MTG Salvation

Ithink pyrostatic pillar is an awlful card for stax, pyrostatic pillar should only ber played in vintage in the sideboard of red green beats.

stax has 1 game plan stall, until you get a big guy.

With all the spheres you play pillar will do very little against combo, you need a threat against them.

Random aggro decks are always a problem for stax, expecially red based aggro. They like to destroy artifacts. They will take 2-8 damage and you will still lose to gofys.

Chalice on two with duplicant backup is all you need against oath. Also jesters cap is amazing.

Trust me you do not need to play pyrostatic pillar.

Yes i understand that spheres do not affect convedrted mana cost, what do you think i am an idiot.

Pillar is a bad card for this deck. Go over your average converted mana cost in mono red stax. How many cards hit you for 2 if pillar is in play. With this deck you do not have the time to sit back under 1 or 2 spheres, you have to play all the hate you can and hope they do not rebuild or recall you before your dudes can win.

I main deck null rod in my build. it only shuts down artifact mana and trisk activations main decked.Null rod is the reason i beat tps and other long varients so well. These decks require the artifact mana to get them out from under sphere lock.

Whoever gets crucible or 2 welders out first usually wins.

In my experience, Welder is key as well as who packs the most Rack and Ruins and/or Shattering Sprees.

Quote from D3@D

In my experience, Welder is key as well as who packs the most Rack and Ruins and/or Shattering Sprees.

I have to also agree with the rack and ruins. As i stated earlier when i played shattering spree it was the worst card in my deck, i replaced them with rack and ruin and have never regretted it.

Hey Glix, if you read this i propose a name change to this deck. This deck is slowly evolving to a 2-3 color deck. Mono Red is not really a good name to it. I plan on testing my blue red verision and the next blue bell and if it does well i will play it at teh NEW JERSEY OPEN.

Cards that have been cut
3x Sword of Fire and Ice
4x Solemn Simulacrum
4x Magus of the Moon

With the blue that i have added, the deck is far more consistent and has a better clock under sphere lock.

I was thinking something on the lines of Aggro Stax

Just placed 9th at a mox jet tourney in CO with this list was expecting a meta full of tez decks, turned out to be more ad naus decks lol.



It plays very tight, Gathan Raiders is Absolutly Bonkers, Most of the time it was a 5/5 that just screams "deal with me or lose" it isnt hit by Krosan Grip and rolls most of the utility creatures in the format, i even had an opponent chump his tarmo's into it. It really only costs 3 which occupies the same niche as magus of the moon, so it was very relevant all day. Round 1 i played ravager affinty, including all the artifact lands, I got rolled game 1 to double Disciple. games 2 and 3 i Brought in Null Rod's and Rack and Ruin, he was never really in it.

Round 2 I got paired against GWB good stuff, featuring goyf and doran! I roll her game 1 with some razormane masticore's which wrath her board ever turn. Game 2 she has vindicates and krosan grips to keep me out of the way for tarmogoyf. Game 3 we stall out for a while, she draws tormod's crypt to remove my welder shenanigans, i trade her doran with my Gathan raiders and we stall out in final turns.

Round 3 i got paired into Ad Nauseum, game 1 he combo's out turn two, i board in null rods and REB's, game 2 he mulls to 5 and I rock his draw and hurkyl's recall with REB and pyroblast. game 3 he combo's out turn 2 again, after i didnt mull into rods or sphere effects. I kept a sketchy 6 with turn one masticore, which he quickly combo'd around.

Round 4 I play my buddy and roll his little dudes with my masticore's and welder trick's.

Round 5 I play Ichorid, Game 1 he keeps a hand of bazaar and no dredgers, i lay turn one karn with sphere's, i beat for 9 or so next turn with a factory and sphere's. Next turn i roll for 11 while hes stuck on no dredge effects.
Game 2, he keeps a semi decent hand when he serum powders most of what makes his deck work including a narcomeaba and i think two bridge from below's. I keep jugg's, sword and a sphere. I roll him when his only blockers are narcomeaba's and he cant play dread return due to sphere effects. His list was interesting to say the least, it featured windswept heath to find dryad arbor? it was definatly a case of my opponent not knowing every card in his deck, as he made several play errors, including frawing extra cards off bazzar and other shennanigans.

I end up 3-1-1 with 10 points in swiss, which doesnt get there, i miss 8th on breakers, tough day, o well i went home with a FTV: Dragons for my efforts!

the list works very well against random aggro as your dudes are typically bigger then thier's. Masticore is a house. Welder and Simulacrum tricks are cute and work against chumping aggro. Ad naus is a serious problem for the deck as they pack chain to bounce your stuff, so any suggestions? Beyond crypt since i dont think i saw anyone really NEED Yawgmoth's will to fully combo out?

Glad to see other poeple doing well with this deck, the only suggestion i have is this: I think that your land count is to high, i would suggest to add 3-4 chalice of the void. that will give you help with tendrils deck. It also gives you a chance game 1 against oath.

But where are your duplicants.

Here is the list that i ran yeserday of Blue Bell PA, 42 people played. My record after 6 rounds was 4-1-1. I drew in teh last round into top 8.

Here is the list.

lands and moxen
4x Mishra's Workshop
2x Ancient Tomb
6x Mountain
4x Wasteland
1x Strip Mine
1x Tolarian Academy
1x Mana Crypt
1x Sol Ring
5x Moxen ( 1 of each color )
1x Black Lotus

Creatures
4x Solemn Simulacrum
4x Goblin welder
4x Magus of the Moon
4x Juggernaut
3x Gathan Raiders
Other Stuff
1x Trinisphere
4x Sphere of Resistance
4x Thorn of Amethyst
3x Sword of Fire and Ice
3x Chalice of the Void

Sideboard
3x Shattering Spree
2x Duplicant
4x Red Elemental Blast
3x Tormod's Crypt
3x Null Rod

round 1 i play agaisnt TPS.
Game 1 he got me with turn 2 tinker collussus. I got games 2 and 3.

round 2 i played agiainst some varient of ad nasuem. It was over rather quickly for him. I do not think he ran any counters so my lock pieces kept him over base both games.

round 3 ichorid
apparently this is my new worse match he 2-0 me rather quickly

round 4 oath with tez and time vauly combo
game 1 he scopped to turn 1 3-sphere and magus
game 2 he scoped to the same two caards but it was like turn 3-4. I think he kept some very bad hands, he though i was playing TPS.

round 5 a slaver varient. This match was a chinkle a member of these forums. By far my hardest match of the day. This was a tough battle for me but i got him in 3, due to some lucky draws on my part.

Round 6 TPs.
Drew into Top 8

Top 8 is the following
1 ichorid ( Matt Maruchi )
1 Blue black Stax ( Mike Noble ) He called the deck Obi won kenobi
1 mono red shop ( ed Carey )
1 G/W/U fish ( dont know his name )
1 Tezz (paul Mastriano)
1 TPS ( David something )
1 Have no idea ( Bernie Parisi)
1 Slaver ( dan herd )


Well i lost in my top 8 match agianst the same guy who beat me in the swiss with Ichorid. He 2-0 me rather easily.

I still think this deck is very competitve, if i learned anything yesterday it was i need to stop ignoring ichorid. It is not played at all in the philly area but it absolutly destroyed all but 1 player in teh swiss, and i think he won the tourny with it.

props
Gathan Raiders was a huge success.
Shattering spree over rack and run is better
winning 5 out 6 die rolls on mana crypt for the win in round 1
killing multiple gofys with the same duplicant

flops
having to play friends of mine all day, and having to knock them out of contention ( sorry allen and chaz )
lossing the player of the year race in blue bell to top 8 a tourny
having to play ichorid in the swiss and top 8. ( screw you Matt matruchi ) lol just kidding you destroyed me and deserved to win.


Ok now how to beat ichorid, i am open to suggestions, but it is going to be rough. He would mull into turn 0 leyline everytime. He maindecked 4. I never drew my crypts before it was too late.

the only way I have ever beet Ichorid is by siding in crypts and Crawlspace/ensnaring bridge while siding out Jugs, chalise and spheres. One Thorn is all you need to stop them from casting anything. Jugs are too slow, and will get chumped by tokens all day. Crawlspace doesnt win you the game but it does keep them from winning.

well after teh vintage tourny at worlds

I took 8th with the above list, the only changes were in the board
-1 REB
-3 tormods crypts
+4 leyline of the void

My only losses in the tourny were to a mirror match and a ad naesuem deck.

Congrats with your finish!

Could you tell me more about the Gathan Raiders? How did they work? and to what advatages does he have over Triskelion or more traditional critters?

D3@D

Gathan raiders gives you a clock that can not be recalled, it helps feed welders. I found that trike was only really good against bobs and welders. I would rather have the faster clock then the trike tricks.

What the better guy against the fish matchup.... Triskilion or Razormane? Also how is the Tezz matchup. I've only played it once and won on an opponents misplay?

tez is an easy match for me, but i know how the deck plays.

Against Tez, play every sphere you get, and games 2 and 3 play null rod. you have to stop the key./vualt combo.

Against fish, play spheres and big guys. Games 2 and 3 play duplicant or razormane whcih ever you have.

Fish is a race, you have to get board position before they drop goyf.

Quote from Stupid3494

tez is an easy match for me, but i know how the deck plays.

Against Tez, play every sphere you get, and games 2 and 3 play null rod. you have to stop the key./vualt combo.

Against fish, play spheres and big guys. Games 2 and 3 play duplicant or razormane whcih ever you have.

Fish is a race, you have to get board position before they drop goyf.

You play null rod? doesn't that shut down all of our mana produces and swords? Doesn't seem very good but I suppose I could try it. Duplicant doesnt seem that good against fish as their biggest guy is a 4/4 (grunt). Razormane doesn't seem bad, but I have been playing Trikes and they work pretty well, except for all the yard hate from my opponents board welder tricks bad. I have also found the best way to beat fish is to resolve a chalice on 2 and protect it with spheres and wastelands.