Llotv and Helm of Obedience in black stax

[bait_bludgeon]

This is my attempt at making a deck which uses the Helm of Obedience+Llotv combo. I've outfitted it into a black stax outfit. I just recently built this with no playtesting/mws/tourney play. This is just a thought until I put it into practice. I should be testing it out sometime in the next couple of days. Bear with me please.

Helm of Nothing
By Bait_bludgeon

4 Bob

9 spheres
4 helm
4 cotv
4 serum powder

4 Llotv

4 Night's whisper
3 duress

5 moxen
1 lotus
1 petal
1 crypt
1 ring
1 vault
1 monolith

3 bazaar
4 workshop
8 swamps
1 academy

I built it last nite and goldfished a little bit with it. It kinda reminds me of the way shop aggro works in that it just piles on spheres as a soft lock, but it's different in that it wins via combo and not a sofi equipped juggernaut or simulacrum. Hopefully testing will give me more insight into how this deck works. Just a thought though.

[Relwarbeht]

I like this idea of Helm in stax, as I could see that being a deck that would benefit from MD Leylines.  However I wonder if 4 Helms is necessary, would Demonic Tutor/Vamp fit here?  Also, Why Serum Powder? just to mull into Leyline?  Whats the plan if/when your leyline gets bounced or destroyed, Its going to be difficult to recast through your own spheres with Shop/Bazaar being irrelevant land in that situation. Also, do you think the new Player's Can't Search Librarys card fit here, particuarly if you don't go the counter route?  Would 4+ Duress (Thoughtseize?) be helpful, or do you find turn 1 bazaar/workshop to be a stronger play that leads to equally quick and powerful disruption.  Finally, as far as the mana base goes, would a more mana disruptive plan be helpful?  such as CoTV, Strips, Crucible instead of maybe monolith, petal, 4 Serum?  Good Luck with your deck, keep us updated on how it goes.

PS. First post, 1000th troll.

[LotusHead]

Nice idea, but Bazaar of Baghdad has to have SOME synergy with something in the deck...
Petal and Monothith also could be say... anything else.

8 swamps could be 4 swamps and 4 fetches, or 3 swamps and 1 Underground Sea, and 3 Bazaars could be Tinker Ancestral maybe TimeWalk or just 1st two.

Or fit in Volcanic/Welder.

Keep digging up concepts! Just a bit of constructive criticism/advice for you.

[bait_bludgeon]

      I tried out 1 demonic and 1 vampiric tutor yesterday and i wasnt able to cast them a whole lot through spheres. I am not too concerned about ppl bouncing my leylines partly because i either play them when im about to win the game or i play it turn zero. I almost never play it over something else that might be more important for the current gamestate. Bazaar is in there to help the deck draw through itself. My gameplan for this deck is to play an early soft lock via spheres and chalice. Second part is to draw through my deck or disrupt my opponent as much as possible, and third to ultimately win. Duress is in there as a three of and im still deciding if i really need them. Ive thought about this for about two days straight. I cant seem to find a better card to fit the spot that duress would be taken from. Serum powder is used if i dont like my hand or i need to get out a Llotv in case im playin a deck that abuses the yard (which seems like every deck in vintage). I like having grim monolith in there iono why and lotus petal just helps out as another black mana source if i need it. If i wanted to add in welder i would just make a slaver//shop aggro version of this. This combo seems a little bit more difficult in those because i might never be able to get the manas needed to cast a late Llotv. I will not be using any duals in this deck. Ive thought about and felt that it would just be better to run basics so i dont have to worry about wasteland. But these are just thoughts and theories, i have yet to really test this pile out. All this deck is to me right now is an outlet for this silly combo that no one has really constructed a tourney quality deck to yet.

[Bill Copes]

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth can help smooth out the curve and allow for easily castable leylines.

The 3 Duress should probably be something else entirely.  You probably often run into the scenario of what to play first, duress or sphere? I have in the past when I tried to cram duress into shop shells.  Ultimately, I discovered that the card doesn't belong.  You want locks + finishers.  So for these slots, I suggest some Triskelions, Juggernauts, Duplicants, Razormane Masticores or what have you.  That way, in the event that you don't have your combo on the board, but have them locked for a few turns, you can still win by smashing face.

[bait_bludgeon]

Hmm i think i might just take out duress for something...iono what yet. Jeez this is obnoxious. Urborg i dont need for llotv the 8-10 swamps work just fine.

[LotusHead]

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth can help smooth out the curve and allow for easily castable leylines.

!!!

I might have to fit that into my Obeylines deck! I just tossed a 2nd Helm into my sideboard to bring in against decks that leyline is good against anyways, or decks that I NEED a combo kill to deal with (I played a bunch vs Oath today, and I fear the Oath Matchup.

[bait_bludgeon]

I tested out against new age keeper, tps and a r/b version of my deck. Keeper i lost about 70% of my games to while tps remained at about 50/50. My helm of nothing deck beat the hybrid red black one all three games that i played. Here are some of the current changes that i made to deck during that day:

-3 duress
-monolith
-petal
-2 swamps

+4 wasteland
+1 strip
+1 cow
+1 bazaar

The more and more i play this deck the more i want to play an Uba Stax version of it. I honestly just wanna take out bobs, put in welders, and take whisper out for Uba. That way i can splash red and i think present my deck as being a more potent and obnoxious threat. Im still thinkin about the sideboard, i really dont kno what to put in.