R/B stax

[suffocation2157]

so quickly in the last tourny i want to i ended up coming 9th with a r/b stax list that i wasn't overly impressed with. then just after that crop rotation became legal as a 4 of and i instantly switched to r/g stax to a list i was very confidant in. i tested this a while and as much as i loved the higher than normal chance of a lock down and the random ridiculous first turns i missed the card draw that those little critters we call "bob"s gave. so eventually i found my way back to r/b stax but was trying to find a way to improve on the list.

 i randomly was looking through my dragon cards at the same time and saw entomb and right away i thought about the comparisons to crop rotation *with a crucible in play* and a tinker *with welder in play*. so i came up with a list the included sundering titan as the main robot, but still found times where the life loss from confidant to be to much. that's when i thought about sphinx of the steel wind. the deck has been preforming very well, so here's the list

1 lotus
5 mox
1 mana vault
1 sol ring
1 tolarian academy
4 workshop
3 wasteland
1 stripmine
4 bad lands
3 bloodstained mire
1 barbaian ring
2 urborg tomb of yawgmoth
1 bazaar
-28-

4 goblin welder
1 gorilla shamen
3 dark confidant
1 sphinx of the steel wind
1 duplicant
4 smoke stacks
3 tangle wire
1 trinisphere
4 sphere of resistance
3 crucible
2 pithing needle
1 vamp tutor
1 demonic tutor
2 entomb
1 sensie's divining top
-32-

SB
2 REB
1 pyroblast
2 rack and ruin
2 ingot chewer
3 yixlid jailer
1 darkblast
2 tormods crypt
1 pithing needle
1 duplicant


at my local tournies there is usually several tezz, several workshop, several fish a couple ritual combo, a couple dredge sometimes lorescale coatl, 1 goblins sometimes merfolk and 1 oath, sometimes bomberman and g/w aggro *tarm, glowrider/knight/thorns*. its a pretty diverse field but mostly featuring tez, workshop and fish.

a couple of notes.

1. at first i wanted to fit in another top but with how often i found i was entombing for sphinx i found another top was irrelevant.
2. i like the use of pithing needle more than null rod. i dont get hurt, it still hits time vault/top/what ever else you need it to but it also hits things like deltas/strands/opposing g.shamens/BAZAARS/necro/bargain/etc sometimes crippling your opponents mana base just seems like the best bet, they also help with game 1 dredge.
3. i wanted to fit in a second bazaar just in case i find that i'm holding the sphinx in hand as a discard outlet. not sure what i can do to make room.
4. i'm still working on the SB ive been thinking about finding room for 2 pyroclasm just for against random aggro.

let me know what you think and what you think can be done to improve it.

[Gandalf_The_White_1]

I'm not sure that Entomb is really a good fit in a Stax list.  It has synergy with other cards, but the problem is that it is only good in combination with Welder or Crucible, meaning that it is sometimes dead.  I think that in a Stax list like this, you want to maximize your redundancy and consistency, so you really want every card to be useful on its own.

I also think it's a mistake not to run Chalice of the Void, because all your list really has to control your opponent's artifact mana is the single Gorilla Shaman.  Chalice at 0 is very strong, especially in combination with Sphere of Resistence, because it stops your opponent from breaking out of the Sphere with moxen/lotus, and of course makes your Wires and Stacks stronger as a result.  Obviously Chalice can be set at other numbers, too--it only gets stronger in multiples.

You should also run Demonic Consultation, since it is a 1 mana tutor for most of the cards in your deck.

You also probably want a full set of Bazaars to dig and filter cards.  It helps you find what you need and obviously has great synergy with Welder, Cow, and Confidant.

Pithing Needle, though versatile, is quite narrow and doesn't really have synergy with the rest of the deck.  I think these slots would be better filled with actual lock pieces--if you are worried about Time Vault you can always consider running Null Rod, since it shuts off a bunch of their mana as well.  You definitely need some way to deal with their artifact mana, because otherwise it's too easy for them to break out of the lock.

A good place to start would be taking a look at Vroman's build and report here: http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=38630.0

Your build is clearly different in that you are running Sphere and no Rods, but many of the same principles apply, and as I said, you may very well decide to run Rods anyway.

[JudasKilled]

you could also consider cutting some b/r mana for citys of brass and adding crop rotation/recall etc

[vassago]

you could also consider cutting some b/r mana for citys of brass and adding crop rotation/recall etc

Don't get me wrong, but crop rotation sucks.  You arer seriously telling me that you cant find something more worth the mana investment? I mean I can offer the "over-the-counter" argument about how bad it is if it gets countered, but as much as you have heard it, it's true.  Play something that will actually affect the other side of the table regardless of whether or not it resolves.  Just my two cents. 

[JudasKilled]

sure i agree but i would still rather run 2 bazaars and 2 crops then 4 bazzars, + by running crop and citys of brass ets u can add balance, recall, and other broken shit

[M.Solymossy]

ICBM Open Day 1:
5. Anthony Michaels
Maindeck (60 cards):
   
Sideboard: (15 cards)
1 Black Lotus
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Crucible of Worlds
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
3 Null Rod
4 Smokestack
1 Sol Ring
4 Sphere of Resistance
4 Tangle Wire
1 Trinisphere
4 Dark Confidant
   4 Goblin Welder


Lands (22):
4 Badlands
1 Barbarian Ring
3 Bazaar of Baghdad
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Cabal Pit
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Wasteland
1 Wooded Foothills
   2 Maze of Ith
1 Pithing Needle
2 Rack and Ruin
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
4 Tormod's Crypt
2 Viashino Heretic

ICBM Open Day 2:
2. Jerry Yang
Maindeck (60 cards):
   
Sideboard: (15 cards)
1 Black Lotus
3 Crucible of Worlds
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Smokestack
1 Sol Ring
1 Sundering Titan
3 Tangle Wire
4 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Time Vault
1 Trinisphere
1 Voltaic Key
4 Dark Confidant
1 Demonic Tutor
2 Entomb
   1 Vampiric Tutor
4 Goblin Welder
2 Gorilla Shaman



Lands (21):
4 Badlands
1 Barbarian Ring
1 Bazaar of Baghdad
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Cabal Pit
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 Mountain
1 Strip Mine
1 Swamp
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Wasteland
   ------

1 Darkblast
1 Duplicant
2 Extirpate
2 Pithing Needle
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Tormod's Crypt
3 Triskelion

[suffocation2157]

 ICBM Open Day 2:
2. Jerry Yang

this deck looks to be very similar to my deck with the inclusion of time vault/ voltaic key. the only other difference is sphere -> thorn and then 2 pithing needle -> 1 dark confidant and 1 gorilla shaman. what do you guyz think of this list? i can see the merit in running chalice which is a card i love but i have found pithing needle to be very affective. out of the top 4 deck i would expect to see 1.tez 2. fish 3. workshop 4. dredge the only deck it doesnt really affect is fish but even then i can name delta/strand game 1 to hit their land base and then there's 2 cards to SB out game 2/3.

between having 4 welder and 3 crucible i have rarely found a game where entomb was useless. i had thought about adding in something that could be used regardless of welder/crucible like finding room for a darkblast main deck. as i don't need another card to use it and with all of the confidants running around it might come in handy...