[Deck] Tezzeret Stax

[Zinch]

Just seeing Tezzeret a deck appeared in front of me (sure i'm not alone in this feeling, so we must discuss): a stax variation abusing the new planeswalker.
I'll begin with something like this and improve it throught testing:

4 Tezzeret the seeker

4 Tthoughtcast
4 Force of will
4 Propaganda
4 Thirst for knowledge

4 Chalice of the void
2 Crucible of Worlds
1 Tormod's Crypt

4 Mox Diamond
4 Talisman of Progress

4 Seat of the Synod
3 Wasteland
2 Darksteel Citadel
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
6 Island

+2 cards

What do you think about this skeleton??
What cards would you add??

EDIT: For reference here are a picture of Tezzeret:http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/attac...chmentid=78048

[Skeggi]

I'm not sure...you say Stax, but the Stax shell is lacking in your list:

4 Chalice of the Void (grantes you have these...)
4 Crucible of Worlds (you only have 2 of these)
3-4 Trinisphere
3-4 Smokestack (it's not really Stax without this one, is it?)

Tezzeret might be the card that enables Tangle Wire in Stax. Fun. The fact that you're playing blue makes Academy Ruins very hot. You might want an alternative kill next to Tezzeret's third ability; perhaps a factory (dump the Darksteel Citadels). Stuff like Pendrell Mist comes to mind too.

[Zinch]

Thank you for the replie...
Trinisphere doesn't belong in the deck for the dissenergy with force of will and thoughtcast... and I prefer the last 2

Maybe more crucible are better (but 4 are too much) so the deck would be something like this:

4 Tezzeret the seeker

3 Thoughtcast
4 Force of will
4 Propaganda
4 Thirst for knowledge

4 Chalice of the void
3 Crucible of Worlds
2 Tangle Wire

4 Mox Diamond
4 Talisman of Progress

1 Academy Ruins
4 Seat of the Synod
3 Wasteland
2 Mishra's Factory
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
6 Island


The issue with the name is pointless... I give it this name to create a quick idea of the deck

[f|i[p]]

If you were to use tezzeret, I'd suggest finding away to abuse his abilities, specially you are using 4 of him main deck...

In a stax shell it would be good, but you'll end up using more articfacts to make use of him...

I like the win condition of tezzeret, its a very good alternate win condition, and very fast as well, having trini chalice mox d, and some other artifacts would instantly overwhelm a lot of players, specially being 5/5 creatures.. But you would need MORE artifacts.

[Zinch]

I have been thinking in the deck and I agree with you: we must abuse tezzeret more, so this is an actualized deck that abuses it more:

4 Tezzeret the seeker
3 Masticore

4 Thirst for knowledge
4 Trinisphere
4 Chalice of the void
3 Crucible of Worlds
1 Pithing needle/ tormod's crypt

4 Basalt Monolith
4 Mox Diamond
4 Talisman of Progress

1 Academy Ruins
4 Seat of the Synod
3 Wasteland
3 Mishra's Factory
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
6 Island

[Maveric78f]

I'm not sure...you say Stax, but the Stax shell is lacking in your list:

4 Chalice of the Void (grantes you have these...)
4 Crucible of Worlds (you only have 2 of these)
3-4 Trinisphere
3-4 Smokestack (it's not really Stax without this one, is it?)

Tezzeret might be the card that enables Tangle Wire in Stax. Fun. The fact that you're playing blue makes Academy Ruins very hot. You might want an alternative kill next to Tezzeret's third ability; perhaps a factory (dump the Darksteel Citadels). Stuff like Pendrell Mist comes to mind too.

Only bad stax decks play 4 crucible. Crucible is either 2 or 3. If you play Tezzeret, you might want only 1 of them.

However Trinisphere, smokestack and Tangle Wire are bombs.

Stax does not need any draw spells except Stax drawers which are drawers that you play once your hand is empty.

Tezzeret definitely calls for a prototype of a blue (probably not mono) highly artifact based Stax (no propaganda or pendrel mist for instance).

The shell would be (45/48 cards) :
4*Tezzeret
4*Chalice
3/4*Trinisphere
4*Tangle Wire
2/4*Stax
4*Mox Diamond
4*Ancient Tomb
4*City of Traitors
4*Seat of The Synod
1*Academy Ruins
3*Wasteland
8*Island

Toolbox depending on the meta (3/15):
1/4*Ensnaring Bridge
1/4*Powder Keg
0/1*Tormod's Crypt
0/1*Pithing Needle
0/4*Bottle Bloister
1/3*Crucible of Worlds

[Bigface]

First prototype with Pendrell Mists.

// Lands
4 [MR] Seat of the Synod
2 [AQ] Mishra's Factory (2)
6 [OD] Island (2)
4 [EX] City of Traitors
4 [TE] Ancient Tomb
3 [TE] Wasteland

// Spells
2 [US] Smokestack
3 [DS] Trinisphere
4 [TE] Propaganda
4 [MR] Talisman of Progress
4 [SH] Mox Diamond
3 [NE] Tangle Wire
3 [10E] Crucible of Worlds
4 [MR] Chalice of the Void
3 [WL] Pendrell Mists
4 [MR] Thirst for Knowledge
3 [ALA] Tezzeret the Seeker

Me thinks Trinisphere >>> any other denial spell in Stax. It's so delightfully asimmetrical.
As for the name... three suggestions:

1) TeezStax. (Tezz => Teez => TeezStax.)

2) MiStax. (Mists + Stax = MiStax. MistStax is no good to me.)

3) Badass Stax. (How Tezzeret's picture IS.)

[Skeggi]

Only bad stax decks play 4 crucible. Crucible is either 2 or 3.

DeckCheck disagrees. 54 Stax decks, 9 not playing Crucible as a 4-of, where 7 play it as a 3-of, 1 plays it as a 2-of and 1 doesn't play it at all.

2) MiStax. (Mists + Stax = MiStax. MistStax is no good to me.)

Sounds cool (sounds like 'My Stax' in my head...)

Your list looks nice by the way; I'd include Academy Ruins though. I like Maveric78f's idea of more arties for utility, Ensnaring Bridge + Bottled Cloister is pretty good, might even add Null Brooch; Academy Ruins gets back what you need anyway.

[Raider Bob]

I was looking at this and the best way to abuse the +1 ability would be with fast mana, Basalt Monolith...Something else I am sure should be here. Also making all Artifacts 5/5' is sweet but the remove x counters get an artifact for x and put it into play screams Pyrexian Dreadnaught/Tormonds Crypt/EExplosives/Pithing Needle, Attacking with a Dreadnaught then untapping him for defense seems like it would some good.

[acchia85]

what do you think about this list??

Lands
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Island
4 City of Traitors
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Wasteland
1 Academy Ruins

Spells
3 Smokestack
4 Trinisphere
3 Propaganda
4 Mox Diamond
3 Tangle Wire
3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Pendrell Mists
3 Thirst for Knowledge
2 Tezzeret the Seeker
3 Meditate

[Finn]

I was looking at this and the best way to abuse the +1 ability would be with fast mana, Basalt Monolith...Something else I am sure should be here. Also making all Artifacts 5/5' is sweet but the remove x counters get an artifact for x and put it into play screams Pyrexian Dreadnaught/Tormonds Crypt/EExplosives/Pithing Needle, Attacking with a Dreadnaught then untapping him for defense seems like it would some good.

If I am remembering the way sunburst is worded, Engineered Explosives would not work very well with this since x=0 every time. But it seems like a crime not to have Dreadnoughts and Stifles in here. Of course, that doesn't go over very well with Chalice or Trini or whatever. So doesn't that mean it is a different deck? Maybe something closer to Affinity?

[acchia85]

Dreadnoughts is die


whit ruins for a recursion i think is very hard play Dreadnoughts

[Aggro_zombies]

The lack of Intuition in these lists makes me sad. Running Intuition allows you to cut down on the numbers of some cards that aren't part of the denial package but are nevertheless important - like, for example, Crucible, which is dead in multiples.

First Intuition Stack:
Ruins
Crucible
Crucible/Ruins

That gives you the ability to recur any artifact or land you want. It also allows you to run a toolbox of artifacts and/or lands without really caring what the opponent chooses with Intuition...a three card tutor for roughly is pretty strong. Also, running 3 Tezzeret (and three or more of all your other important non-land, non-artifact cards) allows you to reliably get them with Intuition.

Sharding Sphinx is also good as a backup win. The evasive and token abilities, combined with the nice interactions with Ruins, make it very attractive as a way to win if Tezzeret can't stick for some reason.

[xsockmonkeyx]

4 Basalt Monolith

[Anusien]

Why are people still playing shitty draw spells that let Threshold attack you for 6 or 12 in the meantime, like Meditate, or Thirst for Knowledge? In a good prison build, every card has to contribute to locking your opponent out or else you can let them back in the game.

Why Pendrell Mists over The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale?

If you're playing Tezzeret, I'm almost certain you don't care to run any other creatures, since they don't stop your opponent from doing things and they unblank their removal. Going Masticore, untapping and discarding a card only to have them Swords your Masticore seems like the worst.

[Happy Gilmore]

Very very interesting. Tezzeret might get very good, and luckily it doesn't seem all that good in any other format but Legacy. Unfortunately your looking at a mono colored deck that is going to have major problems dealing with Moon Effects. It does provide for a fantastic win condition, however, I don't know how good blue would be for a stax deck. To be honest it seems somewhat of a card to work into something a little more agressive.

[Aggro_zombies]

Why are people still playing shitty draw spells that let Threshold attack you for 6 or 12 in the meantime, like Meditate, or Thirst for Knowledge? In a good prison build, every card has to contribute to locking your opponent out or else you can let them back in the game.

This is true to a certain extent. Overloading the deck with draw is counterproductive, but having draw there also ensures some level of consistency. The biggest problem in white Stax is the lack of draw, which means you mostly have to work with what's in your hand or the top few cards of your library in order to establish the lock, and if it's not there you're toast. I prefer Intuition to actual draw because Intuition is guaranteed to find you lock components.

If you're playing Tezzeret, I'm almost certain you don't care to run any other creatures, since they don't stop your opponent from doing things and they unblank their removal. Going Masticore, untapping and discarding a card only to have them Swords your Masticore seems like the worst.

I'm not going to contest your point about Tezzeret, but I will point out that your example is flawed. You don't generally drop your win condition if it would be vulnerable (the exception being if you're going to die). It's usually best to just sit on it until you're ready to win (ie, you have the lock), play it, and go from there.

[Arkham]

After seeing Chrono Stax and Tezzeret, I'm intrigued by both and might build a mono blue version of it in the future.

As for draw, Sensei's Divining Top might have some merit here. It acts like a cantrip, it can be used as a creature that is very hard to destroy, and doesn't fall into the many of the same pit falls draw spells would.

The common trend I've been seeing with Stax, however, is how unstable it's mana base is. Build it however you may, but for some reason, there is a very large gap in how much control you have over the deck in both putting it into practice and even expecting it to do what it's supposed to do. But perhaps that might just be with stax that are largely color dependent, who knows. Is there some way to alter the base to make it more substantial and stable? Because I think that might be the biggest hurdle the deck has to go through.

[Aggro_zombies]

After seeing Chrono Stax and Tezzeret, I'm intrigued by both and might build a mono blue version of it in the future.

As for draw, Sensei's Divining Top might have some merit here. It acts like a cantrip, it can be used as a creature that is very hard to destroy, and doesn't fall into the many of the same pit falls draw spells would.

The common trend I've been seeing with Stax, however, is how unstable it's mana base is. Build it however you may, but for some reason, there is a very large gap in how much control you have over the deck in both putting it into practice and even expecting it to do what it's supposed to do. But perhaps that might just be with stax that are largely color dependent, who knows. Is there some way to alter the base to make it more substantial and stable? Because I think that might be the biggest hurdle the deck has to go through.

Top is terrible here, because Chalice at one shuts down its ability to draw and the lack of shuffle effects makes the card arranging poor.

You're not making sense about the mana base, but if you're worried about Moon effects, those aren't a tremendous problem. The reason Stax runs so many "Tap: Add " lands is because the deck's curve essentially starts at three and goes up from there. (A quick aside - the curve is like this to work better with Trinisphere and allow for Chalices at one and two, which completely shuts down 90% of the decks in the format.) Running more colored lands just slows the deck down. Besides, the color requirements in most Stax builds are very light and you're often perfectly content to only see one or two colored lands in a game.

[Arkham]

I see, I was more concerned about with the clumping of land and how it is very hard to recover from it. Maybe I'm mistaken here? I'm not entirely sure what about my explanation was hard to understand, but I apologize for the confusion.