[Primer/Deck] Stax

Nothing too exciting, just a 3 round tournament, 2nd place, almost won a Tundra:

Went against Elves (won in 3), then Elves again (won in 2), then RWU Pyromancer Delver (lost in 3)


4 Plains
4 Flagstones of Trokair
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
4 Mox Diamond
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Trinisphere
4 Crucible of Worlds
4 Smokestack
4 Ghostly Prison
4 Magus of the Tabernacle
4 Humility
4 Armageddon
-sideboard-
4 Tormod's Crypt
4 Leyline of Sanctity
4 Stony Silence
3 Oblivion Ring

Against Elves, the only issues I had between the 2 decks was game 1 round 1, where they got out enough mana with Priest of Titania / Lords, that the Taxing stuff was irrelevant, and instead of attacking, they just infinite combo'ed with Staff of Domination, drew their entire deck, hard cast Emerakul & killed me by un equipping & re equipping Livewire Lash.

Against the RWU Pyromancer Delver deck, I got the 1st game, then lost the next 2. I could have possible mulliganed my hand game 2 but it was good enough to keep and I really hate to mulligan. The biggest issue both games was actually Wear//Tear. Especially game 3. They were bringing me down and I eventually got out a Ghostly Prison & then Chalice of the Void at 1 -or- Smokestack, I don't remember. But they did Wear//Tear on both and took down the Prison & an artifact. If they had not nailed Ghostly Prison I was basically setting myself up to stabilize and until that point I felt I had the win incoming. Long story short, at the end of the match I felt like I lost to Wear//Tear between the 2 game losses, only way to completely stop it on top of that, is to have a Chalice at 1, 2, & 3 because of how that works, or of course, Trinisphere and the opponent with less than 3 mana sources. Neither of which happened games 2/3 for the final lockdown.

Even though I love High Tide, at the local level, I always find myself playing this deck more, it's just, ridiculous, & in my opinion easier, to gain control with a lock down, then just let the deck do the rest of the work for you once you establish. Though sooner or later I will consider pushing Prison Stax on some level at bigger events because I'm just that crazy.

Anyone here who has any tournament result with our dear Stax?
What were you MUs? What's your final standing?
How did it perform?

Also, does anyone here plans to use the deck in any SCG event or BOM?

Thanks.

in august I make a second place in a local contest (22player)... my list

// Deck: Prison Stax (60)

// Lands
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors
2 Crystal Vein
3 Flagstones of Trokair
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Plains
4 Wasteland

// Creatures
3 Magus of the Tabernacle

// Sorceries
4 Armageddon

// Enchantments
4 Ghostly Prison
3 Oblivion Ring

// Artifacts
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Crucible of Worlds
4 Mox Diamond
4 Smokestack
3 Suppression Field
3 Trinisphere

// Sideboard
SB: 3 Defense Grid
SB: 3 Leyline of Sanctity
SB: 3 Pithing Needle
SB: 3 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 3 Wrath of God


Inviato dal mio GT-S7500 con Tapatalk 2

Toying around with the following stuff:

Mana:
Flagstones of Trokair
Plains
Wasteland
Mishra's Factory
Ancient Tomb
City of Traitors
Mox Diamond

Artifacts:
Smokestack
Crucible of Worlds
Trinisphere
Chalice of the Void
Sphere of Resistance
Tangle wire

White spells:
Armageddon
Magus of the Tabernacle
Ghostly Prison
Humility

Also messing around with/considering/etc:
Lodestone Golem
Ensnaring Bridge
Winter Orb
Static Orb
Moat
Batterskull

Possible sideboard stuff:
Aura of Silence
Leyline of Sanctity
Rule of Law
Oblivion Ring
Null Rod
Stony Silence
Cursed Totem
Tormod's Crypt, (As Graveyard hate, costing 0 to cast get's past Chalice of the Void's @ 1 & 2)

hi feline

why you play humility with magus?

Inviato dal mio GT-S7500 con Tapatalk 2

Humility + Magus together are anti synergetic, but I've found that by themselves against so much stuff in the format they are so powerful, I've been testing even running them both in spite of them clashing with each other. Just because again, by themselves alone they are stupid.

~If it's Magus by itself, awesome
~If it's Humility by itself, awesome
~If it's Magus & Humility together, Humility is still that awesome that I don't mind it nuking a card in my deck, when it trumps so many others in, other decks.

As for the list above that I'm toying with, I'm throwing things around here & there, I'm not running all of the cards listed, just testing this and thats.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by feline

Humility + Magus together are anti synergetic, but I've found that by themselves against so much stuff in the format they are so powerful, I've been testing even running them both in spite of them clashing with each other. Just because again, by themselves alone they are stupid. ~If it's Magus by itself, awesome ~If it's Humility by itself, awesome ~If it's Magus & Humility together, Humility is still that awesome that I don't mind it nuking a card in my deck, when it trumps so many others in, other decks. As for the list above that I'm toying with, I'm throwing things around here & there, I'm not running all of the cards listed, just testing this and thats.

---

Magus + Humility came up up in the painter thread. It appears from that discussion that according to layering rules (magus' effect comes before humility) that magus loses his ability after his effect already changes everything to mountains.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ish

Magus + Humility came up up in the painter thread. It appears from that discussion that according to layering rules (magus' effect comes before humility) that magus loses his ability after his effect already changes everything to mountains.

---

Yes, Humility does not stop Magus of the Moon from turning nonbasic lands into mountains, because the Magus's type-changing effect happens in an earlier layer than Humility's ability. But I believe the discussion was referring to Magus of the Tabernacle, which grants creatures an additional ability that is not type-changing. So I'm pretty certain that Humility does indeed shut off the effect of Magus of the Tabernacle.

Feline, why not just play RIP as your graveyard hate?

I did look at it, but it hits my own graveyard and that messes up the crucible of worlds, wasteland plan, as well as bringing back factory's.

and yes, magus of the tabernacle is a 1/1 with no abilities with a humility out. But if you have a humility out against a lot of decks, that's what matters. If you do not, Magus of the Tabernacle is a nice card on it's own. Together, it just gets trumped by your own Humility, but Humility and Magus are good enough on their own that I find myself not caring. It just means when I start swinging, it's 1 damage instead of 2 from the magus, but if I'm swinging, I'm probably winning.

I came across this take on the deck that got 13th at SCG St. Louis two years ago and I'm thinking about giving it a whirl:


// Creatures
3 Hero of Bladehold
4 Stoneforge Mystic

// Sorceries
4 Armageddon

// Enchantments
3 Ghostly Prison
3 Oblivion Ring

// Planeswalkers
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

// Artifacts
1 Lightning Greaves
2 Crucible of Worlds
2 Trinisphere
3 Batterskull
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Mox Diamond

// Lands
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Karakas
1 Maze of Ith
1 Mishra's Factory
3 City of Traitors
3 Flagstones of Trokair
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Wasteland
9 Plains


// Sideboard
SB: 1 Batterskull
SB: 3 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 1 Trinisphere
SB: 2 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 2 Phyrexian Revoker
SB: 1 Ghostly Prison
SB: 1 Decree of Justice
SB: 3 Wrath of God
SB: 1 Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/dec...8&iddeck=52898

Has anyone been playing something similar, or have thoughts with regards to updates or the list in general?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Scott

I came across this take on the deck that got 13th at SCG St. Louis two years ago and I'm thinking about giving it a whirl:


// Creatures
3 Hero of Bladehold
4 Stoneforge Mystic

// Sorceries
4 Armageddon

// Enchantments
3 Ghostly Prison
3 Oblivion Ring

// Planeswalkers
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

// Artifacts
1 Lightning Greaves
2 Crucible of Worlds
2 Trinisphere
3 Batterskull
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Mox Diamond

// Lands
1 Horizon Canopy
1 Karakas
1 Maze of Ith
1 Mishra's Factory
3 City of Traitors
3 Flagstones of Trokair
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Wasteland
9 Plains


// Sideboard
SB: 1 Batterskull
SB: 3 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 1 Trinisphere
SB: 2 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 2 Phyrexian Revoker
SB: 1 Ghostly Prison
SB: 1 Decree of Justice
SB: 3 Wrath of God
SB: 1 Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/dec...8&iddeck=52898

Has anyone been playing something similar, or have thoughts with regards to updates or the list in general?

---

Maybe you want to take a look here: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...ght=aggro+stax

I'd cut a batterskull in favour of jitte! :)

GC

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GoldenCid

Maybe you want to take a look here: http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...ght=aggro+stax

I'd cut a batterskull in favour of jitte! :)

GC

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Thanks!

Hey guys,

So, I just started playing Stax on Cockatrice. So far, what I've learned from playing this deck. It's extremely powerful. I think it might be one of the most powerful decks in the game of Legacy. I consider myself an average Legacy player. I play just about practically everything except for Goyf/delver decks because I only have 1 goyf. I particularly play combo decks, mud, dnt, etc. Stax is powerful in the sense that, you really are the ultimate control deck. You lock out your opponent on everything he does and you win with your win con. So here's my list. I'm like 7-0 on cockatrice.

4 Plains
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Flagstones of Trokair
1 Karakas
3 Smokestack
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Mox Diamond
4 Crucible of Worlds
3 Trinisphere
4 Ghostly Prison
2 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
2 City of Traitors
2 Humility
2 Moat
2 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Maze of Ith
2 Mox Opal
2 Armageddon
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
2 Ancient Den
SB: 2 Aura of Silence
SB: 2 Pithing Needle
SB: 2 Wheel of Sun and Moon
SB: 2 Helm of Obedience
SB: 3 Swords to Plowshares
SB: 4 Leyline of Sanctity

Hi guys,

Below is the list that I'm currently running, I would really appreciate your feedback or any needed changes or problems that you see. Thank you.

3 Crystal Vein
4 Mishra’s Factory
4 Wasteland
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Flagstones of Trokair
4 Plains
4 Mox Diamond
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Ghostly Prison
4 Crucible of Worlds
4 Smokestack
3 Trinisphere
2 Cataclysm
4 Armageddon
4 Magus of Tabernacle
4 Baneslayer Angel

12/4/13
We had our year ending legacy last Sunday and this was the deck that I used.

7 plains, 2 karakas, 1 horizon canopy, 4 wasteland, 8 turbo lands, 4 flagstone

4 trinisphere, 4 COTV, 4 mox D, 4 COW

4 moat, 4 humility, 4 o.ring

4 elspeth

2 idylic tutor


SB
4 STP, 2 jester's cap, 4 leyline of sanctity, 1 WOG, 2 geddon, 2 ratchet bomb


I won against the following: UWr stoneblade, AnT
lost vs: dredge, elves, sneaky show
draw vs. miracle
-----------
12/7/13
I will just post it here.
I participated again in a 4 rounder legacy with the same line up as posted above .
I won my first two games (belcher 2-1 and high tide 2-0)
But lost my next two (elves both 1-2).

Most of my loses, including those from the previous tournament, were just a turn away from locking down my opponent.

2013 conclusion for Stax:

Unfortunately all I can conclude for the deck, is that it's basically non existent. 2012 actually had a sporadic amount of showings, different versions ran, but 2013 had none. There really is no other way to put it. Hopefully, not only for Prison Stax, but all Stax strategies in general, for Stax lovers out there, 2014 will prove to be a more impressive year for the deck. Good luck to all pushing one of the most fun decks in the format to play, & probably one of the least fun to play against if you ask most of the field.

March this year I wrote this in this newly started Stax thread.

03-30-2013 10:42 PM #15
Feline; awesome that you put the effort into writing and starting this Stax thread. I just started looking around for stax lists a while ago. Have a Soldier stompy deck with Chalice, Trinisphere, Suppression field, Chrome Mox and 2 mana lands so it's a kind of stax deck. So this intro to the stax gameplay is fantastic for me.
Right now my project is an Aggro stax deck with Hero of Bladehold witch I'm about to test during upcoming weeks. I'll post a decklist and some comments after testing.

Of some reason (laziness) I didn´t post any decklists or comments but I did play a couple of lists that reach success to some extent. Won one smaller tournament and placed top 4 in some other small ones. But after a while I wanted to test something else and I put the aggro-stax on the shelf. I only play Legacy and I think the format suits me perfect but one problem I have is that there are so many fantastic decks to test and play that I don´t stick to a single one and just grind that one over and over again. I think that is how you get the extra skill in Legacy. On the other hand, the more decks you test the more you get to know the format and you get knowledge about a lot of cards, and that is key in Legacy.

Well, now the aggro-stax. Pick the deck from the shelf and made some changes and this is what I´m playing right now.

CREATURES (10)
3 Dark Confidant
4 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Hero of Bladehold
ENCHANTMENTS (2)
2 Oblivion Ring
SORCERIES (8)
3 Lingering Souls
2 Supreme Verdict
3 Vindicate

PLANESWALKERS (1)
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
ARTIFACTS (14)
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Batterskull
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
3 Trinisphere
4 Mox Diamond
LANDS (26)
4 Marsh Flats
1 Karakas
4 Wasteland
4 Ancient Tomb
2 City of Traitors
3 Scrubland
1 Tundra
1 Swamp
6 Plains

SIDEBOARD
2 Rest in Peace
1 Tormod’s Crypt
3 Humility
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Manriki-Gusari
1 Abolish
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Oblivion Ring

The deck can be very staxy with Chalice and Trinisphere and it can be very aggro with Stoneforge, Hero or even Lingering Souls.
Vindicate and Oblivion Ring solves a lot of problems and I'm never disappointed when I draw them. Vindicate (take out lands) in addition to Wasteland has taken several games under a resolved Trinisphere.
Supreme Verdict can seem to an odd choice but has proven to be really supreme when you´re a bit behind.
Worth mentioning is Dark Confidant. Stax has always had the problem with drawing cards. Lingering souls is some sort of solution to that due to it´s flashback. Dark Confidant is also a sweet. Under Chalice on 1 and under Trinisphere my experience is that Bob can make a good job adding cards to your hand.

I´m going to take it to tournaments in the near future and if you´re intrested I can write some report.

By the way, please make comments if you want.

Thank you Scott Muir, SCG Columbus, Jan 19th 2014, Prison Stax pulls off a top 16 finish after being almost disappeared from a finish that high in over a year


Creatures (2)
2 Peacekeeper

Planeswalkers (2)
2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant

Lands (26)
1 Ancient Den
4 Plains
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
4 Flagstones of Trokair
2 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale


Spells (30)
3 Chalice of the Void
3 Crucible Of Worlds
4 Mox Diamond
4 Smokestack
3 Trinisphere
3 Humility
2 Moat
3 Oblivion Ring
1 Enlightened Tutor
4 Armageddon


Sideboard
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Helm of Obedience
1 Null Rod
1 Pithing Needle
1 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Spellskite
1 Peacekeeper
3 Rest in Peace
2 Enlightened Tutor
1 Catastrophe

Yay! Congrants! Its a particular list

I simply dont know why death a taxes is dtb and stax a sucking tier 2. :-(