[Deck] Stasis - It's not that bad.....

[GRAH]

Is Ebony Owl really that good? It seems like playing lands negates its efficiency. For it, you really need Howling Mine. Is it that reliable to get it AND Mine AND Stasis AND Root Maze AND Forbidden City?

StasisMan's build seems like the best current version to me. However, FoWs seem to kill you, as do other early counterspells. I think you need some way of accelerating mana (Chrome Mox? Lotus Petal?) so you can get Stasis out before they draw into an FoW/get enough mana for a Leak or CSpell.

This deck is hit or miss. You either get the combo out, or you die hard.

[T is for TOOL]

Is Ebony Owl really that good?

Yes.

It seems like playing lands negates its efficiency.

If you're talking about your opponent laying lands, they must drop a land a turn to keep a constant hand size. This is assuming that Howling Mine isn't in play. The Owl only needs to successfully trigger 4 or 5 times.

The deck doesn't draw all of the cards you mentioned at once. Ideally, it lays an early Root Maze, and a Sylvan Library or Howling Mine. Against aggro, Energy Field helps out tremendously, and a 'Wrath of God' effect of The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale + Stasis is sometimes an option. I haven't playtested this new version much, but I agree that it doesn't look like it's very strong against control. The issue isn't resolving an early Stasis necessarily, but being able to drop one at the optimal time. Mana Short, Tangle Wire, and cards with similar effects can help with this problem, and are possbile considerations for the deck. In addition, I'd like to fit Chain of Vapor in somewhere, as I found myself missing it in the few games I did playtest.

The deck has a hit/miss mentality in that you need to draw Stasis or you lose, but it is designed to stall until you do draw Stasis. Additionally, you aren't required to drop Stasis as soon as you can. It's usually better to wait for an opportune time. Also, I'd consider the deck to be a lock and not a combo. :p

[syssc9]

This thread really interests me. During the Alliances era I ran a creature-less LD deck that used 3 Tabernacles to good affect and that peaks my interest here. Unfortunately, I now own only 2 Tabernacles, and that poses a bit of a problem, since I completely agree that 3 is the correct number. I toyed with the idea of using Living Wish and putting 1 Tabernacle and perhaps a Chronatog in the sideboard (turning it into a wish-board), but I wonder if the 3cc of the Wish isn’t too much in this deck. Millerwc mentioned the possibility of using Crop Rotation and that sounds like my best bet. In some of the lists I see both Ebony Owl and Howling Mine reduced to 3 each, ostensibly to fit in 2 Sylvan Library. I have not built or tested any of the versions listed above, but I’m working on it. I wonder if anyone would care to comment on the following list:

4 Stasis
4 Root Maze (or perhaps some # of Orb of Dreams?)
4 Ebony Owl
4 Howling Mine
4 Force of Will
4 Daze
4 Impulse/Brainstorm (unsure which is best in this deck)
4 Crop Rotation
4 Energy Field
2 Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

Notice the lack of Libraries. Do they really help that much? Especially as a 2-of, do you really draw them often enough to make a significant difference? I am hoping the 4 Howlers will do the job in the absence of Sylvan Library. I also wonder if Orb of dreams is a good choice. The 3cc bothers me… My mana base would be similar to others listed above and I would probably run things like Damping Matrix/Cursed Totem and the aforementioned Libraries in the side board.

Does this look viable? I am in the process of putting it together (gotta pick up a couple more Corp Rotation and Energy Field tonight) and will report on how it goldfishes, at least, when it is complete.

Thanx for any input.

[T is for TOOL]

I toyed with the idea of using Living Wish and putting 1 Tabernacle and perhaps a Chronatog in the sideboard (turning it into a wish-board), but I wonder if the 3cc of the Wish isn’t too much in this deck.

Living Wish only costs 2, but Chronatog isn't a very good SB option, so that would leave you with The Tabernacle. If that's the only target, then there's really no point in running Wish in this deck.

I also wonder if Orb of dreams is a good choice. The 3cc bothers me…

I'd stick with 4 Root Maze because of its low mana cost, it makes it easier to drop all of the lock pieces at once. Additionally, it can give you a big advantage against decks that run a lot of Fetches.

Notice the lack of Libraries. Do they really help that much? Especially as a 2-of, do you really draw them often enough to make a significant difference? I am hoping the 4 Howlers will do the job in the absence of Sylvan Library.

The reason most of the lists are running 3 Owls/ 3 Mines is that you don't necessarily want to see them in the opening hand. Owl doesn't do a whole lot early on, and Howling Mine is more solid when a Root Maze is on the board. Think of it from the standpoint of dropping a second turn Mine vs. second turn Owl vs. second turn Library. Library will be the best choice in a majority of the situations. Specifically, it's most helpful against control, where the card advantage it generates is huge.

4 Impulse/Brainstorm (unsure which is best in this deck)

Impulse is superior to Brainstorm in this deck, for two major reasons.

1. Lack of shuffle effects diminishes Brainstorm's effectiveness.
2. Impulse digs deeper, and works better with Sylvan Library and/or Howling Mine.

Millerwc mentioned the possibility of using Crop Rotation and that sounds like my best bet.

Crop Rotation takes up unnecessary slots in the deck. Keep in mind that The Tabernacle is only really effective against aggro and the opponent doesn't lose when The Tabernacle hits the board; it just slows them down. Using Crop Rotation not only costs you a mana source, but a card from your hand. This slot is better used to help you battle control/aggro/combo, depending on your metagame.

[syssc9]

Thanks for the input. I added the 2 Libraries and dropped 1 Owl , 1 Energy Field and 2 Crop Rotation. I still only have 2 Tabernacles so I have retained 2 Crop Rotation. The libraries do help a bunch, even as a 2-of. One thing: this deck is really order-dependent. That is, you must play the cards in a certain order for it to work. I hate that, but it seems to be the nature of the beast. For example: Howling Mine is one of the few cards that shuts off when tapped, so you MUST have the Howler down before the Root Maze/Stasis hits the board. This may seem a quibble, but it annoys me no end.

I have been gold-fishing it like a billion times, but it seems to be one of those decks that are hard to judge that way. I played it against my wife and her Angel Stumpy with Jittes and had no trouble beating her. She hated it, BTW!

Here’s my current list:

4 Forsaken City
4 Tropical Island
4 Yavimaya Coast
12 Island

4 Stasis
4 Root Maze
3 Ebony Owl
4 Howling Mine
2 Sylvan Library
2 Crop Rotation
2 Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
4 Force of Will
4 Daze
4 Impulse
3 Energy Field

I would love to hear some tips on play strategy and match-ups. Unfortunately, there are no 1.5 tourneys here in Omaha - at least none that I am aware of... :(

[T is for TOOL]

Although I've only played the deck at one tournament since the September bannings, I can list a few matchups that I've played off the top of my head.

Landstill

I typically faced 2-3 different landstill builds, UR, URW, and UB. The most difficult of these was UR, as the MD burn and SB Blasts sometimes posed a problem. The current favorite at the moment seems to be UW. This is good for the Stasis player, since white was added primarily to deal with creatures, so the deck has dead cards not found in the UR version. My old list, however, had several cards that gave me an even greater advantage against Landstill, namely Tsabo's Web and Tangle Wire. As for the actual matches, one of the most effective ways to slow them down is Root Maze on the first turn. Other than that, You just need to be able to force a Stasis through at an opportune time. This will be much harder given your build, because you have no method to force them to tap their lands. This matchup is going to require extensive playtesting, but I am sure that you need some method to disrupt their mana to even the odds. Also, I found 4 Back to Basics to be the best SB option against them.

ATS

Right now, this is a horrible matchup for you. If they resolve a Tradewind Rider, it's game over. Even if they don't, you have Quirion Ranger to worry about, not to mention the Counterspells, and SB Choke. My old build managed to get a slightly favorable matchup out of this, but I was running 3 Cursed Totem main, and Chain of Vapor as well. You need something to deal with utility creatures, and my best suggestion would be Cursed Totem. This card shuts down a good portion of their deck. Also, due to its mana-intensive nature, you shouldn't have problems finding opportunities to drop a Stasis on them. I found Tabernacle and Totem to be the best cards in this matchup, and sometimes I added a Drop of Honey or two from the SB.

Solidarity

This is also looking pretty ugly for you right now. With no way to disrupt their combo aside from Root Maze, they can pretty much ignore what you do, and dig at the end of your turn, without worrying about Stasis too much. At the moment, they have no pressure on them, so they don't have to try and force anything. Root Maze is very good, especially since the new builds are running so many Fetches. My only suggestion would be something like Tangle Wire or possibly Mana Short. Other than that, you can always just put 4 Blessings in the SB. :p

Burn/Goblins

Energy Field = Good Times. Post SB bring in Chill.

Pox

This was an interesting matchup. Howling Mine and Sylvan Library become the key cards in this match. The ability to draw more cards a turn negates the advantage that Pox tries to create, not to mention it limits the effectiveness of the builds using The Rack. I never really had any SB slots for this match because it wasn't a very popular deck, however, Spreading Algae would be good if you felt you needed something.

Enchantress

This match was usually a coin toss, depending on the quality of the hand and the draws, etc. Basically I would counter their disenchant effects, and occasionally a Sterling Grove. Root Maze slows them down considerably, and hopefully they will be generous with their Fetching and Library uses, so you will only need one or two Owl activations. I also favored Chain of Vapor in this match, as it can be used to bounce the Disenchant targets, Presences, and of course, an early Stasis.

Madness

Cursed Totem is MVP in this match. Following at a close second is Energy Field. When I played this matchup, I sometimes drew into Time Vault followed by Energy Field, and it was all over. Other times, turn 1 Root Maze gave me plenty of time to draw into what I needed. Currently, the matchup isn't going to be nearly as favorably, but the key cards still remain the same.

Random Aggro

These matches are made easier by Energy Field and Tabernacle. Cursed Totem is also handy in some situations, and depending on your meta, you can allocate the appropriate number of SB slots for this.

[Volley This!]

Ok not to rain on anybodys parade here but I saw one guy say dump chronotog from a stasis deck. I couldn't imagine playing stasis without him. Play turbo stasis, is way fun and it has a hard lock when it wins.

Stasis+Kismet+Chronotog= You get 3 points for the round
:) for those who can't see the broken combo.

Stasis says nothing uptaps, Kistmet says stuff comes into play taped, chronotog says i'll get slightly bigger by skipping my next turn but I can only do this once per turn. However it doesn't say only on your turn may you use the ability(insert evil smile)

Lets say its the end of your opponents turn, and all his permanents are tapped, activate the mighty chrontog there by skipping your next turn, opponent starts turn by drawing a card, nothing untaps because of stasis, he may drop a land but it comes into play tapped because of kismet, he says end turn, but wait what if you activate the mighty chronotog again? Why he'd be forced to do it all over again drawing 1 card each turn, and ultimately decking himself, that is if you were to continually activate the mighty chronotog.

[GRAH]

Volley This, we get how the Chronatog version works. It isn't as reliable, or as good. Also, it's not necessarily a hard lock. No Stasis lock is a hard lock.

[XxCoffinxX]

i remember waay back in the day i used to play stasis...mine was hella ghetto tho...i ran serra angel and meddling mage...i agree that chronatog is bad but what about meddling mage in the deck? its definetly better than pithing needle and cursed totem. i understand it not a great choice because its a creature and can get picked off...but pithing needle and totem can also get picked off your also going to need something to untap lands or bounce the stasis i understand you said boomerrang but what about capsize? it has a buyback ability. also how about seal of removal? im not saying add all of them...but maybe a couple of them

[T is for TOOL]

Stasis likes cheap spells. The only bounce spell that should be run in the MD is Chain of Vapor. It's cheap, efficient, and can target your opponent's permanents too.

Cursed Totem is almost strictly better than Meddling Mage in this deck. It is much harder to get rid of, deals with many threats at the same time, doesn't have white in the mana cost, and it doesn't die to The Tabernacle. Also, a spell that picks off Cursed Totem is one that isn't hitting another artifact or enchantment.

@Volley This! Please read through the thread before you post. The version that wins with Time Vault or Chronatog (strictly worse than Time Vault), was already discussed earlier. The decking strategy is too slow to work in a tournament setting.

[Volley This!]

How is it too slow? you have your opponents never untapping, anything they do play comes into play tapped, and they draw a card every turn, without you having another turn.

They should realise you have put them into an infinte lock and conceed, and can you please explain to me how this is not a hard lock? Because if I played against someone who did that to me I'd call that the masterlock because its impossible to break, and its only 3 cards.

[GRAH]

If they already have lands untapped, as with all Stasis decks, it's not a lock.

Chronatog is specifically weak because it dies to ANY spot-burn and any creature removal under the sun.

[Volley This!]

Why would you drop stasis when your opponent has more than 1 untapped land?? and when you drop chronotog you make sure you got some protection in hand whethere it be daze force of will or whatever your playing so you make sure he stays on deck.

[Slay]

So... your plan is to pray they tap out, and that you have all three pieces of the lock, and that you have coutnerspell backup in your hand. And that they have no way of getting out of the lock.

Have you any idea how stupid a game plan is when it dies to an opponent not doing something, especially considering you can't drop the lock all on one turn?
-Slay

[T is for TOOL]

How is it too slow? you have your opponents never untapping, anything they do play comes into play tapped, and they draw a card every turn, without you having another turn.

Getting the lock out isn't necessarily slow, winning the game is slow. I have played this version at serious tournaments before, and the problem is that your opponent won't concede if they think they can stall the round out. They are allotted a minimum amount of time (30 seconds, I believe) during each phase of their turn before they can be called for stalling. If they think they can wait until time in the round runs out, they will try. This will leave you with either a draw or a loss, not to mention it ruins what is supposed to be a fun event.

can you please explain to me how this is not a hard lock?

Abolish
ESG into Naturalize/other enchantment hate
Darksteel Colossus MD
Quirion Ranger
Reverent Silence
Carpet of Flowers
ANY free creature removal like Snuff Out, Contagion, Spinning Darkness, Sickening Shoal, Pyrokinesis, and Fireblast to name just a few reasons.

If you just run Time Vault over Chronatog, you don't need to worry about the creature removal. In fact, you can play Time Vault whenever you want, not just the turn that the lock comes down. Also, Tangle Wire allows you to drop the lock even when they have several lands untapped.

So... your plan is to pray they tap out, and that you have all three pieces of the lock, and that you have coutnerspell backup in your hand. And that they have no way of getting out of the lock.

Keep in mind that this version also runs Tangle Wire so that you can take a proactive role in getting them to tap out. I don't disagree that decking is a poor gameplan, but that version of the deck is built to do it as effectively as possible.

Let me stress again that Ebony Owl Netsuke is currently the best win condition for Stasis. If you are going to try and build a competitive deck, then look to this card as your win condition.

[Volley This!]

OK I never said that the version I was running was the be all and end all, but I just wanted an extra option to be open.

Now to "slay" you don't try to drop all the pieces in 1 turn. You play kismet to slow down and just pi$$ off the aggro deck alot, then you play the deck as any standard blue control, bide your time and wait for your opponent to over comitte in a turn, counter 1 thing, so he plays another counter that, and hopefully he plays another card so you can counter that, that he should be or is nearly tapped out with anywhere up to 4 less card in his hand because of what he tried to do in his turn then drop the stasis and watch his face drop. You may have chorontog in hand then, if he has bugger all cards in hand or if you have some protection in hand play the chronotog, if not bide your time again until you feel secure in that he's gonna stay in play.

Now I know time vault is way better, but unfortunately I don't have any so thats why I'm playing the tog version of the deck which is slightly less good admitedly, but should not be seen as a reason not to play stasis this way.

Now so that I don't cop so much heat, I'll post my turbo stasis deck by wednesday so that you can call it crap then.

Until then, stay classy

[Slay]

So...your goal is to play a 4cc enchantment that does nearly nothing to their clock, and wait until they tap out?

What happens if they just keep attacking you with mana open? If you don't play your pieces all in one turn then any opponent worth a crap will know you're playing Stasis. And then they'll never tap out, because if they do, you win.
-Slay

[GRAH]

Ebony Owl Netsuke is the better win condition than Chronatog for two reasons.

1. There is more creature hate than artifact hate in the metagame. Go ahead and look at all of the DTBs and Open forum decks. See how many have MD creature hate versus how many have MD artifact hate.

2. Forbidden City still allows you to draw cards (see: counterspells.).

Also, Kismet is significantly worse than Root Maze in this deck.

[AnwarA101]

I was wondering how much E. Tutor has been discussed in this deck. I know that you can't really afford to run fetchs with Root Maze, but it seems amazing that you can always find the combo piece that you need at the cost of 1 white. But the mana base could become really unstable with the addition of another color. Is this the main reason for it not being included? If so I understand.

[Slay]

The main reason for not including E Tutor is the card disadvantage, s I see it. In a deck where every card is precious, getting a Enlightened is pitch material. You need a simewhat large hand to win with Stasis. Enlightened is bad in that regard.
-Slay