[Discussion] Which Creatures Do You Run in Stax and Why?

[netherspirit]

This is open to all, as long as you have some experience with Stax obviously.

There are many variations of Stax such as UbaStax and 5CStax; I personally play 5C but this discussion includes all versions.

So, which creatures do you run in Stax?

Here's what I myself use:

Goblin Welder - This guy is insane! He allows some tough locks with cards such as Tangle Wire and then allows you to cheat your most powerful artifacts into play with great ease.

Gorilla Shaman - Pretty obvious really. As I don't run Null Rod I need some way to stop my opponent's Moxen/Crypt/Vault/Ring; so Gorilla Shaman seems to me the next logical choice for this function. He also provides beats and defense.

Platinum Angel - A fairly quick beater when you have your opponent locked down under Tangle Wire, Sphere of Resistance, Trinisphere and Strip effects. She also has the obvious advantage of providing immortality; plus she's weldable.

Karn, Silver Golem - I only run him as a singleton due to his Legendary status, but I would definitely run more if he wasn't. He makes a very efficient blocker, is easy to hard cast, has Gorilla Shaman's ability, beats AND turns all your other artifacts into beaters. What more could you want? He is, however, often overkill as my other creatures are often effective enough; so I may SB him or even cut him altogether.

Sundering Titan - In my opinion, the most powerful artifact creature in existance. Providing a VERY powerful lock with Goblin Welder (and two or three Welders is pure insanity), he allows you to firmly lock your opponent out under Spheres and Wires. Also, a 7/10 which is available to attack on turn 3 is nothing to scoff at when you're under a Stax lock. Most decks have nothing available to them at that point, and so being able to attack with ST that early is very useful and puts your opponent under a lot of pressure.

Well, that's just what I use; so, what do you use and why?

  netherspirit

[technogeek5000]

It all depends on what you are running in your deck... If you have bazaars then you are going to tend to play with sundering titan and (for me) platinum angel, because you can get them into your yard and weld them in. If not, then you are probably going to look into cheaper creatures like karn and juggernauts.

[xycsoscyx]

In my deck (5cStax), I run 2x Shaman, 3x Welder, Karn, Triskelion, and Sundering Titan.  I try to run creatures that force the lock (I like Platinum, but she's pretty much just there to save your a$$).

Shamans are great, first turn Land,Mox,Shaman,Go, destroy your Mox or Chalice or whatever.

Welders are just obvious (for Stax), so can't comment much there.

Karn is not just A house, he is THE house, he destroys Moxes, Chalice, etc, keeps equipment (which still randomly shows up) from equiping, he animates your creatures for the win, he's just all around a great guy. 

Triskelion kills things, he does it well and he does it often, he sucks with a Null Rod out, but not enough for me to consider cutting him (he deals with Fish all day, especially with an active Welder out).

Last but not least, Titan is there to take over where Wasteland falls short, he can practically be an Armageddon against decks, while doing nothing against my own mana base.  Couple that with the fact that he can almost entirely block Colossus, he's an easy add (and my usual target for Tinker).

[Bill Copes]

I've run duplicant in every shop deck i've played in the past 6 months.  He removes problems, or just does a great job of getting in the way.  The casting cost is almost never prohibitive, but welding it in and out is what makes it really fun.

[vroman]

why the sudden resurgence in platinum angel? it stinks!
p-angel does nothing to effect enemy board position. every competitive vintage deck already has some means to deal w some large single artifact creature. the obstacle to winning it presents to opponent is so easily overcome, ms platinum might as well be generic 4/4 flyer, overcosted at 7.

theres also:
viashino heretic
juggernaut
solemn
razormane
metalworker
dark confidant

[Thegreatgonzo]

I often run multiple null rods (I'm speaking of mono red uba here), so I can't afford to play Karn or Trisk in the main. So in the main : 2 or 3 duplicants (recurring swords to plowshares) and welders. I used to play with a single solemn simulacrum, mostly to fetch mountains, but I eventually got rid of him. He's good, but he's not broken the way vintage material should be. Also he's not a lock, he's not a decent clock. He's a four mana fetchland.

I like Moxmonkey, but Chalice set at 1 is suh a common play that the shaman often becomes Bazaar food. I eventually cut them.
Razormane masticore is huge, and works under null rod, so I often run 1 maindeck
Sundering titan can be huge, but sometimes he's just a dead weight, so it's Duplicant n°3 for the moment (although it mostly depends on my mood)
I never tried the factories in stax, maybe I should
In the side, I often have 3 triskelion, since null rod is not a bomb anymore when facing non-vial fish. I tried Silent arbiter, wich was damn good before the rise of dread returns.

So there it is

[Luecifer]

obviously you need the 3-4 welders, thats a given and may never change. in my 5c uba i prefer the versitility of a titan and a duplicant, with masticores of the razormane variety in the board to handle whatever comes my way. null rods take the place of mox monkey, and do not allow me to run karn or trike in the main. also, heretic is a monster out of the stax board, since he eats any artifat played, throws damage around, and has a huge butt to block 2 power fish creatures all day. that is my reasoning and that is what gets included in my 5c uba list. if i swap out the null rods to the board, than the decks creatures will change. otherwise im happy with what i have in the deck

[Pele]

I currently play:
4 Dark Confidant!!
2 Goblin Welder
1 Sundering titan

in 5c stax w/ null rods and no bazaar

out of the board:
4 juggernaut
2 Razormane Masticore