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« Reply #5 on: July 09, 2004, 04:31:05 am » |
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Part V: Playing Landstill
Much like the majority of control decks, Landstill requires a considerable amount of skill to pilot properly. Unfortunately, Landstill is not very forgiving, so even a small mistake such as missing an opportunity to attack can end up being the difference between winning and losing. However, it takes a certain amount of practice to decide exactly when are the best opportunities to attack. Sometimes it is necessary to be aggressive and other times you might not be casting a spell or attacking for a considerable amount of time. Practice with the deck will demonstrate why red removal is extremely important. It is not uncommon to beat an opponent into burn range and finish a game with a few Lightning Bolts and Fire/Ice. While practice is this best way to develop winning instincts, the fundamental principles by which the deck wins games are what should govern game decisions. Landstill achieves victory by achieving/performing one or a combination of the following:
* Board control and consequentially card advantage through resolving and successfully activating Nevinyrral�s Disk � Card advantage through Standstill so that it is improbable that the opponent will recover � Disruption of the opponent�s mana base with a combination of Wasteland, Stifle, Powder Keg, and Nevinyrral�s Disk � Lethal damage via a combination of attacking and burn spells
How to Play Against the Major Archetypes
i) Keeper
As with every control match-up, the key is resolving an early Standstill and immediately putting pressure with man lands. After Standstill has resolved, do not be afraid to tap out to deal damage, as your objective is to force your opponent to break the Standstill on your turn. You�ll find that more often than not, after drawing an extra 3 cards in the early game, you�ll have sufficient pitch counter back-up to stop your opponent from resolving an important spell.
Don't be reckless with your Wastelands, as an unexpected Dust Bowl or Library of Alexandria can completely turn the game around. My preference is to attack the mana base only if I�ve resolved Standstill and my opponent has no more than 1 artifact mana source in play. The reasoning is that if my opponent already has a high amount of artifact mana in play, the majority of the following drawn mana sources will be lands, which are obviously playable under Standstill. On the contrary, few artifact mana sources in play means that they will be drawn and either discarded (thus hindering mana development) or will result in my opponent breaking the Standstill in my favour.
As always, use your counter magic sparingly. Never counter a spell that targets an attacking manland, unless you are using Teferi�s Response or unless the game is very close to being won. There is a sufficient number of win conditions in the deck to allow even half of them to be destroyed. The proper play is to wait until you have protection from Teferi�s Response or Standstill, and to then commence an assault. Keep in mind that if your opponent plays first and accelerates quickly before you can cast a Standstill, it might be wise to try and resolve a Disk first. Decree of Justice can really hose if you if cycled under Standstill, so make sure that your opponent does not have the necessary mana to make a lethal amount of tokens.
Sideboard: -4 Lightning Bolt, +4 Red Elemental Blast
Some might be tempted to side out Fire/Ice, however let me assure the non-believers that it is very important in this match-up. By tapping lands at the end of your opponent�s turn (or during their upkeep step), Fire/Ice helps resolves key spells for forces your opponent to use a Force of Will as opposed to a Mana Drain.
ii) Sligh
Do not underestimate your Sligh opponents. Ankh Sligh, in particular, can be very problematic if an Ankh of Mishra resolves. Landstill requires a land drop almost every turn in the early game, so an early Ankh can be very debilitating. Landstill running Powder Keg in the main-deck has a much better chance in Game 1, although I believe the match-up to be in Landstill�s favour, regardless.
The key cards in this match are Fire/Ice, Teferi�s Response, and Standstill. Be patient in the early game, and hold back with your man lands until you have protection from Teferi�s Response, Misdirection, or Standstill. The only real problem cards to watch out for are Price of Progress and Ankh of Mishra.
Goblin Sligh is hardly as scary an opponent. With 8 removal spells, you�re aptly equipped to deal with an early Goblin Lackey/Piledriver and leave your opponent with a handful of useless cards. Stifle can also be key if you are holding Fire/Ice and your opponent drops a 1st turn Goblin Lackey. If your opponent resolves a 1/1 critter (other than Goblin Lackey), don�t be afraid to drop Standstill, regardless of whether or not you have manlands on the board. A 1/1 is an extremely slow clock, and you will draw into a blocker unless you are extremely unlucky.
iii) Suicide
Suicide can be very disruptive, but barring an absolutely ridiculous draw, this match should be a bye for a competent Landstill player. There is so much main-deck hate for Suicide that the odds are heavily in Landstill�s favour. As in the Sligh match-up, sit back and wait for your opponent to cast spells. Suicide cannot afford to wait until the mid-late game, so keep your resources open in the early game.
Remember, since Landstill is a reactive deck, always counter your opponent�s Duress. You never want them to know you are holding Teferi�s Response or Misdirection. By preventing your opponent from seeing what spells are in your hand, you may force them into casting a blind Sinkhole or Hymn To Tourach. If you are running Stifle in the place of Teferi�s Response, you lose a little leverage in this match-up, however it is still strongly in your favour.
Current builds of Suicide may run Null Rod in the maindeck, which should be stopped, unless you are running Chain of Vapour or other secondary permanent removal. Although Nevinyrral�s Disk is slow, it can still be useful removal in this match-up. Regardless, Null Rod shuts down enough cards in the deck that it should be stopped whenever possible.
iv) Welder Mud / Stax
Because a resolved Nevinyrral�s Disk usually implies the end of the game, it is your primary goal to achieve. After a Disk clears the board, you can win at your leisure. Thus, counters should only be reserved for the elements which would either lock your mana development or give your opponent card advantage. Some of these cards include Smokestack, Goblin Welder, Memory Jar, Grafted Skullcap, Timetwister, and Tinker. There are obviously other must-counter threats, but if you understand the reasons behind countering the above spells, then it is not important to list them all. Standard Landstill (with Lightning Bolts) has all the necessary removal to accommodate Goblin Welder, so it is hardly ever an issue. For some reason, I�ve seen Landstill players squandering precious counter resources to stop Tangle Wire and Sphere of Resistance. In the majority of play situations, it is a severe mistake. If your opponent casts a Sphere, that�s great! Your deck is almost 50% land, so a Sphere of Resistance indirectly gives you tempo advantage. Attack your opponent�s Workshop(s) and be patient.
Sideboarding: Depending on the Landstill build, you may want to side out Misdirection in favour of something more desirable. However, it may be a good idea to keep them in if you�re anticipating Red Elemental Blast. Contary to conventional sideboarding strategy, it is actually a better play to side in Chalice of the Void regardless of whether you are playing first or second. The reason is because you can lock your opponent with Chalice after resolving a Disk, and Misdirection is almost always useless anyways.
Sideboard: -3 Misdirection, -1 Lightning Bolt
v) Hulk / Neo Tog
A competent player will understand that a Psychatog is harmless if the player controlling it has no few cards in their hand/graveyard. Thus, your objective against these decks is no different then your approach to winning against any control deck: Don�t let them gain card advantage! This can be difficult as the majority of these decks run Duress in addition to the blue control staples. Your strategy in the first game is to either resolve Standstill as soon as possible, or if that�s not possible, you should be attacking the mana base (the black sources first) with Stifle and Wasteland. Remember, Psychatog is not the enemy. If your opponent casts one, let it resolve unless you can drain into a ridiculous play on your next turn. Take the small damage and retaliate with mana lands wherever possible.
Sideboarding: -4 Lightning Bolt, +4 Red Elemental Blast -4 Nevinyrral�s Disk, +4 Tormod�s Crypt -3 Fire/Ice, +3 Maze of Ith
vi) Dragon
There�s not much to explain about this matchup. Sometimes Dragon will just be Dragon and throw its cards at you right from the start. The best play is to start with a Wasteland to prevent the early win, and ease off the mana base. Save your Wasteland for Bazaar and counter the Compulsion. Intuition is only a threat if a Bazaar or Compulsion is already on the board. Don�t bother trying to prevent burial effects from resolving. All it takes is 1 Bazaar to pitch a Dragon, so this is not the correct approach.
You have to play this matchup as if it were a control mirror. That is, you have to prevent your opponent from gaining card advantage. Once you�ve drawn a Stifle or resolved a Disk, you should be safe. Keep in mind that Landstill builds running Lightning Bolt are significantly weaker in the Dragon matchup than those that run Chain of Vapor. If Dragon is prevalent in your metagame, Chain of Vapor might be the wiser choice.
Sideboard: -4 Lightning Bolt, +4 Tormod�s Crypt
or
-Black Lotus, -Lotus Petal, -Mox Sapphire, -Lightning Bolt +4 Chalice of the Void
Depending on the Dragon build, you may want to keep the Lightning Bolts to further protect against Xantid Swarm. Misdirection is also a candidate to cut, and Chalice of the Void can also be a strong inclusion. For example, if you�re playing 1st in game 2, you can drop a Chalice for 0 and then attempt to win via the mana denial route. It might not be a good idea to keep Tormod�s Crypt in if you�re set on bringing in Chalice as well. Tormod�s Crypt is probably best if you�re playing second in Game 3. The rule is that if you�re playing 2nd, Chalice of the Void is strictly inferior to Tormod�s Crypt. However, if you�re playing 1st, it can be an excellent play against Dragon, which runs a lot of 0 casting cost acceleration.
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