So, I imagine like many blue players, this week's announcement has got me eyeballing my Workshops. Just as a change of pace. And since people have been talking about which more marginal strategies could be on the rise, I thought I'd bring up Stax.
With potentially fewer tokens and potentially more PO shenanigans on the horizon, I'm curious to hear opinions from the sages here on whether or not Smokestack / Crucible / Null Rod might have just gotten a little bit better?
Part of this for me is "teh feelz."
I really enjoy prison shops, as a player. Smokestack is my pet card the way that Mana Drain is for some blue players. Just as I tend to think that combo is the best calling card for vintage to interest new players (restricted list, giant kills, infinite turns, what's not to love?), Stax is one of those decks that just makes people rage quite. Aggro MUD / Eldrazi Thorn kills you pretty quick, but Stax is a painful grind to a messy end. In other words, Shops pilots are all essentially griefer sadists...I keed...
Stax has appeared in a handful of top 8's in the last year, poking out noticeably here and there. Is it just that it has been too slow for mentor, and maybe for the aggro mirror? I am just wondering about opinions based on the current metagame, if there would be a smokestack build that could hold its ground consistently.
Looking at Andreas Andersson's list from the Swedish champs results as a jumping off point:
21 LANDS
4 Ancient Tomb
1 Inventors' Fair
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 Mutavault
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Wasteland
8 CREATURES
1 Karn, Silver Golem
1 Lodestone Golem
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Walking Ballista
31 OTHER SPELLS
1 Black Lotus
1 Chalice of the Void
2 Crucible of Worlds
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
4 Null Rod
4 Smokestack
1 Sol Ring
4 Sphere of Resistance
4 Tangle Wire
4 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Trinisphere
SIDEBOARD
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Dismember
1 Ghost Quarter
3 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Jester's Cap
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Razormane Masticore
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
2 Wurmcoil Engine
There are a couple of neat things I enjoy about this deck and several questions for the minds that know better:
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One is Karn. I just love some Karn. Why don't we see more Karn? In this list it looks like it might even be part of an aggro tactic and not just anti-mox? Make your smokestacks alive and kill kill kill? This deck doesn't look like it puts out a ton of damage in game one and just hopes to poke you to death with Revoker.
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Second, I like Tabernacle in the board, though I wonder if it would be better to run in the main instead of Mutavault? For my feelings on Tabernacle see above thoughts regarding Karn.
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Urborg: Not sure about this tech. Maybe I'm missing something. Give you something to do with workshop to pay activation costs? Ancient Tomb that doesn't damage you? This seems a little silly, but maybe it is secretly brilliant. Isn't vintage great???
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This deck runs a LOT of null rod. I kind of love this. BUT. Is this overkill?
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Enjoy your ONE Ballista. I get that Null Rod shuts this off and that you don't want a bunch of dead weight in your hand, but is one enough?
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It seems like there might not be enough Dredge hate in his board as Dredge ended up winning the tournament...Maybe -1 Ghost Quarter +1 Cage? Sideboard plan seems to be tuned to go aggro in the mirror and punish mentor, but it still looks vulnerable. Maybe less Wurmcoil and More Ballista? Is there a Better transformational SB plan here or is it better to go all in hate tech?
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Metamorph feels a little antique here, but I'm assuming it's to copy golem and your bomby critters in game two?
Anyhoo. Would love to hear what folks think, especially if some of the more seasoned (as I am barely marinated) workshop pilots could chime in!