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Life In Stasis

Hello again, folks! I just got a great deck for tweaking. I mean, it's not just a techy build of X Type II deck, this one is borderline INSANITY!! I can't explain it, so I'll got ahead and show it.

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I have been playing Magic for about five years now, but never really got into it untill this year. I usually make about two or three decks a
week, but this deck has been the only real good one. I need to know how
to make it better and where to go from there:

*Creatures*
4 Serra Angel
4 Radiant Archangel
4 Archangel

*Spells*
4 Mind Over Matter
4 Stasis
2 Temporal Distortion
4 Enlightened Tutor
3 Seal Of Cleansing
4 Thwart
4 Gush

*Artifacts*
1 Mishra's Helix

*Lands*
9 Plains
11 Islands

*Sideboard*
2 Alexi, Zephyr Mage
3 Disenchant
1 Temporal Distortion
4 Mana Short
1 Seal Of Cleansing
4 Ardent Soldier

The point of this deck is to get out one or two of the angels and a mind over matter, then slow them down by playing a stasis. I put Gush and
Thwart in so that I could return the islands to my hand and keep my draw card instead of using it with mind over matter to untap an island. I really need help trying to limit and extend certain parts of the
deck.
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Sherman, thank you so much for this deck! There are two very distinct ways we can go with this, a mono-Blue stasis build and a variant of your deck. I'll deal with the variant fist. The beauty of the Serra Angel line (no tap to attack) is just that - they don't tap to attack. Under a Stasis, they can keep on plugging away at your opponent no matter what. Archangel is pretty expensive though, and we'll have to deal with that.
Speaking of expensive, so it Mind Over Matter. Not only is it hard to cast, but you lose a card each time. I know you need to keep a U producing land open each time, why not Forsaken City? It'll help out with you colors as well as always keep Stasis ready.

Temporal Distortions is a nice addition to Stasis, but with the Enlightened Tutors, you should be able to get whatever you need whenever you need it. I'm going to bolster your searching abilities by adding the impressive Impulse to your deck.

Show and Tell makes your Angels come out two or more turns faster, meaning you can be set up for the kill much quicker. That helps against mono colored speed decks that would otherwise run over you.

The reason it's so critical to have out Islands is cards like Stasis, Gush and Thwart with have to have Islands. In many cases, you won't even need a white mana. For instance you could Show and Tell a Archangel with Thwart backup turn three, and then cast Stasis next turn. That's rough stuff.

4 Serra Angel
1 Radiant Archangel
2 Archangel

4 Enlightened Tutor

3 Show And Tell
4 Stasis
4 Impulse
4 Thwart
4 Gush

3 Plains
3 Flood Plains
15 Islands
3 Forsaken City
4 Tundra

The other build is a lot more competitive. It's even considered one of the Dark Horse decks of Extended, and has a possible Turn Two lock with stasis.

4 Thwart
4 Gush
4 Impulse
4 Force of Will
4 Counterspell

2 Foil
4 Powder Keg
4 Stasis
2 Morphling
1 Spellbook
1 Feldon's Cane (or Thran Foundry)
1 Claws of Gix

22 Islands
3 Forsaken City

It may seem like too many Islands, but when you can consistanly drop a land to pay the upkeep rather than chuck counter magic to Forsaken city, you'll appreciate it.

The goal here is simple: Build up mana, drop Stasis, drop more mana, sack Stasis to Claws of Gix, drop Morphling with a 20 card hand. (thanks to Spellbook) Once your opponent's mana is tapped, he won't be casting much, so your Counterspells will get stuck in your hand. Add to that cards like Gush and Thwart, and you need a way to avoid discarding too much.

A makeshift sideboard looks like:

4 Propaganda
4 Chill
4 Back to Basics
2 Foil
1 Nether Spirit

Realize that any deck with Stasis in it is considered a hard, long, boring matchup. It is a challenging deck to play, and that's what I like about it.

Until Stasis is erratad to include the phrase, "Sacrifice Stasis: Put target opponent to sleep" Make Mine Magic

Kevin Williams
Kevin@pojo.com

 


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