Suspension Stasis

[Lurker101]

Here's a deck I got the idea for when someone mentioned Jhoira being used to suspend Kozilek, Butcher of Truth into play in the single card discussion thread. I threw this together without testing and know it needs work, but I like the idea of a stasis build that uses the suspend mechanic as I think they work really well together. Here's the deck, besides Jhoira it's mono blue.
Lands: 15
4 Forsaken City
4 Volcanic Island
3 Island
4 Scalding Tarn

Creatures: 7
2 Jhoira of the Ghitu
2 Chronatog
1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror (can be suspended and bounces lands back to your hand to keep stasis alive while providing an alternate win-con)
2 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth

Other spells: 38
3 Lotus Bloom
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
2 Chrome Mox
1 Time Vault (Vault can also be used without key to skip turns after a lock is set up)
1 Voltaic Key
1 Timetwister
1 Mind Over Matter (costs alot but can be suspended early and is extremely effective once it hits play)
4 Stasis
4 Force of Will
1 Frantic Search (seems great in here, untaps lands)
1 Gush (draws cards and returns tapped islands to hand)
3 Meditate
4 Daze
4 Ancestral Vision
1 Ancestral Recall
2 Orb of Dreams (was originally Frozen Aether)
2 Amulet of Vigor (here for synergy with orb of dreams and time vault)

Once Kozilek hits play you can let stasis die and just destroy all their permanents and beat them to death.
So how can this be improved? Should orb be Frozen Aether? Is the deck too slow and dated? It seems like it would be terrible against Dredge and Selkie-Slam/Noble Fish.
Edit: Should Progenitus also be in here?
Double Edit: I just realized that skipping turns an using the suspend mechanic are a huge disynnergy. This deck needs more help than I thought...

[TopSecret]

Personally, I don't think this idea is competitive in Vintage. But it could still be fun. (Can Stasis be fun?)

If you're really interested in using Kozilek, then I think you should drop the Jhoiras and go up to four Kozilek. Just plan on casting him after sitting on Stasis for a while and dropping Lotus Blooms. Fables will be written about your victory.

I think you need something to make Stasis less symmetrical. The suspend cards are a start, but I think there are better options. Dark Confidant is one option. He can make sure you get out ahead after sitting on Stasis and draw lands to keep Stasis going. Scute Mob is another one. One mana. If the game goes long enough, the Scute will kill in one swing with Stasis in play.

[The Atog Lord]

Stasis plays well with Root Maze. And Root Maze plays well with Amulet of Vigor. But you don't want to be concerned with resolving a 14-costing creature in a deck like this. Rather, use your soft lock to accumulate time and, eventually, a combo that you can push through. The most obvious such combo is, of course, Time Vault and Key; Time Vault, on its own, works well with Stasis and Amulet. And Chronatog needs no justification.

[Lurker101]

Here's a revised but still untested stasis list that takes some of the above ideas into account. It looks good on paper but the list is still sort of rough in my opinion.
Lands: 20
4 Forsaken City
4 Tropical Island
8 Island
4 Misty Rainforest

Creatures: 7
2 Chronatog
3 Scute Mob
1 Meloku, the Clouded Mirror
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind

Other Spells: 33
4 Lotus Bloom
1 Jace the Mindsculptor
4 Force of Will
1 Timetwister
2 Amulet of Vigor
3 Root Maze
3 Ancestral Vision
1 Ancestral Recall
3 Stasis
1 Tinker
1 Cunning Wish
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus
1 Voltaic Key
1 Time Vault
1 Fastbond
1 Gush
1 Frantic Search
1 Garruk Wildspeaker

Sideboard: 15
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
2 Wall of Frost (against heavy aggro)
4 Daze
1 Meekstone (Against heavy aggro, tinker targets or oath)
2 Echoing Truth  
1 Snap
2 Ravenous Trap
2 Nature's Claim

How's this list looking?

EDIT: Modified SB to 15 cards
Also you will almost always want Tezzret in game 2 to side in over maybe Jace.

[arctic79]

I love Stasis and all forms of it.  I think you have a pretty cool idea here.  With the amount of card draw and lock pieces, have you considered Tel-Jilad Stylus from Mirroden.  It allows you to put stasis on the bottom of your library at the end of your oppenents turn to give you an untap, then play a new stasis.  It is one card I include in every stasis build, it is also effective against opponents permanents.

[Lurker101]

I love Stasis and all forms of it.  I think you have a pretty cool idea here.  With the amount of card draw and lock pieces, have you considered Tel-Jilad Stylus from Mirroden.  It allows you to put stasis on the bottom of your library at the end of your oppenents turn to give you an untap, then play a new stasis.  It is one card I include in every stasis build, it is also effective against opponents permanents.

I'll look into it. I really want there to be at least a semi-viable vintage stasis deck around. PM me if you want to test on mws. I'm trying to get good testing partners because Des Moines seems to lack vintage players (and I'm 55 miles away from Des Moines too).
EDIT: I could see how that card works well but how can I fit it in the deck (what to cut?)

[arctic79]

imho you should make the following cuts:
-3 Scute mob
-1 Timetwister
-1 Garruk Wildspeaker
-1 Cunning Wish

+1 Gilded Drake (neat tech w/Stylus)
+1 Echonig Truth
+1 Stasis
+2 Tel-Jilad Stylus
+1 Timewalk

Remember with Stasis your opponent will 95% scoop once you have a lock in place (even a soft lock), and you want to drop Stasis fast and often.  Cunning Wish really doesn't do much for you considering the control you have in place already, if you are worried about game 1 vs. dredge you have lots of things to hold them off, root maze and early stasis are your friends here.
Hope this helps.

[waffles]

it is also effective against opponents permanents.

no it doesn't

http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=46729

[arctic79]

oops my bad.  The card is still great tech in Stasis though.

[Wafflesauce]

I used to play Gush Stasis waaaay back in the day and loved it, and the one thing I have to say is:
Chain of Vapor >> Tel-Jilad Stylus

Bounce your own Stasis (you don't need another one!), pitch to FoW, bounce the thing they resolved (what are they going to do, bounce your Stasis back for you?)

[geckoskin]

why exactly are meloku or frantic search good in this deck? yeah, they untap or return lands to your hand, but not in a way that is profitable. frantic search just untaps the lands you spent to cast it, so you net no mana, and you are down a card. meloku returns a land, but at a cost of 1 mana, so when you replay it you are just getting back the land you already had untapped. you net a 1/1 flier but is that really relevant?

also not understanding why chronatog is any good. you have no way to punish your opponent for taking an extra turn, so you are getting what - attacking once with a 4/5 who then gets tapped and doesn't untap? seems like a dead card to me. if you had smokestack or some other way to punish your opponent, this would make a lot more sense, but you aren't that type of deck. at least with time vault, you profit in that you get a time walk turn later when you can actually take advantage of it, so more copies of that might make sense.

i think tezz belongs maindeck, along with a seat of the synod for him to untap. he untaps mana under stasis just like garruk, and he also searches out your combo win. don't forget, the turn you play tezz he can search out a mox or seat of the synod to pay for stasis (for 0 loyalty, even!), then next turn he can untap it and pay for stasis forever. not that you will generally want to do this when you could just get time vault and win, but i digress...

/agree with wafflesauce - chain of vapor definitely warrants a slot in your deck. it is a versatile answer to most threats your opponent may have, and also works deliciously with your stasis.

-2 chronatog -1 meloku -1 frantic search -1 island

+1 tezz +3 chain of vapor +1 seat of synod (possibly sol ring as well?)

[swawagon]

Chronoatog: If you have Chronoatog, Root Maze, and Stasis in play and can protect them all - you pretty much have them locked out. Each turn you can use the Chronoatog ability and let them take another turn, over and over, till they cannot draw and they die. I think that is Chronoatogs only use in this list.

Meluko and Frantic Search don't seem to make sense to me either here.

Also 4 Stasis and some number of Chain of Vapor are pretty important.

Also I like both Jaces and Garruk with Stasis.

[Lurker101]

So with all the suggestions here's what I've been testing...

Lands:20
4 Forsaken City
4 Tropical Island
7 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Seat of the Synod

Creatures: 4
1 Chronatog
2 Scute Mob
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind

Other Spells: 36
4 Lotus Bloom (a slow replacement for drain mana really is what this usually acts like)
1 Jace the Mindsculptor
4 Force of Will
2 Amulet of Vigor
4 Root Maze
3 Ancestral Vision
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Stasis
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key
1 fastbond
1 Gush
1 Cunning Wish
1 Garruk Wildspeaker
2 Chain of Vapor
1 Tinker

Sideboard/wishboard:
2 Nature's Claim
2 Echoing truth
2 Wall of Frost
2 Ravenous Trap
1 Snap
1 Meekstone
4 Daze (I feel like these should be maindecked, at least 2 of them)
1 Meloku, the Clouded Mirror (which was there for the Stax match-up but belongs in the board)

Overall, I've kind of given up on this deck, it's slow and lacks consistency. Overall it seems to be just a really bad Tezz variant. I can never seem to get the lock out and maintain it. I may test it a couple more times but right now it's performing pretty terribly.

[Therubecube]

Do you think that you would run the 15/15 now instead of the 12/12?