From July through October, Stax did pretty well in Vintage. Not only was it the most predominant deck in Top 8s (22% of Top 8s), it was by far the most successful (winning eight of twenty tournaments). Although Stax was only a fifth of Top 8s, it comprised 40% of all tournament winning decks.
Looking at the Stax lists we see a great deal of variability. Uba Stax performed quite well putting up nearly half of the Stax lists into Top 8. However, we see a more traditional Stax list winning the Vintage championship and a rogue U/W Stax list with Null Rod winning the Northeast Waterbury Tournament. What makes a winning Stax list? That’s what this article is going to try to figure out.
I define Stax very broadly in this article. Over time, Vintage decks acquire certain names based upon variations in design. Mono brown Mishra’s Workshop decks with Metalworker were once known as “MUD.” That archetype never shows up in the United States anymore and is now only an occasional statistic from the European scene. Therefore, I have re-categorized these decks as Stax. If the deck has Mishra’s Workshops, multiple Smokestacks, and includes any other hallmarks of an artifact prison deck, I have called the deck “Stax” and included it in this analysis.
Because the Stax archetype has fragmented, consolidated, frayed and then re-consolidated once more, well established versions of the archetype have disappeared as others have replaced them. Where Stax was once Stax and MUD, it became traditional Stax and Cron Stax, and has now become 5 color Stax and Uba Stax with occasional throwbacks making top 8. All of this confusion makes this analysis all the more important. Therefore, I will do one full analysis taking a look at every single Stax deck that made a top 8 from July through October. Then I will separate the two major variants out – Uba Stax and more traditional Stax – and identify composite builds based upon the most popular cards found in the builds that made Top 8.
Unanimous Card Choices:
4 Mishra’s Workshop
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
3 Smokestack
2 Crucible of Worlds
What this reveals is that the real lock is Smokestack and Crucible of Worlds. No matter what the Stax list is, every Stax list has these components. This has replaced, somewhat, Stack and Goblin Welder as the hard lock.
To see the full tables from which I am going to draw up the composite decklist, take a look at Appendix A at the bottom of this article.
Composite Stax List
1 Black Lotus 32/36
1 Mana Crypt 36/36
1 Mana Vault 34/36
1 Sol Ring 36/36
1 Mox Emerald 36/36
1 Mox Jet 34/36
1 Mox Pearl 35/36
1 Mox Ruby 34/36
1 Mox Sapphire 36/36
4 Mishra’s Workshop 36/36
1 Tolarian Academy 36/36
1 Strip Mine 36/36
4 Wasteland 30/36
1 Barbarian Ring 19/36
2 City of Brass 14/36
2 Gemstone Mine 14/36
3 Bazaar of Baghdad 14/36
1 Trinisphere 35/36
4 Smokestack 33/36
3 Crucible of Worlds 31/36
3 Tangle Wire 22/36
4 Chalice of the Void 21/36
3 Sphere of Resistance 16/36
3 Uba Mask 15/36
4 Goblin Welder 30/36
1 Gorilla Shaman 26/36
1 Karn 31/36
1 Sundering Titan 29/36
1 Triskelion 24/36
1 Duplicant 23/36
1 Tinker 21/36
1 Ancestral Recall 20/36
1 Crop Rotation 14/36
2 Thirst for Knowledge 14/36
Using 14 appearances in the 36 lists as the cutoff, we derive the above composite list. As you can see, the list is absurd. First of all, there is not enough mana. The problem is that there is an even split between traditional Stax and Uba Stax with traditional Stax slightly favored. As a result, no suite of mana sources put up enough numbers to make the composite list. The number of Uba Masks and Bazaars in this composite indicates where Uba Stax splits off. There is a clean break. Where there are Uba Masks there are Bazaars. To make sense of the data, we are going to have to split up the two lists and get a composite regular Stax list and a composite Uba Stax list. Second, there are 62 cards in the composite. Using 15 occurrences as a threshold would leave us well below 60 cards. Dipping to 14, we get 62 cards.
It is interesting to note how prevalent not just Gorilla Shaman and Karn are, but how consistently Duplicant, Sundering Titan and Triskelion are played. They put up huge numbers across the board. It is also interesting to note how Crop Rotation is the only non-Blue, non-creature card to make the cut. It is interesting that Crop Rotation would be higher than, say, Demonic Tutor or Balance. I suppose that just indicates how important Strip Mine and Mishra’s Workshop are to this deck, once again emphasizing the centrality of Crucible of Worlds to the archetype.
If you look in the appendix, you will see this, but it is worth noting here as well: Almost all of the lists had four Wastelands and a full suite of Smokestacks. However, almost no lists had four Crucible of Worlds. And yet, almost no list had less then three Crucibles either. The number of Crucibles is remarkably stable at three.
The only reason there appears to be more Tangle Wires than Chalices is because five Stax lists ran only three Chalices maindeck. The result is that although 27 decks had Chalices maindeck and 26 had three or more, only 21 had 4 Chalices. Still, that was enough to make the cut for this composite list. Barbarian Ring has also made huge inroads into the archetype.
Since this list doesn’t really tell us what we want to know, I now present the composite Uba Stax and Traditional Stax lists to help us see what’s going on with Stax more clearly.
Composite Uba Stax List
1 Black Lotus 14/15
1 Mox Ruby 14/15
1 Mox Sapphire 15/15
1 Mox Jet 15/15
1 Mox Emerald 15/15
1 Mox Pearl 15/15
1 Mana Crypt 15/15
1 Mana Vault 15/15
1 Sol Ring 15/15
4 Mishra’s Workshop 15/15
1 Strip Mine 15/15
4 Wasteland 14/15
4 Bazaar of Baghdad 11/15
1 Barbarian Ring 12/15
5 Mountain 7/15
4 Goblin Welder 14/15
1 Sundering Titan 14/15
1 Karn 13/15
2 Duplicant 9/15
2 Gorilla Shaman 7/15 (1 is 11/15)
2 Solemn Simulacrum 7/15
1 Triskelion 7/15
3 Crucible of Worlds 15/15
3 Uba Mask 14/15
4 Smokestack 14/15
1 Trinisphere 14/15
4 Chalice of the Void 10/15
3 Null Rod 8/15 (2 is 11/15)
1 Wheel of Fortune 7/15
Having a cut off of 7, we arrive at a composite list.
I don’t know whether it is surprising or not, but the composite list is, card for card, the list that Vroman played at the StarCityGames Power 9 tournament in July.
Composite Uba Stax Sideboard:
2 Maze of Ith 10/15
2 Duplicant 9/15
2 Lava Dart 8/15
1 Null Rod 8/15
3 Viashano Heretic 7/15
3 Red Elemental Blast/Pyroblast 6/15
1 Uba Mask 6/15
no winner for the 15th slot.
The composite sideboard does differ from Vroman’s July SCG list, but only by 3-4 cards. Vroman’s July Chicago list has significantly influenced the entire archetype. It remains to be seen whether some of the emerging 5c Uba Stax lists will overtake the dominant mono colored version. Moreover, will Vroman’s most recent list be the new gold standard for Uba Stax? It remains to be seen.
To see the full card breakdown with commentary for Uba Stax, check out Appendix B at the end of this article.
Composite Traditional Stax List:
1 Black Lotus 18/21
1 Mana Crypt 21/21
1 Mana Vault 19/21
1 Mox Emerald 21/21
1 Mox Jet 19/21
1 Mox Pearl 20/21
1 Mox Ruby 20/21
1 Mox Sapphire 21/21
1 Sol Ring 21/21
4 Mishra’s Workshop 21/21
1 Strip Mine 21/21
1 Tolarian Academy 21/21
4 Wasteland 16/21
4 City of Brass: 10/21
3 Gemstone Mine 10/21
1 Trinisphere 21/21
4 Smokestack 20/21
3 Crucible of Worlds 20/21
4 Chalice of the Void 11/21
3 Sphere of Resistance 15/21
4 Tangle Wire 13/21
1 Karn 18/21
1 Triskelion 17/21
4 Goblin Welder 16/21
1 Gorilla Shaman 14/21
1 Sundering Titan 14/21
1 Tinker 16/21
1 Ancestral Recall 16/21
3 Thirst for Knowledge 11/21
1 Memory Jar 11/21
1 Crop Rotation 10/21
To see the full card analysis, check out Appendix C at the end of this article.
Ancient Tomb, Demonic Tutor and Balance were barely edged out in this composite. The cut off was ten copies out of the twenty-one lists we had, and Ancient Tomb was probably over-represented because of the two MUD lists. Similarly, Memory Jar may be over-represented because of the MUD lists as well. If that is the case, then Balance and Demonic Tutor slip into the composite list.
The composite list has some interesting features. In case it wasn’t established by this point, the five color list has won the day. The U/R Stax lists are pretty much obsolete. It is interesting to note that Thirst for Knowledge plus a number of expensive creatures has become a staple part of this archetype in the traditional list. Perhaps most surprising to me was the fact that Tangle Wire has remained so popular in the lists that have been performing well – I had thought that Tangle Wire was in serious decline. Karn is even more popular than Goblin Welder, although that might be because of the two MUD lists in this data set, but one thing is clear: Karn is the preferred win condition for traditional Stax.
I could find no Stax list that had most or all of the qualities of the composite, which is one of the things that makes this work worthwhile. The composite reveals information that has been seen in no individual performing Stax list. I think it is the remaining UR/ Stax lists that is keeping the Thirst for Knowledge engine in the composite list. If Imperial Seal pushes the five color lists over the top, then Thirst may start to wane as we see more lists running Black for the tutoring power that it provides. It is particularly interesting that Crop Rotation is the highest performing non-Blue restricted card. I have no idea why this is the case. Perhaps it is the fact that it can fetch out a turn 1 Mishra’s Workshop in addition to a late or mid game Strip Mine.
Composite Traditional/ Five Color Stax Sideboard:
2 Rack and Ruin 12/21
2 Tormod’s Crypt 12/21
1 Jester’s Cap 11/21
3 Red Elemental Blast/Pyroblast 10/21
1 Viashino Heretic 9/21
2 Choke 7/21
2 Seal of Cleansing 7/21
1 Duplicant 7/21
1 In The Eye of Chaos 6/21
Well, there you have it. A bizarre mix to be sure. Perhaps the best use of these charts is to derive the best performing sideboards because they are certainly not intuitive. And yet, when I look at them, they look very strong. I would be quite happy running that sideboard if I were to play Stax. One of the principles of Stax is that you don’t want to see multiple lock components of the same card. For example, the utility of a second Choke is quite low. As a result, it does make sense to run a lot of two-ofs. I think that this sideboard is quite diverse and powerful. Against Stax mirrors, you can bring in 2 Rack and Ruin, 2 Seal of Cleansing, and Heretic off the bat. Against Control, you can bring in 2 Choke, 3 Red Elemental Blast, and 1 In the Eye of Chaos. That is a very nice mix of threats. You attack not only their ability to play threats with Choke, but their capacity to resolve them with Red Elemental Blast and their desire to escape your lock with In the Eye. All three sideboard components converge to create a powerful constrictor force around your opponent. Jester’s Cap is a powerful Tinker target, as evidenced by its repeated success. I would not have thought of Cap as a normal sideboard inclusion, but this data suggests that it should definitely be run. Let’s also now put to rest the fallacy that Red Elemental Blasts are not good enough.
I’m not sure what the function of Tormod’s Crypt is entirely. Is it just coming in against Gifts? Is there something else going on? I think that the format’s centering around Yawgmoth’s Will makes Crypt a powerful card, but does it warrant two slots? These are questions the data can’t answer.
Concluding Analysis
What we see in Stax is some important but identifiable trends. The Stax lock is defined by Crucible and Smokestack now instead of either Trinisphere or Goblin Welder. The archetype is split into two subarchetypes – Stax is both traditional Stax and Uba Stax. The Uba Stax list uses Bazaar of Baghdad and Uba Mask. Traditional Stax uses Tangle Wire and Sphere of Resistance. Uba Mask runs Null Rods in most cases where traditional Stax does not. Traditional Stax tends to be five color whereas Uba Stax appears to have followed Vroman’s lead and stuck to mono-Red, although that appears to be changing. Outliers suggest that Null Rod should be run in traditional Stax – this may cause tension with the direction of the deck as a five color mana base. It appears that traditional Stax really reaps the rewards of a five color mana base not only by running a full suite of tutors to help dig up the Strip Mine lock, but also to support a panoply of really powerful sideboard options like Choke, In The Eye of Chaos, and Seal of Cleansing. The five color Uba Stax lists, in some cases, appear to be hybrids of five color Stax and Uba Stax. Perhaps this archetype will merge into one with some hybrid five color Uba Stax list or perhaps adaptations made by one will be grafted onto the other – such as the use of Null Rod. Time will tell. In the meantime, we have a clear portrait, perhaps for the first time in some while, about what Stax really looks like in Vintage and what you should expect the next time you face it. Good luck.
Appendix A: Composite Stax Numbers
I. Artifact Acceleration
Black Lotus: 32/36
To explain the methodology. This statistic indicates that out of the 36 decklists that appeared in a top 8 of a tournament of over 49 players, 32 of those decklists had a Black Lotus.
We have to assume this was a card access problem. What Stax deck would not run Black Lotus? It just doesn’t make sense – especially when you consider:
Mana Crypt: 36/36
To clarify the methodology, in case there was any remaining confusion: This means that all thirty-six decklists analyzed here ran Mana Crypt. It was a unanimous card choice.
Mana Vault: 34/36
Mox Emerald: 36/36
Mox Jet: 34/36
Mox Pearl: 35/36
Mox Ruby: 34/36
Mox Sapphire: 36/36
Sol Ring: 36/36
Singletons:
Mox Diamond
Lotus Petal
Grim Monolith
The Mox Diamond was only used in the Stax list that made Top 8 at the Vintage Championship piloted by Ashok Chitturi. It was included because I insisted he run it. He complained about it afterward. Boo hoo.
II. Land
Ancient Tomb: 9/36
4: 1/36
3: 3/36
2: 6/36
A number of European U/R Stax lists used one or two of these.
I couldn’t settle on a best way to present this information, so I chose the one I liked best. What this information is telling you is that 1 of the 36 decks had 4 Ancient Tombs. Three of the 36 decks had 3 Ancient Tombs. Two of the 36 decks had 6 Ancient Tombs. In other words, 9 of the 36 decks had at least 2 Ancient Tombs and 4 of the 36 decks had at least 3 Ancient Tombs.
Barbarian Ring: 19/36
4: 1/19
2: 2/19
1: 16/19
The only list with 4 Ring was Vroman’s last SCG victory.
Bazaar of Baghdad 15/36
4: 11/15
3: 1/15 (14 Stax decks had at least three Bazaars)
1: 3/15 (15 Stax decks had at least one Bazaar)
This is basically a cue as to how much Uba Stax is in the data set. There were three lists with only 1 Bazaar. One list had 3 and the rest of the decks with Bazaar had four.
City of Brass 14/36
4: 12/14
3: 1/14 (13 Stax decks had at least 3 Cities)
2: 1/14 (14 Stax decks had at least 2 Cities)
City of Traitors 3/36
Fetchlands
Polluted Delta 2/36 had one
Flooded Strand 2/36
Wooded Foothills 4/36
Mire 6/36
Gemstone Mine 14/36
4: 6/14
3: 7/14 (13 Stax decks had at least 3 Gemstone Mine)
2: 1/14 (14 Stax decks had at least 2 Gemstone Mine)
1 Glimmervoid 3/36
Mountain 13/36
6 1/13
5 8/13
4 2/13
3 1/13
Shivan Reef 3/36
Strip Mine 36/36
1 Tendo Ice Bridge 2/36
Tolarian Academy 36/36
Volcanic Island 7
All seven have 4 copies.
Wasteland 36/36
4: 30/36
3: 3/36
2: 3/36
Singletons:
Adarkar Wastes
Island
Riftstone Portal
Seat of Synod
III. Lock Components:
Trinisphere 35/36
Remarkably, one of the decks did not play with Trinisphere. One of
the 5C Uba Stax lists from a SCG event.
Smokestack 36/36
4: 33/36
3: 3/36
Crucible of Worlds 36/36
4: 3/36
3: 31/36
2: 2/36
Chalice of the Void 27/36 had them maindeck
4: 21/27
3: 5/27 (26 decks had at least 3 Chalices maindeck)
2: 1/27
32 of the Stax lists had this between their maindeck or SB somewhere.
Tangle Wire 22/36
4: 13/22
3: 9/22
2 more in sideboards
Sphere of Resistance 16/36
4: 7/16
3: 9/16 (16 Stax decks had at least 3 Spheres)
Uba Mask 15/36
4: 1/15
3: 14/15
Null Rod 11/36
3: 8/11
2: 3/11
Pithing Needle 3/36 maindeck
2 more in SBs
3: 2/3
1: 1/3
Staff of Domination 2/36 – both MUD decks
Singletons:
Illusionary Mask
Time Vault
Mindslaver
Nether Void
Jester’s Cap
Grafted Skullcap
IV. Creatures
Goblin Welder 34/36
Every deck with Red had this guy. Only the two MUD decks did not.
30 of the 36 decks had 4.
4: 30/34
3: 2/34
2: 2/34
Gorilla Shaman 26/36
13 decks had one copy
13 decks had two copies
Karn 31/36
This is very surprising given the fact that Uba Stax plays Null Rod
Sundering Titan 29/36
Triskelion 24/36
Duplicant 23/36
Metalworker 3/36
these were the MUD decks
Solemn Simulacrum 10/36
Masticore
2/36 were maindeck
Singletons:
Darksteel Colossus 1/36
Viashano Heretic
V. Colored Spells
Restricted Bombs
Tinker 21/36
I think that may be a sign how many of these decks have Blue.
Ancestral Recall 20/36
Crop Rotation 14/36
Demonic Tutor 13/36
Balance 13/36
Memory Jar 12/36
Vampiric Tutor 11/36
Wheel of Fortune 10/36
Time Walk 8/36
Singletons:
Yawgmoth’s Will
Enlightened Tutor
Fastbond
Fact or Fiction
Colored Utility/Draw
Thirst for Knowledge 14/36
4: 4/14
3: 9/14
2: 2/14
Swords to Plowshares 5/36 had one maindeck
two had them in the SB
Seal of Cleansing 6/36 had them maindeck
Singletons:
Gamble
March of the Machines
Echoing Truth
Appendix B: Uba Stax Numbers
Artifact Accelerants
1 Black Lotus 14/15
1 Mox Ruby 14/15
1 Mox Sapphire 15/15
1 Mox Jet 15/15
1 Mox Emerald 15/15
1 Mox Pearl 15/15
1 Mana Crypt 15/15
1 Mana Vault 15/15
1 Sol Ring 15/15
I. Lands:
Barbarian Ring 12/15
4: 1
2: 2
1: 9
Bazaar of Baghdad 15/15
4: 11/15
3: 1/15
1: 3/15
City of Brass 4/15
4: 2
3: 1
2: 1
Gemstone Mine 4/15
4: 1
3: 2
2: 1
Glimmervoid 2/15
Mishra’s Workshop 15/15
Every list has 4
Mountain 10/15
5: 7
4: 2
3: 1
Riftstone Portal 1/15
Strip Mine 15/15
Wasteland 15/15
4: 14/15
2: 1/15
Wasteland 15/15
4: 14/15
2: 1/15
Volcanic Island 1/15
II. Creatures
Goblin Welder 15/15
4: 14
3: 1
Sundering Titan 14/15
Karn 13/15
Duplicant 13/15
2: 9
1: 4
Gorilla Shaman 11/15
2: 7
1: 4
Solemn Simulacrum 9/15
3: 2
2: 6
1: 1
Triskelion 7/15
Singletons:
Platinum Angel
Viashano Heretic
III. Lock Components
Uba Mask 15/15
4: 14
3: 1
Smokestack 15/15
4: 1
3: 14
Crucible of Worlds 15/15
4: 2
3: 13
Trinisphere 14/15
One of the SCG 5cuba Stax lists does not have this.
Null Rod 11/15
3: 8/11
2: 3/11
Chalice of the Void 11/15
4: 10
3: 1
Tangle Wire 6/15
3: 6
Pithing Needle 2/15
Singletons:
Sphere of Resistance
Candleabra
Powder Keg
IV. Colored Spells
Wheel of Fortune 7/15
Tinker 5/15
Balance 4/15
Ancestral Recall 4/15
Crop Rotation 4/15
Demonic Tutor 4/15
Vampiric Tutor 4/15
Singleton:
E. Tutor
Swords to Plowshares
Thirst for Knowledge
Seal of Cleansing
V. Sideboard:
Maze of Ith 10/15
Each SB that ran this had 2.
Lava Dart 8/15
4: 1
3: 2
2: 5
Null Rod 8/15
Viashano Heretic 9/15
3: 7
2: 2
Duplicant 9/15
2: 9
Uba Mask 6/15
Red Elemental Blast/Pyroblast 6/15
4: 1
3: 5
Rack and Ruin 5/15
2: 3
1: 2
Pyroclasm 5/15
3: 1
2: 4
Price of Glory 4/15
Orb of Dreams 3/15
Tormod’s Crypt 3/15
Seal of Cleansing 3/15
Blue Elemental Blast 2/15
Phyrexian Furnace: 2/15
Barbarian Ring 2/15
Tangle Wire 2/15
Pithing Needle 2/15
Triskelion 2/15
Singletons:
Defense Grid
Masticore
Hurkyl’s Recall
Jester’s Cap
Dwarven’ Miner
Pyrostatic Pillar
Sundering Titan
Ensnaring Bridge
Chalice of the Void
Disenchant
Fire/Ice
Stonestalker Shaman
Mindslaver
Lightning Greaves
Sacred Ground
Appendix C: Traditional Stax Analysis
I. Artifact Acceleration
Black Lotus 18/21
We have to assume this was a card access problem.
Mana Crypt 21/21
Mana Vault 19/21
Mox Emerald 21/21
Mox Jet 19/21
Mox Pearl 20/21
Mox Ruby 20/21
Mox Sapphire 21/21
Sol Ring 21/21
Singletons:
Mox Diamond
Lotus Petal
Grim Monolith
II. Land
Ancient Tomb 9/21
4: 1
3: 3
2: 6
A number of European UR Stax lists used one or two of these.
1 Barbarian Ring: 6/21
4 City of Brass: 10/21
City of Traitors 3/21
Fetchlands
Polluted Delta 2
Flooded Strand 2
Wooded Foothills 3
Mire 5
Gemstone Mine 10/21
4: 5
3: 5
Mountain 3/21
6: 1
5: 1
4: 1
4 Mishra’s Workshop 21/21
3 Shivan Reef 3/21
Strip Mine 21/21
1 Tendo Ice Bridge 2/21
Tolarian Academy 21/21
4 Volcanic Island 6/21
Wasteland 21/21
4: 16
3: 3
2: 2
Singletons:
Adarkar Wastes
Glimmervoid
Island
Seat of Synod
III. Lock Components:
Trinisphere 21/21
Smokestack 21/21
4: 20
3: 1
Crucible of Worlds 21/21
4: 1
3: 18
2: 2
Chalice of the Void 16/21 had them maindeck
4: 11/21
3: 4
2: 1
Tangle Wire 15/21
4: 13
3: 2
Sphere of Resistance 15/21
4: 6
3: 9
Pithing Needle 2/21 maindeck
2 more in SBs
Staff of Domination 2/36 – both MUD decks
Singletons:
Illusionary Mask
Null Rod
Time Vault
Mindslaver
Nether Void
Jester’s Cap
Grafted Skullcap
IV. Creatures
Goblin Welder 19/21
Every deck with Red had this guy. Only the two MUD decks did not.
4: 16
3: 1
2: 2
Gorilla Shaman 14/21
2: 5
1: 9
Karn 18/21
Triskelion 17/21
Sundering Titan 14/21
2: 1
1: 13
Duplicant 3/21
Metalworker 3/36
these were the MUD decks
Masticore
2/36 were maindeck
Singletons:
Darksteel Colossus
Phyrexian Dreadnaught
Lodestone Myr
Razormane Masticore
Pentavus
Arcbound Ravager
Solemn Simulacrum
V. Colored Spells
Restricted Bombs
Tinker 16/21
Ancestral Recall 16/21
Memory Jar 11/21
Crop Rotation 10/21
Demonic Tutor 9/21
Balance 9/21
Vampiric Tutor 7/21
Time Walk 7/36
Wheel of Fortune 3/21
Singletons:
Yawgmoth’s Will
Fastbond
Fact or Fiction
Colored Utility/Draw
Thirst for Knowledge 13/21
4: 4/14
3: 7/14
2: 2/14
Seal of Cleansing 5/21
Swords to Plowshares 4/21
Singletons:
Gamble
March of the Machines
Echoing Truth
Brainstorm
Sideboard:
Red Elemental Blast/Pyroblast 13/21
4: 4
3: 6
2: 3
Where a pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast showed up in the same sideboard, I aggregated them.
Ten of the Stax sideboards had at least 3 Red Elemental Blasts. This is a sign.
Rack and Ruin 12/21
4: 2
3: 6
2: 4
Tormod’s Crypt 12/21
3: 4
2: 8
Jester’s Cap 11/21
3: 2
2: 3
1: 6
Viashino Heretic 9/21
2: 6
1: 3
Choke 9/21
2: 7
1: 2
2 Seal of Cleansing 7/21
1 Duplicant 7/21
In The Eye of Chaos 6/21
3: 2
2: 3
1: 1
Chalice of the Void 5/21
3: 4
1: 1
The four builds that ran three Chalices in the sideboard were two of Rolands list and two copies of Roland’s list.
Ensnaring Bridge 4/21
Blue Elemental Blast/Hydroblast 4/21
Triskelion 4/21
Defense Grid 3/21
Engineered Explosives 3/21
2 Sacred Ground 2/21
2 Ground Seal 2/21
Razormane Masticore 2/21
Ray of Revelation 2/21
Powder Keg 2/21
Phyrexian Furnace 2/21
Singletons:
Old Man of the Sea
Disenchant
Crucible of Worlds
Swords to Plowshares
Sphere of Resistance
Seal of Removal
Hurkyl’s Recall
Pyrostatic Pillar
Eon Hub