the game state to your favor can also be achieved by Engineered Explosives when being recurred with Academy Ruins, but then again, we can't really assess the reliability of this strategy because of Abrupt Decay's and Deathrite Shaman's high prevalence right now.

---

Engineered Explosives isn't effected by Deathrite Shaman and if you can assemble Academy Ruins with EE then you how a decent lock if you can reach 3cc. The only thing to remember is to kill Deathrite first so if your Academy Ruins gets hit by wasteland you have time to get Crucible of Worlds into play to get it back. Humility does its best work when paired with Moat but as long as you aren't playing against fast aggro decks like zoo or swarm decks like Goblins Humility is good on its own because you can get to 4cc with a good life total a lot of the time and you are in a strong position once Humility is on the board

I'm trying to tune a Miracle Still list based on the one that top8ed Ghent last year.
There is no comparison when you are playing a Standstill control deck with 4 tops vs one without tops. Top is already amazing by itself so I opted to play the full playset, so I can play miracles as well. I'm playing 2 terminus and 1 Entreat.

Basically it's a Miracle list which plays Standstill instead of CB and it feels great. Red is by far the best support colour because of Reb and Pyroclasm.

[b] Uwr Miracle Still

//Main
4 Flooded Strand
4 Island
1 Plains
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Tundra
4 Mishra's Factory
1 Academy Ruins
1 Karakas
2 Volcanic Island

4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Spell Pierce
2 Supreme Verdict
3 Standstill
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Entreat the Angels
2 Counterspell
2 Terminus
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

//Sideboard
3 Vendilion Clique
2 Flusterstorm
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Pyroclasm
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Disenchant
1 Counterbalance

Ive been playing something similar, except with a tiny bit for focus on countermagic, and the pyroclasms in the mainboard, since my meta is fullof maverick/deaths taxes/elves/cascade... Pyroclasm has been surprisingly good vs the format md, kills just about everything besides goyf. Also, teeg hits supreme verdict, and I find I always either have taken too much damage pre verdict, or I'm killing 1-2 dudes, both are just not worth it. Clasm comes two turns earlier, costs the same as a rupt decay, and usually does the exact same job as verdict. It's easier to flashback with potential snapcasters as well.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kiblast

I'm trying to tune a Miracle Still list based on the one that top8ed Ghent last year.
There is no comparison when you are playing a Standstill control deck with 4 tops vs one without tops. Top is already amazing by itself so I opted to play the full playset, so I can play miracles as well. I'm playing 2 terminus and 1 Entreat.

Basically it's a Miracle list which plays Standstill instead of CB and it feels great. Red is by far the best support colour because of Reb and Pyroclasm.

[b] Uwr Miracle Still

//Main
4 Flooded Strand
4 Island
1 Plains
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Tundra
4 Mishra's Factory
1 Academy Ruins
1 Karakas
2 Volcanic Island

4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Spell Pierce
2 Supreme Verdict
3 Standstill
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Entreat the Angels
2 Counterspell
2 Terminus
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

//Sideboard
3 Vendilion Clique
2 Flusterstorm
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Pyroclasm
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Disenchant
1 Counterbalance

---

I played quite similar list a lot. Then I lost to RUG more than once and there went my interest. This deck does however roll over all those different cascade decks.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dsck

I played quite similar list a lot. Then I lost to RUG more than once and there went my interest. This deck does however roll over all those different cascade decks.

---

What would you change to adjust the matchup vs. Rug? Were you playing CB? Which combinations of spot removals / removal tools were you using?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kiblast

What would you change to adjust the matchup vs. Rug? Were you playing CB? Which combinations of spot removals / removal tools were you using?

---

I tried bunch of different options but the problem was having a decent finisher once you have stabilized (usually at 7 life). You want to play around: Daze/Spell Pierce/Stifle/Flusterstorm/Red Elemental Blast/Krosan Grip/Spell Snare/Lightning Bolt. I quess now that think about it Jötun Grunt could be okay. It is however very narrow and takes many SB slots.

I used to play 1 Counterbalance main (over 2nd Counterspell) and 2nd in the SB or E. Tutor. I dont think Surgicals are at their best here, you'd rather want RIP or Relic of Progenitus as those are also good vs RUG.

Lol @ this list:
http://thecouncil.es/tcdecks/deck.ph...0&iddeck=89260

Besides the fact that I will play Miracles at GP Paris I was taking this deck to our local tournament today. I didn't wanna beat everyone by playing Miracles, so I decided to play the clearly inferior Landstill. This was the draft list I put together the day before the tournament:

4 Tundra
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Flooded Strand
3 Scalding Tarn
1 Karakas
5 Island
3 Plains
4 Standstill
4 Supreme Verdict
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Brainstorm
4 Counterspell
3 Vendilion Clique
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
//Sideboard
4 Flusterstorm
2 Spell Snare
1 Spell Pierce
1 Rest in Peace
3 Timely Reinforcements
2 Batterskull
2 Baneslayer Angel

Round 1: UR Delver
I: I destroy all the threats he deploys, and while he is digging for more I beat him down with Mishra and Snapcaster. Before he can find anything he dies.
II: I make an mistake by acting too aggressively - leaving me with Force without pitch for one single turn - he gets down Vortex and I die.
III: I dominate the game with multiple Timely Reinforcements - but in the end it comes down to a race between his Vortex and my Clique and Mishra - which I happen to win at 1 life.
Best move was him attacking with 2 Goblin Guides and me brainstorming in response to triggers and putting two Islands on top. Who said Ancestral Recall was illegal?

1-0

Round 2: Team America
I: I open with 2 Swords and 2 Snapcaster, followed by another Sword from top. Nothing stays alive on his side, Mishra brings it home.
II: He chains Hymns but consecutive Brainstorms make me live long enough to eventually win with Elspeth - paired with Snapcaster and Mishra.

2-0

Round 3: Belcher/Oops-All-Spells-Hybrid
I: I know what he is on, mull to 4 to find Fetchland, Snapcaster Mage, Brainstorm and blank. He combos, I brainstorm, brick and die.
II: You know how these games work... got the counter? Gotcha!
III: See above.

3-0

Round 4: Team America
I: I go Island go, he plays Deathrite, I play Standstill with Mishra, he dazes - next turn I play another which sticks. He wastes my Mishra but as soon as I got another he is forced to move and can't keep up with the CA I have accumulated.
II: He deploys multiple threats which are taken away by Verdict, only to be followed up with Baneslayer Angel. He dies without real possibility to handle it- cause I had Counterspell, Jace and Batterskull in Hand.

4-0

First place, yaay. Deck was alot of fun and I will continue to play it for the lulz! Second time I took first with Landstill, btw: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...l=1#post690278

LONG LIVE LANDSTILL!

Greetings

http://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=h...ed=0CGcQrQMwBQ

4 Standstill
4 FoW
4 Jace
4 BS
4 STP
2 UAbsent
3 Snare
2 CS
3 Supreme Verdict
2 SCM
2 Clique
1 Elspeth
1 Ponder
36

4 Flooded Strand
4 Factory
2 Arid Mesa
2 Delta
4 Tundra
4 Island
2 Plains
1 Dustbowl
1 Kor Haven

SB:
1 PtE
1 Verdict
2 EE
4 Fluster Storm
3 RiP
1 Disenchant
2 Canonist
1 Needle

Will try this out now and tell you how flows.
:laugh:

So, Klaus, would you mind to tell us how the list turned out for you? In my view your list seems a bit slow due to the fact that you run 8 CC4 spells. In my experience, 6 CC4 cards are the Maximum lest the deck becomes too incosistent and makes you end with unbearable Hands. Additionally, you don't run Top that usually ensures your landdrops which is crucial for this deck. In Standstill-control decks, Sensei's Top appears to me to be the best way to enable Standstill because you get yourself in a highly favorable position if you manage to drop a Standstill above a Top to the extend that it obliges your opponent to break SS immediatly. I can't see any reason why that singleton Ponder shouldn't be Top except for Snapcaster, but that is neglectable since you have a plenty of other targets for him.

I know this deck isn't popular, but I was wondering if anyone has done anything with the RiP Helm combo. I have always wanted to find a shell where this fit and the list that made top-16 in an SCG Open recently (linked here) looks to do this very well.

Since Strands have cone down in price, I was thinking about messing around with this a little. So, does ANYONE still play this or a variant of it?

I play it in Vintage and sometimes in Legacy. Love me some Legacy legal Ancestral Recall.

I have seen a few players experimenting with an old school fish list that runs delver and man lands to abuse standstill, just like the good old days... I also feel like I have seen an article in starcity with a brew of "fish".

The DreadStill guys have been kicking around a UW version with the Torpor Orb flyer, but it's very different to the decks discussed here, of course.

Recently played a version of this deck to a 4-1-2 record at a local GPT for New Jersey. I came in 3-4 place. I went 3-0 then double ID into top 8. I was the 1 seed going into the top 8. It played like the old Landstill decks with cruse over standstill.

Match-ups
UWR Delver: 2-1; won with assemble racing a True Name-Nemesis with a Jitte
BUG Delver: 2-0; Game 1 Turn 4 Blood Moon won with Force and Daze Mana
Dark Maverick: 2-0; Killed all the dudes and drew all the cards
Double ID into top 8
Top 8: Dude scooped to me as top 8 spilt and played it out for byes. He isn't going to New Jersey.
Top 4: Lost to Hollywood on UR delver cruse deck. I haven't played against it and I ran out of steam game 1 and game 2 he cast all 4 cruse. It happens. Hollywood went on to win the buys. Good do and fun games.

Here is the list

Main:
4 Ponder
4 Brainstorm
4 Treasure Cruse
2 Jace, the Mindsculptor
1 Batterskull
1 Enlightened Tutor
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Council’s Judgement
1 Blood Moon
1 Keranos, God of Storms
1 Assemble the Legion
4 Force of Will
2 Spell Pierce
2 Counterspell
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Arid Mesa
3 Island
2 Plains
1 Mountain
3 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
1 Karakas

Board:
1 Null Rod
1 Pithing Needle
2 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
2 Flusterstorm
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Eidolon of rhetoric
1 Blood Moon
1 Council’s Judgement
2 Rest in Peace
1 Grafdigger’s Cage

The list was solid but thinking about the following changes:

Main:
4 Ponder
4 Brainstorm
4 Dig Through Time
2 Jace, the Mindsculptor
1 Batterskull
1 Enlightened Tutor
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Supreme Verdict
1 Council’s Judgement
1 Blood Moon
1 Keranos, God of Storms
1 Assemble the Legion
4 Force of Will
3 Spell Pierce
2 Counterspell
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Arid Mesa
3 Island
2 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
1 Karakas

Board:
1 Null Rod
1 Pithing Needle
2 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
2 Flusterstorm
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Blood Moon
1 Council’s Judgement
2 Rest in Peace
1 Grafdigger’s Cage

These changes lower the land count to 21. I got flooded almost every game as the 1-1 removal and fetches fill up delve for end of turn dig through time. The 6 basics are awesome and the Karakas would be a Tundra but it helps against Sneak and Show, Reanimator, Thalia decks,and Miracles (legends build). Please give me feed back. I understand this is like miracles without the miracles but plays different as you are not relying on top and have answers to early delvers, deathrites, and random dues (aka swift spear). The end game plan of Keranos, Jace, Batterskull, and Assemble the Legion have been awesome in testing. Especially Assemble because it survives -1/-1 effects and can't be pyroblasted after landing.

I loved the deck, sometimes still trying to play it.

Just few questions here:

- Why replace Cruise with Dig Through Time? (Impression, thoughts)
- Do you think Spell snare could be useful to fight opposing counterbalance (and a lot of other legacy Staples)?
- 21 lands isn' too few?

Thx,

Bye

Dig allows you to play more draw go. The land situation is the same as miracles with 1 Tundra over 1 Karkas. So far the games have played out as follows:
Turn 1-2 removal/counter early threats
Turn 3-4 ponder and more removal
Turn 4-5 Blood Moon and Dig Through Time
Turn X then win

I've been playing BUG Landstill off and on for the last 6 months or so. Since Treasure Cruise got printed I was contemplating reviving it, but looking your list is inspiring me to try something a little different. The trouble I always had was not being able to close the game quickly or efficiently enough once I had control. Assemble and Keranos look like great passive win conditions that constantly generate some kind of value, something I didn't have in BUG besides Loam (which really isn't a win condition or passive) letting you hold up countermagic. Deathrite, Liliana, Decay, and Deed are amazing cards, but they do constrain what you can do overall. Considering the post-TC meta, while Deed is a hell of a card, the way it informs the types of other answer cards you can play probably isn't the best choice. Permanent based hate is too critical now and probably even more so going forward, which Deed precludes.

Once I have the last few cards I need for this (I never got any Council's, also need a Keranos and Assemble), I will be testing this. I am going to see how your first build feels for me, as I think I would be more comfortable with more lands when my win conditions cost 4, 5, 5, and 5. Of course, you may well be right that Cruise makes it so you can do with less land, but I'd be fearful of opening too many 1-2 mana 7s that have to be mulled with only 21 lands.

The lands are the same as the 4 ponder miracles list. The cantrips help smooth out land drops and have action. Answering threats gives you time for consecutive land drops into end game bombs. This weekend so many people forced a bolt only to the creature get swords next turn. Then this 1-1 trade acts as delve fuel.

Nice deck, I used your finisher configuration (-1 Assemble the Legions) for my own take on UWR control today and it was quite nice. Did you ever have problems finishing in time? And how were your wins distributed between Jace Ultimate and Damage?

With all the red blast around, assemble was awesome. I'd say all my game wins came between blood moon, batterskull, and assemble. Jace ended up being a lightning rod that bought time. My new list with 21 lands has been testing decently. My major thought now is for the 60th card to be the 3rd Spell Pierce, 3rd Tundra, 1 pyroblast main, or 1 Engineered Explosives main. Right now it is Spell Pierce to have a more early game stack control to counter early cantrips or slam turn 4 blood moon. Please keep giving feed back. I am liking this as a control option to miracles.

Hey all,

I've been testing various UWR lists over the last couple months for Jersey and have ended up with a list that I think is competitive. I've gone 19-8 (total) in one small GPT (which I won) and several "daily" style events at my local shop (some cards have varied over that testing period). That said, I know that the best decks are never brewed by one person, and would really appreciate some help in optimizing the following list (especially considering my lack of experience with standstill generally). Any commentary is welcome, good or bad, and if there are any questions about the card choices please just let me know!

UWR Stonestill
Creatures (10)
4 – Stoneforge Mystic
2 – True-Name Nemesis
1 – Vendilion Clique
3 – Snapcaster Mage

Spells (28)
4 – Brainstorm
3 – Swords to Plowshares
4 – Lightning Bolt
4 – Force of Will
3 – Spell Pierce
2 – Pyroblast
2 – Standstill
3 – Treasure Cruise
1 – Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 – Umezawa’s Jitte
1 – Batterskull

Lands (22)

3 – Volcanic Island
3 – Tundra
2 – Island
1 – Plains
4 – Mishra’s Factory
4 – Flooded Strand
3 – Scalding Tarn
2 – Arid Mesa

Sideboard (15)
1 – Mountain
2 – Pyroclasm
1 – Swords to Plowshares
3 – Meddling Mage
2 – Rest in Peace
1 – True Name Nemesis
1 – Sword of Fire and Ice
1 – Pyroblast
1 – Blood Moon
1 – Wear//Tear
1 – Relic of Progenitus

In terms of the more common match ups my testing has indicated the following, in case you were wondering:

Elves: Unfavourable
Infect: Very Favourable
UR Delver: Favourable
Reanimator: Close
Death and Taxes: Favourable
RUG Cruise Delver: Unfavourable
Burn: Close
Miracles: Favourable

I don't have enough data on the other matches to really say one way or the other. Some of these results are only based on 2 tournament matches so it isn't by any means conclusive, just my impressions. Also: Main deck red blasts are the nuts. Try it.

Thanks!

P.S. -- Does anyone have a sense of how to play standstill in matches where an opponent may also be playing man lands? (I.e., tar pit out of deathblade?) Is it correct to not run out standstill if you don't have 1 or more factories, and is it correct to board them out? Just wondering how best to evaluate those situations.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by swordstoplowsharesguy

P.S. -- Does anyone have a sense of how to play standstill in matches where an opponent may also be playing man lands? (I.e., tar pit out of deathblade?) Is it correct to not run out standstill if you don't have 1 or more factories, and is it correct to board them out? Just wondering how best to evaluate those situations.

---

If they only run one man-land, I would probably keep them in. If they have more than one, I'd probably board them out. I would definitely board them out if they have man-lands and Wastelands though, that is far too risky.

@swordstoplowsharesguy

I feel like you certainly have the tools to beat Elves, I am surprised to see it be unfavorable. Maybe find room for some number Engineered Explosives? It's also very good against most of the Delver threats.

If you think or know that your opponent has man-lands, dropping standstill onto a naked board without some number of factory in hand or in play is incredibly dangerous. I have done it before with Top in play and still not gotten there in time. Lists in the past have sometimes run a 3/2 or 4/2 Factory/Wasteland split to mitigate this, but it is a lot of colorless lands to commit to.

I would say that it makes your 2 of Standstills an easier board-out target, but not a "must" board out necessarily as you will have a man-land numbers advantage. (If they don't also run Wasteland)

Rasing the dead for funnsies:

Won a small tournament today playing the following list:
4 Brainstorm, 4 Standstill, 3 Dig through Time, 1 Fact or Fiction
4 Force of Will, 4 Spell Snare, 4 Counterspell
4 Swords to Plowshare, 1 Path to Exile, 2 Councils Judgement, 1 Supreme Verdict
4 Snapcaster Mage
8 Fetch, 3 Tundra, 2 Volcanic Island, 4 Island, 2 Plains, 4 Mishra's Factorie, 1 Faerie Conclave

SB:
3 Supreme Verdict, 2 Vedalken Shackles, 3 Pyroblast, 1 Red Elemental Blast, 1 Isochron Scepter, 2 Vendilion-Clique, 1 Containment Priest, 2 Pithing Needle

Note: I just played stuff I wanted to (Shakles, Scepter, FoF) despite them being non-optimal. Did not include Jace because no particular reason.

R1 vs Junk
2 Easy games, G1 I resolve 4 Standstills and the second 2 Verdicts make short work of his creatures so I could win easily.

R2 vs Miracles (RIP-Helm-Engergy Field)
G1 is a grindfest but I've got the upper hand the whole time, when he's low on life he topdecks a Energy Flux which I let resolve, panicking for a moment since I allready used (and flashbacked) 1 of my Judgements and used like 2 Snapcasters.. some DTT's found me another SCM for the win.
G2 wasn't particular close either. I was low on lands (like 5-6 compared to his 10) but had the hand full of counters and won easily.

R3 vs Sneakshow
G1 He cantrips for a few turns while I build up a clock via Snapcaster-Beatdown and lose the final counterfight over a Sneak Attack barely but he's on 8, has no mana and only 1 card in hand while I have 8 power on the board.
G2 He cantrips for a while and I start to clock him with a Factorie.. After he has enough lands he slamms all 4 Sneak Attacks in 2 turns, I counter all of them and finish the game with a SCM and a Counterspell in hand.

R4 vs Painter
G1 I counter everything relevant and clock him (starting turn 15 or something though his Ancient Tombs helped), he puts down a Bridge which I let resolve. I kill him after I found a Council's Judgement for it.
G2 I see next to no counter (1 CS, 1 FoW in the whole game Oo) but would've won after a long grindy game but I manage to miss the second Grindstone on board and chose to destroy his 2 Bridges (to win within a turn) via my Blasts instead of his Painter.. doh.
G3 We don't have enough time.

R5 vs Dredge
G1 I stand no chance.
G2 I mull to 4, (3 lands, 1 StP) he to 6.. he never finds a dredge but starts beating me down with hardcasts DR (Street Wraight) and Flame Kin Zealots.. I can answer those and kill him with Containment Priets etc.
G3 He mulls to 5 while I keep a hand of Island, Plains, Factorie, StP, Verdict, 2 Counterspell. Thankfully he lacks action and I manage to draw another Island and my Counterspell turned actually good. I got rid of 2 Bridges via blocking an Ichorid with my Factorie, followed it up by a Verdict and then had enough StP's/SCM and counter to neutralize everything he did.

All in all 4-0-1 and had a good time countering stuff.

Nice report. Love the old school (no Jace) and new school (Dig) mix!

3 Mastery of the Unseen
3 Exalted Angel
3 Willbender
1 Phyrexian Dreadnought

4 Standstill
2 Sensei's Divining Top
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
2 Dig Through Time
2 Counterspell
2 Ponder
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Council's Judgement

4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
4 Mishra's Factory
3 Tundra
4 Island
2 Plains
1 Karakas

Sideboard:
2 Rest in Peace
1 Enlightened Tutor
2 Flusterstorm
2 Path to Exile
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Terminus
3 Counterbalance

Played this list for fun and cashed out of a local tournament.

Played Mastery because of its interaction with Standstill but mostly because I like the card almost as much as I like Exalted Angel. Flipped up Angel a few times and would've beaten 4c Delver with her but couldn't find 4th land. Never got to live the dream with Willbender, but people played around him a LOT once they saw I had him. I also sadly didn't see my singleton Dreadnought nor get to manifest him.

Beat BUG Control, The Gate, and Manaless Dredge while losing to 4c Delver (primarily off mana screw / bad keeps).

BUG Control decayed my first Mastery and died to the 2nd. The Gate can't beat Standstill (at least not that version w/o Chains), Manaless Dredge killed me g1, then insta-scooped to RIP both SB games. 4c Delver did the usual wastelanding / stifling of my mana. G2 I stood a chance but got BS locked and couldn't find the 4th land to flip Exalted Angel which he has no way of beating.

I'm excited to test Myth Realized -- allows for entirely creatureless control build which should be extremely strong. I think that card is going to drastically change Legacy.

That seems slightly janky and too much danger of cool things, imo.

I necro myself after a long hiatus from this forum (I don't play Legacy anymore anyways) to provide advice for a deck I used to love.

http://i.tcgplayer.com/96592.jpg

This is very good in Landstill. Under Standstill it threatens a clock that can grow large very fast- especially when considering that this deck only runs non-creature spells. In those draw-go dead turns you can toss mana into it. Basically it is manland 5-8 with the difference that it can't be Wastelanded and, unlike aggressive fish-esque builds which rely on Delver or Lavamancer, this doesn't die to Pyroblast/Lightning Bolt (if played correctly)/Liliana.

Special bonus: for those builds playing Sensei's Divining Top you can "combo out" with double SDT by drawing one into each other to grow Myth Realized to a very huge number of counters in short time.

What do you think? This and Dig Through Time may be a fresh breeze of air for the archetype. Given Landstill has naturally a good matchup against Miracle and is also slightly more resilient in the face of BUG, I would give these new toys a spin.

Here is the list I am currently running. I call it BitterStill. I first built the deck 4 years ago and got out of magic for 2 years and just got back in. I've played it now in 2x star city events (after upgrades!) and all my losses have been to fast combo decks... I have lost to TES 3 times, U/G cloudpost, and OOPS all spells....

I won games against Elves, Temer Delver, Death and Taxes, U/G infect, Shardless Agent, ReAnimator, Miracles, and R/G Depths/Lands.dec

I'm putting it out there because the event I played in Indy, I had several people around me asking for the list and said they would be interested in playing it. Hoping some of those people see this post and decides to try and sleeve it up and going forward could help with it's combo match ups!

Lands (23)
1 Creeping Tar Pit [WWK]
4 Flooded Strand [ONS]
1 Island [DDH]
1 Karakas [LEG]
4 Mutavault [MOR]
1 Plains [DDH]
4 Polluted Delta [ONS]
1 Scrubland [3ED]
3 Tundra [3ED]
3 Underground Sea [3ED]

Creatures (10)
3 Spellstutter Sprite [LRW]
4 Stoneforge Mystic [WWK]
3 True-Name Nemesis [C13]

Other Spells (27)
1 Batterskull [NPH]
4 Bitterblossom [MOR]
4 Brainstorm [5ED]
4 Force of Will [ALL]
3 Ponder
3 Spell Pierce [ZEN]
3 Standstill [ODY]
4 Swords to Plowshares [DDF]
1 Umezawa's Jitte [BOK]

Sideboard (12)
2 Containment Priest [C14]
2 Ethersworn Canonist [ALA]
2 Flusterstorm [CMD]
3 Rest in Peace [RTR]
2 Zealous Persecution
1 Vendilion Clique [MOR]

@picelli: haha get outta here, italian noob!
<3 from berlin.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Piceli89

http://i.tcgplayer.com/96592.jpg

This is very good in Landstill.

---

As soon as I saw that card I was talking with my group about testing it as a 2 of in my version. I'm not sure what it will replace yet, but I think it's worth a look.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by klaus

@picelli: haha get outta here, italian noob!
<3 from berlin.

---

You are still in the mtg-heroin circle, too, I see. Betcha sleevin' some gay stuff like Miracles :P. Get back the best version of yourself and buy again into Landstill.

@TnA: I think it's better to play the four-of. This could imply changing the aim of the deck from strictly controlling to something more aggro-control-esque, ala those UWr lists that did results time ago with Geists, Snaps and Cliques (if i remember correctly). I think Standstill has never been fully explored under an aggressive light with white (whereas UR is the only shell it is being played nowadays) but in that case. Myth Realized could help in speeding up the clock and getting the best out of conditional counterspells like Spell Pierce by pressuring your opponent to do something to not die, whereas traditional Landstill never had the opportunity to do so because frankly Mishra's Factory sucks in 2015 Legacy.

It also begs for a plethora of cheap spells (cc=1) i.e. the formula for winning decks in this format, so there would be little point to stick to the old "Wrath + Planeswalkers" equation, which by itself isn't enough anymore to be successful- because if that was the purpose, Miracles would be plain better.

Less talk, more demonstration:

23 lands

4 Standstill
4 Brainstorm
2-3 Ponder
(2 Dig Through Time)

4 Myth Realized
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 Geist/Vendilion Clique

4 Swords to Plowsharez
3 Lightning Bolt

4 FoW
3 Spell Pierce
3 Spell Snare (?)

Manabase is going to suck, but that's what you pay for having colorless lands in a tri-color shell. Ponder is there to mitigate this.

At a first glance this should fare well against fair decks and combo.
Myth allows to sit under a Standstill, making land-drops and growing a threat that is faster than Factory. Most of all, it leaves mana open, whereas pinging with Factory cuts you off mana to play Pierce against their Duresses/Show and Tells/ecc. when they decide to crack the Standstill, if doing so mainphase (i.e. without a Brainstorm).

Turn one Myth, turn two Standstill is also the "nut" start the previous incarnation missed, not having a turn one threat.

I hope this will see the light of the day somehow and find people smashing with 17/17 fake monks.

Oh baby, the smack talk in this thread is REAL!

Also, testing a sick UW Standstill deck I shall release soon.

Hey guys Landstill noob here!
Why dont you guys play delver? He can get droped turn one and has a real nice flip rate in this deck. And is just an insane threat under standstill :/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RiverCake

Hey guys Landstill noob here!
Why dont you guys play delver? He can get droped turn one and has a real nice flip rate in this deck. And is just an insane threat under standstill :/

---

UWx Landstill has a fairly high percentage of permanents in the list. Delver would add 4 more permanents at the likely expense of additional instants and sorceries removed. If you're already running 4 creatures that are easily removed and also running 25-26 instants and sorceries then adding Delver might be a good idea. However you're unlikely to be playing Landstill in that situation.

23+ lands, with 24 or 25 probably normal.
8+ other non-creature permanents (Standstill, Engineered Explosives, Jace the Mindsculptor, etc.)

Now find room to put 4 Delvers in the list without removing instants and sorceries.

Delver is really good with Standstill but nothing else really adds up.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FoolofaTook

UWx Landstill has a fairly high percentage of permanents in the list. Delver would add 4 more permanents at the likely expense of additional instants and sorceries removed. If you're already running 4 creatures that are easily removed and also running 25-26 instants and sorceries then adding Delver might be a good idea. However you're unlikely to be playing Landstill in that situation.

23+ lands, with 24 or 25 probably normal.
8+ other non-creature permanents (Standstill, Engineered Explosives, Jace the Mindsculptor, etc.)

Now find room to put 4 Delvers in the list without removing instants and sorceries.

Delver is really good with Standstill but nothing else really adds up.

---

Thanks for the answer :) That makes sense

Dreadstill runs Delver now out of a Ur Landstill-ish base. The trade-offs are adding 4x Daze and removing 2x+ Counterspells and 2 lands. You might want to look there if you like the idea of Delver in a Landstill-ish shell.

Anyone still check this thing?

Played URw landstill on Friday and Sunday at local events. Won 16 player legacy FNM, narrowly missed top 8 at a 34 person event today (went 4-2, bad breakers). For reference, here is my list

4 Mishra's Factory
1 Faerie Conclave
4 Wasteland
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Volcanic Island
3 Tundra
1 Island

3 Snapcaster Mage

4 Stifle
4 Brainstorm
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Swords to Plowshares
2 Engineered Explosives
4 Force of Will
3 Spell Pierce
2 Counterspell
3 Standstill
2 Dig Through Time
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Dack Fayden

SB:
1 Pithing Needle
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Flusterstorm
3 Pyroblast
2 Wear // Tear
2 Containment Priest
2 Meddling Mage
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Sulfur Elemental

For FNM
Round 1
Some guy playing a fallen empires mono white banding deck. Essentially a bye.
1-0 (2-0)

Round 2
Maverick
Game 1 I had a few removal spells and a snapcaster mage + counterspell. That with a couple wastelands was enough to get there. Game 2 I didn't find my swords to plowshares and a big Knight killed me. Game 3 I made a bad misplay by wasteland-ing when he had an active knight and dark depths active. oops.

I think I went -3 Spell Pierce, +2 Wear // Tear, +1 Sulfur Elemental, I felt like I wanted some help for this match up but there wasn't anything that great out of the board
I felt like the spell pierces didn't have any targets and the wear // tear obviously can kill equipment or a sylvan library. Sulfur elemental kills thalia and Mom.

1-1 (3-2)

Round 3
Reanimator
Playing my friend on reanimator. I've found that the combo match up is very swingy. There is enough permission pre board to win game 1, it just depends on the type of draw you get. If you get the removal heavy hand against combo you obviously lose. But if you draw the counterspells, spell pierces, forces, and snapcaster mages the match up actually seems pretty favorable. I steal game 1 from him. Game 2 he gets Iona on white and I furiously dig (pun intended) for a Jace but can't find him. Game 3 I mull to 5, but manage the blowout play of flashing in a containment priest with reanimate targetting Griselbrand on the stack. take 8 and exile your Griselbrand. After the game he shows me 3 exhumes in his hand. Nice!

(-4 Lightning Bolt, -2 EE -2 Stifle, +1 Surgical, +2 Containment Priest, +3 Pyroblast, +1 Vendilion Clique, +1 Flusterstorm)
The EE's are useless game 1 and game 2 + 3 I'm not anticipating any permanent based hate from reanimator. The bolts are obviously not very good. Left the swords to plowshares in just in case he managed to get something into play. The pyroblasts are there for Show and Tell or to counter his force of wills. Being able to play at instant speed is important here (all our creatures have flash). As a side note I don't find Meddling Mage to be an effective hatebear vs reanimator, as you have to cast it on your turn and we don't often know the contents of our opponents hand (do you name reanimate or exhume? etc.)

2-1 (5-3)

Round 4
standings are posted and theres 8 people with 6 or more points and then a bunch of 3 pointers so everyone can safely draw in...5 minute round woohoo!

2-1-1 (5-3-1)

top 8 - I am seed 7 so I will be on the draw all top 8. not good for the stifle deck.
round 5
Esper Mentor (gitaxian probe, cabal therapy, monastery mentor, dig through time shell)
My other friend playing his epser mentor brew (had the privilege of basically knowing his deck, but he also knows my deck as we often share out deck building ideas).
Hes on the play and leads with deathrite. I bolt it and pass. He ponders and bricks on land. luckily I have the wasteland to punish him for it. He bricks for a couple turns on lands while I make my land drops. thats pretty much game over for him as I have commanding board position. Game 2 he plays some guys, and I kill them. I don't really remember specifically what happened this game but having access to stifle + waste and a ton of removal this match up seems very favorable. not to mention out of the board Sulfur Elemental and Crucible of Worlds, with EE main. He really needs the nut draw to win.

(-2 Force, -1 Spell Pierce -1 Stifle, +1 Sulfur Elemental, +1 Crucible, +2 Pyroblast)
Left 2 force in on the draw just because this deck can handle the card disadvantage and having the extra bit of gas to push a standstill or dig through is great. Pyroblast is a hard counter for his digs and cantrips but I didn't want to cut all my pierces since he can thoughtseize / cabal therapy me. sulfur elemental is the nuts (and i know he has lingering souls out the board). crucible since he plays 0 basics.

3-1-1 (7-3-1)

Round 6
GW cloudpost (white for sacred ground, not sure what else)

Game 1 I catch him off guard with a stifle. I find my wastelands and am able to keep him from establishing his posts. He gained 15 life from glimmerposts throughout the game (he had all 4 glimmerposts in play, and even copied it with Vesuva). This in conjunction with my having to swords to plowshares his primeval titan and it was a loooong game. At one point I was searching for a counterspell for his Primeval Titan but I stifled the ETB trigger, then swords it (almost missed this line of play, that would have been baaaaad). Basically I had to answer every spell he cast or I lose...but we got there!

(-2 Lightning Bolt, -2 Engineered Explosives, +2 Wear // Tear, +1 Vendilion Clique, +1 Crucible of Worlds)
Looking back on it I should have brought the Needle in for his tops...not sure why I didn't. Brought the wear // tear anticipating needle on wasteland (classic move out of cloudpost decks). Crucible since waste lock is a thing. Clique for a little more pressure at instant speed.

4-1-1 (9-3-1)

Round 7
Shardless BUG

2 pretty grindy games. Nothing very notable happening, he doesn't have the stack interaction to stop things like Standstill or force his visions through, and doesn't have the removal to kill Mishra's Factories (lol abrupt decay). Post board the match up gets very good for me as I have 3 pyroblasts.

(-1 Stifle, -2 Force, +3 Pyroblast)
I left the Spell pierces in because of hymn and liliana. Dack was great as I actually got to steal an artifact! (stole his shardless agent!)

5-1-1 (11-3-1)

And I get enough store credit for a Dack Fayden and some leftover (was borrowing a Dack Fayden from my friend). If anything doesn't make sense its because I'm trying to recall events from Friday night and its 2:30 am on Monday Morning. Today I beat Grixis Delver 2-1 (1-0, 2-1), Lost to burn 0-2 (1-1, 2-3), Lost to Omni tell splash white for mentor 0-2 (1-2, 2-5), Beat Miracles 2-1 (2-2, 4-6), Beat UR delver 2-0 (3-2, 6-6), and Beat my friend on esper mentor again 2-0 (4-2, 8-6). The burn match up probably needs some help in the sideboard though I'm not sure what. Maybe a hydroblast or two. I feel like the omnitell match up is ok and I drew poorly and sideboarded incorrectly (didn't leave any removal spells in the deck, it seems like all the omnitell decks are splashing for young p nowadays so some removal should probably be left in).