Dreadstill: What is Dreadstill?
Dreadstill was created by Rodney Hannigan (Roodmistah on the source), myself, and the rest of Team Hammafist. It is a Tempo Based Aggro-Control Deck that utilizes Counterbalance/Top along with Counter-magic and stifles to control the game. It also uses Phyrexian Dreadnought as a win condition and Standstill as a card advantage engine to counteract the card disadvantage of Phyrexian Dreadnought.
There are two common versions of Dreadstill are Ur and Ug(x) both have their merits but play differently. Ur Dreadstill has a very stable manabase and more control aspects than other version do to having more counterspells. Ug(x) is a more aggressive version, green allows the inclusion of Tarmogoyf, this allows the pilot to play the aggro game in more matchups than the Ur Version which relies on establishing control and then using Dreadnought to end the game quickly.
Why Play Dreadstill?
Dreadstill is most comparable to Counterbalance Threshold, but unlike Threshold, Dreadstill has the means of gaining actual card advantage via Standstill. Also Phyrexian Dreadnought provides an extraordinary clock and can simply hand you quick victories, this allows Dreadstill to switch roles very easily; it can play the control role or the Aggro role. Also in the aggro control mirror Wasteland and Stifle allow you to attack their mana base and Dreadnought makes the normal Tarmogoyf stalemates of the matchup a nonissue.
Wasteland and Mishra’s Factory: Both allow you to abuse standstill and outplay your opponent under it. Wasteland also allows you to play the mana denial game. Mishra’s Factory is a wall for you stopping things like Nimble Mongeese, etc in their tracks. It also acts as a beater.
Phyrexian Dreadnought-Perhaps the most undercosted beater in the game next to Goyf. This is absolutely the heart and soul of this deck and he has the potential to just sometimes pull that "oops i win" game because he is so explosive. Also his often overlooked role is the “fear factor” opponents are forced to play cautiously around him which means they are playing your game not theirs. He also leads to opponents over sideboarding or incorrectly sideboarding.
Trinket Mage- Utility here is the key to this guy...He searches out Nought...EE, Pithing Needle, and Top. He also beats, reveals for 3 on Counterbalance and pitches to Force of Will.
Tarmogoyf- The most undercosted beater in magic, simply a most include in decks with green.
Brainstorm- Perhaps the most broken blue card in the format. It makes counterbalance significantly better, and when combined with Fetchlands gives you great card quality.
Daze- A free counterspell that when combined with mana denial can be absolutely crippling for your opponent. Force of Will- No explanation needed. The best counterspell ever printed.
Stifle- Versitility in cardboard form, works as mana denial, and an aspect of control on the million and one triggers of legacy. And possibly more importantly, it couples with Dreadnought.
Counterbalance- Most of the format ranges between 1-3 mana costing things so this card combined with Top can surely shut down the opponent.
Sensei's Divining Top- Gives you amazing card quality when combined with fetchlands. With top you can almost entirely lock your opponent out of the game.
Standstill- An excellent card advantage engine do to Mishra’s Factory and Wasteland almost every time you cast it your opponent will be ancestral recalling you. When Combined with things like Sensei’s Divining top you can get way ahead of your opponent with it.
Spell Snare- 2 is like the casting cost of the best cards in the format, snare is one mana counter Tarmogoyf, Dark Confidant, Counterbalance, Life from the Loam, Chalice @ 1, etc etc
Trickbind- Works as an addition stifle, and the Split Second can be devastating against people trying to 2 for 1 you by countering a stifle on Phyrexian Dreadnought.
Engineered Explosives- Blows up chalice, Goyf, Aether Vial, Counterbalance, etc etc and it is fetchable with Trinket Mage.
Sideboard:
Depending on splashes and metas the board can vary, but some of the more common choice are as follows; Red Elemental Blast/Pyroblast- An addition one mana hard counter and vindicate against blue decks, I always suggest a split in case of Meddling Mage.
Tormod’s Crypt/Relic of Progenitus- Amazing graveyard hate that is fetchable via Trinket Mage, I do recommend a split so you can play around pithing needle in the Ichorid matchup. If you run Tarmogoyf, obviously run more Crypts than Relics, but if not then Relic is better.
Krosan Grip- The best artifact/enchantment destruction that the format has to offer, it deals with Counterbalance and is near uncounterable.
Blue Elemental Blast- See Red Elemental Blast
Firespout/Pyroclasm- Do to Dreadstill’s lack of spot removal, it relies on Sweepers out of the board in the Aggro matchups.
Matchup Analysis and Sideboarding Strategy:
Goblins: About Even- Counter first turn Lackey or Vial no matter what. Try to dig for a fast Nought as quickly as you can via Top/Brainstorms.. If you resolved a Nought you have a fairly high chance to win game one due to their lack of MD answers. Also stifle on things like Goblin Ringleader is crippling for them.
Sideboarding:
Ur:
-4 Standstill
-2 Counterbalance
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
+2 Pyroclasm
+1 Firespout
Threshold Tempo; Slightly Favorable CB; About Even- You have all the same counter shell they have, except you have a much more potent kill condition in Nought. Standstills are very good against them since have no real plays under them and almost always have to ancestral you.
Sideboarding:
Ur: Counterbalance or Tempo
-3 Daze
-2 Standstill
-1 Phyrexian Dreadnought
-1 Trickbind
+2 Pyroblast
+1 Red Elemental Blast
+2 Blood Moon
+2 Relic of Progenitus
Ug(x) Counterbalance Thresh
-3 Daze
-2 Standstill
-1 Phyrexian Dreadnought
+3 Krosan Grip
+1 Relic of Progenitus
+2 Red Elemental Blast
Against Tempo Thresh
-3 Daze
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Pyroblast
DragonStompy Favorable: Play out your Engineered Explosives at 0 as early as possible and fetch out basics, the only cards that almost always warrant counters are Rakdos Pit Dragon and Trinisphere, let them walk into Daze all day long.
Sideboarding:
Ur:
-3 Counterbalance
-1 Sensei’s Divining Top
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
+1 Firespout
Ichorid Slightly Favorable- You can put them on a ridiculously fast clock and can also take away their Bridges via Wasteland/Mishra's and also just playing a Nought. They have the advantage of making most of your Counterspells irrelevant and going Combo frenzy with Ichorid and Bridge. Just be sure to counter their Discard outlets.
SideboardingUr:
-4 Standstill
-3 Spell Snare
-1 Sensei’s Divining Top
-1 Counterbalance
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+2 Pyroblast
+2 Relic of Progenitus
+2 Pyroclasm
+1 Tormod’s Crypt
TES/ANT highly favorable: Daze, FoW, Spell Snare, Stifle and Standstills to replenish hand. Definitely don't let a Chant Resolve. Counterbalance is probably your MVP here.
Vs. TES:
Ur
-3 Phyrexian Dreadnought
-1 Standstill
-1 Stifle
-1 Spell Snare
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Pyroblast
Ug(x)
-2 Phyrexian Dreadnought
-3 Tarmogoyf
+ 3 Blue Elemental Blast
+1 Pyroblast
+1 Red Elemental Blast
Vs ANT
Ur:
-3 Phyrexian Dreadnought
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Pyroblast
Ug(x):
-2 Phyrexian Dreadnought
+1 Pyroblast
+1 Red Elemental Blast
The Rock Unfavorable: Their entire decks answers the purpose of what we're trying to do. Try to control them and keep card advantage via Standstill. Swords, Deed, Vindicate, Thoughtseize, Cabal Therapy are all a beating. I've found Counterbalance to help a bit here.
Ur:
-1 Trickbind
-1 Phyrexian Dreadnought
+2 Relic of Progenitus
Goyf Sligh Slightly Favorable: They have no MD answers to Nought and you can normally counter their relevant spells and swing for Nought for win. Counterbalance/Top also often locks them out of the game as long as you float a 2cc Card.
Ur
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
UW(x) Landstill unfavorable-This matchup is a close one. With Wastelands+Mishra's it's normally hard for either player ton abuse Standstill efficiently. They have a lot of answers to Nought and it’s sometimes very hard to get one to stick.
Postboard 60/40- B2B resolved will usually spell the end for them. Try to resolve it as hard as you can. Also Needles for their Deeds, EE, Manlands helps a ton.
Ur:
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+2 Pyroblast
+2 Blood Moon
-3 Daze
-3 Standstill
Aggro Loam Slightly Favorable- Establish Counterbalance Lock and Then Drop Dreadnought, they really can’t deal with him, you also can gain massive CA off of Standstill against them.
Ur:
-3 Daze
-1 Engineered Explosives
-1 Spell Snare
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
+2 Relic of Progenitus
Ug(x):
-3 Daze
-1 Spell Snare
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
+1 Relic of Progenitus
Survival About Even- Try to disrupt their mana base, stifle fetches, waste lands, and counterbirds, then assemble counterbalance/top from there you shouldn’t really have many problems.
Ur:
-1 Daze
-1 Trickbind
+2 Relic of ProgenitusUg(x)
-3 Daze
-1 Standstill
+2 Krosan Grip
+1 Relic of Progenitus
+1 Pithing Needle
Merfolk Slightly Unfavorable- Vial should always get countered. Counterbalance/Top or Fast Dreadnought are your two big game plans, just don’t let them overwhelm you with Island-walkers.
Ur:
-4 Standstill
-1 Phyrexian Dreadnought
-1 Trickbind
-1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+2 Pyroblast
+2 Pyroclasm
+1 Firespout
MUC Favorable- The have almost no answers to Dreadnought so just get him into play and that’ll usually do it.Ur:
-3 Daze
-1 Spell Snare
+2 Pyroblast
+2 Red Elemental Blast
Ug(x)
-3 Daze
+1 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Pyroblast
+1 Pithing Needle
Team America About Even- You generally can out card advantage them, playing mana denial is very strong in this matchup (try to keep them off of BB) as is Counterbalance/top. Just watch out for Tombstalker since after he is in play all you can do is try to race him.
Ur:
-3 Daze
-1 Standstill
-1 Spell Snare
-1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Blood Moon
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+2 Relic of ProgenitusUg(x):
-3 Daze
+1 Pyroblast
+1 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Relic of Progenitus
1
What is Dreadstill?
Dreadstill was created by Rodney Hannigan (Roodmistah on the source), myself, and the rest of Team Hammafist. It is a Tempo Based Aggro-Control Deck that utilizes Counterbalance/Top along with Counter-magic and stifles to control the game. It also uses Phyrexian Dreadnought as a win condition and Standstill as a card advantage engine to counteract the card disadvantage of Phyrexian Dreadnought.
There are two common versions of Dreadstill are Ur and Ug(x) both have their merits but play differently. Ur Dreadstill has a very stable manabase and more control aspects than other version do to having more counterspells. Ug(x) is a more aggressive version, green allows the inclusion of Tarmogoyf, this allows the pilot to play the aggro game in more matchups than the Ur Version which relies on establishing control and then using Dreadnought to end the game quickly.
Why Play Dreadstill?
Dreadstill is most comparable to Counterbalance Threshold, but unlike Threshold, Dreadstill has the means of gaining actual card advantage via Standstill. Also Phyrexian Dreadnought provides an extraordinary clock and can simply hand you quick victories, this allows Dreadstill to switch roles very easily; it can play the control role or the Aggro role. Also in the aggro control mirror Wasteland and Stifle allow you to attack their mana base and Dreadnought makes the normal Tarmogoyf stalemates of the matchup a nonissue.
Decklist:
4 Mishra’s Factory
3 Wasteland
3 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
3 Volcanic Island
5 Island
Creatures:6
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
2 Trinket Mage
Noncreature Spells:33
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
4 Stifle
4 Standstill
4 Counterbalance
3 Daze
3 Spell Snare
3 Sensei’s Divining Top
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Trickbind
3 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Pyroclasm
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Pyroblast
2 Blood Moon
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Firespout
4 Mishra’s Factory
3 Wasteland
3 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
3 Tropical Island
2 Volcanic Island
3 Island
Creatures:9
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Phyrexian Dreadnought
2 Trinket Mage
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
4 Stifle
4 Standstill
3 Spell Snare
3 Daze
3 Counterbalance
2 Sensei’s Divining Top
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Trickbind
3 Blue Elemental Blast
3 Krosan Grip
3 Firespout
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Pyroblast
2 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Pithing Needle
Card explanations:
Wasteland and Mishra’s Factory: Both allow you to abuse standstill and outplay your opponent under it. Wasteland also allows you to play the mana denial game. Mishra’s Factory is a wall for you stopping things like Nimble Mongeese, etc in their tracks. It also acts as a beater.
Phyrexian Dreadnought-Perhaps the most undercosted beater in the game next to Goyf. This is absolutely the heart and soul of this deck and he has the potential to just sometimes pull that "oops i win" game because he is so explosive. Also his often overlooked role is the “fear factor” opponents are forced to play cautiously around him which means they are playing your game not theirs. He also leads to opponents over sideboarding or incorrectly sideboarding.
Trinket Mage- Utility here is the key to this guy...He searches out Nought...EE, Pithing Needle, and Top. He also beats, reveals for 3 on Counterbalance and pitches to Force of Will.
Tarmogoyf- The most undercosted beater in magic, simply a most include in decks with green.
Brainstorm- Perhaps the most broken blue card in the format. It makes counterbalance significantly better, and when combined with Fetchlands gives you great card quality.
Daze- A free counterspell that when combined with mana denial can be absolutely crippling for your opponent.
Force of Will- No explanation needed. The best counterspell ever printed.
Stifle- Versitility in cardboard form, works as mana denial, and an aspect of control on the million and one triggers of legacy. And possibly more importantly, it couples with Dreadnought.
Counterbalance- Most of the format ranges between 1-3 mana costing things so this card combined with Top can surely shut down the opponent.
Sensei's Divining Top- Gives you amazing card quality when combined with fetchlands. With top you can almost entirely lock your opponent out of the game.
Standstill- An excellent card advantage engine do to Mishra’s Factory and Wasteland almost every time you cast it your opponent will be ancestral recalling you. When Combined with things like Sensei’s Divining top you can get way ahead of your opponent with it.
Spell Snare- 2 is like the casting cost of the best cards in the format, snare is one mana counter Tarmogoyf, Dark Confidant, Counterbalance, Life from the Loam, Chalice @ 1, etc etc
Trickbind- Works as an addition stifle, and the Split Second can be devastating against people trying to 2 for 1 you by countering a stifle on Phyrexian Dreadnought.
Engineered Explosives- Blows up chalice, Goyf, Aether Vial, Counterbalance, etc etc and it is fetchable with Trinket Mage.
Sideboard:
Depending on splashes and metas the board can vary, but some of the more common choice are as follows;
Red Elemental Blast/Pyroblast- An addition one mana hard counter and vindicate against blue decks, I always suggest a split in case of Meddling Mage.
Tormod’s Crypt/Relic of Progenitus- Amazing graveyard hate that is fetchable via Trinket Mage, I do recommend a split so you can play around pithing needle in the Ichorid matchup. If you run Tarmogoyf, obviously run more Crypts than Relics, but if not then Relic is better.
Krosan Grip- The best artifact/enchantment destruction that the format has to offer, it deals with Counterbalance and is near uncounterable.
Blue Elemental Blast- See Red Elemental Blast
Firespout/Pyroclasm- Do to Dreadstill’s lack of spot removal, it relies on Sweepers out of the board in the Aggro matchups.
Matchup Analysis and Sideboarding Strategy:
Goblins: About Even- Counter first turn Lackey or Vial no matter what. Try to dig for a fast Nought as quickly as you can via Top/Brainstorms.. If you resolved a Nought you have a fairly high chance to win game one due to their lack of MD answers. Also stifle on things like Goblin Ringleader is crippling for them.
Sideboarding:
Ur:
-4 Standstill
-2 Counterbalance
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
+2 Pyroclasm
+1 Firespout
Ugr:
-4 Standstill
-1 Daze
-1 Spell Snare
-1 Engineered Explosives
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
+3 Firespout
+1 Pithing Needle
Threshold Tempo; Slightly Favorable CB; About Even- You have all the same counter shell they have, except you have a much more potent kill condition in Nought. Standstills are very good against them since have no real plays under them and almost always have to ancestral you.
Sideboarding:
Ur: Counterbalance or Tempo
-3 Daze
-2 Standstill
-1 Phyrexian Dreadnought
-1 Trickbind
+2 Pyroblast
+1 Red Elemental Blast
+2 Blood Moon
+2 Relic of Progenitus
Ug(x) Counterbalance Thresh
-3 Daze
-2 Standstill
-1 Phyrexian Dreadnought
+3 Krosan Grip
+1 Relic of Progenitus
+2 Red Elemental Blast
Against Tempo Thresh
-3 Daze
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Pyroblast
DragonStompy Favorable: Play out your Engineered Explosives at 0 as early as possible and fetch out basics, the only cards that almost always warrant counters are Rakdos Pit Dragon and Trinisphere, let them walk into Daze all day long.
Sideboarding:
Ur:
-3 Counterbalance
-1 Sensei’s Divining Top
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
+1 Firespout
Ug(x)
-3 Spell Snare
-2 Counterbalance
-1 Sensei’s Divining Top
-1 Tarmogoyf
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
+2 Krosan Grip
+2 Firespout
Ichorid Slightly Favorable- You can put them on a ridiculously fast clock and can also take away their Bridges via Wasteland/Mishra's and also just playing a Nought. They have the advantage of making most of your Counterspells irrelevant and going Combo frenzy with Ichorid and Bridge. Just be sure to counter their Discard outlets.
Sideboarding Ur:
-4 Standstill
-3 Spell Snare
-1 Sensei’s Divining Top
-1 Counterbalance
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+2 Pyroblast
+2 Relic of Progenitus
+2 Pyroclasm
+1 Tormod’s Crypt
Ugr:
-4 Standstill
-3 Spell Snare
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Pyroblast
+2 Tormod’s Crypt
+1 Relic of Progenitus
+1 Firespout
TES/ANT highly favorable: Daze, FoW, Spell Snare, Stifle and Standstills to replenish hand. Definitely don't let a Chant Resolve. Counterbalance is probably your MVP here.
Vs. TES:
Ur
-3 Phyrexian Dreadnought
-1 Standstill
-1 Stifle
-1 Spell Snare
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Pyroblast
Ug(x)
-2 Phyrexian Dreadnought
-3 Tarmogoyf
+ 3 Blue Elemental Blast
+1 Pyroblast
+1 Red Elemental Blast
Vs ANT
Ur:
-3 Phyrexian Dreadnought
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Pyroblast
Ug(x):
-2 Phyrexian Dreadnought
+1 Pyroblast
+1 Red Elemental Blast
The Rock Unfavorable: Their entire decks answers the purpose of what we're trying to do. Try to control them and keep card advantage via Standstill. Swords, Deed, Vindicate, Thoughtseize, Cabal Therapy are all a beating. I've found Counterbalance to help a bit here.
Ur:
-1 Trickbind
-1 Phyrexian Dreadnought
+2 Relic of Progenitus
Ug(x):
-1 Phyrexian Dreadnought
-3 Daze
-1 Spell Snare
+3 Firespout
+2 Krosan Grip
Goyf Sligh Slightly Favorable: They have no MD answers to Nought and you can normally counter their relevant spells and swing for Nought for win. Counterbalance/Top also often locks them out of the game as long as you float a 2cc Card.
Ur
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
-1 Standstill
-1 Engineered Explosives
-1 Daze
Ug(x)
-3 Daze
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
UW(x) Landstill unfavorable-This matchup is a close one. With Wastelands+Mishra's it's normally hard for either player ton abuse Standstill efficiently. They have a lot of answers to Nought and it’s sometimes very hard to get one to stick.
Postboard 60/40- B2B resolved will usually spell the end for them. Try to resolve it as hard as you can. Also Needles for their Deeds, EE, Manlands helps a ton.
Ur:
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+2 Pyroblast
+2 Blood Moon
-3 Daze
-3 Standstill
Ug(x):
-3 Standstill
-3 Daze
+1 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Pyroblast
+3 Krosan Grip
+1 Pithing Needle
Aggro Loam Slightly Favorable- Establish Counterbalance Lock and Then Drop Dreadnought, they really can’t deal with him, you also can gain massive CA off of Standstill against them.
Ur:
-3 Daze
-1 Engineered Explosives
-1 Spell Snare
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
+2 Relic of Progenitus
Ug(x):
-3 Daze
-1 Spell Snare
+3 Blue Elemental Blast
+1 Relic of Progenitus
Survival About Even- Try to disrupt their mana base, stifle fetches, waste lands, and counterbirds, then assemble counterbalance/top from there you shouldn’t really have many problems.
Ur:
-1 Daze
-1 Trickbind
+2 Relic of Progenitus Ug(x)
-3 Daze
-1 Standstill
+2 Krosan Grip
+1 Relic of Progenitus
+1 Pithing Needle
Merfolk Slightly Unfavorable- Vial should always get countered. Counterbalance/Top or Fast Dreadnought are your two big game plans, just don’t let them overwhelm you with Island-walkers.
Ur:
-4 Standstill
-1 Phyrexian Dreadnought
-1 Trickbind
-1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+2 Pyroblast
+2 Pyroclasm
+1 Firespout
Ug(x)
-4 Standstill
-1 Daze
+1 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Pyroblast
+3 Firespout
MUC Favorable- The have almost no answers to Dreadnought so just get him into play and that’ll usually do it.Ur:
-3 Daze
-1 Spell Snare
+2 Pyroblast
+2 Red Elemental Blast
Ug(x)
-3 Daze
+1 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Pyroblast
+1 Pithing Needle
Team America About Even- You generally can out card advantage them, playing mana denial is very strong in this matchup (try to keep them off of BB) as is Counterbalance/top. Just watch out for Tombstalker since after he is in play all you can do is try to race him.
Ur:
-3 Daze
-1 Standstill
-1 Spell Snare
-1 Engineered Explosives
+2 Blood Moon
+2 Red Elemental Blast
+2 Relic of Progenitus Ug(x):
-3 Daze
+1 Pyroblast
+1 Red Elemental Blast
+1 Relic of Progenitus