In #TMD irc there has been quite a bit of talk about the merit of standstill lately with the main points being that
A. People, generally have no idea how to play against it
B. It has a lack of synergy with expensive man lands attacking
C. Cards that require your opponent to make incorrect decisions to work are bad
[16:52] <Rebel-> jp: you've mentioned before how easy it was to play against Standstill
[16:53] <Rebel-> would you like to go into some specifics?
[16:53] <jpmeyer> decks that play standstill either have shitty clocks and/or manlands
[16:53] <Rebel-> so you basically just pretend it isn't there?
[16:53] <jpmeyer> if they have shitty clocks, you have plenty of time to wait till they have 7 cards in hand
[16:53] <jpmeyer> and then cast brainstorm or ice or whatever EOT
[16:54] <Rebel-> ic
[16:54] <jpmeyer> if they have manlands, just fight a counter war EOT when they can't counter since they had to pay 3 to conclave you
[16:55] <Zherbus> because standstill is good against bad players
[17:00] <wuaffilia> stanstill draws me 3 cards i dotn care of they break it :)
[17:00] <jpmeyer> any card that requires your opponent to make a choice in order for it to work is usually bad
[17:00] <wuaffilia> yes its usually bad
[17:00] <Zherbus> minus FoF :)
[17:00] <jpmeyer> bad
[17:00] <wuaffilia> like Fof is terrible right?
[17:00] <wuaffilia> ;)
[17:00] <jpmeyer> with fof
[17:00] <jeek> Book Burning!
[17:00] <jpmeyer> it doesn't require a choice
[17:00] <CrazyCarl> that's why JP said usually
[17:00] <jpmeyer> you are the one controlling what you get from fof
[17:01] <jpmeyer> cards that require your opponent to suck suck
Now these all seem pretty obvious but a card that can often times turn into ancestral recall when you force your opponent to react still draws you three cards none the less. Thus if you can create this situation with a large threat and have the opponent’s reaction arbitrary say with something such as Goblin Welder you eliminate the argument that standstill is “bad”.
This reminded me of a deck list, ironically JP posted in #TMD a few months back with it’s premise being “twelve cards that say draw 3 can’t be bad.”
Thirst stacker by J.P. Meyer 2/044 Mishra's Workshop
4 Volcanic Island
4 Polluted Delta
3 Seat of the Synod
1 Island
1 Mana Vault
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Grim Monolith
1 Memory Jar
4 Goblin Welder
4 Juggernaut
4 Su-Chi
4 Force of Will
4 Thirst for Knowledge
4 Brainstorm
3 Mana Leak
4 Standstill
1 Tinker
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
In preliminary testing consistancy proved to be the largest flaw, wheather it was the mana base or inablity to draw a threat. The weak mana base was only made worse by the gauntlet of Wasteland/Gorilla Shaman/Null Rod. After changes the deck presently looks like this:
U/R stacker 4/041 Tolarian Academy
4 Volcanic Island
3 Shivan Reef
2 Island
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
2 Mana Leak
4 Force of Will
1 Memory Jar
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Ancestral Recall
3 Standstill
4 Thirst for Knowledge
4 Brainstorm
2 Lightning Greaves
4 Goblin Welder
1 Sundering Titan (metagame fat slot)
2 Duplicant
3 Su-Chi
4 Juggernaut
Sideboard:
3 Red Elemental Blasts
1 Duplicant
2 Triskelion
2 Sundering Titan
2 Memnarch
2 Gorrila Shaman
2 Mindslaver
1 Platnum Angel/ 3rd Gorrila Shaman
Now the obligatory card choices section
The Fat:Juggernaut: While there are creature that have more effect on the game out there such as Memnarch, Juggernaut owns the early game and fits the curve of the deck perfectly allowing for turn one fat and turn two protection/Welder/Standstill.
Su-Chi: Always controversial, Su-Chi allows for the first turn large guy then protection a la Juggernaut and often times fuels broken plays with welder. During a combat situation when you know Su-Chi is going to die it is often helpfully to hold back a thirst so that you can partly use that 4 mana to gain tempo rather than negatively effect your game state. Also, Su-Chi shines in combination with Memnarch from the sideboard.
Duplicant: Duplicant’s main function is to copy the largest beater that your opponent has and swing while he often times provides awesome spot removal. Chosen over Triskelion mainly for the ability to hit anything from Psychatog, to ‘Dragon, to opposing Goblin Welders Duplicant gives the ability to remove to the deck.
Triskelion: Triskelion, while having a base 4/4 body allows you to hit opposing Welders and Gorilla Shamen Would be in the main deck if Duplicant wasn’t able to get rid of ‘tog.
Sundering Titan: Speaking of ‘tog, Sundering Titan allows you to attack ‘tog’s weakest point, the mana base without fear of counters when Goblin Welder is on the table, a generally huge effect against control.
Memnarch: Great against Slaver. Allows for you to steal opposing Welders/fat/Gilded Lotus and most importantly, keeps an opposing Memnarch off the table.
Platinum Angel: Great against combo and aggro. To quote The Atog Lord,
“Getting into play a Platinum Angel against combo decks represents one more card with which that combo deck must deal before it is able to defeat you. In particular, against Dragon, if you are decked but have an active Welder in play, you can save yourself from losing by returning the Angel during your upkeep. Against aggro decks, sometimes the best game plan is to get Platinum Angel into play and defend her; many aggro decks have few ways of dealing with her.”
The Support:Goblin Welder: The 2nd best creature in the format without a doubt, he allows you to, at the cost of a mox get a fatty countered back on the board under standstill or otherwise. Also, when combined Memory Jar, it allows you to “combo out” and laying more fat and then giving you ample protection.
Gorilla Shaman: A very important sideboard card allowing you to get rid of trouble some artifacts such as Null Rod or Chalice of the Void and attack the mana base of Slaver.
The Grow:Brainstorm: Used here much the same way it is used in Slaver, Brainstorm allows you to dig for more threats, more draw or more counters.
Thirst for Knowledge: Thirst is the card that makes it all possible. Holding two main functions in the deck, Thirst provides the deck its base draw and allows you to pitch an otherwise difficult card to slip through a counterwall into the graveyard and ‘weld’ it back in play.
Standstill: Standstill, while not absolutely integral to the design allows the deck to have the “grow-ish” feel that it does. The increase of the quality of threats helps it shine here as does Goblin Welder. Effectually making ways to gain benefit from removing the threat on the table low.
Ancestral Recall: Again The Atog Lord said it best with,
“Like Thirst for Knowledge, but more susceptible to Trinisphere.”
The Broken:Tinker: Allows you to search for both Jar and Sundering Titan easily and end games quickly or Duplicant and Greaves for a more defensive stance.
Draw 7s: At one point in time there were 3 draw7s but they proved to be ineffective for you would much rather have a disruptive threat or counter/draw.
Memory Jar: Allows the deck to go into combo mode and drop lethal damage onto the board and drop a standstill, combines very well with Welder and Greaves. I’m tentative to say “no brainer” but really in this deck there is no other effect as huge.
Time Walk: Time Walk shines in this deck, allowing you to stack on 5-10 extra damage, have and extra weld, further establish your manabase and/or establish superiority of card quality with draw.
The Counters:Force of Will: Provides the ability to force important spells through or act as a fail safe for things such as Null Rod. Plays a lot like it did in Grow.
Mana Leak: At first glance questionable but considering the commitment with Workshops in the deck it is rather logical. Unable to play Mana Drain, this allows you to keep the control aspect of the deck strong after you have dropped your fat.
Mana Drain: While at first glance looks great for the deck is, in fact, rather sub-par for by the time you would like to have Drain online you will have already dropped your fat. Also, if you do hold back your fat while playing against hulk you will end up draining something nominal like a Deep Analysis and have your fat drained when you try to drop it as they have counter superiority at that point.
Red Elemental Blast: Helps greatly in the tog matchup allowing you to gain counter superiority and force your keep threats, like Welder through.
The Mana:The Acceleration: Nine pieces of acceleration seems to be the correct number as Grim Monolith allows you to drop another big guy off a first turn workshop the extra fat is more valuable.
The lands: The mana base while supporting two colors and workshops is less disrupt-able having a redundancy of sources with the 4 Volcanic Islands, 3 Shivan Reefs, and 2 Islands rather than a fetch land configuration. While amazing with brain storm the fetch lands force you to run less ‘real’ sources in a color combination that is known for its instability. Also, artifact lands while helping your Thirsts and allowing you to have another Welder target makes the deck so unstable it’s unplayable.
Why this over other workshop decks?U/R stacker fills a different role in the meta, aggro-control while being able to handle the inadvertant hate it suffers directed at Slaver. Redundancy of threats through draw allows the deck to keep going after Welder has been removed. This makes it play alot more like grow rather than Stacker or other artifact based beatdown which are inferior to Slaver for Slaver can play their role more effectively after they slaver once. U/R stacker can effectively lay one peice of fat then play the control game.
General play strategy:In a typical game, u/r stacker first seeks to drop a threat then back it up with counters, drawing into more fat, welders what have you. Usually a Su-Chi or Juggernaut is dropped and then, the turn after, depending what you started with you will either: sit back on your hand opting to draw and counter on their turn, drop Welder with counter back up, or drop Standstill. This allows you to keep the fat coming while being able to control their key plays.
Often times if you end up seeing Memory Jar before turn 5 you will be able to go into ‘combo mode’ and Jar twice at a minimum searching for either a Greaves, additional Welder, or Time Walk each. You will commonly end up with lethal damage on the board with standstill.
Specific play notes: Against Tog, no not play into Mana Drain. This seems rather basic but if you have a slow start opt to improve your card quality first then drop threats. Welder is obviously integral to your success in the match up and will there for be one of the more important pieces to force through. That said not be afraid to lay standstill down when you have a Juggernaut on the table turn 2 for having them force/drain something that they would have to anyways is much better when you can drop Welder right after. A Dupicant is a very good foil to tog as you have an uncounterable swords as long as Welder is in play. Also, Sundering Titan is absolutely devastating against Tog and Keeper. Games 2 and 3, to the best of your ability regard artifact mutation as another Mana Drain as it is equally disastrous but you have Welder activation so countering it is less important.
Against Slaver, try to act play your normal game dropping Juggernauts first as they attack no matter what. You can often times over run them with fat in the early game. They will try to drop Chalice for either one or three, one when they have Welder superiority and three when they have the ability to slave. Keeping welder off the table and slaver in the yard is key. Post side, Memnarch is brilliant stealing everything. Also, Triskelion really shines here as it takes out opposing welders and pentivites. Siding out 1 or 2 Welders for Mindslaver is great as well as they will most likely keep their welders in and as we all know Welders are a huge liability in the Slaver mirror. Gorilla Shaman is also at your disposal to attack the mana base but they will most likely side out Chalices so their effect is reduced.
