[Deck] UBGx Landstill

[theBloody]

@theBloody

That's an interesting list however you're going to go to time against Miracles way too often and you're going to lose game 1 against Miracles while going to time way too often.

The list does have play against a lot of the meta but not being able to put Miracles down in a timely fashion is really bad in this meta. The Elves matchup is a bit iffy also, although if you get them past turn 3 you've won the game.

Miracles are fine matchup. Deed > Enreants. Decay > Counterbalance. Worm harvest > Terminus/Counters. The only thing that should worry you is Council's Judgment, but you have counters too, you know. Sorry for late answer.

My last two tourneys I went 4-1 and 2-2-1. Beat Goblins, Enchantress, Mono R stompy, UR delver, URW delver, Reanimator. Lost to Elves (1:2), BUG aggro (1:2), ANT (1:2). Drawing with DnT (g3 was very winable).

Maindeck changes from previously posted list are:
-1 Duress, -1 Spell Pierce, -1 Liliana, -1 Island
+1 Thoughtseize, +2 Dimir Charm, +1 Verdant Catacombs

Sideboard is different. Generally I want cards against tribal/little guys (Engineered Plague, Golgary Charm, Drow in Sorrows) and combo (Surgical Extraction, Duress, Spell Pierce).

So this deck doesn't utilize todays popular Treasure Cruise, we have Intuition here. Once it resolve and game is going from mid to late we won. Sometimes I felt that lack of pressure is missing but I dont think there is way to fix it really. I would gladly include some kind of rave card advantage (Cruise/Dig/Standstill) but that would mean removing Intuition package and put in more ways to close game, so probably also removing Innocent Blood.
No changes to maindeck planned. Dimir Charm was good most of time. Sometimes its two manacost was problem when UR delver hold Daze + Pierce, but I couldn't think about other card except Envelop I wanted here more and Envelop is not flexible enough for maindeck.
I'm glad you guys are still interested in playing true BUG control. Keep it up.

[thefreakaccident]

I had tried fitting veteran explorer into Uw Miracles with a mild green splash, and desert. It wasn't that bad tbh, and desert would still be good in today's meta, but I really want to try and fit it into here, somewhat trying to make a hybrid between landstill and Nic-fit. The way I see it, blue would allow for complete abuse of explorer, especially with cruise.



I sI will post a list in a few days after I've had a chance to test things.

[Ahtii]

Hi , Just recently bought last pieces for the deck and started playing it. For now , I have been playing TNN as substitute to Sideboard Tarmogoyf (mainly budget reasons) But noticed that I like TNN in board a lot. Do I even want tarmogoyf?! (TNN + Deed is also super nice , since deed for 2 is usually enough.)

This deck feels damn strong! especially now after cruise being banned! Snapcaster + Dig Through time is also cool.
Somehow , I still miss playing with ponders :/ most of the losses I get , are due land / colour screw.
2 Counterspells are the flex slots in the deck now, those are the easiest to cut. But im playing with vanilla counterspell since I dont have any idea what I really want in that place.


My list atm:

4 Deathrite Shaman
1 Snapcaster Mage

2 Jace, The Mind Sculptor
2 Liliana of the veil

1 Innocent Blood
1 Life From The Loam
3 Thoughtseize

3 Pernicious Deed
3 Standstill

3 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
1 Bayou
2 Creeping Tar Pit
4 Polluted Delta
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Wasteland
4 Mishra's Factory

4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
2 Counterspell
2 Dig Through Time
4 Abrupt Decay

SB:
1 Life From The Loam
1 Thoughtseize
3 True-Name Nemesis
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Krosan Grip
2 Spell Pierce --> Flusterstorm?
1 Swan Song
1 Disfigure
1 Golgari Charm
2 Hydroblast

[theBloody]

I was able to play at saturday event. Ended 4th, 29 participants.

Games:
R1: UB Reanimator - win (2:0)
R2: Urgw Faeries/wizards - loss (1:2) - deck with Mutavault, Spellstutter Sprite, Snapcaster, Vendilion Clique. We were short on time g3. I went all in instead of stabilizing board. It was bad decision.
R3: RUGb Delver - win (2:0) - Both games survived at 3 lives. He could't find Bolt.
R4: BUG Mosswort bridge + Phyrexian Dreadnought combo - win (2:1)
R5: Death and Taxes - draw (g3 was very winable)
T8: UG 12post - win (2:1) - hardest games of my life. Thankfully every game I had Jace + Lili + Wasteland/s (for Eye of Ugin). Two games it was in time.
T4: Death and Taxes - loss (1:2) - freaking Vials, man. It is so hard to play around instant Flickerwisp and Revoker. Last game I wasn't able to find Deed in time (Digged about 12 cards deep).

Dig Through Time shined. Like a sun. I didn't expect it to be this good. It is possible to play them at the end of turn 3. Often played confortably at the end of turn 4. Thing I like about them is that they help you when you are behind. Which is something where Standstill is lacking. Give it a shot, guys.

Possible changes: -1 Dimir Charm, -1 land, +1 wasteland, +1 ???. Sideboard needs lot of work. Considering Dread of Night against Death and Taxes. Also Disfigures.


4 Force of Will
3 Thoughtseize
2 Spell Pierce
1 Dimir Charm

4 Innocent Blood
4 Abrupt Decay
3 Pernicious Deed
2 Liliana of the Veil

4 Brainstorm
2 Ponder

3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Dig Through Time

1 Life from the Loam

3 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
2 Bayou
4 Polluted Delta
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Verdant Catacombs
2 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Wasteland
2 Mishra's Factory
1 Island

SB: 1 Drow In Sorrow
SB: 2 Duress
SB: 3 Surgical Extraction
SB: 2 Golgari Charm
SB: 1 Thoughtseize
SB: 1 Notion Thief
SB: 1 Spell Pierce
SB: 3 Engineered Plague
SB: 1 Life from the Loam


How do you beat Death and Taxes, guys? Once they have Vial online for 3 I feel pretty screwed.

[H]

I never found Death & Taxes to be that bad a matchup. Dread of Night is not a possibility, you run Deed. Disfigures are good though.

Spell Pierce never impressed me in this deck, but 3 Liliana might be right again now. I also wouldn't cut down on Factorys, the deck needs more ways to win, not less.

I haven't played this in a while, so I am not sure how the meta is suited for it, though Dig Through Time seems good.

[Ahtii]

Have you tried Massacre against Death and Taxes? elves also splash white pretty often (and even if they dont , its very hard castable on turn 4 , assuming you are still alive)

Anyway I cant find much room or need for _dedicated_ death and taxes hate. Yes its not easiest matchup of all, but I still think we have most of the needed tools already in maindeck. So far I have been quite victorious against death and taxes , but clearly not enough testing yet.

[twndomn]

I was able to play at saturday event. Ended 4th, 29 participants.

Games:
R1: UB Reanimator - win (2:0)
R2: Urgw Faeries/wizards - loss (1:2) - deck with Mutavault, Spellstutter Sprite, Snapcaster, Vendilion Clique. We were short on time g3. I went all in instead of stabilizing board. It was bad decision.
R3: RUGb Delver - win (2:0) - Both games survived at 3 lives. He could't find Bolt.
R4: BUG Mosswort bridge + Phyrexian Dreadnought combo - win (2:1)
R5: Death and Taxes - draw (g3 was very winable)
T8: UG 12post - win (2:1) - hardest games of my life. Thankfully every game I had Jace + Lili + Wasteland/s (for Eye of Ugin). Two games it was in time.
T4: Death and Taxes - loss (1:2) - freaking Vials, man. It is so hard to play around instant Flickerwisp and Revoker. Last game I wasn't able to find Deed in time (Digged about 12 cards deep).

How do you beat Death and Taxes, guys? Once they have Vial online for 3 I feel pretty screwed.

if u don't run standstill, is it still landstill?

[FoolofaTook]

if u don't run standstill, is it still landstill?

I think it's BUG Control at that point. Standstill is one of the best cards in the meta right now if your list supports it. Draw 3 and if they wait a turn or two to break it you're either hitting them with a manland or fully untapped when they finally break it.

[Nastaboi]

Hi , Just recently bought last pieces for the deck and started playing it. For now , I have been playing TNN as substitute to Sideboard Tarmogoyf (mainly budget reasons) But noticed that I like TNN in board a lot. Do I even want tarmogoyf?! (TNN + Deed is also super nice , since deed for 2 is usually enough.)

TNN might be better when you just want to block all day, but main reason to have Tarmo on board is to get a clock in play against combo decks and then keep counters up for the rest of the game. Doing stuff in other matchups is just bonus.

Somehow , I still miss playing with ponders :/ most of the losses I get , are due land / colour screw.

You should probably cut a colorless land and add another dual, likely Bayou. I would also cut down on UU mana costs, and bring the curve more down in general. See my list or theBloody's for comparison.

Dig Through Time shined. Like a sun. I didn't expect it to be this good. It is possible to play them at the end of turn 3. Often played confortably at the end of turn 4. Thing I like about them is that they help you when you are behind. Which is something where Standstill is lacking. Give it a shot, guys.

I believe 4/1 split between Standstills and Digs to be correct, but I'll test 3/2 split next tournament to see how it goes. I like pure card advantage Standstill provides and find UU from Dig to be significantly worse than U from Cruise, but Standstill not helping when you are behind is a thing.

Spell Pierce never impressed me in this deck, but 3 Liliana might be right again now. I also wouldn't cut down on Factorys, the deck needs more ways to win, not less.

I still don't like Pierce, but right now it feels like the least bad card for the spot. Cutting down in Factories is fine if you have Shamans, and even if you don't, Jace ultimatum does the trick when you need to finish them up.

Remember to watch round clock when playing against Dn'T as the games will be long and grindy. You want all the Disfigures in the matchup. I'm adding Darkblast in my board to fight Infect, but it should do some serious damage against Dn'T, too.

[H]

I still don't like Pierce, but right now it feels like the least bad card for the spot. Cutting down in Factories is fine if you have Shamans, and even if you don't, Jace ultimatum does the trick when you need to finish them up.

Remember to watch round clock when playing against Dn'T as the games will be long and grindy. You want all the Disfigures in the matchup. I'm adding Darkblast in my board to fight Infect, but it should do some serious damage against Dn'T, too.

Thanks for weighing in, Nastaboi, I consider you to be pretty much the authority on this deck, so I defer to you on this.

I am unsure of what to play going forward, I might pick this back up. Would you mind sharing what list you are currently playing? I think I have pretty good idea, but I am curious how far off I might be.

[Nastaboi]

I'd probably just take my proposed list from previous page, switch Cruises to Digs and then make adjustments for local meta. I think I might run the exact list next tournament and see where it takes me.

[theBloody]

@H I can see 3 Lilianas main if you aren't playing full Innocent Blood version.

@twndomn Yeah. I addressed this issue before. Thing is that I'm switching between various builds including Standstill one so I keep posting my results here. I don't think there is any pure bug control thread and I don't feel my lists are different enough to create one. Of course if my lists would offend people here, I will reconsider my stance.

@Nastaboi You are right. Finding UU is not easy. That is the reason I cut maindeck Counterspells completely.

I keep playing Innocent Bloods. We all know when they are good and bad. They are the main reason why I don't play Deathrite Shamans. So I'm playing Ponders to fights Wastelands and it works nicely.

Also I'm glad I get rid of Intuitions + Harvest. The deck is compact now.

Thanks for comments on DnT match up, guys. Going to include some Disfigures/Darkblast to sb. Massacre can be good, but without Deathrites it seems slow against elves. I will consider that.

[Sloshthedark]

I was able to play at saturday event. Ended 4th, 29 participants.

Congrats, I ended up 2nd in this very event losing to the D+T player in the finals playing Storm, don't worry I think it was just his lucky day (DoN would be an overkill, you're running 3Plague already), those 12post games were awesome, I have to say DiG looked pretty impressive watching your games

[theBloody]

Haha. Sorry for the super long matches. I think that 12post one was about 75+ minutes or something. Also cool to meet another sourcer!
Against DnT guy I had one moment where I had FoW in hand. I was able to hardcast it but I tap out for something (Liliana maybe?) to pressure his board. I don't recall if had to play it. I opened myself to Cataclysm and he had It.
Congrats on your placing too. Hope I can make it to Prague next time.

[JustABee]

Hello All,

I go to weekly tournaments in the US (New Jersey to be a little more specific). A friend has been playing a very tuned UW still deck for weeks, but it takes forever to win. In the hopes of winning a little faster I have looked to take his shell and turn it into a BUG still deck. While the wins might not be any faster I think people are more likely to scoop to Lilliana + Jace both ticking up. Here is the list I'm going to run tomorrow. I have read the last 10 or so pages of the thread but would like input from veterans. I'll say that that past few weeks we have had some Storm decks show up and there are always a few burn players there.

23 Lands
1 Academy Ruins
1 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Wastelands
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Polluted Delta
1 Verdant Catacombs
2 Island
3 Tropical Island
3 Underground Sea
4 Mishra's Factory

4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
4 Standstill
2 Counter spell
2 Dig Through Time
3 Spell Snare
3 Jace the Mind Sculptor
1 Crucible of Worlds

2 Disfigure
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Lilliana of the Veil

3 Engineered Explosives
2 Toxic Deluge
2 Pernicious Deed

In the transition I lost (from UW to BUG)

4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Supreme Verdict
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Humility
1 Ajani Vengent

Because of this I did some odd things like adding a 4th sweeper and including two disfigure for a 1cc answer to some cards.

Let me know what you think and I'll make some edits and post a small report after the event on Saturday.

My SB looks like 9 cards to bring in vs control decks (as I have 12 creature removal spells obv some stay depending on the mach up) and 6 other cards.

SB

1 Arcane Laboratory
1 Energy Flux (More for MUD than affinity)
1 Pithing Needle
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Graf digger's Cage
2 Spell Pierce
2 Thoughtseize
2 Flusterstorm
2 Hyrdoblast
2 Chill

[theBloody]

Two things from me.
First: Loam seems generally stronger than Crucible because it is:
- virtually counter-proof (dredge)
- decay-proof
- immediate card advantage (3 for 1)
- combo with Liliana (discarding lands is often better than discarding other cards)
- a turn faster which helps a lot early game (especially when facing Wastelands)

Second: I wouldn't play more than one Explosives mainboard. I see it as weaker sweeper because of how mana intensive it is. It has similar function as Deed and Deed is more powerful.
I get that you can play Explosives turn 1 to kill early birds like Delver/Deathrite, but it will eat your whole turn 2 and you tap yourself out. At minimum I would change -1 Explosives +1 Disfigure.

Good luck at tournament.

[anwei]

Not a veteran:
Agree on Explosives, and I'd go for Innocent Blood over Disfigure.
I'd probably play 3 Decay, 3 Deed, 1 Deluge, 1 Explosives, 4 Blood in those slots.

[Bobmans]

Not a veteran:
Agree on Explosives, and I'd go for Innocent Blood over Disfigure.
I'd probably play 3 Decay, 3 Deed, 1 Deluge, 1 Explosives, 4 Blood in those slots.

Also not a veteran, but do play a lot of Veteran Explorer. I would go for Maelstrom Pulse instead of Engineered Explosives, because it takes down what Abrupt Decay can't (Jace, Ugin or multiples like 2 pithing needle) AND it can get rid a sea of tokens, being Zombies, Goblins or Angels for example. EE just misses some reach in that regard AND you already have Pernicious Deed, which is a better card then EE in my oppinion. Academy Ruins + EE is not worth it when you have no ways to fetch the land. EE would be better in a deck that is build around artifacts more. Trinket Mage, Baleful Stri and Sensei's Divining Top. Or some Intuition+Life from the Loam shenenigans (with 1 Depths + 1 Stage possibly). Just some random thoughts here.

[cdnza]

Hey guys, I'm starting to build this deck right now and wondered if anyone else was trying to play it in this meta. I'm curious about peoples' opinions on a few things:

• Vraska. Is anyone running this as a 1-of? I really like the idea of having the vindicate ability now that walkers can't vindicate each other.
• Intuition. Grabbing loam + 2 wastes seems really strong. If you run worm harvest it gets even better.
• Innocent Blood versus Disfigure. Has anyone got any strong opinions on either side?

Lastly, I'm curious about mana. I've seen several different configurations, but presumably we want at least one each of usea, bayou and trop with 6-7 total duals with ~8 fetches?

[cdnza]

So I'm going to try out something like the following next week if I can. I know this deck isn't popular right now (the Shardless Agent style BUG deck is quite common around here right now though) but I am interested to see how it will do. If anyone has anything to suggest about the following list, please share :)

1x Forest
1x Island
1x Swamp
4x Polluted Delta
2x Verdant Catacombs
2x Misty Rainforest
2x Tropical Island
2x Underground Sea
1x Bayou
2x Creeping Tar Pit
2x Mishra's Factory
3x Wasteland

4x Deathrite Shaman

3x Jace the Mind Sculptor
2x Liliana of the Veil
1x Vraska the Unseen

3x Abrupt Decay
2x Disfigure
4x Brainstorm
4x Force of Will
2x Spell Pierce
3x Standstill
3x Pernicious Deed
3x Thoughtseize
1x Intuition
1x Life from the Loam
1x Worm Harvest

edit: fix deck format