The Current Environment
Before I address the continued development of this deck, or its relation to the metagame, let’s examine the winning decklist from GP: Lille:
Creatures (12)
Lands (18)
Spells (30)
- 4 Brainstorm
- 3 Lightning Bolt
- 3 Counterspell
- 4 Force of Will
- 4 Serum Visions
- 4 Daze
- 2
- 4 Mental Note
- 2 Pithing Needle
Sideboard
Legacy has finally taken a much-needed step away from the dominance of Goblins. Players have caught on to how good Threshold is, and the deck is becoming very popular. Threshold made up 29.7% of the 128 Day 2 decks, outperforming Goblins‘ showing of 24.2%. Threshold took first, second and third place, while Goblins only had one deck in the Top Eight at sixth place.
Goblins is still a very good deck, but the format is beginning to mature, and now there are two decks in the top tier. Both decks cheat mana costs, run efficient threats, and have disruption to prolong the early game state. For reference, let’s look at the decklist that won GP: Philadelphia:
Creatures (34)
- 4 Mogg Fanatic
- 4 Goblin Matron
- 4 Goblin Lackey
- 4 Goblin Warchief
- 1 Goblin Tinkerer
- 1 Goblin Sharpshooter
- 4 Goblin Piledriver
- 4 Gempalm Incinerator
- 3 Siege-Gang Commander
- 4 Goblin Ringleader
- 1 Skirk Prospector
Lands (22)
Spells (8)
There is room for variation in both the Goblins and Threshold archetypes, but these two first place decklists are very good examples of the current Legacy top tier.
Adapting Stax
The deck I designed four months ago existed in a different environment. Since then, Legacy has evolved. Threshold decks are much more popular, but other archetypes are beginning to demonstrate consistency and strength. Control decks are evolving beyond Landstill; Blue/White Angel Control and Red/White Rift Control appear to be a consistent presence in the metagame. Gamekeeper and IGGy Pop are well-developed combo decks that have put up good finishes. The addition of Black brought a Survival deck to the Top 8 at Lille. Black/White Disruption ( the Pikula deck) was a surprising addition to the format, but it did very well at Philadelphia, and has good game against most decks besides Goblins. Many decks are emerging, and the metagame is going to diversify even more in the near future.
Stax has almost no presence in the metagame. Very few people have played the deck, so it is a relatively unknown threat. Flame Stax has not been popular, and neither have other variants of Stax, such as those that run Welder or Braids.
However, the changes in the environment have made this a much better time to play Stax than four months ago. Stax can take advantage of different cards, and target a more diverse group of decks. A few particular evolutions in popular decks provide some very good opportunities.
Let’s first take a look at the manabases of the two decks listed.
Threshold
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
4 Tropical Island
3 Volcanic Island
3 Tundra
Goblins
6 Mountain
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
It would be difficult to design a manabase that Stax could exploit any more thoroughly than the Threshold one. Additionally, the Goblins manabase has sixteen non-mana activated abilities.
Here is the first major change to this deck. In my previous article, I concluded that Powder Keg was too valuable to cut for Suppression Field. However, now that both decks at the top of the format are running eight Fetchlands, and many decks are running almost this many, the benefits are too significant to ignore. Suppression Field is an extremely strong early threat against Threshold, because they have to draw two real lands before they can use any Fetchlands. In addition, Suppression Field makes Aether Vial more difficult to abuse, so Powder Keg’s functionality is not lost. While it does not shut off the cards it targets, it slows them down significantly, often making them expensive enough that they become ineffective.
Suppression Field has many applicable targets in the current metagame:
Cyclers
Fetchlands
Equipment (Umezawa’s Jitte)
Dredge (Life from the Loam)
Man-lands (Mishra’s Factory)
En-Kor creatures
Aether Vial
Cursed Scroll
Isochron Scepter
Time Vault
Survival of the Fittest
Nantuko Shade
Auriok Salvagers
Psychatog
Arcbound Ravager
Wild Mongrel
It is a powerful card that slows down almost every deck in some way, mainly by targeting Fetchlands and critical permanents. Tangle Wire and Rishadan Port make it possible to destroy Fetchlands with Wasteland under a Suppression Field. Suppression Field also makes it harder for many decks to execute their strategies, yielding more draw steps and a more time to stabilize.
Sphere of Resistance has been a sub-optimal card in this format, which is very oriented towards Aggro and Aggro-Control. Whereas before, Landstill and Solidarity were much more popular, the top tier is now composed of quick creature strategies backed up by mana denial and permission. Sphere of Resistance is pretty bad against these decks, and has caused trouble for Stax since the effect is so symmetric. As I did when I first constructed the deck, I tested out Winter Orb in its place against a variety of decks. While it can have a significant effect in the late game, Winter Orb does not do enough to get the deck into a favorable position in the first place. It is strongest against control, which is not a hard matchup for this deck. Since it was the weakest card in the deck, it was cut for a more relevant lock part in the current environment: Ghostly Prison.
Ghostly Prison ties together the untap step and the attack step, allowing mana denial cards to shut down aggressive strategies. It plays an important role in the deck by buying time. Many of the cards are good at targeting mana production, and Ghostly Prison can take advantage of the deck’s general strategy to defend against fast creature rushes.
Metagame Changes
In addition to Fetchlands, many decks are now running dual lands alongside non-basics such as Wasteland, Rishadan Port, Mishra’s Factory, cycling lands and artifact lands. Wasteland is much more useful in this environment, and can have a powerful effect on the game when combined with other lock parts such as Trinisphere and Crucible of Worlds.
Let’s take a look at the mana curves of these two championship decks. To start with, the one-mana spells:
Threshold
4 Nimble Mongoose
4 Brainstorm
4 Serum Visions
4 Mental Note
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Pithing Needle
Goblins
4 Aether Vial
4 Goblin Lackey
4 Mogg Fanatic
1 Skirk Prospector
As a Stax player, this is very exciting. Chalice of the Void set on one demolishes Threshold, and is extremely effective against Goblins when playing first. Stax can produce two mana on turn 1 ten different ways, so this is a common play if you mulligan correctly.
As for the rest of the spells…
Threshold
4 Meddling Mage
4 Werebear
4 Daze
3 Counterspell
2 Fire/Ice
4 Force of Will
Goblins
4 Goblin Piledriver
1 Goblin Tinkerer
4 Goblin Matron
4 Goblin Warchief
4 Gempalm Incinerator
4 Goblin Ringleader
3 Siege-Gang Commander
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
It is clear from observation that the mana curve of Threshold is very low. This is an advantage against most decks, but against Stax the deck is very vulnerable. The weak manabase cannot develop, and spells that would normally be very cheap or free become simply uncastable. Trinisphere is good against both decks- especially since Suppression Field will basically turn off Aether Vial– with enough mana denial. Both decks are pushing the format towards action on turns one and two, so I cannot over-emphasize the importance of an aggressive mulligan.
Given my proposed changes, it became logical to alter the manabase. The Fetchlands must be replaced with Plains in order to accommodate Suppression Field. As mana-flood was a big problem without deck thinning, and drawing a second City of Traitors was unacceptable with only 23 lands, I cut another one.
Here is the final decklist:
Angel Stax
3 Exalted Angel
4 Wrath of God
4 Smokestack
4 Ghostly Prison
3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Tangle Wire
3 Trinisphere
4 Suppression Field
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Mox Diamond
9 Plains
4 Wasteland
4 Rishadan Port
4 Ancient Tomb
2 City of Traitors
This deck plays similarly to the previous version. The biggest difference is that the decks you will likely face now have more Fetchlands and non-basics than before; it is now easy to disrupt their mana production with Suppression Field and Wasteland. Ghostly Prison slows down the expected creature rush, which allows the deck to draw into the lock. This helps to get Stax back in the game after an aggressive mulligan. The general strategy is simple: prevent your opponent from casting spells, and destroy as many of their permanents as possible.
Unless you are in danger of dropping to zero, it is best to hold back your Exalted Angel until after a modest lock is in place. She is vulnerable to most removal, and the tempo boost gained from her death can be a significant setback for Stax‘s primary strategy.
The Sideboard
With a more stable and consistent maindeck, the sideboard becomes easier to construct. In my last article, I discussed many possible sideboard cards, and which ones were relevant depending on your metagame. Since Suppression Field is now a central part of the deck, and Pithing Needle is a popular card in Legacy, Seal of Cleansing should be removed for Disenchant. This gives us eight non-permanent spells in the deck (the other four being Wrath of God). While not a big problem, using Disenchant in Stax requires more planning. This can be tricky due to the opponent’s disruption and your own lock parts.
Here is the sideboard I use, but it is simple to customize this for a more specific metagame:
4 Disenchant
3 Defense Grid
3 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Sphere of Law
2 Hanna’s Custody
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, while it doesn’t generate mana, is very helpful in tapping out an opponent with too many creatures. This is especially important against Goblins. If they tap Wasteland – or you can destroy their Wasteland – The Tabernacle will trigger before they get a chance to respond, thus taking a big chunk from their team. The inability to generate mana is still frustrating, but the single copy isn’t a significant problem for opening hands.
Threshold
Almost no one was playing Threshold in September, so I did not provide matchup analysis. Players have finally recognized this deck, and you should expect to see it at tournaments. The popularity of Threshold is one reason to play Stax, as it has a wonderful matchup against it.
While Stax has many serious threats, Threshold still has a fair chance if it wins the die roll. Going first against Threshold can be devastating. They cannot use Daze on your first turn, so their only answer is Force of Will. If you can mulligan into an early Chalice of the Void, or a Trinisphere, you can win the game right there. Basic lands are another important factor in this matchup, as if the Threshold deck does not have them it can hardly stay in the game. A single Wasteland not only stunts their manabase, it can also disable Daze and allow Smokestack and Tangle Wire to lock them out of the game. Crucible of Worlds and Wasteland will end things very quickly without Islands. If Suppression Field is on the board, the Threshold player will have a hard time recovering.
If Threshold goes first, the matchup is closer. They can use cantrips to find a Daze or Force of Will, and use their Fetchlands without fear. They only need a few turns to deal twenty with a pumped creature, so it is critical to have an early Wrath or Smokestack to eat their permanents. Depending on what lands they see, it is important to deprive them of White or Green, preventing Meddling Mage or Werebear respectively. Meddling Mage is dangerous as it can disable Wrath of God, and Werebear is a problem because it can generate mana and develop their manabase.
Using Rishadan Port to tap their Islands is a weak play, since they can respond with instants… but it can be helpful in shutting down Counterspell. Tangle Wire is fantastic, as Threshold runs so few lands it can often tap them out completely, or prevent them from using a Fetchland, or stop them casting another creature. It’s best used to prevent your opponent from generating permanents, not as an answer threats that are already down. Smokestack needs only a few turns to devour their board, and Tangle Wire is the perfect tool for moving the game to this point.
In the sideboard, Defense Grid and Tormod’s Crypt are excellent against Threshold. An early Defense Grid disables Daze, Force of Will, and Counterspell, allowing both Chalice of the Void and Smokestack the time to sneak into play. Tormod’s Crypt buys a lot of time against pumped creatures. If a reasonable lock is in place, it is difficult for the Threshold player to restock their graveyard after a Tormod’s Crypt activation.
Strong lock components and efficient sideboard answers push this matchup in Stax‘s favor. In a Threshold-heavy metagame, Stax is an ideal choice.
Why Play Stax?
Stax has game against all the Combo and Control decks in Legacy. Trinisphere, Chalice of the Void, Suppression Field, and Wasteland can shut Combo down; Crucible of Worlds, Smokestack, and Rishadan Port make it difficult for Control to seize the game. Stax is also strong against most Aggro-Control decks. While its weakness lies against super-fast Aggro, the Goblins matchup has improved through changes to both decks. Ghostly Prison and The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale are wonderful here, and the increased number of non-basic lands in Goblins gives Stax a better chance at destroying their mana. Sphere of Law from the sideboard can prevent the Goblins player from killing via Combo. Furthermore, many players will be picking up new decks, and Goblins shouldn’t be such an overwhelming tournament force in future.
The final advantage afforded by playing Stax is simple: surprise. Stax has not been widely played: few players are prepared to face it and sideboard well.
If you are going to play Stax, I recommend reading the section in my previous article about the Game Plan. Also, constructing a sideboard specifically for your target environment is important, so review my discussion of that too.
Stax is likely to become popular as Combo and Aggro-Control continue to shine in Legacy. I recommend this deck to players in all but the most Aggro-saturated environments.
Christopher Coppola
Machinus @ The Mana Drain, The Source, and gmail