Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Sample Deck List III. Card explanations/additional card choices IV. Matchups V. Updates
I. Introduction
Stax (and its variants) is a control/prison-based deck that utilizes strategic denial of resources on the opponent to win. Stax uses many powerful artifacts and other cards to wipe out or limit the lands of the other player, resulting in them becoming hopelessly tied up.
The main version of Stax that one would be mostly likely to see in tournament play is the Mono White version. White gives you access to all sorts of powerful tax/lock cards such as Ghostly Prison, Magus of the Tabernacle, and Armageddon.
While it is not a deck to beat, Stax runs many punishing cards that cause headaches to virtually any Legacy deck in the format. Stax is more than capable of taking tournament sets off of many top decks, so if you're going to be playing Legacy, you should be prepared for it to be existing.
Plains: Despite the deck running a slew of non-basic lands, Plains help to round out the mana base and provide the needed synergy with Flagstones of Trokair to work. It’s also nice having a source of mana that does not get hit by something such as Wasteland or Price of Progress.
Flagstones of Trokair: This is like an upgraded Plains (although not strictly better ;)) in the deck. Remember, Smokestack and Armageddon affect you as well, and this helps you recover really fast. There are a lot of small hidden synergies involved with FoT, such as reviving two of them with Crucible and clearing out the Plains in your deck for extra land if needed.
Ancient Tomb: Although the two damage you suffer from it can add up after a couple of activations, the acceleration this card offers to the deck is definitely worth it.
City of Traitors: It’s an Ancient Tomb that doesn’t hurt you and it accelerates you just the same. Even though this land doesn’t last too long in play, you can recur it in your graveyard with a Crucible. Remember, if you’re going to play another land and dump CoT in the process, tap CoT for its mana.
Mishra’s Factory: A manland that provides a quick, cheap, and efficient way of killing someone once you get them locked down (in case they don’t concede). It gets even better with Crucible when you have an army of Assembly Workers that keep coming back into play.
Wasteland: A very powerful card that fits perfectly in the theme of this deck in resource denial. Virtually every single deck in Legacy runs some set of non-basics that compliment their deck. Wasteland is a free and uncounterable (barring Stifle) source of land destruction that can get rid of all sorts of problematic lands. Wasteland + Crucible can force concessions by itself against certain decks that don’t have an answer to it.
Magus of the Tabernacle: This guy is just incredible in the deck. He can singlehandedly slow aggro decks to a crawl thanks to his taxing ability. Your opponent has to either get rid of creatures or pay a costly upkeep to affect their tempo; both are highly beneficial in the deck. By itself, Magus is excellent. Combined with additional other control and resource denial cards in Stax however, Magus is backbreaking. Magus is also a 2/6 creature; that kind of frame can stand up to creatures like 5/6 Tarmogoyfs, Werebear, assorted goblins, and force an opponent with burn to waste two burn spells to kill the guy. Finally, he can beat down your opponent for the win when needed. Don’t forget to pay the upkeep for Magus to stay on your turn; he’s a creature as well.
Mox Diamond: Accelerates the deck even further. The lands you dump in the graveyard can be recurred with Crucible, providing additional synergy. Mox Diamond allows you to play a turn 1 Trinisphere, which puts a large amount of decks at an immediate heavy disadvantage.
Chalice of the Void: This card does what it does well; it punishes decks with tight curves. Legacy is known for having games easily shape up or be decided by the first few turns. Chalice takes easy advantage of this fact. You have nothing that costs 1 mana, nothing that costs 2 mana, and only Mox Diamond that costs 0 mana. This allows the deck to fully utilize Chalice to limit the cards in your opponent’s deck.
Trinisphere: Trinisphere (aka 3Sphere) is an absolutely devastating card against a lot of decks no matter how you slice it. It is arguably one of the most disruptive cards in the entire game. A resolved Trinisphere against many a deck results in game over if they cannot handle it. It slows down aggro decks significantly and kills combo decks while active, forcing them to get rid of it somehow. Free spells like Force of Will, Daze, Snuff Out, Land Grant, Moxes, Lotus Petal, and Affinity spells become far less fun to play when they will always have to cost at least 3 mana. Stax is more than equipped to handle against the symmetrical effect of Trinisphere.
Crucible of Worlds: This deck is all about synergy with the cards involved in it, and Crucible is definitely no exception. Crucible does so much in the deck that it is absolutely critical to play 4 of them. Crucible provides a way to constantly recycle lands to dump to a Smokestack, allowing to not lose board position and resources like your opponent would. It’s also huge to bring back Mishra’s Factory; essentially providing you creatures that will not die except to RFG effects like Swords. Wasteland + Crucible give you an alternate way to win the game by systematically wiping out non-basic lands which almost every deck in Legacy will play a lot of. Getting City of Traitors back for more mana is also a nice plus, and a couple of Flagstones of Trokair can clean out the Plains in your deck. Simply put, Crucible of Worlds is incredible in the deck.
Smokestack: The card where the name of the deck was derived from, Smokestack is obviously the central card of the entire archetype. Smokestack chokes off your opponent of their permanents, putting a huge amount of pressure on them to get rid of Smokestack quickly or suffer the fate of having their cards go down the drain. Although it really doesn’t kill the opponent, Smokestack will be what makes your opponent concede if they cannot answer it and is under its pressure. You have Crucible which allows you to recur your dumped lands to Smokestack which obviously helps to break the symmetry of the card.
Ghostly Prison: Great against any aggro deck for slowing them down immensely. It’s like a better version of Moat in the deck because it affects all your opponent’s creatures and the taxing effect is the additional synergy that puts this card over the top. Armageddon + GP is just nasty for any deck when they can’t attack at all, and Magus + GP very quickly ties down the mana for an aggro deck. Basically, Ghostly Prison fits perfectly in the lieu of mana denial when it can very easily act as a card that says “You can’t be attacked.”
Oblivion Ring: This has been one of the newer additions to Stax, and it does not disappoint. A good amount of decks run a few handfulthreats that are essentially must-answer cards. O-ring solves this by giving the deck an excellent piece of spot-removal to pick off a solo threat that can give you problems, such as a Tarmogoyf or Tombstalker. One of the nifty things about O-Ring is the fact that it can get rid of Phyrexian Dreadnought and it will die when it comes back in unless your opponent decides to use up another Stifle to keep it in play. It also resets Aether Vial which gives Stax fits. The mana cost makes this easy to cast in the deck and its versatility is extremely hard to match.
Armageddon: Unless your opponent has something like their own Crucible or an active Aether Vial, or some other way to not have to use mana, a resolved Armageddon can put you in a situation where the game is pretty much finished. This is one of the best proactive cards in the deck; you can easily break the symmetry with cards like Flagstones, Mox, and Crucible to quickly rebuild yourself from a post Geddon while your opponent is in trouble.
Sideboard
Obviously, the sideboard changes like any other deck depending on the metagame. In the case of the sideboard above, this reflects my meta of combo/various red decks including Goblins.
Tormod’s Crypt: Nothing is really better in the format than the Crypt for easy, efficient graveyard removal. This helps a lot against the Ichorid, 43-lands, and Aggro-Loam matchups.
Pithing Needle: When there is a card that is giving you problems like an Aether Vial, Sensei’s Divining Top, manlands, you name it, the Needle will neutralize it for the low cost of just one mana.
Glowrider: An additional obstacle for combo decks to overcome. I like this over Sphere of Resistance because of the fact it beats for 2, putting additional pressure on your opponent.
Sphere of Law: Against pretty much any red deck that is unable to answer it, this is an immediate game over. It really is backbreaking for them when burn does next to no damage and goblins bounce off you repeatedly.
Additional card choices
Ravages of War: If you need extra Armageddon effects, Ravages of War is Geddon 5-8. You can also do a 2-2 split in the maindeck of Geddon and RoW to lessen the blow against stuff like Meddling Mage, Cranial Extraction, and Extirpate with virtually no drawback in doing so. If you have access to Ravages of War, play it. If you can’t get it due to money, you can still play Armageddon and not miss a beat except in rare situations.
Supression Field: Against decks that love to run fetchlands or rely on cards like Aether Vial or Top, Supression Field makes them very sad panda. Powerful by itself, but combined with the other tax cards in Stax it's just downright devastating.
Wheel of Sun and Moon: More hate for graveyard-based decks. While it’s harder to cast than Crypt, WoSaM provides a persistent effect that can give your opponent hell. It also has the added bonuses of being harder to get rid of (because it’s an enchantment) and unaffected by cards such as Pithing Needle or Stifle.
Karmic Justice: Shattering Spree can really be a pain for this deck. Karmic Justice can make your opponent pay big time by giving you an arsenal of Vindicates at your disposal should your opponent dare to target something you have in play. Karmic Justice will also trigger when it’s targeted itself as another cool bonus.
Hanna’s Custody: If you don’t want your artifacts to be destroyed in the first place, Hanna’s Custody will protect them in a pinch. It’s mana cost also makes it can easy cast for Stax.
Sphere of Resistance: The artifact version of Glowrider that also affects creatures as well. It doesn't beat down for 2 however, but this also means it's less vulnerable to creature removal. There is also the added benefit of coming down on the first turn much easier than Glowrider.
Powder Keg: Powder Keg, like Sphere of Resistance, can really put the hurt on a deck that relies on a low mana curve. At 0, Keg will blow up Thopters, artifact lands, manlands, and Moxes. At 1 it will get rid of Vial (a huge problem), Lackey, Mongoose, Dreadnought, and other problematic 1 casting cost stuff that is prevalent everywhere in the format.
Defense Grid: When you need help against permission and other instant-speed shenanigans, Defense Grid is your answer to those problems. It fits perfectly into the tax theme of the deck, and it comes out as quickly as turn 1 thanks to its wonderful and easy mana cost to cast for Stax.
Exalted Angel: One of the key cards in the original Angel Stax deck, it has been dropped recently as the kill card mainly because Factories and Magus get the job done already once you have a lock set up. If you’re really, really having problems against burn, Angel is great in conjunction with Sphere of Law to put them out of their misery.
IV. Matchups
Ichorid - 65/35 in Stax's favor
This is one matchup that Stax can really give Ichorid problems with. More than likely your best matchup against a tier 1 deck. A Chalice for 1 shuts down Breakthrough for 0, Putrid Imp, and Cabal Therapy. While they can still play LED if this is the case, you still have successfully limited their options and slowed them down. A 3sphere can also really make Ichorid cry when 3 mana is very rarely attained in the deck. Ghostly Prison game 1 is also a virtual game ender. Ichorid's only hope at winning game 1 is to successfully call your disruption with Therapies and also have an Unmask or two handy. You're still favored for games 2/3 considering that their Needles and Chain of Vapor do jack diddly against you and your only true concern is either Ancient Grudge or Ray of Revelation blowing up disruption pieces.
Sideboarding:
-3 Oblivion Ring
+3 Tormod's Crypt
Affinity (all variants) - 65/35 in Stax's favor.
Affinity is definately very fast, but so is Stax. Chalice disrupts them greatly; at 0 you stop Ornithopers, Lotus Petal, and Paradise Mantle; at 1 you stop Disciple of the Vault and Springleaf Drum, and for 2 you don't have to worry about Arcbound Ravager, Cranial Plating, or Fling. 3sphere however competely DECIMATES Affinity and it is just as bad as an autowin. Even if they can play their Frogmites and Myr Enforcers for free, Trinisphere will still force all their spells to be at least 3 to cast. Considering how few lands Affinity plays, having everything cost at least 3 is like a huge kick in the groin. Affinity also has to play through Ghostly Prison, Magus, and O-ring for even more aggro hate cards. Wasteland and Geddon are great at munching their lands and depriving them of the colors they need to cast certain things or just to lock them out of the game. This is just not a good matchup for Affinity at all.
Sideboarding:
No changes.
Gobins (various) - 60/40 in Stax's favor.
Stax definately has the advantage here with all the disruption aimed at hosing low curve decks like Goblins, but they can still keep it close considering they pack disruption to your mana base in Waste/Port and they also have the dreaded Vial. If they drop a first turn Vial or Lackey (assuming they go first or you don't have first turn disruption), don't panic. You're going to have your back up against the wall, but if you have the correct hand you will be able to still take the first game. Magus and Ghostly Prison are just flat out AMAZING in this game. Do not be afraid to use your O-Rings to get rid of problematic cards, especially Aether Vial. Depending on your sideboard, if you have Sphere of Law you can really give Goblins hell for the next 2 games. If they do not have a Vial in play, 3sphere owns them hardcore.
Sideboarding:
-4 Chalice of the Void
-4 Trinisphere
+4 Sphere of Law
+4 Pithing Needle
Solidarity - 60/40 in Stax's favor.
Solidarity is a straightforward Prison vs. Combo matchup, but the matchup's odds are mostly based on the opponent's deck choices and play skill. Watch for Rebuild off of Cunning Wish, and don't be afraid to put out redundant stax pieces if you have the mana laying around, as some builds run Cryptic Command. Focus on attacking as much as possible, while keeping in mind that given the choice, Chalice and Trinisphere should be secondary to destroying their lands. Trinisphere/Chalice/Armageddon/Smokestack all hurt the deck to various efficiencies, but as long as the deck has 3 lands, it can sculpt a winning hand right through the entire prison suite in the 8-10 turns you'll probably be giving it.
4c Threshold - 40/60 in 4c Threshold's favor. Thoughtseize is still very annoying when they start with it because it ruins your opening 7. It also forces you to play your threats immediately and therefore Daze becomes a problem as well. They also have Vindicate to make things even worse, and Counterbalance becomes useful for them (with Vindicate on top of their library). Your sideboard probably doesn’t have anything useful in it for this match, but there isn’t much you can take out either.
ANT - 40-60 in ANT's favor. The only card you have that really hurts them is Trinisphere (if it resolves you pretty much win), they can easily play around a single Chalice of the Void, and playing around 2 is also possible. Be prepared game 2 for Serenity and don't overextend. Set Chalice of the Void to 1 to stop their cantrips and Mystical Tutor; this will slow them down the most amount of time giving you a way to set up a Smokestack or some other type of disruption to clinch the match.
UGr Threshold - 55/45 in Stax's favor.
A tougher match than most other thresh builds because of fast burn spells + Tarmogoyf. Blood moon can also be a problem when you don't have Plains or a Mox Diamond, but in most cases it shouldn't be a problem for you. They still get wrecked by Chalice, 3sphere, and other disruption just like normal thresh decks.
Sideboarding:
No changes.
UGb Threshold - Neutral to 55/45 in Stax's favor. Thoughtsieze is very annoying, and Dark Confidant assures that they draw their disruption much quicker. Fortunately, they have a tight mana-base and a low curve, and that plays right into the hands of Stax's gameplan.
Sideboarding:
No changes.
****under construction****
V. Updates
- 2/2/09: Primer first posted; deleted all the tag crap.
- 2/4/09: Updated matchups.
- 2/8/09: Added more matchups.
- 2/12/09: Fixed up more stuff.
- 2/24/09: Added banner!
Mox Diamond really helps to accelerate the deck more than just the 8 2 mana taplands. Chrome Mox fails miserably in this deck.
@ trollwarrior: Good stuff there, and I think you do have a better sideboarding plan for Gobbos. I just really like ****ing them up with a 3sphere or drop a Sphere of Law for a virtual instant win. Chalices though are disposable in the matchup; I agree with that. I would also be cool with you providing matchup analysis for Landstill and Threshold.
I also completely forgot about Glowrider; that definately seems a lot better than the reactive Sphere of Resistance because it doubles as a kill card.
Dust Bowl is also an consideration with wasteland I think in a meta with alot of none basics. I run it in my staxs as wasteland number 5, turn any land in to waste is nothing to scoff at.
Great Primer! Surging Chaos has a nice list. I would personally run the following:
- 1 Flagstone of Trokair
- 1 Oblivion Ring
- 1 Smokestack
---------
+ 2 Exalted Angel
+1 Plains
*SB are to be tinkered to the meta so I cannot comment on the chosen cards
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I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
Stax generally has solid matchups across the board because the disruption it packs causes major problems for pretty much any deck. Chalice for 1 wrecks the majority of the meta because of its limiting power. 3sphere is arguably THE most disruptive piece of disruption in the entire game. The list goes on and on.
Anything with Aether Vial that can get it under a Chalice/3sphere gives Stax problems because they can ignore the tax effects and put creatures into play at instant speed. Deed also makes this deck cry due to the reliance on permanents to turtle.
Another weakness with this deck is the lack of raw card draw. You rely more on the quality of your cards and use taxing effects to effectively Time Walk your opponent. If you start run out of gas and you don't have prison cards active you're in trouble.
D&T comes to mind as a tough matchup IMO. Solidarity can also be not too fun against someone who knows how to play the deck inside and out.
Those are the best options. Needle stops it and field stalls it long enough until we can lock them down or do something about it. Running O-ring is nice to nail vial with. But as far as S/B options I think Suppression Field and Pithing Needle are excellent choices.
reading your posts seem that this deck has favourable MU against everything. i'm much more interested in the MU I have to worry about... what kind of deck can be considered as the "nemesis" of white stax?
I would agree with decks packing pernicious deed but would also like to say Black-Aggro decks. Between thoughtseize, hymn to tourach, and mana acceleration to match your tempo, such an aggressive + disruptive deck would wreck Staxxx.
Especially if they are on the play, a turn 1 hypnotic specter or thoughtseize/hymn can kill you. Staxxx cannot recur its spells (land-loss can be worked around) --- and such an exploitation would be a critical blow to the MU. I harp on this only because a well-constructed Black-Aggro deck consistently churns out devastating turn 1/2 plays...ritual also counteracts trinisphere. Sinkhole can nullify your tempo.
Chalice @ 1 could buy time but not as much as you'd comfortably want
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I mean, hell, we're all on a forum for something that most people would describe as a "children's card game"...do what makes you happy. You are never too old to enjoy yourself.
I would agree with decks packing pernicious deed but would also like to say Black-Aggro decks. Between thoughtseize, hymn to tourach, and mana acceleration to match your tempo, such an aggressive + disruptive deck would wreck Staxxx.
Especially if they are on the play, a turn 1 hypnotic specter or thoughtseize/hymn can kill you. Staxxx cannot recur its spells (land-loss can be worked around) --- and such an exploitation would be a critical blow to the MU. I harp on this only because a well-constructed Black-Aggro deck consistently churns out devastating turn 1/2 plays...ritual also counteracts trinisphere. Sinkhole can nullify your tempo.
Chalice @ 1 could buy time but not as much as you'd comfortably want
Ritual counters 3sphere? 3sphere renders ritual useless. Maybe if you don't have a 3sphere up in the first place.
This is a situation where, once again, going first is HUGE.
I have done some testing of my own on MWS and I'll have to agree that ANT is generally in their favor simply because Stax can be slow as hell and you need to pressure combo decks. Chalice slows them down, but doesn't crush them like a 3sphere does. It also blows having many dead cards game 1 (Magi/GP).
It's the main reason why I have Glowrider in my SB instead of SoR; it's both proactive AND reactive.
you guys really have a problem with ANT? I have always found the easyest stratagy against that deck is just muligain in to turn 1 or 2 3sphere you play that and they scoop every time. The card might as well read "target player playing any deck that uses storm scoops" maybe I am just playing bad ANT players....
Here's the thing. Stax is a VERY reactive deck. When you put up a Chalice, SoR, or something like that you are buying time and not making a real proactive threat for the other player to worry about. This is why I like Glowrider a lot. He slows down combo decks AND he beats them for 2 a turn. You can actually put pressure on ANT with Glowrider/Factory beatdown and cut down the number of cards they can get from Ad Nauseam which is awesome. Even better he is immune to Rebuild and other artifact killing spells.
ANT can actually pack proactive disruption in the form of Duress/Thoughtseize and it's not fun for a deck like Stax that relies so much on the opening hand. It doesn't exactly roll over like other combo decks do to Stax's disruption. Trinisphere is your only true card that locks them out of the game because it's that good, but you can't solely rely on 3sphere. It really sucks game 1 when you have useless cards like Magus and GP, essentially subtracting 8 cards from the deck for that instance.
1 - The sideboard Sphere of Resistance is mentioning how it is superior to Sphere of Resistance. I'm assuming the sideboard card should be Glowrider.
2 - Can you check to see if you can...
a: not have any of the text default to black (the first 2 matchups)
b: get default card tags on the rest of the matchups
Change the skin to dark and check that part of the thread; you'll see why I'm asking
On the subject of matchups, I'm just throwing this matchup out on Solidarity. (my first and still-backup Legacy deck :))
Solidarity - 60/40
Solidarity is a straightforward Prison vs. Combo matchup, but the matchup's odds are mostly based on the opponent's deck choices and play skill. Watch for Rebuild off of Cunning Wish, and don't be afraid to put out redundant stax pieces if you have the mana laying around, as some builds run Cryptic Command. Focus on attacking as much as possible, while keeping in mind that given the choice, Chalice and Trinisphere should be secondary to destroying their lands. Trinisphere/Chalice/Armageddon/Smokestack all hurt the deck to various efficiencies, but as long as the deck has 3 lands, it can sculpt a winning hand right through the entire prison suite in the 8-10 turns you'll probably be giving it.
I should also note that the current build I'm fooling around with uses 2xElspeth; I'm still iffy on it, but I need to test more on matchups where it + anti-synergy w/Ghostly Prison = bad times.
i'm curious to know what you think about that. Elspeth is such a solid card but i'm still not sure is she deserve 2 spots MD... she's hard to protect since ghostly prison doesn't work with PWs and she's also anti-synergy with magus if you use the token generation ability (wich is the main ability u would play early-game if u don't have a factory...).
I originally had her on 3 spots, which wasn't bad, but it tended to be a too-common card for the needs she fulfills.
The primary synergy Elspeth provides is with Smokestack, especially in a slower game, as Elspeth + Crucible + Smokestack gives a 2-counter Smokestack at no board disadvantage. It also fulfills a bit of the old Exalted Angel role, and boosts the win-threat count in the deck.
I actually don't see Magus + Elspeth as anti-synergistic. When I've had both out, either I'm making a single 1/1 which I pump for 4 in the air per turn, or I beat face with a 5/9 flying Magus. Either way, I can provide pressure through a Magus against aggro opponents. Even if I just need chump blockers, I just pay what I can afford, and let the rest die to blocking or upkeep effects.
I think I've activated Elspeth's ultimate on only 2 or 3 occasions; the only thing it really does anything against in this format is Shattering Spree. Otherwise, if I get Elspeth up to 8-9 counters, I should be winning already from the level of board lock that has prevented my opponent from just killing it.
Mostly, though, right now it's in because it's a bit more synergistic than Exalted Angel, while at the same time being pretty versatile in being able to support some locks.
Edit: A couple important things to keep in mind when playing Elspeth:
- Playing Elspeth pretty much requires 4x Smokestack, since you now have 6+ cards which are in direct synergy with it.
- Tarmogoyf-running decks love to see Elspeth, especially if they also run Duress. Unlike almost every other deck in Legacy, you may be facing down a 7/8 'Goyf with this choice.
It's nice to throw Soliders to a Smokestack, but usually I can set a Smokestack at 2 and recover decently fast afterward thanks to a Crucible after tossing all my lands away. What's your opponent going to do when their cards are gone as well? This works great with an active 3sphere if you save that too. As a kill card, Elspeth isn't exactly too necessary when you can just beat down the opponent with Factories/Magi when they are hopelessly locked out.
if you can afford them Moat makes Elspeth fantastic some recent deck list i saw ran 4 Moat, 4 humility and Elspeth together. i will see if i can find it.
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You're referring to what Sourcers call "Dutch Stax". It foregos many traditional lock pieces and all the synergies they provide for a more singular effect in Moat, Humility, and Elspeth.
Ive tested with Angels and without, and honestly i prefer playing without, and running 2 enlightened tutors. Also with the above posted deck, I find that running 26 lands far more consistent than running 24,...6 Plains minimum.
Heres my list
-4 magus
-2 Enlightened Tutors
-4 geddons
-4 G prisons
-2 O rings
-4 Mox diamonds
-4 Chalice
-4 Stax
-4 Crucible's
-2 Trini's
-4 Tombs
-4 Traitors
-3 Factories
-4 Trokairs
-4 wastelands
-1 dustbowl
-6 plains
this seems to be about as optimal as i can get it, and I rarely, if ever, lose to anything.
the main thing with Enlightened Tutor- which I tested extensively (I really love toolbox cards and tutors)- is it hurts the consistency of the deck in return for flexibility. The big problem is that tutor has terrible synergy with two of your most important lock pieces (chalice and trini) and on top of that, some of the best targets to tutor for (e.g. pithing needle) are also hurt by the same pieces.
It does allow you to cut ghostly prison and oblivion ring numbers down (which are the most situational permanents you have) and run some toolboxing, but on the whole the anti-synergy combined with the inherent card disadvantage makes it kind of not worth it. I moved back to a version without it and it feels much... meatier.
Can someone give a matchup (or at a minimum a quickie primer) on the affinity matchup?
I was playtesting with an inefficient (though interesting) build of Affinity last night and having all sorts of problems, but I'm not sure if it was due to the matchup or just gauging this particular deck the wrong way. I just saw it as a horrible matchup, as the deck
- goes out of the gate quickly
- has nonland sources of mana generation
- can move their fuel for damage between a large variety of cards, getting around O-Ring, focusing on one creature to swing through Ghostly Prison, and being able to switch to flyers quickly to get around the entire creature base.
Can someone give a matchup (or at a minimum a quickie primer) on the affinity matchup?
I was playtesting with an inefficient (though interesting) build of Affinity last night and having all sorts of problems, but I'm not sure if it was due to the matchup or just gauging this particular deck the wrong way. I just saw it as a horrible matchup, as the deck
- goes out of the gate quickly
- has nonland sources of mana generation
- can move their fuel for damage between a large variety of cards, getting around O-Ring, focusing on one creature to swing through Ghostly Prison, and being able to switch to flyers quickly to get around the entire creature base.
As always, going first helps so much.
If you get an early 3sphere before they drop a lot of stuff out, you pretty much autowin against Affinity. Even if they have most of their stuff out in play already, a 3sphere still kicks them in the groin badly because Affinity does not run many lands at all. Geddon/RoW is great at killing their lands and forcing them to part with creatures with a Tabernacle out or being unable to do anything with Ghostly Prison.
All of their lands except Citadel are Wasteable (most Affinity builds in my experience don't play them since they usually play 12 colored artifact lands, Glimmervoid, and Lotus Petals), and if you want to deny their mana even further you can set a Chalice at 0 to disable Ornithopter, Paradise Mantle, and Lotus Petal. You can cause Affinity a lot of problems if you keep them off of a certain color they need with Chalice + Wastelands (blue for thoughtcast, red for fling/shrapnel blast, and black for vault ninja).
Chalice is all around great. I already covered the stuff it stops at 0; at 1 it stops the Vault Ninja (VERY important when you have tied them up) and at 2 they are without Ravager, Cranial Plating, Shrapnel Blast, and Fling.
Target mainly their red and black mana because of bad stuff like Vault Ninja and burn that are usually what kill you.
Can someone give a matchup (or at a minimum a quickie primer) on the affinity matchup?
I was playtesting with an inefficient (though interesting) build of Affinity last night and having all sorts of problems, but I'm not sure if it was due to the matchup or just gauging this particular deck the wrong way. I just saw it as a horrible matchup, as the deck
- goes out of the gate quickly
- has nonland sources of mana generation
- can move their fuel for damage between a large variety of cards, getting around O-Ring, focusing on one creature to swing through Ghostly Prison, and being able to switch to flyers quickly to get around the entire creature base.
Affinity isn't that bad actually, and I consider it one of the better matchups- I have done some testing with it, including one of my favorite Stax games where I stabilized at 1 life with an enemy disciple on board and eventually won.
Key things-
Like so many others, early Trinisphere eats them alive (it really is the most brutal card in the deck).
Chalice @ both 1 or 2 is good. 1 stops Arcbound Worker, Chromatic Sphere/Star, Springleaf Drum (if they run it), and most importantly, Vial (horribly annoying) & Disciple (who is probably the most significant threat, given that he can kill you outside the combat step and can take advantage of your permanent destruction to do so). 2 stops Ravager & Plating, mostly. 1 is almost always the more crucial number, especially since you can usually get turn 1 chalice @ 1 but chalice @ 2 generally comes on turn 3 at the earliest. Chalice @ 2 is sometimes good late game.
Use Ghostly Prison + Magus to lock down the combat step. On top of that attacking into Magus will basically require either Plating equipped, a decent # of permanents sacc'd to a ravager, or Hoverguard to fly over.
Avoid slower hands like Cruci + wasteland or smokestack (smokestack is only good once you've locked the game down typically, as they can throw a lot of disposable permanents on the board, more than you in the beginning). The only really good use for Crucible is to recur Factories.
And of course, its good to open first. Basically, something like turn 1 or even turn 2 ancient tomb, mox diamond, trinisphere will ruin their day (whether on play or draw), and the opportunity for having such a dominating start is good. Turn 1 Chalice for 1, turn 3 magus, and turn 2 prison are other things you want to accelerate into.
The matchup depends on those cards, o-ring is only for vials, disciples and hoverguards typically, and 'geddon only to work with magus, or sometimes prison, and stax/cruci only to finish or if there aren't any other options.
ok, this is a crazy thought, i know. just tell what you guys think about: iv'e seen a couple of lists running chronosavant as beater that, making you skip one turn, also double stack your opponent.
don't you think that eater of days can fit this deck in place of chronosvant or even if u don't play it? 4 colorless mana for 9/8 flyer with trample that can make your opp in a very difficult situation...
for example you put the second counter on the stack then play our big buddy: that can make your opponent cry! even if he kills it he still has to play three turns under a 2 counter stack!
so what do you think? is this a totally jank card useless in this deck or it has good potential? (and a BIIIIIIG surprise effect:o!)
The problem is that it's a horrible card without a Smokestack with more than one counter on it in play.
The problem is that it's a horrible card without a Smokestack with more than one counter on it in play.
That's not exactly the reason why Chronosavant/EoD aren't played, but it's still a bad side effect.
The reason is because they are win-more cards. If you are forcing your opponent to take multiple upkeeps, you have pretty much already tied them down to begin with and making them get rid of their stuff faster isn't exactly going to accomplish much. It really doesn't matter how you kill your opponent once you lock them out of the game; Magus and Factory beatdown will suffice.
Plus, how are you planning on getting the Savant in the GY in the first place?
I'm really liking Suppression Field- it is SO brutal vs Top, Vial, Fetches and EE/Deed- but it has a horrible interaction with Mishra's Factory and Wasteland. Above all the Factory since its one of your few Win Cons.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Sample Deck List
III. Card explanations/additional card choices
IV. Matchups
V. Updates
I. Introduction
Stax (and its variants) is a control/prison-based deck that utilizes strategic denial of resources on the opponent to win. Stax uses many powerful artifacts and other cards to wipe out or limit the lands of the other player, resulting in them becoming hopelessly tied up.
The main version of Stax that one would be mostly likely to see in tournament play is the Mono White version. White gives you access to all sorts of powerful tax/lock cards such as Ghostly Prison, Magus of the Tabernacle, and Armageddon.
While it is not a deck to beat, Stax runs many punishing cards that cause headaches to virtually any Legacy deck in the format. Stax is more than capable of taking tournament sets off of many top decks, so if you're going to be playing Legacy, you should be prepared for it to be existing.
II. Sample Deck List
4 Plains
4 Flagstones of Trokair
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
4 Mishra’s Factory
4 Wasteland
Creatures (4)
4 Magus of the Tabernacle
4 Mox Diamond
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Trinisphere
4 Crucible of Worlds
4 Smokestack
Other (12)
4 Ghostly Prison
4 Oblivion Ring
4 Armageddon
3 Tormod’s Crypt
4 Pithing Needle
4 Glowrider
4 Sphere of Law
III. Card Explanations
Plains: Despite the deck running a slew of non-basic lands, Plains help to round out the mana base and provide the needed synergy with Flagstones of Trokair to work. It’s also nice having a source of mana that does not get hit by something such as Wasteland or Price of Progress.
Flagstones of Trokair: This is like an upgraded Plains (although not strictly better ;)) in the deck. Remember, Smokestack and Armageddon affect you as well, and this helps you recover really fast. There are a lot of small hidden synergies involved with FoT, such as reviving two of them with Crucible and clearing out the Plains in your deck for extra land if needed.
Ancient Tomb: Although the two damage you suffer from it can add up after a couple of activations, the acceleration this card offers to the deck is definitely worth it.
City of Traitors: It’s an Ancient Tomb that doesn’t hurt you and it accelerates you just the same. Even though this land doesn’t last too long in play, you can recur it in your graveyard with a Crucible. Remember, if you’re going to play another land and dump CoT in the process, tap CoT for its mana.
Mishra’s Factory: A manland that provides a quick, cheap, and efficient way of killing someone once you get them locked down (in case they don’t concede). It gets even better with Crucible when you have an army of Assembly Workers that keep coming back into play.
Wasteland: A very powerful card that fits perfectly in the theme of this deck in resource denial. Virtually every single deck in Legacy runs some set of non-basics that compliment their deck. Wasteland is a free and uncounterable (barring Stifle) source of land destruction that can get rid of all sorts of problematic lands. Wasteland + Crucible can force concessions by itself against certain decks that don’t have an answer to it.
Magus of the Tabernacle: This guy is just incredible in the deck. He can singlehandedly slow aggro decks to a crawl thanks to his taxing ability. Your opponent has to either get rid of creatures or pay a costly upkeep to affect their tempo; both are highly beneficial in the deck. By itself, Magus is excellent. Combined with additional other control and resource denial cards in Stax however, Magus is backbreaking. Magus is also a 2/6 creature; that kind of frame can stand up to creatures like 5/6 Tarmogoyfs, Werebear, assorted goblins, and force an opponent with burn to waste two burn spells to kill the guy. Finally, he can beat down your opponent for the win when needed. Don’t forget to pay the upkeep for Magus to stay on your turn; he’s a creature as well.
Mox Diamond: Accelerates the deck even further. The lands you dump in the graveyard can be recurred with Crucible, providing additional synergy. Mox Diamond allows you to play a turn 1 Trinisphere, which puts a large amount of decks at an immediate heavy disadvantage.
Chalice of the Void: This card does what it does well; it punishes decks with tight curves. Legacy is known for having games easily shape up or be decided by the first few turns. Chalice takes easy advantage of this fact. You have nothing that costs 1 mana, nothing that costs 2 mana, and only Mox Diamond that costs 0 mana. This allows the deck to fully utilize Chalice to limit the cards in your opponent’s deck.
Trinisphere: Trinisphere (aka 3Sphere) is an absolutely devastating card against a lot of decks no matter how you slice it. It is arguably one of the most disruptive cards in the entire game. A resolved Trinisphere against many a deck results in game over if they cannot handle it. It slows down aggro decks significantly and kills combo decks while active, forcing them to get rid of it somehow. Free spells like Force of Will, Daze, Snuff Out, Land Grant, Moxes, Lotus Petal, and Affinity spells become far less fun to play when they will always have to cost at least 3 mana. Stax is more than equipped to handle against the symmetrical effect of Trinisphere.
Crucible of Worlds: This deck is all about synergy with the cards involved in it, and Crucible is definitely no exception. Crucible does so much in the deck that it is absolutely critical to play 4 of them. Crucible provides a way to constantly recycle lands to dump to a Smokestack, allowing to not lose board position and resources like your opponent would. It’s also huge to bring back Mishra’s Factory; essentially providing you creatures that will not die except to RFG effects like Swords. Wasteland + Crucible give you an alternate way to win the game by systematically wiping out non-basic lands which almost every deck in Legacy will play a lot of. Getting City of Traitors back for more mana is also a nice plus, and a couple of Flagstones of Trokair can clean out the Plains in your deck. Simply put, Crucible of Worlds is incredible in the deck.
Smokestack: The card where the name of the deck was derived from, Smokestack is obviously the central card of the entire archetype. Smokestack chokes off your opponent of their permanents, putting a huge amount of pressure on them to get rid of Smokestack quickly or suffer the fate of having their cards go down the drain. Although it really doesn’t kill the opponent, Smokestack will be what makes your opponent concede if they cannot answer it and is under its pressure. You have Crucible which allows you to recur your dumped lands to Smokestack which obviously helps to break the symmetry of the card.
Ghostly Prison: Great against any aggro deck for slowing them down immensely. It’s like a better version of Moat in the deck because it affects all your opponent’s creatures and the taxing effect is the additional synergy that puts this card over the top. Armageddon + GP is just nasty for any deck when they can’t attack at all, and Magus + GP very quickly ties down the mana for an aggro deck. Basically, Ghostly Prison fits perfectly in the lieu of mana denial when it can very easily act as a card that says “You can’t be attacked.”
Oblivion Ring: This has been one of the newer additions to Stax, and it does not disappoint. A good amount of decks run a few handfulthreats that are essentially must-answer cards. O-ring solves this by giving the deck an excellent piece of spot-removal to pick off a solo threat that can give you problems, such as a Tarmogoyf or Tombstalker. One of the nifty things about O-Ring is the fact that it can get rid of Phyrexian Dreadnought and it will die when it comes back in unless your opponent decides to use up another Stifle to keep it in play. It also resets Aether Vial which gives Stax fits. The mana cost makes this easy to cast in the deck and its versatility is extremely hard to match.
Armageddon: Unless your opponent has something like their own Crucible or an active Aether Vial, or some other way to not have to use mana, a resolved Armageddon can put you in a situation where the game is pretty much finished. This is one of the best proactive cards in the deck; you can easily break the symmetry with cards like Flagstones, Mox, and Crucible to quickly rebuild yourself from a post Geddon while your opponent is in trouble.
Sideboard
Obviously, the sideboard changes like any other deck depending on the metagame. In the case of the sideboard above, this reflects my meta of combo/various red decks including Goblins.
Tormod’s Crypt: Nothing is really better in the format than the Crypt for easy, efficient graveyard removal. This helps a lot against the Ichorid, 43-lands, and Aggro-Loam matchups.
Pithing Needle: When there is a card that is giving you problems like an Aether Vial, Sensei’s Divining Top, manlands, you name it, the Needle will neutralize it for the low cost of just one mana.
Glowrider: An additional obstacle for combo decks to overcome. I like this over Sphere of Resistance because of the fact it beats for 2, putting additional pressure on your opponent.
Sphere of Law: Against pretty much any red deck that is unable to answer it, this is an immediate game over. It really is backbreaking for them when burn does next to no damage and goblins bounce off you repeatedly.
Additional card choices
Ravages of War: If you need extra Armageddon effects, Ravages of War is Geddon 5-8. You can also do a 2-2 split in the maindeck of Geddon and RoW to lessen the blow against stuff like Meddling Mage, Cranial Extraction, and Extirpate with virtually no drawback in doing so. If you have access to Ravages of War, play it. If you can’t get it due to money, you can still play Armageddon and not miss a beat except in rare situations.
Supression Field: Against decks that love to run fetchlands or rely on cards like Aether Vial or Top, Supression Field makes them very sad panda. Powerful by itself, but combined with the other tax cards in Stax it's just downright devastating.
Wheel of Sun and Moon: More hate for graveyard-based decks. While it’s harder to cast than Crypt, WoSaM provides a persistent effect that can give your opponent hell. It also has the added bonuses of being harder to get rid of (because it’s an enchantment) and unaffected by cards such as Pithing Needle or Stifle.
Karmic Justice: Shattering Spree can really be a pain for this deck. Karmic Justice can make your opponent pay big time by giving you an arsenal of Vindicates at your disposal should your opponent dare to target something you have in play. Karmic Justice will also trigger when it’s targeted itself as another cool bonus.
Hanna’s Custody: If you don’t want your artifacts to be destroyed in the first place, Hanna’s Custody will protect them in a pinch. It’s mana cost also makes it can easy cast for Stax.
Sphere of Resistance: The artifact version of Glowrider that also affects creatures as well. It doesn't beat down for 2 however, but this also means it's less vulnerable to creature removal. There is also the added benefit of coming down on the first turn much easier than Glowrider.
Powder Keg: Powder Keg, like Sphere of Resistance, can really put the hurt on a deck that relies on a low mana curve. At 0, Keg will blow up Thopters, artifact lands, manlands, and Moxes. At 1 it will get rid of Vial (a huge problem), Lackey, Mongoose, Dreadnought, and other problematic 1 casting cost stuff that is prevalent everywhere in the format.
Defense Grid: When you need help against permission and other instant-speed shenanigans, Defense Grid is your answer to those problems. It fits perfectly into the tax theme of the deck, and it comes out as quickly as turn 1 thanks to its wonderful and easy mana cost to cast for Stax.
Exalted Angel: One of the key cards in the original Angel Stax deck, it has been dropped recently as the kill card mainly because Factories and Magus get the job done already once you have a lock set up. If you’re really, really having problems against burn, Angel is great in conjunction with Sphere of Law to put them out of their misery.
IV. Matchups
Ichorid - 65/35 in Stax's favor
This is one matchup that Stax can really give Ichorid problems with. More than likely your best matchup against a tier 1 deck. A Chalice for 1 shuts down Breakthrough for 0, Putrid Imp, and Cabal Therapy. While they can still play LED if this is the case, you still have successfully limited their options and slowed them down. A 3sphere can also really make Ichorid cry when 3 mana is very rarely attained in the deck. Ghostly Prison game 1 is also a virtual game ender. Ichorid's only hope at winning game 1 is to successfully call your disruption with Therapies and also have an Unmask or two handy. You're still favored for games 2/3 considering that their Needles and Chain of Vapor do jack diddly against you and your only true concern is either Ancient Grudge or Ray of Revelation blowing up disruption pieces.
Sideboarding:
-3 Oblivion Ring
+3 Tormod's Crypt
Affinity (all variants) - 65/35 in Stax's favor.
Affinity is definately very fast, but so is Stax. Chalice disrupts them greatly; at 0 you stop Ornithopers, Lotus Petal, and Paradise Mantle; at 1 you stop Disciple of the Vault and Springleaf Drum, and for 2 you don't have to worry about Arcbound Ravager, Cranial Plating, or Fling. 3sphere however competely DECIMATES Affinity and it is just as bad as an autowin. Even if they can play their Frogmites and Myr Enforcers for free, Trinisphere will still force all their spells to be at least 3 to cast. Considering how few lands Affinity plays, having everything cost at least 3 is like a huge kick in the groin. Affinity also has to play through Ghostly Prison, Magus, and O-ring for even more aggro hate cards. Wasteland and Geddon are great at munching their lands and depriving them of the colors they need to cast certain things or just to lock them out of the game. This is just not a good matchup for Affinity at all.
Sideboarding:
No changes.
Gobins (various) - 60/40 in Stax's favor.
Stax definately has the advantage here with all the disruption aimed at hosing low curve decks like Goblins, but they can still keep it close considering they pack disruption to your mana base in Waste/Port and they also have the dreaded Vial. If they drop a first turn Vial or Lackey (assuming they go first or you don't have first turn disruption), don't panic. You're going to have your back up against the wall, but if you have the correct hand you will be able to still take the first game. Magus and Ghostly Prison are just flat out AMAZING in this game. Do not be afraid to use your O-Rings to get rid of problematic cards, especially Aether Vial. Depending on your sideboard, if you have Sphere of Law you can really give Goblins hell for the next 2 games. If they do not have a Vial in play, 3sphere owns them hardcore.
Sideboarding:
-4 Chalice of the Void
-4 Trinisphere
+4 Sphere of Law
+4 Pithing Needle
UGw Threshold - 60/40 in Stax's favor.
There's not much they can do to stop you since Stax is designed to punish decks with a low curve and few lands. Dodge their Daze and the only trouble you'll have is Force of Will. Try to save your Oblivion Ring for Trygon Predator or Mystic Enforcer, as Magus of the Tabernacle should be able to block Tarmogoyf all day long.
Sideboarding:
No changes.
Solidarity - 60/40 in Stax's favor.
Solidarity is a straightforward Prison vs. Combo matchup, but the matchup's odds are mostly based on the opponent's deck choices and play skill. Watch for Rebuild off of Cunning Wish, and don't be afraid to put out redundant stax pieces if you have the mana laying around, as some builds run Cryptic Command. Focus on attacking as much as possible, while keeping in mind that given the choice, Chalice and Trinisphere should be secondary to destroying their lands. Trinisphere/Chalice/Armageddon/Smokestack all hurt the deck to various efficiencies, but as long as the deck has 3 lands, it can sculpt a winning hand right through the entire prison suite in the 8-10 turns you'll probably be giving it.
Sideboarding:
-4 Ghostly Prison
-4 Oblivion Ring
+4 Glowrider
+4 Pithing Needle
4c Threshold - 40/60 in 4c Threshold's favor.
Thoughtseize is still very annoying when they start with it because it ruins your opening 7. It also forces you to play your threats immediately and therefore Daze becomes a problem as well. They also have Vindicate to make things even worse, and Counterbalance becomes useful for them (with Vindicate on top of their library). Your sideboard probably doesn’t have anything useful in it for this match, but there isn’t much you can take out either.
Sideboarding:
No changes.
Ugb/Ugbw Landstill - 35/65 in Ugb/Ugbw Landstill's favor.
Most cards you play don’t hurt them at all, they have 8 hard counters, Pernicious Deed and Engineered Explosives + Academy Ruins. Break Standstill as soon as possible because they, unlike you, just fill their hand with relevant cards. That's real bad news for Stax considering we don't play raw card draw. You can’t kill them under their own Standstill because they just break it and proceed to draw better cards.
Sideboarding:
-4 Chalice of the Void (their curve is not tight)
-4 Trinisphere
+4 Suppression Field or Pithing Needle. If you manage to land an early Suppression Field you really hurt them as fetching becomes difficult and they need lots of mana for Pernicious Deed and Engineered Explosives (obviously more Suppression Fields are better, it really wrecks them). Name Pernicious Deed and Engineered Explosives with Pithing Needle.
+4 Defense Grid, it works better than Trinisphere against their counters.
ANT - 40-60 in ANT's favor.
The only card you have that really hurts them is Trinisphere (if it resolves you pretty much win), they can easily play around a single Chalice of the Void, and playing around 2 is also possible. Be prepared game 2 for Serenity and don't overextend. Set Chalice of the Void to 1 to stop their cantrips and Mystical Tutor; this will slow them down the most amount of time giving you a way to set up a Smokestack or some other type of disruption to clinch the match.
Sideboard:
-4 Ghostly Prison
+4 Sphere of Resistance or Glowrider or Ethersworn Canonist. Sphere of Resistance is the weakest card since it doesn't attack them.
UGr Threshold - 55/45 in Stax's favor.
A tougher match than most other thresh builds because of fast burn spells + Tarmogoyf. Blood moon can also be a problem when you don't have Plains or a Mox Diamond, but in most cases it shouldn't be a problem for you. They still get wrecked by Chalice, 3sphere, and other disruption just like normal thresh decks.
Sideboarding:
No changes.
UGb Threshold - Neutral to 55/45 in Stax's favor.
Thoughtsieze is very annoying, and Dark Confidant assures that they draw their disruption much quicker. Fortunately, they have a tight mana-base and a low curve, and that plays right into the hands of Stax's gameplan.
Sideboarding:
No changes.
****under construction****
V. Updates
- 2/2/09: Primer first posted; deleted all the tag crap.
- 2/4/09: Updated matchups.
- 2/8/09: Added more matchups.
- 2/12/09: Fixed up more stuff.
- 2/24/09: Added banner!
@ trollwarrior: Good stuff there, and I think you do have a better sideboarding plan for Gobbos. I just really like ****ing them up with a 3sphere or drop a Sphere of Law for a virtual instant win. Chalices though are disposable in the matchup; I agree with that. I would also be cool with you providing matchup analysis for Landstill and Threshold.
I also completely forgot about Glowrider; that definately seems a lot better than the reactive Sphere of Resistance because it doubles as a kill card.
- 1 Flagstone of Trokair
- 1 Oblivion Ring
- 1 Smokestack
---------
+ 2 Exalted Angel
+1 Plains
*SB are to be tinkered to the meta so I cannot comment on the chosen cards
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
Anything with Aether Vial that can get it under a Chalice/3sphere gives Stax problems because they can ignore the tax effects and put creatures into play at instant speed. Deed also makes this deck cry due to the reliance on permanents to turtle.
Another weakness with this deck is the lack of raw card draw. You rely more on the quality of your cards and use taxing effects to effectively Time Walk your opponent. If you start run out of gas and you don't have prison cards active you're in trouble.
D&T comes to mind as a tough matchup IMO. Solidarity can also be not too fun against someone who knows how to play the deck inside and out.
Those are the best options. Needle stops it and field stalls it long enough until we can lock them down or do something about it. Running O-ring is nice to nail vial with. But as far as S/B options I think Suppression Field and Pithing Needle are excellent choices.
Oath BGUW
TPS BU
Tezz BUG
~Team Empire~
I would agree with decks packing pernicious deed but would also like to say Black-Aggro decks. Between thoughtseize, hymn to tourach, and mana acceleration to match your tempo, such an aggressive + disruptive deck would wreck Staxxx.
Especially if they are on the play, a turn 1 hypnotic specter or thoughtseize/hymn can kill you. Staxxx cannot recur its spells (land-loss can be worked around) --- and such an exploitation would be a critical blow to the MU. I harp on this only because a well-constructed Black-Aggro deck consistently churns out devastating turn 1/2 plays...ritual also counteracts trinisphere. Sinkhole can nullify your tempo.
Chalice @ 1 could buy time but not as much as you'd comfortably want
10th at SCG: Syracuse (2014), GP:NJ Last-Chance Grinder Winner (2014):: Former Legacy Mod
Ritual counters 3sphere? 3sphere renders ritual useless. Maybe if you don't have a 3sphere up in the first place.
This is a situation where, once again, going first is HUGE.
It's the main reason why I have Glowrider in my SB instead of SoR; it's both proactive AND reactive.
ANT can actually pack proactive disruption in the form of Duress/Thoughtseize and it's not fun for a deck like Stax that relies so much on the opening hand. It doesn't exactly roll over like other combo decks do to Stax's disruption. Trinisphere is your only true card that locks them out of the game because it's that good, but you can't solely rely on 3sphere. It really sucks game 1 when you have useless cards like Magus and GP, essentially subtracting 8 cards from the deck for that instance.
1 - The sideboard Sphere of Resistance is mentioning how it is superior to Sphere of Resistance. I'm assuming the sideboard card should be Glowrider.
2 - Can you check to see if you can...
a: not have any of the text default to black (the first 2 matchups)
b: get default card tags on the rest of the matchups
Change the skin to dark and check that part of the thread; you'll see why I'm asking
On the subject of matchups, I'm just throwing this matchup out on Solidarity. (my first and still-backup Legacy deck :))
Solidarity - 60/40
Solidarity is a straightforward Prison vs. Combo matchup, but the matchup's odds are mostly based on the opponent's deck choices and play skill. Watch for Rebuild off of Cunning Wish, and don't be afraid to put out redundant stax pieces if you have the mana laying around, as some builds run Cryptic Command. Focus on attacking as much as possible, while keeping in mind that given the choice, Chalice and Trinisphere should be secondary to destroying their lands. Trinisphere/Chalice/Armageddon/Smokestack all hurt the deck to various efficiencies, but as long as the deck has 3 lands, it can sculpt a winning hand right through the entire prison suite in the 8-10 turns you'll probably be giving it.
Sideboard:
-4 Ghostly Prison (useless)
-4 Oblivion Ring (useless)
+4 Glowrider / Sphere of Resistance (not useless, plus damage with Glowrider)
+4 Pithing Needle (less useless)
I should also note that the current build I'm fooling around with uses 2xElspeth; I'm still iffy on it, but I need to test more on matchups where it + anti-synergy w/Ghostly Prison = bad times.
静
The primary synergy Elspeth provides is with Smokestack, especially in a slower game, as Elspeth + Crucible + Smokestack gives a 2-counter Smokestack at no board disadvantage. It also fulfills a bit of the old Exalted Angel role, and boosts the win-threat count in the deck.
I actually don't see Magus + Elspeth as anti-synergistic. When I've had both out, either I'm making a single 1/1 which I pump for 4 in the air per turn, or I beat face with a 5/9 flying Magus. Either way, I can provide pressure through a Magus against aggro opponents. Even if I just need chump blockers, I just pay what I can afford, and let the rest die to blocking or upkeep effects.
I think I've activated Elspeth's ultimate on only 2 or 3 occasions; the only thing it really does anything against in this format is Shattering Spree. Otherwise, if I get Elspeth up to 8-9 counters, I should be winning already from the level of board lock that has prevented my opponent from just killing it.
Mostly, though, right now it's in because it's a bit more synergistic than Exalted Angel, while at the same time being pretty versatile in being able to support some locks.
Edit: A couple important things to keep in mind when playing Elspeth:
- Playing Elspeth pretty much requires 4x Smokestack, since you now have 6+ cards which are in direct synergy with it.
- Tarmogoyf-running decks love to see Elspeth, especially if they also run Duress. Unlike almost every other deck in Legacy, you may be facing down a 7/8 'Goyf with this choice.
静
Heres my list
-4 magus
-2 Enlightened Tutors
-4 geddons
-4 G prisons
-2 O rings
-4 Mox diamonds
-4 Chalice
-4 Stax
-4 Crucible's
-2 Trini's
-4 Tombs
-4 Traitors
-3 Factories
-4 Trokairs
-4 wastelands
-1 dustbowl
-6 plains
this seems to be about as optimal as i can get it, and I rarely, if ever, lose to anything.
I have a tournament report I will be posting later.
It does allow you to cut ghostly prison and oblivion ring numbers down (which are the most situational permanents you have) and run some toolboxing, but on the whole the anti-synergy combined with the inherent card disadvantage makes it kind of not worth it. I moved back to a version without it and it feels much... meatier.
0 Karn
W Darien
U Arcanis
B Geth
R Norin
G Yeva
UW Hanna
RB Olivia
WB Obzedat
UR Melek
BG Glissa
WR Aurelia
GU Kraj
BRU Nicol Bolas
RGB Prossh
BGW Ghave
GUB Mimeoplasm
WUBRG Sliver Overlord
GWU Treva, the Renewer
EDH Spike:
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Trades
I was playtesting with an inefficient (though interesting) build of Affinity last night and having all sorts of problems, but I'm not sure if it was due to the matchup or just gauging this particular deck the wrong way. I just saw it as a horrible matchup, as the deck
- goes out of the gate quickly
- has nonland sources of mana generation
- can move their fuel for damage between a large variety of cards, getting around O-Ring, focusing on one creature to swing through Ghostly Prison, and being able to switch to flyers quickly to get around the entire creature base.
静
As always, going first helps so much.
If you get an early 3sphere before they drop a lot of stuff out, you pretty much autowin against Affinity. Even if they have most of their stuff out in play already, a 3sphere still kicks them in the groin badly because Affinity does not run many lands at all. Geddon/RoW is great at killing their lands and forcing them to part with creatures with a Tabernacle out or being unable to do anything with Ghostly Prison.
All of their lands except Citadel are Wasteable (most Affinity builds in my experience don't play them since they usually play 12 colored artifact lands, Glimmervoid, and Lotus Petals), and if you want to deny their mana even further you can set a Chalice at 0 to disable Ornithopter, Paradise Mantle, and Lotus Petal. You can cause Affinity a lot of problems if you keep them off of a certain color they need with Chalice + Wastelands (blue for thoughtcast, red for fling/shrapnel blast, and black for vault ninja).
Chalice is all around great. I already covered the stuff it stops at 0; at 1 it stops the Vault Ninja (VERY important when you have tied them up) and at 2 they are without Ravager, Cranial Plating, Shrapnel Blast, and Fling.
Target mainly their red and black mana because of bad stuff like Vault Ninja and burn that are usually what kill you.
Affinity isn't that bad actually, and I consider it one of the better matchups- I have done some testing with it, including one of my favorite Stax games where I stabilized at 1 life with an enemy disciple on board and eventually won.
Key things-
Like so many others, early Trinisphere eats them alive (it really is the most brutal card in the deck).
Chalice @ both 1 or 2 is good. 1 stops Arcbound Worker, Chromatic Sphere/Star, Springleaf Drum (if they run it), and most importantly, Vial (horribly annoying) & Disciple (who is probably the most significant threat, given that he can kill you outside the combat step and can take advantage of your permanent destruction to do so). 2 stops Ravager & Plating, mostly. 1 is almost always the more crucial number, especially since you can usually get turn 1 chalice @ 1 but chalice @ 2 generally comes on turn 3 at the earliest. Chalice @ 2 is sometimes good late game.
Use Ghostly Prison + Magus to lock down the combat step. On top of that attacking into Magus will basically require either Plating equipped, a decent # of permanents sacc'd to a ravager, or Hoverguard to fly over.
Avoid slower hands like Cruci + wasteland or smokestack (smokestack is only good once you've locked the game down typically, as they can throw a lot of disposable permanents on the board, more than you in the beginning). The only really good use for Crucible is to recur Factories.
And of course, its good to open first. Basically, something like turn 1 or even turn 2 ancient tomb, mox diamond, trinisphere will ruin their day (whether on play or draw), and the opportunity for having such a dominating start is good. Turn 1 Chalice for 1, turn 3 magus, and turn 2 prison are other things you want to accelerate into.
The matchup depends on those cards, o-ring is only for vials, disciples and hoverguards typically, and 'geddon only to work with magus, or sometimes prison, and stax/cruci only to finish or if there aren't any other options.
0 Karn
W Darien
U Arcanis
B Geth
R Norin
G Yeva
UW Hanna
RB Olivia
WB Obzedat
UR Melek
BG Glissa
WR Aurelia
GU Kraj
BRU Nicol Bolas
RGB Prossh
BGW Ghave
GUB Mimeoplasm
WUBRG Sliver Overlord
GWU Treva, the Renewer
EDH Spike:
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Trades
The problem is that it's a horrible card without a Smokestack with more than one counter on it in play.
Trade binder.
That's not exactly the reason why Chronosavant/EoD aren't played, but it's still a bad side effect.
The reason is because they are win-more cards. If you are forcing your opponent to take multiple upkeeps, you have pretty much already tied them down to begin with and making them get rid of their stuff faster isn't exactly going to accomplish much. It really doesn't matter how you kill your opponent once you lock them out of the game; Magus and Factory beatdown will suffice.
I'm really liking Suppression Field- it is SO brutal vs Top, Vial, Fetches and EE/Deed- but it has a horrible interaction with Mishra's Factory and Wasteland. Above all the Factory since its one of your few Win Cons.
0 Karn
W Darien
U Arcanis
B Geth
R Norin
G Yeva
UW Hanna
RB Olivia
WB Obzedat
UR Melek
BG Glissa
WR Aurelia
GU Kraj
BRU Nicol Bolas
RGB Prossh
BGW Ghave
GUB Mimeoplasm
WUBRG Sliver Overlord
GWU Treva, the Renewer
EDH Spike:
U Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Trades