BUG RatStill

wfain

Yes, there are Pack Rats in this Standstill deck. I need to get a couple more cages to improve the Oath matchup but so far everything else has been a reasonable match to play. Suggestions are welcome as I've never built a Standstill deck before.

1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Demonic Tutor
4 Force of Will
2 Flusterstorm
3 Mental Misstep
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Dismember
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Treasure Cruise
1 Dig Through Time
1 Deep Analysis
4 Standstill
3 Pack Rat
3 Deathrite Shaman
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Bayou
4 Polluted Delta
1 Strip Mine
2 Tropical Island
1 Island
3 Underground Sea
1 Swamp
3 Mutavault
3 Wasteland
1 Ghost Quarter

SB:
3 Leyline of the Void
2 Arcane Laboratory
1 Plague Spitter
1 Toxic Deluge
2 Tireless Tracker
2 Nature's Claim
2 Dread of Night
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Mindbreak Trap

Obviously the idea is to break the rules of Standstill by having Pack Rat in play. Now you get to make rats while your opponent does nothing, or you get to draw more cards to turn into rats or counter whatever they tried to do. Deep Analysis was included because I felt there should be 1 more draw spell and it synergizes well with Pack Rat. No Null Rods because I don't think they are particularly good right now, though that could certainly change. Senesi's Top is another way to use mana under Standstill. Mutavault over Factory is to improve the Pack Rats.

Sideboard could use the most work/tuning right now. The Dread of Night, Plague Spitter, Toxic Deluge split is mostly a hedge to several different things. I like Dread to fight Mentor decks and Thalia decks. Spitter is viable in those same places but also helps fight Hangarback Walker and Phyrexian Revokers from Shops and can clean up a whole mess of Young Pyromancer/Notion Thief from the Grixis player. Maybe I could do without Deluge? I would like to play 1 or 2 more Cages too, but I only own 1 right now. Tireless Tracker is another creature to play against Eldrazi and can also be used under Standstill as a must answer threat against the more grindy fair decks (especially if I suspect they have access to Needles for my rats).

Topical_Island

Ha! I love it.

I don't know if it's good, but I doubt it sucks, and... I love it.

A couple things to look at, I'm a big fan of Mishra's Factories. I get what you're doing with Pack Rat and Vault... but Mishra lets you block big guys and stabilize the board state better... so up to you, but I think just going with the Factory might be better in most games.

Creeping Tarpit is another you might want to look at for this since it's so black blue, and I'm betting you'll want to make room for a Library of Alexandria, since finding Library with Standstill up can be just about as forcing to your opponent as finding a man-land.

wfain

@Topical_Island so far I haven't actually suffered in stabilizing. Pack Rat is bigger than everything! I like the idea of Library but where would you put it? I was also thinking about Sylvan Library along the same premise

Topical_Island

I might take out the Deep Analysis for the Library? It makes your land heavier? but it is Landstill, an both cards want to be drawers. That does make Force ever so much weaker, but that downside seems small without crunching any numbers on it.

Either that or take out the Swamp for Library... Maybe Swamp becomes Tar Pit and Library becomes Analysis?... Idk, I'd test that... You have basic island already... are we really that afraid of opposing Ghost Quarters?

OH! and find a spot for Chalice, because just droping Chalice at 0 on your opening turn is a huge huge bomb with all your waste effects and a mainboard Crucible... plus you can always set it at 1 to seal games late.

DrStreetmention

@wfain

Thanks for posting the deck! I was the guy playing White Eldrazi and admiring Pack Rat + Standstill. I'm excited to try it out.

wfain

@Topical_Island Chalice is interesting! I have the Swamp for Blood Moon decks so I can still activate Pack Rat/makes it easier to cast Decay w/ a DRS or Mox Emerald. Not sure I'd be comfortable without it. Wouldn't Library of Alexandria want me to play Deep Analysis? I'm not against adding Library, I think you're probably right about it but it just feels weird to cut a card that would play so well with it

Topical_Island

@wfain Yeah... I asked my Library, but the response was not clear at all. I like Deep, but I was just eyeballing on pure power level here. You are already playing 4 of the most efficient non-restricted card in the format (Standstill).

Keeping Swamp seems fine, though again, I'm just a play the percentage kind of guy. Bloodmoon is pretty rare in the meta. Swamp in the board?

Maybe Ghostquarter in the board and Library main? Something like that?

xouman

Ponder does not belong to a deck with standstill, as most other sorceries. Even pack rat or drs are suspicious: what you want is to play a standstill and do nothing until you can kill opponent with factories. When opponent does something, you want to draw countermagic, no card filtering.

however, resolving pack rat before standstill sounds really good...

wfain

@xouman I was under the impression BUG Landstill was already a deck which played DRS? Isn't Ponder strong enough in helping you accomplish Standstill to mitigate the couple times you'll draw it off Standstill and lose on the spot?

Topical_Island

@xouman I have to disagree a little bit here.

The answer to your question is, basically, yes. The plan is to resolve Standstill and at least threaten to win the game via man-land beatdown. Obviously that never just happens. The opponent is extorted into breaking the Standstill and then the question is... what happens next?

The above deck has 2 Fluster, 3 Misstep, 3 Decay, 1 Dismember, 1 Dig, 4 Force, 1 Ancestral, 1 Brainstorm to respond at instant speed. The question is just, can the deck respond at instant speed to defend itself when the Standstill gets popped. What the other stuff is doesn't really matter that much. So you're right, instant speed defense spells are important, but if there is enough of them, then you're fine. What do we think is going to happen to this deck due to the inclusion of Ponder that wouldn't otherwise happen?

Ponder is great at solving the biggest problem Landstill has, namely... not drawing Standstill. In vintage, a deck designed around Standstill can be pretty bad when it doesn't draw the namesake card. I love Ponder in Landstill decks for this reason. It is important to make sure you don't just get whacked when they break your Standstill... but including or not including Ponder has a very small impact on that. (Like 1/60 level impact). If you took out Ponder and put in a Misstep or a Mindbreak trap, I have no doubt that this deck would get a little worse.

wfain

borrowed a couple cages and we're taking it for a spin in the daily event!

wfain

Went 3-1 (w/ round 1 bye) in the DE tonight. I'll post my raw notes below, might be hard to follow but I think most of you will be able to figure it out.

Ratstill report

Round 1: bye

Round 2: blacklotust1, white eldrazi
Keep mm, ss, fluster, dt, da, pd, mv
Tomb thorn
Temple thorn
Karakas smasher
Dt for dismember
Wasteland on a mutavault, revoker on abandon hope
Draw vault, play dismember paying 2 life, stabilizing, then lose to random guys

G2 t1 mox mox waste, he plays plains, I play land, he plays tomb and displacer. Waste tomb, decay displacer, upkeep vamp for tireless tracker and cast
Revoker and thalia vs tireless
Decay revoker
Rat
Priest
Thorn
Tracker
Thorn, win w/ 2 trackers and rats against thalia, priest

G3, won, fow t1 tks mox top land into plague spitter killing thalia on t2, pack rat into standstill concession
Boarded mm, fluster, deep analysis, and 1 jtms out for nature’s claims, trackers, dreads, and spitter

Round 3: atog_215, dps
Keep wastex2, strip, quarter, lotus, force, standstill
Play lotus, wasteland
Opponent probe, delta
Strip mine
Delta
Delta, standstill
Mire
Quarter, target delta, crack for sea, waste sea,
Nothing
Muta, hand is waste, waste, fow, decay vs full grip 2 fetches in play
Swamp, dark rit, grid, I dtt keeping fow, standstill, force pitch force on grid, he ancestral, crypt, rit, dt, grid, led, fetch, rit, tendrils for 24
Bring in leyline, claims, labs, spitter, cut dismember, jtms, deep anal, crucible, decay, cruise

Keep leyline, claim, lotus, drs, ancestral, trop, bayou
Trop, recall, draw mm, top, saphire, play top sapphire lotus
Delta, fetch, sapphire, grid, probe
Top, draw fluster, claim grid, play drs
Probe, preordain, duress, I misstep
Top, wasteland underground sea, leave force on top w/ fluster in hand
Crypt, dt, I fluster
Top, draw lab, crack lotus for lab
Grid
Standstill
Force a twister, he conceded

G3 keep lotus, rat, drs, dt, delta, delta fluster
Probe, tank, sea, ritual, ritual, sol ring, dps, will, probe, rit, rit tendrils exactsies
pretty sure is correct to keep that hand, plan was to play lotus crack for bbb, play dt for arcane lab, play drs, leave up flusterstorm, make lab on t2

Round 4: i_b_true, grixis
Keep lotus, emerald, strip, fluster, standstil x2, jtms
Island, jet, strix
Lotus, strip, mox, play jtms w/ u floating, see fow, delta, cruise. Draw was wl
Ruby, yp, gets forced, preordain, volcanic
Waste both lands, +2 jtms putting dt on bottom
Tarn, probe, dack
Dt for pyroblast, kill jtms,
Play cruise, wl, dismember strix
Mm cabal, cruise, into gush into cabal
Draw waste, rat, waste his sea
Strix
Make a rat, trade w/ strix
Tarn, bstorm, sudden shock rat
Waste his volc, play sea
Probe, dack, pyro I brainstorm, he forces
Recall into delta, trop, dtt keep jet, decay, kill yp
Nothing
Draw decay
Chain draws in jtms, I decay sapphire
Draw nothing, he draws pyro
Nothing again lose
Board in spitter, tracker x2, out a force, vamp, rat, maybe I should expect leyline and cut the delve cards/deep anal too? Don’t have anything good to bring though

Keep, fluster, cruise, standstill, decay, spitter, delta, streip
Ruby, lotus, tarn
Lotus, spitter, standstill, forced
Attack some, eventually shocked
Cruise, force, fluster, drew crucible, tracker, fluster
Yp
Decay yp, drew dtt
Gush, probe, dack, steal my emerald
Tracker, delta
Cruise
Clue, standstill, force pyroblast, kill dack
He Strip mine sea
Win w/ tracker

Keep decayx2, walk, lotus, drs, swamp, delta
Sapphire, recall, jet, blind cabal on standstill, miss
Lotus gets forced, play drs gets mmed
Preordain, volc, lotus,
Walk and land drop
ruby
Land, jet, rat, opponent gushes, make a rat to play around sudden shock
Dack, loot,
Rat, decay dack
Yp,
Cruise, fluster paid for, swing, make a rat
Probe, therepy,
Yp can’t beat 5 rats
I win! 3-1! Plus 8 tickets, plus 30 playpoints and qp #35

Main deck was very good. I think Chalice would be great in here. SB was medium good. Plague Spitter was strong. Trackers were outrageously good. Might need another Arcane Lab. Maybe it is worth just punting the Oath matchup to make Storm a better matchup?

Topical_Island

@wfain Really cool that you did that. Well done sir.

wfain

Picked up a Chalice. Going to try it in place of Deep Analysis for now. Could see it in a different spot though. List is currently;

2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Deathrite Shaman
3 Pack Rat

1 Ancestral Recall
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Time Walk
2 Flusterstorm
4 Force of Will
3 Mental Misstep
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Treasure Cruise
1 Dig Through Time
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Dismember
3 Abrupt Decay
4 Standstill

1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus

4 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
1 Strip Mine
2 Tropical Island
1 Island
3 Underground Sea
1 Bayou
3 Mutavault
1 Ghost Quarter
3 Wasteland

SB:
2 Leyline of the Void
3 Arcane Laboratory
2 Plague Spitter
2 Tireless Tracker
2 Nature's Claim
2 Dread of Night
2 Grafdigger's Cage

Topical_Island

@wfain Really no Library of Alexandria huh?

wfain

@Topical_Island not yet, so far the way the games play out it wouldn't activate

Topical_Island

@wfain It's really just there to drop on turn 1 if its in your opening hand right?... It's ok. Just a card I think highly of.

wfain

@Topical_Island me too, just would have to cut a spell I think. So many colorless lands already

Topical_Island

Adding Library makes it more likely you see everything else.... A Deathrite? Cruise? Vamp? Ghost Quarter?... actually yeah... why the heck is Quarter in and Library not. That's just goofy.

xouman

I agree that library is one of the best cards in landstill. There are decks that want to deplete their hands as soon as possible, or really fast: it's ok not to play library there. But in a deck that wants to go slow, play a standstill and wait for a factory... library is awesome.