MTG Salvation

My GAAIV deck is as below


1) What is the difference between tax and stax?
2) Is my deck above considered Tax or Stax? Take note: I am not asking for feedback but to identify whether my deck is stax or tax or both.

Decklist moved from commander main to multiplayer

Ouch my eyes... this needs some organisation



Okay so Tax makes things more expensive, Stax removes your ability to cast anything by attacking your resources (lands and artifacts)

Your creatures seem extremely vanilla, there are creatures with exactly the same abilities and mana costs but are just way way better. You also hate your own things with a lot of your cards, lots of nonbos.

I actually kind think GAAIV is kind of bad as a commander :/ everyone hates you and you don't achieve anything with him on the field. I think you need a bunch of combos so you can lock the game and combo out rather than trying to deal 3 x 40 with a Serra Angel :/. Its extremely frustrating to play against.... at least a nice infinite combo quickly ends the game. I use Dragonlord Ojutai as my UW control commander (features many of these hate cards but counter spells instead of tax and stax), Ojutai quickly ends the game as a commander. You also don't have any planeswalkers which can also be really good win cons with their ultimates while you lock people out of interacting with them.

Quote from Narvuntien »

Ouch my eyes... this needs some organisation

blkh's DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Commander 1 Grand Arbiter Augustin IV Creatures 1 Sunscape Familiar 1 Spelltithe Enforcer 1 Serra Angel 1 Stormscape Familiar 1 Felidar Sovereign 1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath 1 Fatespinner 1 Windborn Muse 1 Magus of the Moat 1 Sun Titan 1 Avacyn, Guardian Angel 1 Bruna, the Fading Light 1 Archangel 1 Isperia, Supreme Judge 1 Zetalpa, Primal Dawn 1 Lodestone Golem 1 Shepherd of the Lost 1 Aven Mindcensor 1 Norn's Annex 1 Ojutai, Soul of Winter 1 Vryn Wingmare 1 Twilight Shepherd 1 Adarkar Valkyrie Artifacts 1 Lightning Greaves 1 Azorius Signet 1 Sapphire Medallion 1 Icy Manipulator 1 Meekstone 1 Talisman of Progress 1 Cursed Totem 1 Sol Ring 1 Winter Orb 1 Swiftfoot Boots	Enchantments 1 Mist of Stagnation 1 Web of Inertia 1 Ghostly Prison 1 Aurification 1 Stony Silence 1 Aura of Silence 1 Teferi's Moat 1 Propaganda 1 Kismet 1 Arcane Laboratory 1 Luminarch Ascension 1 Rest in Peace 1 Stasis 1 Sphere of Safety 1 Rhystic Study 1 Land Tax Sorceries 1 Planar Cleansing 1 Rout 1 Wrath of God 1 Supreme Verdict Instants 1 Capsize 1 Sphinx's Revelation 1 Path to Exile 1 Fact or Fiction 1 Wing Shards 1 Swords to Plowshares 1 Cyclonic Rift 1 Enlightened Tutor	Lands 1 Azorius Chancery 1 Irrigated Farmland 1 Adarkar Wastes 1 Prairie Stream 1 Nimbus Maze 1 Hallowed Fountain 1 Port Town 1 Tranquil Cove 1 Skycloud Expanse 1 Temple of Enlightenment 1 Azorius Guildgate 1 Sejiri Refuge 1 Glacial Fortress 1 Command Tower 14 Plains 10 Island

Okay so Tax makes things more expensive, Stax removes your ability to cast anything by attacking your resources (lands and artifacts)

Your creatures seem extremely vanilla, there are creatures with exactly the same abilities and mana costs but are just way way better. You also hate your own things with a lot of your cards, lots of nonbos.

I actually kind think GAAIV is kind of bad as a commander :/ everyone hates you and you don't achieve anything with him on the field. I think you need a bunch of combos so you can lock the game and combo out rather than trying to deal 3 x 40 with a Serra Angel :/. Its extremely frustrating to play against.... at least a nice infinite combo quickly ends the game. I use Dragonlord Ojutai as my UW control commander (features many of these hate cards but counter spells instead of tax and stax), Ojutai quickly ends the game as a commander. You also don't have any planeswalkers which can also be really good win cons with their ultimates while you lock people out of interacting with them.

Tien, can you point out some of the self-hate cards and the nonbos for me?

Stony silence and sol ring/lightning greaves
Sun Titan and Rest in Piece
Avacyn, Guardian Angel and Cursed Totem
Lodestone golem and Vyn Wingmare and most of your deck.
Winter orb and stasis and a bunch of 5+ cost cards, without a good way to untap all your things.

Typically if you play a lot of Propaganda effects, which is called "pillowfort", You want to combo off from behind your walls because people cannot kill you before you can pull off that combo.

Basically I think your issue is that you haven't locked down exactly what you want to do with your deck and you have through together a bunch of hate and good cards together. I to be fair my first UW deck was the same (my commander was Isperia, supreme judge and it was surprisingly good as a commander) and it took me a long time to work out how I should build it.