UWr Landstill - are 3 colors viable?

[firebird365]

With the increase of aggro in the metagame, I was trying to make my Landstill better suited to deal better with faster, more aggro-oriented decks (such as MadDragon). UW provided Decree of Justice (which I loved as an alternate win condition) and Swords to Plowshares, but the Swords didn't cut it as the only removal. UR Landstill has more burn, but I felt that I would have to double Bolt or Fire most of the creatures that my opponent played. My main question is: are 3 colors too much of a strain on Landstill's mana base to be effective?

Here's the decklist that I'm planning on using, with cards I want to discuss in bold:

UWr Landstill

// Mana Sources [28]

1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
3 Faerie Conclave
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Tundra
4 Volcanic Island
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
3 Flooded Strand
1 Island

// Counterspells [13]

4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
3 Stifle
2 Misdirection

// Card Drawing [7]

4 Standstill
1 Ancestral Recall
2 Impulse

// Spot Removal [6]

3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Fire/Ice

// Utility [6]

3 Nevinyrral's Disk
3 Decree of Justice

This version of the deck is built to handle aggro better in the early game, and with the StP, it gains a boost against Dragon, as well.

Card Discussion

[card]Mox Pearl[/card] and [card]Mox Ruby[/card]: Landstill builds seem to be split on whether or not to use the non-blue Moxen. I'm all for them, as it leads to accelerating into a turn 1 Standstill. However, the deck has only 1 basic land (which is low, even by Landstill standards); should these be removed for 2 more Islands or 1 Island/1 Plains?

[card]Impulse[/card]: I feel that sometimes I really need to "search" for a card; I lowered the Disk/Misdirection count to add these, and so far they've been excellent. I also tried Brainstorm in this spot, but there's not enough shuffling, in my opinion, to abuse it.

[card]Swords to Plowshares[/card]: I was running 4, but in control matches, these were really dead before boarding. I cut it to add a 3rd Decree of Justice.

[card]Fire/Ice[/card]: I've been switching between Fire/Ice and Lightning Bolt. Fire/Ice is better all-around, and I like how it's able to take out Welders and Xantid Swarms by the double. However, Lightning Bolt also has upsides, most importantly the lowered casting cost. Should I make the switch back to Bolts?

[card]Nevinyrrals Disk[/card]: As I said above, I cut one of these (and 1 MisD) for an Impulse. I figured that I would draw into them (or I could Impulse into them); I always felt like I had too many, and against most decks, I would have one on the board and two more sitting in my hand.

[card]Decree of Justice[/card]: I honestly love this card in Landstill; draining a huge creature into Decree is one of my favorite things to do. They strengthen the control matchup a little bit pre-board, and they always cycle. Any reason why I should cut down to 2?

Other Things to Address

• lack of [card]Library of Alexandria[/card]: I feel like I already have too many colorless sources to add it. Suggestions?
  
• suggestions for more white sources? I was thinking about adding Adarkar Wastes instead of the Island, or possibly City of Brass.[/list:u]Thanks in advance.

[Echo]

LoA is required for any control mirror.

Also, for the 3 color viability, I will say no. Atleast with 2 you can get around B2B, throwing in 3 is out of the question. Stick with W for Decree and STP, or Red for RNR and Fire. Please, only one.

[firebird365]

I know that LoA is required for a control mirror, the problem is, I don't know what to cut for it. I already have 9 non-colored mana sources, so I'm feeling a little low already. Any suggestions for what to cut?

As for the B2B, I agree that I have a disadvantage, but B2B is insane against Landstill anyway. Recently, the Landstill decks that I've seen in the Tournament Report forum are running around 4 basics, and their best way to get rid of it would be REB, which requires red mana- I think the situations are about the same regarding B2B (and Blood Moon).

Anything I'm missing about that?

[Spizzard]

Cut an Impulse for  Library if you feel you cannot cut a land.  The lack of synergy between Impulse and Standstill is apparent.  Landstill hasn't needed the type of draw that Impulse provides.

I'd consider cutting the other for Fire/Ice or a Disk depending on what you see a lot of in your metagame.  I'd lean more towards fire/ice going into an unknown meta.

[runT1ME]

Your crazy to not play 4 disks.  Disk has single handedly won games for me.  I can't believe people want to drop to 3 or heaven forbid, 2!  I'd play 5 if I could!    I'd say its the most essential "non essential card.  ( I mean excluding standstill, manlands, and the standard 8 counters).

[TJ-Whoopy]

I'll preface this post with a huge IMHO

I've been tinkering around with my UR landstill for a while, thinking about switching it to UW and every time  decide to switch, a few lightning bolts win another game for me.

I wouldn't really be looking at the deck as having 9 colorless mana sources you have 5 strips that shouldn't stay on the board too long, and the mishra's factories are your threats, I think that LOA is a must in this deck I wouldn't play without it it's an uncounterable/unstoppable draw ever turn (but you already knew that didn't you)

also with the white in the deck 2 of the cards i've really been wanting to try are enlightened tutor, E-tutor= +1 disk, +1 standstill(ancestral), or after SB can find a chalice. the other card I'd love to run in this deck is balance, sans decree it's a wrath of god for 2, down side being you may have to drop cards out of hand and since 'still runs such a high land count you'll probably have to sac a few.

I don't really post often but I read most everything that gets posted and I've been wanting to hear anything anybody has to say on the UW'still topic or any critique of my opinions, any criticism will only make me a better player

[BreathWeapon]

With Dragon in a slump STP isn't as hot as it was. The manabase is stable enough to run tho', i've had quite a bit of experience with it.

FYI, Decree of Justice sucks in Landstill ... and where is your Balance?

[firebird365]

Ok, I think I'm going to remove Mox Ruby for LoA, and see how that works out.

Spizzard:

I agree that Impulse isn't synergistic with Standstill, but not much card drawing is. I feel that with the increased filtering that the Impulse provides, I'm able to drop Standstills much quicker to mantain my card advantage. At the moment, I would rather leave them in, as they seem to help quite a bit despite what it looks like on paper.

runT1ME:

Honestly, Disk has one games for me too, but I've never really needed more than one in a game. I wipe the board, and either they recover and I die, or I win with a Decree. With the Impulses, I can find them if necessary.

TJ-Whoopy:

I definately agree... Bolts have won quite a few games for me too, which is why I'm so unsure between Fire/Ice and Bolt. As for Enlightened Tutor, I think it could be a decent addition, but the decklist is already too tight to add a card unless it's really incredible.

BreathWeapon:

Although the Swords DO improve the Dragon matchup, they're the best removal against the fast hate decks that are speeding up to take out control and combo, if they're lucky. As for Decree, you're entitled to your opinion of it, but in my experience it's been incredible. Have you tested it thoroughly? Cycling for 3 or 4 Soldiers under a Standstill puts enormous pressure on your opponent, and often he can't recover. They're also handy chump blockers in a pinch.

As for Balance, the cons far outweigh the pros. Landstill is a deck based around card advantage, specifically, the number of cards in your hand and the number of lands in play. Balance clears the board of creatures, sure, but it also takes out your lands most of the time (since Landstill runs an abnormally large amount of them) as well as a few cards in your hand. I'd much rather run another Disk than run balance.

Thanks for the input, everyone.

[Arvid]

I don't think the argument of an aggro meta makes StP worth it, really.  The differences between your deck and my unpowered U/R:

Against Aggro:
+3 Swords to Plowshares
+3 Decree of Justice
-1 Fire/Ice
-4 Lightning Bolt
-1 Nevinyrral's Disk
(-2 Chain of Vapor)

Against Dragon:
+3 Swords to Plowshares
-1 Stifle
-1 Nevinyrral's Disk
-2 Chain of Vapor

Conclusion: I don't think white has improved your Dragon matchup compared to mine. I think the aggro mathchup is pretty much the same except if your facing much Oshawa Stompy or creatures with toughness > 3, then perhaps StP is better that bolts. In any other case the 3-color-configuration makes the deck fizzle more often.

The only thing that makes white worth it is, as stated in the primer, Decree of Justice and according to the primer this card only improves the Landstill mirror. This might not be entirely true since I can think of at least one more scenario (Keeper) where it could be an improvement ...

[TheRock]

While Decree can improve your mirror matchup, remember that you are already making your mana base much more prone to Wasteland in the control mirrors.

Library is better in the mirror then Decree is.  If you do not feel comfortable taking out an Impulse, then cut a Decree instead.  There is nothing wrong with having an extra land in a deck that cannot afford to be mana screwed but has few problems with mana flood.

Four Nevinyyral's Disk and four Faerie Conclaves are essential to your survival.  These are the cards that makes your Swords and Fire/Ices useful in the first place.  Blocking, yes I said BLOCKING, is a crucial piece of Landstill's survival against decks like Goblin Sligh, Gay Red/Fish, and Zoo.  You cannot just throw Disk whenever you want sadly.  You have to be patient and eat the shit that they throw at you.

Landstill is a deck that relies on card advantage, yes.  But if you aren't running the best cards available for the job, then you are drawing sub-optimal cards and are thus negating your card advantage.

I would definitely add the 4th Disk and 4th Conclave if at all possible.  You said that you were looking for more white mana so you may not need the 4th Volcanic Island at all.  Maybe adding a Plateau would help instead since you would have a source of both colors available.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Godot]

Ok, well first off 3 DoJ is too many.  10 threats is the correct number, but in Uwr landstill they should be 8 manlands and 2 DoJ.  DoJ is too mana intensive to be a 3-of, and its imperative that you run the full complement of man lands.  This isnt something up for argurment considering they are your primary means to victory.  

Secondly, if you do elect to run 3 colors then dont run the non-blue moxen.  Someone else already pointed out the increased vulnerability to Wastes and running basics in these slots would help you out, especially considering the number Null Rods and Monkeys running around--not to mention the lack of synergy with your own Disks(which you should be running 4 of by the way).

I feel pretty good about this manabase:
1 Lotus Petal
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Plains
2 Islands
2 Flooded Strand
4 Volcanic Island
4 Tundra

1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
4 Mishras Factory
4 Faerie Conclave

I lack Moxen and such so they're not in there.  To include power I'd drop 1 Tundra for  Sapphire and maybe 1 basic Island for a Lotus.  

Dont run Adarkar Wastes or City of Brass or any of that crap, they're just not needed.


And to actually answer your question, the manabase can easily handle 3 colors.  The question is should it?  If you expect to see lots of Madness/MadDragon/Oshawa Stompy then yes the white splash helps.  But if you're gonna see all that then why are you running landstill in the first place?  If you're not gonna see it, then theres really no reason to run the W splash.  The extra threats are nice, but I dont think they're necessary.  Manlands typically do ~70-80% of the damage to your opponent wtih Decree tokens mopping up the final couple*.  This difference is easily covered by the direct damage complement in Ur.


* - This obviously only applies in those game when the Decrees are used.