Trying not to stomp too hard in a new venue with stax

[the42up]

i am in a bit of a dilemma. I am an avid B/R stax player having migrated to stax after the restriction of brainstorm (almost quit entirely actually due to this restriction...), and have been rolling with shops since. The problem is that i moved to a new area with an avid type one player base...unfortunately, its not, how to put it...competitive. A better descriptive would be a type 2 and extended format with a smattering of cards from older sets.

I come in there excited the first night to play in the tournament (about 14-16 people) and end up stomping through it like a huge asshole with the toughest competition being a semi-decent goblin deck sporting a lone ruby.

I am trying to build a more casual friendly deck, but i dont have much in the way of a card pool aside from a tyrant oath deck from 2008 and my workshop deck.

My question is this, how can i build a deck that still feels like stax (runs shops and moxes) without feeling like an asshole when i play? 


Personally, i am leaning towards a more aggro oriented shop deck, but even then...i dont want to seem too overwhelming.

My list-

4 lodestone golem
4 juggernaut
2 triskelion
2 razormane masticore
2 karn, silver golem

4 sphere of resistance
4 thorn of amethyst
4 tangle wire
1 trinisphere

5 moxen
1 mana crypt
1 sol ring
1 mana vault

4 mishra's workshop
4 wasteland
1 stripmine
4 mishra's factory
2 city of traitors
1 tolarian academy
4 ancient tomb


From my card pool, i also have-
welders
dark confidants
su-chi
staff of domination
smoke stack
etc, etc, etc

[BruiZar]

If you want more fun, and less broken, you could try mindless automaton. Mindless Automaton is a fun excuse to run Squee alongside Razormane Masticore. Its also fun to pump ravager / trike in the mix for the gattling gun and extra cards at the cost of your board, which is pretty bad but atleast you'll have fun



Also, you could try Epochrasite:


You could try and make it more of a deck around charge counters, using Core Tapper, Magistrate's Scepter, Chalice of the Void, Umezawa's Jitte and possibly AEther Vial. Magistrate's Scepter seems to do exactly the opposite of what you are trying to achieve with smokestack/tangle wire though.

You could also try making it RW with Ajani Vengeant and balance.

Or keep an eye out for some of the new Eldrazi creatures in Rise of the Eldrazi.

[M.Solymossy]

If I were to play in this tournament, I'd play it TNT Style.  I'd also run 0 spheres, and only 1 trinisphere.



5 Moxen
1 Lotus
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
4 Mishra's Workshop
4 Taiga
1 Stomping Grounds
3 red Fetchlands

4 Mishra's Factory 
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy

4 Survival of the Fittest
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Anger
4 Goblin Welder
1 Masticore
1 Razormane Masticore
1 Mindless automaton
1 Sundering Titan
1 Triskelion
1 Pentavus
1 Triskelavus
1 Nullstone Gargoyle
1 Trinisphere
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Gamble
4 Juggernaut
3 Magus of the Moon

[FlyFlySideOfFry]

You could always tell the other people there about cards like Shattering Spree/Ancient Grudge/etc. XD

On a serious note though if you're trying to not win and just have fun I would probably just cut the lock pieces and just run nothing but big fat artifact creatures. I can't imagine you losing any games with artifact fat vs. tiny T2 creatures. :S

[the42up]

TnT is not a bad idea...i had forgotten about that deck.  Sad thing is, when the hell did survival's get to be so expensive? 

Some of the card choices are not so bad in the deck.  Thorn of amethyst is mediocre while lodestone golem is a wrecking ball in this very casual meta. I did run across another deck with it and these white artifact creatures.

Maybe i should go that route?  it seems like it sucks, but maybe that isnt such a bad thing.

[Bill Copes]

I would play 4cc MUD

4 Juggernaut
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Smokestack
4 Bottled Cloister (Most vulnerable draw engine, ever.)
4 Blood Clock (Works with and against smokestack!  Synergistic-Dissynergy!)
4 Bottle of Suleiman (Risky classic!)
4 Su Chi
4 Echo Chamber (Why the fuck not!  You can copy, like, a selkie or something.)

4 Mishra's Workshop
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Wasteland
4 Mishra's Factory
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
1 City of Traitors
9 Sol/Moxen/Lotus/Crypt/Vault

It would be terrible. . . and fun!

[TopSecret]

Part of the challenge in addressing this problem, I think, is that prison is just considered unfun to play against by most non-Vintage players.

I'm seeing three strategies for making this more fun for the opponent:
1) Find the correct tension to make your deck good, but not too good to be unfun for the opponent. (This is hella difficult.)
2) Find a way to reward players for losing by killing them in the best way ever. (Easier.)
3) Doing a combination of the above. (Easiest.)

So, how about something like this?

4 lodestone golem
4 juggernaut
2 triskelion
2 razormane masticore
2 karn, silver golem
4 Expedition Map
4 Stratadon
1 Predator, Flagship
1 Skyship Weatherlight
1 Planar Portal
1 Door to Nothingness
1 Legacy Weapon
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Suncrusher

4 sphere of resistance
4 thorn of amethyst
4 tangle wire
1 trinisphere

5 moxen
1 mana crypt
1 sol ring
1 mana vault

4 mishra's workshop
4 wasteland
1 stripmine
4 mishra's factory
2 city of traitors
4 Cloudpost
4 Vesuva
2 Crystal Quarry
1 Badlands (To help cast the Stratadons.)
1 tolarian academy
4 ancient tomb

If this deck is too good, cut all of the Cloudposts for Badlands and add a hideaway land of your choosing.

[TheShop]

We used to play a similar deck to what you are looking for here back when Stax first became popular and we didnt own nearly the cards we needed to play with it.

1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Time Spiral
1 windfall
1 thirst

1 trinisphere
4 sphere
4 tangle wire
4 smokestack

1 Karn
1 Sunering Titan
1 Trike
1 Duplicant
2 masticore
1 pentavus

4 welder

1 demo
1 vamp
1 tink

4 thran dynamo
1 voltaic key
1 sol ring
1 mana crypt
1 mana vault
1 lotus petal

1 tolarian academy
3 ancient tomb
2 city of traitors
4 wasteland
1 strip mine
7 duals/sacs
1 island
1 swamp

This may be missing a few cards, and I know that it does not utilize most of your good cards...kind of a throwback.  They will be okay with it because it is a little slow and they have a few turns to try and get established...also they get to draw lots of cards.  You chip away at your own life...then own face in the late game.  PS-when we figured out that this deck should have been 5 color- Balance was fantastic because they have 2 turns to chill before you start really wrecking face.

[zeus-online]

TnT is so much fun, so i'd roll with that....No offense to soly but that list looks horrible. I'd go with 4 Su chi or lodestone, 4 juggies, 2-3 trisks 1 quirion ranger (to untap welder)...You could go with some weird artifact creatures like platinum angel, sundering titan etc. Anger is a must, and wonder could be good aswell.

[Neonico]

I agree that making MUD a more casual friendly and "fun" deck means removing all the lock pieces.
I would definatly build an Artefact creatures + equipements deck only, with just tangle wires for the tempo.

[the42up]

what i am tinkering with so far is this-

4 lodestone golem
4 su-chi
4 solemn simulacrum
3 razor mane masticore
1 sundering titan

3 sword of fire and ice

4 goblin welder

4 sphere of resistance
4 tangle wires
1 trinisphere

5 moxen
1 mana crypt
1 mana vault
1 sol ring

4 mishra's factory
4 mishra's workshop
4 ancient tomb
6 mountain
1 stripmine
1 tolarian academy



Thats a bit more toned down but still keeps the flavor of the deck.  More big fatties and less lock.



I am also tempted to run some kind of funky eater of days/smokestack deck for fun as well, though i have the feeling that will only be worse.