I concure...

What about all the teams who dominate in their respective areas, and could probably dominate in the larger, high profile events, yet have been unable to go due time and money constrants?

Random idea:  How about if you were to do a similar idea, except in a multi stage project where you interview the high profile members from these and other boards (you would have to since, there are a few on others who do not post here for their on personal reasons...)

Re: Shadowmage vs Ophidian

For the - 1 colorless + 1 black mage gives you the whole unblockable except for thing...

However if you look at the meta, the majority of the decks will be able to block it regardless.  So essentially it comes down to which you feel more drawn to (after the effective which would be easier for you to cast - 9/10 times it will be the snake.  That 1/10 time is when you can cast both - face it shadowmage will never be easier to cast )

On the tourney note: Congrats  

Oh no I got this - I do see the advantage.  My problem with it is the clunky(ness) of the card in general.  It is just one of those cards that I feel cannot be thrown into decks like it was into TPS (I have been playing TPS for a fair bit of time now, and I have made a many changes to the base list myself - I just never felt this was a healthy change).

As said the card is a bomb - in the right deck.  Simply put - I feel TPS is not that deck though.

This really is nothing innovative - as this has been talked to death in the TPS (evolution) threads.

Now, in play testing I have found it extremely meh, and most often then naught I would have rathered a different spell for the cost of the card (foremost on the list would be FoF).  Now don't get me wrong - I do see the advantages of this card, and it could possibly be a bomb in the right deck.  But personally (based on opinion, playtesting, and seeing it ran) it just does not have the impact that one would like for the deck.

Its also just one of those cards (based on the casting cost not the effect) that just says: Hi, would you like to Drain me? I thought so....

Whats with the SB DoJ?  Don't get me wrong, the card is fine and all, its just to be really effective you have to cast it late, late game and you are lacking all the nice lil synergies with it...

FoW - you are running 13 other blue spells, and most of them are things you probably would not want to pitch (Tutors, Draw, heck even mages would protect you...) Have you really found that they were needed?  It personally seems a tad risky.  Have you looked into the Leak route?

The other thing that bothers me about this deck is the MD Moat - I rarely have ever been in a situation where I would want this. And I can think of a few cards that would probably serve you better - on the consistancy end atleast.

On that note have you looked at the following:

Brainstorm - with all your fun lil library manip, whats 1 more?  Also able to cast it right away end of turn 1.

Orim's Chant/Abeyance - this could help greatly in the early game to net you a simple time walk (sometimes) or to protect your turn (most often).

Argivian Find (SB) - the mass majority of your tech, and win are artifacts - and you would want to protect those.  Why not run some of this in the SB to use as a fetch?

Cunning Wish - finding answers now has always been a good idea.

For my build of TPS... (note its just UB - I do have others where I splashed color, but this one is the one that probably does the best, and is most stream line...)

LoA - This card is just one of those things that generally I would rather have.  I am rarely ever dipping below the 5 card count, so most often I am using it for the draw rather then the colorless mana.  I also appreciate the value of having an instant waste target (most often naught) and thus also adds a moderate level of protection to my other lands .  Out of all the decks I have ever run, TPS is probably one of the most consistent mana bases - I have never gone wanting with this deck (excluding the times where my opponent is going   with recurring strips or other such affect...).   So to clarify: If my opponent is leaving my lands alone, it is highly consistent.  If not, then it tries its best to save me .

Frantic Search - Cute card, that is absolutely great.  At first I hesitated to try this for the simple reason of 3cc for a 2/2.  But when I cast this, LoA and Academy are already sitting on the table ready to be abused - and frankly this abuses them like few can .  Add to that the coupled bonus of being able to generate a plausible amount of 6 UB combination off only 3 lands, that really has to account for something - no?

Arti Hate - All I have ever needed was a single HRecall, and the single Rebuild main decked.  If I ever needed more I would simply wish for it.  My meta currently only has a bout a 5% chance of running into a stax deck - nothing overly threatening.  However, many still do run the attempted first 3sphere so it is required.  CotV on the other hand has never really been a bother for me, whilst running this deck.

Tinker - I agree that in most builds it is often a dead card, as your only real options are to sacrifice a moxen for jar - generally not the best of options.  However, in my build to account in mirror matches, and a few other matchups, I have found being able to call up a DsC (or Platz after boarding - also random meta hating artifacts if I deem them necessary enough to run.  Example:  The first tournament after ChK was made legal I ran 2 Claws of Gix in board, since I knew at least 40% of the meta would be running Oath - I was right, where the number was closer to 60%) a piece of priceless utility.

Time Walk - Agreed its a cute card, that I would rather be using to 'set off'.  I however, can not tell you how many times I have play the skull, followed by this for the win.  Add that to the fact that I also run a MD DsC as a tinker target - being able to tinker, walk, swing, ywin, walk, swing, win is just an added bonus.  It also allows you the added flexibility of A) being able to bait - playing it safe with a Duress/Time Walk combination, and B) giving you an extra turn, when faced with rather dismal options...

Single Tendrils - This was a choice I made to accommodate other choices.  With the amount of shuffling and grave utility I run, only run one has never been a problem.  Add to that, the single Tendrils I have in the board, and a single DWish I have MD I feel I have all round protection for my win - that thus far really has not ever been an issue for me.

In closing - I feel that while my TPS is pretty standard (save the MD DWish and DsC), what has really optimized my build for 'my' meta is the tool box I have for a sideboard.

In me experience, if the average casting cost of the deck is approximately 1.7 (ish) and lower, all I require is 9-15 lands with artifact sources (or proper land grabbing tech).

Anything higher then that and I limit my self to a 17-20 base, with the highest I ever did being 36 (It was a deck based around CoW + Fastbond, using Cephalid Coliseum, and Barbarian Ring as the win  :shock: )

In my experience with the deck and our meta:

Its not the deck, its the person...

I have regularly taken my TPS to the T8 time and time again where I live, and its not because I have augmented my deck overly to counter the meta, its just that I have months upon months of experience of play time with this deck (it currently being my favorite, I average at least half an hour a day just playing around with this deck).

Mind you this is not saying that I haven't made augmentations to it - for I have, but its nothing in the form of meta hate, its more of a.... I need this now and its a last ditch sort of effort deal...

Excluding that one change, the list is all and all pretty standard.  It is fast enough to keep up with prison decks, and a well-timed Rebuild/HRecall is all you require to win the match generally. As for Workshop Aggro, its generally just the speed of pumping out nasties that is the problem, but again similar strategy is required.  Oath, it comes down to a control war sometimes, but with the right SB this is no again should be no problem for you games 2 & 3.

Basically what I am saying is that TPS is just one of those decks, that in the right hands, will always do well,  and it will forever be around….

This is just my side of the argument - as I do not have the voice to speak for others.

With that said, history has shown us that Tombs are simply not needed within stax.  The deck will run without them and will pilot to impressive finishes.

What Tomb adds to the deck is a synergy with support cards that MWS can never hope to match.

For illustration purposes you have a volcanic island and a tomb as your only lands in play.  (Under normal circumstances it would ideally be a MWS for first turn trickery and what not, but for the sack of the argument, I re-illustrate the scenario).

Now, with those two lands you are now able to cast Timetwister (seen it ran), Wheel of Fortune, Meditate, Thirst for Knowledge, Rack and Ruin, and Intuition - not to mention many other support cards.

Now another bonus, once again for illustration I removed MWS and replaced it with Tombs.  So under said situation, you manage to cast a turn 1 3sphere - with MWS this would mean a wait to use your support cards like the tutors and what not, however with tomb you can cast them the next turn (assuming you have the given mana of course).

Finally, Tomb has the added bonus that its mana can be used to pay for activation costs of things that require it.

So in short, is Tomb really needed in stax?  Simply put, no.  However, it does add an undeniable synergy with the deck that cannot be denied.

EDIT: Under CoW, City of Traitors is another viable solution if you do not like the pain from Tomb.

One can only assume your making reference to an oath match up.

This will not help you with that at any rate - for the simple reason, even if they gave you a token each turn, and you clamped it away you would still either have to rely entirely on your lands for your win (not the best of options imho) or do a standard play and utilize your creatures.

Personally for an Oath match up in a deck like this I am fond of Claws of Gix.  It can cause a game delay (okay like one turn for every 6-8 times you use it - assuming they only get the one creature out) but its free to cast.

As for the draw... that is why Curiosity/Standstill are in there.

That is what I would classify as something that falls out of the boundaries of 'within reason'.

As for doing broken things with unbroken cards?  That itself is fairly easy - look at the majority of successful budget decks throughout history.

That goes without saying - you can however over come that with the other colors (as I already mentioned).

I have seen Slaver loose a many a time to decks that do not run any red at all - for the simple reason they made the best of the colors they ran.  And with blue, green, and black you have a wide variety of utility to pull on.

Okay...

Grip of Amnesia - not a bad idea since a lot of decks like to use their graveyard as a utility, and it cantrips to boot - but then what if they have no grave or nothing their they want to keep?  For the 1U I would rather stick with Mana Leak and if you want a counter with a cantrip there is always Disrupt.

Mystic Remora - This does have the potential to net you card advantage, and the cost to negate it is fairly high so most will not be willing to pay it.  However, they can play a wait game or just remove it another way.  But it would do well late game (possibly) and playtesting may prove it worth running.

Phyrexian Furnace - Tormod's Crypt is forever better - it hits the entire grave, is free - only thing is no cantrip.  But that is not really want your aiming for…

Trade Routes - Cost effectiveness for impact, is just not worth it in my mind.

Impulse - Now this is what you want to run - it digs deep and can get you the cards you want faster.

3sphere makes the casting cost (effectively) of all spells 3 (converted).

And to be honest with you Sui and Sligh are not the decks you want to be playing in today’s meta...

An interesting concept I saw a while ago on another T1 boards was a CoW Pox.  It is on the low end of the spectrum to purchase, and it is rather fun (had a few rounds of play testing with it), and it can handle the meta decently - definitely not tier 1, but still

Another option is a BR hybrid which can effectively hate today’s meta – grave hate, and fun stuff like that.

Without MWS or Moxen the next best option for you is Ancient Tomb/City of Traitors.  

This way however has the draw back of zero chance turn one 3sphere saddly.  It does however allow for a turn 2 - which is still decent, but not game breaking...

With proper control, and a consistent deck though it still can be a dominating move - I shall leave that for you to figure out though, once you have I will gladly help you from there

(Other Options are LED->YWin->3sphere and as you said Swamp-> Rit, neither of which are very... well optimal.)

EDIT: Size 1 font is TINY[/i] <- random comment

Although Snuff Out has the alternate casting, Smother works just as well and can be cast no matter the situation (the 3B or 4 life can be a detriment at times).  And yes both would work in many situations - but is it worth it?  In my opinion - nope.  It is definitely worth a SB consideration, however as a main deck option it is not something you always want.



The main problem with vision is that its a sorcery...  You cannot cast it in response, or end of turn.  Though it is a nice draw, I personally would not stray into this territory (if you want scry - Tel-Jilad is a nice solution, given the meta.).  I however would stray away for sorcery draw, and stick to an instant speed for the flexibility of them.



Okay, it is not a bad solution to many of the current decks in the present meta - and would make a fine SB option - but MD?  Well it would work, but against some decks it would just read:

Cremate - 0
Instant
Do nothing.
Cycling B.

I would personally stick with CPurge and ECharm if you want a B cc instant grave hate.  Though you want to hate graves - Ground Seal and Planar Void are just to fun.

I will have to agree with this comment.  EBA is just not a deck that (in the hands of anyone) can handle today’s meta.  In the hand of a skilled player, and one who knows the deck extremely well, it can, and often is a force to be reckoned with.  It’s just not a deck that can be picked up 'off the shelf' and be piloted to a win.

On the note of T1 being based on luck:  All right luck is a big factor, that is undeniable - there are things that can be done to overcome a lot of it, but we are unable to remove it completely.  However, skill is the true power of T1 - and this thread just goes to prove that point. A sub par deck in the hands of a skilled player can and will win events. (Within reason of course - there are other factors to consider, this is just a blanket statement for the overall )

I highly doubt fish will be a problem at any of the next major tournaments - sure a few die hards run it and do well, but the odds?  A solid hulk build can do well in the present meta, and with a little luck you will avoid all the fish (if any do show).

On the color issue - I have actually not found many issues where red is needed.  Sure there are times where you want it, but green just offers more strength and tricks against todays meta.

I have playing around with this deck for some time now (ironically I was flipping through my binder and found TA the day the article was posted on SCG)

And before long I had a working deck list.

I have tried the zaar + squee engine in the deck, and personally I love it.  The synergy with welder (as we are all aware of by now I think) is amazing, and it allows you to dig through your library all that much faster.

The next step I took from there was the addition of 2/3 intuition (I really haven't decided, still bounce back and forth and such...) The first intuition depends on what you have in play really.  If all you have is zaar then most often I am digging for the Squees.  However, with welder in play I pull the nasty artifacts - which brings me to my next step.

Possessed Portal, Mindslaver, Jester's Cap - all three of these I worked into the deck itself.  The power each represents is just too amazing.

So as you can gather my list has evolved somewhat from what was posted here, and in the article - but I am fond of it, as it does its job, and thus far has not given me major problems.

On a final note: I did attempt a black splash at one point (Duress, and Tutors) but in the end I found that for the shake up of the mana base, it was not worth it, so I ended up sticking with a UR build.

I love the idea of the Ashnods Transmogrant .

However, I am not so fond of Hearth Kami...

Though a 2/1 for 1R is not really that bad, its ability can become rather costly.

What I suggest instead is Viashino Heretic.  He may not be efficient at beats, but he can take a larger beating, he is reusable.  AND he adds insult onto injury

In comparison:

Lets illustrate with an artifact of a casting cost of 2.

Hearth Kami will cost two and a sacrifice to destroy it.

Where as Heretic costs two (1R) and a tap to destroy it.  Now on top of that, it will deal two damage it will do as well - its just plain good ol fun .

On another note: I am also supporting the idea of welder - reusable abuse of AT is always good (doesn't have to be a welder, maybe some method of returning the artifact from grave to hand, since AT does not cost an arm and a leg in the cc department).

An interesting concept I one saw was Eater of Days, the deck that played it utilized both a mask concept, and the turn skip concept for alternate methods...

Though I am sure there are better creatures to use with mask.

As for dreadnought - I always had higher expectations of it with Volrath's Shapeshifter then with mask.

One of the individuals in my area runs a stax where he opted for Ancient Tomb over MWS (note: it was not because he does not have access to MWS, he does).

The reason he opted for this was for the added synergy it has with TfK and Intuition (both of which he runs in his deck).  Though it is mildly slower - a single tomb has nothing on, so without back up its lacking somewhat.  I have found it to be far more consistent.

As for the five-color issue:

The list I saw was pretty much what dromar listed, however it ran seal MD as well as that list.

The simple reason why fish is bad - is because the decks that it beat effectively, are no longer ran.  Decks that either out race, out beat, or out control it right now replaced them - most have a combination of the three (if not all).  The sad thing with Fish is it was a budget deck, and budget decks have a tendency not to last very long in out format.

As for the Back to Basic principle - all though well placed for today’s Meta, most decks are prepared for it.

And well Stasis - you cannot support it - reasons all ready covered.

The Tangle Wire idea is not bad, but it fades, and you do not have a way to 'revive it'.  Null Rod is probably still one of your best solutions - as well as a personal favorite of mine: Imi Statue (combine that with Tangle Wire and you have some fun )

[card]Grinning Totem[/card]

In all honesty, I have yet to figure why this card is not run more then it is (not at all from what I have seen )  Though it can only take one card, and its activation cost is somewhat bleh (Mostly its the tap not the 2 that bothers me), it pretty much adds insult onto injury.

[card]Jester's Mask[/card]

All right this card is innately broken - its one huge draw back is - CIPT.  And that is the reason it is never sees play (and probably will not ever see play).  Its playability is low, but I still love its ability

[card]Imi Statue[/card]

If done right, its a nice slow lock in itself - and its a first turn droppable.

[card]Uba Mask[/card]

Simply put - I believe all it will take for this card is an engine key, that’s it and all.

The inevitable truth about SoR is that in the long run, it is only a turn delay, if that.  The only reason it was ran was because there were not many other options to slow other decks down.

That changed with 3sphere, and since then SoR has only seen play in the odd deck or two (none spring to mind, but I remember for a fact seeing it at least once).

The sad fact of the matter, is that with SoR, sure people groaned but they moved on and overcame to it (or were beaten by the opponents deck itself) where as I have seen person after person scoop to a 3sphere.  Agreed it is a pain, but not something that is unbeatable.  Get creative, find answers that work for your deck, and work around it - it is possible

On the note of portal:  Though I feel that it will eventually be incorporated into Vintage and Legacy, I believe that that day is far off for multiple reasons.

The foremost being that Legacy is still young (under 3 months) and still needs time to stomp out any kinks that may have been created unintentionally with the format.  And although Vintage and Legacy are no longer dependant on each, they would probably include portal and the other starter sets into both at the same time.

So with that said, the DCI has probably considered it, and are sitting back to let things evolve and settle first before they include new sets (that have been up to that point entirely banned) into it.

As for Stroke - It was the reasoning I came up with why they unrestricted 'geyser and not stroke last time around.  My bet is that next time off comes Mind over Matter and Voltaic Key (if not both at least one).

And finally, one the note of them keeping their eyes on cards:  The number actually surprised me some, not in the sense that they are watching to much, but I actually thought that they would have more blips on the radar due to the general attitude of caution the entire department seems to have (that is the way I at least have it figured given past events).

A few more base artifacts and some more welders would easily solve your problem for stax, as well as allow you to bounce some of your current artifacts around thus increasing their potential.  Also concider the addition of spells such as Fire/Ice and its ilk.  

Combo you already run swarm, though it only hurts combo to a minute end.  My suggestion would be to attack their mana base, which is far easier in a deck like this, then say attacking either their hands, or library itself.

Final suggestion: Standradize your critters some, you are doing to much I think with all those creatures.

Random discard may not be what you need in todays meta - maybe something like Distress (people have argued its par with Hymn, though I still fail to see) or Cabal Therapy in its place.

You also most definately need Withered Wretch to deal with graveyards.

On a note of splashing:  Red is an excellent choice for a LD splash as it gives you a bunch of standard 3cLD.  However, this is really irrelevant, what makes red great for a T'vore win is cards such as Raze and Tremble.

Both offer excellent land control, at a fraction of the cost (mana wise) and doubles your bang for the buck as it were.

If one were going to add black to oath - one would definately not add Ywin.

However, there is still Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Duress that are top of the list that an be added.  If done in moderation, black could be a powerful addition to the deck list, as it adds a very powerful control element, and you to get cards you absolutely need via tutors.