BUG Fish - Innovating Null Rod strategies in Vintage

[ErkBek]

@ Lotus Petal vs. Ruby: Mox Ruby only dies if you've got a Null Rod in play. Lotus Petal dies every time. The 1 off-color mox is a carry over from URBana to help accelerate threats just a little faster. This deck has plenty to cards with a colorless in their mana cost worth accelerating. The staying power is absolutely worth.

Petal can be an artifact in the yard to grow Tarmogoyf, but at the same time it's an artifact in the yard for Welder to take advantage of when you've got Null Rod in play.

If I had to cut Ruby, it'd be for another land, not petal.

@ Utility cards / 2 Echoing Truth: This deck doesn't need as much utility cards as SS for a couple of reasons. SS is a control deck that can play a tempo role. BUG fish is a tempo deck that can play a control role. Original SS needed a fair amount of board control because it's kill condition was only 4 2/1's, 4 2/2's, and 3 1/1's.

I prefer the tutors over double Echoing Truth because I hate losing games because I drew a bounce spell that did nothing, when any relevant card would have heavily impacted the game. I'd rather lose a game because my opponent had a good enough hand to kill me before I could get 2 + 2 mana.

@ Mana Leak vs. Negate. The Mana Leak is better than Negate argument is flawed. You state Leak counters Bobs and Welders, but those cards are only really a threat on turn 1 and 2. These are the turns I'm usually tapping out, thus I wouldn't be able to Leak those cards either way. Bob usually isn't much of a threat if played after turn 3 or 4. I've been involved in too many games with Mana Leak Oath where my opponent randomly had the mana to pay for Mana Leaks. It's very frustrating watching them cast Tinker off their Mana Vault with a Emerald and Island untapped. Or have an Oath player Duress you can know they need to wait 1 more turn to cast their game winning 2 mana spell. The list goes on.

@ Loam. It was tested, but it sucked without Brainstorms in the mix.

[desolutionist]

Tarmogoyf is just a vanilla creature. Doesn’t fish need to play disruptive creatures? Tarmogoyf is like a reverse Dark Confidant in this deck. Instead of drawing you cards, he limits your opponent’s draw steps and untap phases since he is a very fast clock on his own. Goyf also provides a lot of strength against sideboard cards commonly used vs. Fish decks.

I'm interested in knowing for sure how effective Tarmogoyf actually is.  Is the extra point of power what makes it better than Jotun Grunt?  Or what about some other utility creatures such as Gorilla Shaman or Rootwater Thief?

Also, I recommend trying Daze in the Negate slot.  It's been really good for us.

[Qube]

I like the style of this deck alot! but i've a few questions about.

You describe the following situation with the cursecatcher and null rod:

Is Cursecatcher that good? Yes, Cursecatcher is amazing! Turn 1 Cursecatcher into a Turn 2 Null Rod is an amazing start that doesn’t involve drawing any artifact mana and only needs 2 cards. Beyond Curse’s synergy with Null Rod, he’s an excellent way to slow down draw spells and hold back lethal Yawg Wills when used in conjunction many of the deck’s other disruptive elements. It’s also worth noting Cursecatcher’s 1 damage a turn often sticks around long after it’s gone since Curse pumps Tarmogoyf.

Tarmogoyf is just a vanilla creature. Doesn’t fish need to play disruptive creatures? Tarmogoyf is like a reverse Dark Confidant in this deck. Instead of drawing you cards, he limits your opponent’s draw steps and untap phases since he is a very fast clock on his own. Goyf also provides a lot of strength against sideboard cards commonly used vs. Fish decks.

I thought it's also possible to play only  & what you believe about following changes?

Out:
4x Tarmogoyf
3x Negate
1x Merchant's Scroll
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Mox Emerald
1x Mox Ruby

In:
3x Phyrexian Negator
2x Dark Ritual
3x Mana Leak
1x Echoing Truth
1x Duress
1x Sol Ring

I think if a Negator came out in turn 3 after the situation quoted it's also game. tarmogoyf need time to grow, a Negator doesn't.
Ritual will make it possible to play first turn things like thoughtseize with a null rod followed. And also duress and dark confidant or just a Negator first turn.
About Mana Leak there was some arguments and i believe it's more importent to be able to counter also creatures. Also because the Negator who doesn't like the other creatures. and with this deck, in the most case nobody can pay 3 Mana after the denial of this deck.

Ofcolormoxe aren't needed in this deck imo. because in the most matches you start with duress/thoughseize or cursecatcher. I'm not shure if it's better to play an sol ring over a ofcolormox. i will test this out.

Like Moxlotus wrote, i think it's bad to need 4 mana to can do something and this is the reason to kick out DT and Scroll.

I'm looking forward to hear your opinnions about this.

Peace Qube

[ErkBek]

Jotun Grunt dies to himself before he can get 20 damage in. It's disruptive element doesn't seem worth it for that reason alone.

Gorilla Shaman and grunt serve different purposes. If you play Gorilla over Goyf then you're going to end up playing URBana fish.

Rootwater Thief is garbage.

Daze was in originally in the deck and eventually replaced by Negate. pls read thread

Tarmogoyf >>>> Negator. No question.

[desolutionist]

Jotun Grunt dies to himself before he can get 20 damage in. It's disruptive element doesn't seem worth it for that reason alone.

But how good is Tarmogoyf?  It seems to me, especially against TPS, that it just puts the opponent on a clock that doesn't matter.  He can still use Cabal Ritual w/ thresh, win with Yawgmoth's Will, and not even worry about what's on the table.  Jotun Grunt has his drawbacks just like any other undercosted fatty; I just think they're less relevant than Goyf's. (If you want to go that route)

Gorilla Shaman and grunt serve different purposes. If you play Gorilla over Goyf then you're going to end up playing URBana fish.

Why not?  Red is way better than White or Green.

Rootwater Thief is garbage.

Why?  Assuming he swings, he equates to a 10/10 or a 20/20 against TPS.  And he's blue.

Daze was in originally in the deck and eventually replaced by Negate. pls read thread

I did, but it doesn't make sense.  Daze is good when you're tapping out to play cards ("when your strategy is working") and Negate is good when... your strategy isn't working?  If you don't open up with cards like Confidant, Rod, or Goyf shouldn't you just mulligan?

[ErkBek]

Jotun Grunt dies to himself before he can get 20 damage in. It's disruptive element doesn't seem worth it for that reason alone.

But how good is Tarmogoyf?  It seems to me, especially against TPS, that it just puts the opponent on a clock that doesn't matter.  He can still use Cabal Ritual w/ thresh, win with Yawgmoth's Will, and not even worry about what's on the table.  Jotun Grunt has his drawbacks just like any other undercosted fatty; I just think they're less relevant than Goyf's. (If you want to go that route)

Gorilla Shaman and grunt serve different purposes. If you play Gorilla over Goyf then you're going to end up playing URBana fish.

Why not?  Red is way better than White or Green.

Rootwater Thief is garbage.

Why?  Assuming he swings, he equates to a 10/10 or a 20/20 against TPS.  And he's blue.

Daze was in originally in the deck and eventually replaced by Negate. pls read thread

I did, but it doesn't make sense.  Daze is good when you're tapping out to play cards ("when your strategy is working") and Negate is good when... your strategy isn't working?  If you don't open up with cards like Confidant, Rod, or Goyf shouldn't you just mulligan?

Do you even want me to reply? Sounds like your mind is set.

[Moxlotus]

Jotun Grunt dies to himself before he can get 20 damage in. It's disruptive element doesn't seem worth it for that reason alone.

But how good is Tarmogoyf?  It seems to me, especially against TPS, that it just puts the opponent on a clock that doesn't matter.  He can still use Cabal Ritual w/ thresh, win with Yawgmoth's Will, and not even worry about what's on the table.  Jotun Grunt has his drawbacks just like any other undercosted fatty; I just think they're less relevant than Goyf's. (If you want to go that route)

Gorilla Shaman and grunt serve different purposes. If you play Gorilla over Goyf then you're going to end up playing URBana fish.

Why not?  Red is way better than White or Green.

Rootwater Thief is garbage.

Why?  Assuming he swings, he equates to a 10/10 or a 20/20 against TPS.  And he's blue.

Daze was in originally in the deck and eventually replaced by Negate. pls read thread

I did, but it doesn't make sense.  Daze is good when you're tapping out to play cards ("when your strategy is working") and Negate is good when... your strategy isn't working?  If you don't open up with cards like Confidant, Rod, or Goyf shouldn't you just mulligan?

A clock actually does matter against combo.  Your disruption only lasts so long.  Goyf's drawback may be he takes 5-6 turns to kill against combo, which is slow but you have disruption.  Grunts draw backis that he adds to the disruption a bit, but doesn't kill your opponent.  He also sucks a hell of a lot more matches like Shop Aggro and Oath. 

Why is green better than red?  Goyf actually gives you a chance against decks with creatures--like shop.  Krosan Grip freaking kicks ass.  Krosan Grip is the best Green card in Vintage.  oxidize is better than R&R against sphere.dec.  Red gives you monkey, which doesn't interact well with Rod, and REB which doesn't do anything for you in the matches that might be rough (Oath, shop). 

Daze is better when your strategy is working.  Negate is better than when its not.  Obviously you want some cards to help shore up games that are not working for you.  Should you have mulled those hands w/o a Goyf or Bob?  Maybe not.  I certainly wouldn't mull a hand of fetch, waste, lotus/sapphire/jet, duress, vamp, negate, cursecatcher.

Ritual will make it possible to play first turn things like thoughtseize with a null rod followed. And also duress and dark confidant or just a Negator first turn.
About Mana Leak there was some arguments and i believe it's more importent to be able to counter also creatures. Also because the Negator who doesn't like the other creatures. and with this deck, in the most case nobody can pay 3 Mana after the denial of this deck.

Ofcolormoxe aren't needed in this deck imo. because in the most matches you start with duress/thoughseize or cursecatcher. I'm not shure if it's better to play an sol ring over a ofcolormox. i will test this out.
 

Ritual sucks.  Period.  1 mana shots aren't very good for this deck.  It's why Lotus Petal isn't in there.  Negator costs 3 mana which isn't easy to do with Rod and trying to play him with protection.  He also forces you to play with Leak, which sucks too.  With goyfs in the deck, I'm not afraid of creatures being cast.  I am afraid of him being able to pay the mana though--especially around turn 3 when he tries to cast ancestral with 4-5 mana up.  Sol ring is absolutely positive awful.  Straight up inferior to off color mox.  Off color mox is +1 mana.  Sol ring is +1 mana acceleration the turn it hits play, but needs to use one of your precious colored manas.  I like being able to cast turn 1 Bobs if I don't have the duress, so I played with 1 off color mox.

[desolutionist]

Do you even want me to reply? Sounds like your mind is set.

It isn't.  That's why I brought it up. 

Why is green better than red?  Goyf actually gives you a chance against decks with creatures--like shop.  Krosan Grip freaking kicks ass.  Krosan Grip is the best Green card in Vintage.  oxidize is better than R&R against sphere.dec.  Red gives you monkey, which doesn't interact well with Rod, and REB which doesn't do anything for you in the matches that might be rough (Oath, shop).

Yeah, I can see Krosan Grip being pretty good against things like Goblin Welder and Triskelion.  Awesome against Oath too.  As for Goyfs vs. Shops, well that depends on the build. Tarmogoyf < Duplicant.

If you're looking to beat 9Sphere, Ignot Chewer, a red card, is even better than Oxidize.

Daze is better when your strategy is working.  Negate is better than when its not.  Obviously you want some cards to help shore up games that are not working for you.  Should you have mulled those hands w/o a Goyf or Bob?  Maybe not.  I certainly wouldn't mull a hand of fetch, waste, lotus/sapphire/jet, duress, vamp, negate, cursecatcher.

I'm not even convinced Negate is better than Daze in that hand.  You have turn 1 Duress/Curse, Vamp.  Turn 2 Ancestral.  Negate wouldn't come online until turn 3.  Suppose you used the Wasteland on Turn 2.  On Turn 3, would you play that Tarmogoyf or pass with Negate?

Let's say your opening hand is Stifle, Cursecatcher, Null Rod, Negate, Dark Confidant, Fetch, Ruby.  What would be your play?

[ErkBek]

I'm not even convinced Negate is better than Daze in that hand.  You have turn 1 Duress/Curse, Vamp.  Turn 2 Ancestral.  Negate wouldn't come online until turn 3.  Suppose you used the Wasteland on Turn 2.  On Turn 3, would you play that Tarmogoyf or pass with Negate?

Let's say your opening hand is Stifle, Cursecatcher, Null Rod, Negate, Dark Confidant, Fetch, Ruby.  What would be your play?

.
Daze is almost always better than Negate on turn 1 and 2. Negate gives the deck more staying power though.

[Soon-Man]

4 Null Rod seems like too many. If it were me I would cut one for a 3rd Stifle. Stifle denies mana, can stop stop a threat for one turn, can turn off storm, feeds force. Idk if that is right, I just happen to think Stifle is really good and drawing multiple Null Rods isn't.

[zeus-online]

I like this decklist, it kinda reminds me of zoo, like really oldschool zoo....It runs multiple colours in order to support the very best creatures the game has to offer (Confidant/Goyf).

Just a shame that splashing for Meddling mage probably isn't a very good idea, as that creature can be the bomb.

/Zeus

[Dante]

4 Null Rod seems like too many. If it were me I would cut one for a 3rd Stifle. Stifle denies mana, can stop stop a threat for one turn, can turn off storm, feeds force. Idk if that is right, I just happen to think Stifle is really good and drawing multiple Null Rods isn't.

No, no, no!  Null Rod is a lynch-pin of the whole deck - you want to see it early and make sure it sticks early.  Whoever came up with that deck building guideline of "well if it's redundant in multiples you should only run 3 not 4" should be shot.  Just like Landstill, this deck wants the Null Rod to hit play turn 1 or 2.  Running 3 drastically reduces your odds of getting Null Rod IN PLAY - the other decks will be playing Duress, counterspells, etc, so in addition to seeing it more often, you'll see multiples, which isn't a bad thing! 

Either your null rod sticks early and you have a redundant card in hand (but you've accomplished one of your deck's primary goals!) OR your first null rod gets dealt with and you have the second one to play.  I like both of those options better than running 3, getting your first dealt with (or not seeing it in the first place) and not seeing another one for awhile (yes you can tutor for it, but you'd have to waste an early turn tutoring and probably won't have mana to play it the same turn as tutoring for it.

In a deck like this or something like Landstill, where Null Rod in play is a primary ingredient for your deck winning (as opposed to something like ICBM Oath which can run a couple to help compliment its plan), the only correct number is 4.

Dante

[Shock Wave]

4 Null Rod seems like too many. If it were me I would cut one for a 3rd Stifle. Stifle denies mana, can stop stop a threat for one turn, can turn off storm, feeds force. Idk if that is right, I just happen to think Stifle is really good and drawing multiple Null Rods isn't.

No, no, no!  Null Rod is a lynch-pin of the whole deck - you want to see it early and make sure it sticks early.  Whoever came up with that deck building guideline of "well if it's redundant in multiples you should only run 3 not 4" should be shot.  Just like Lanstill, this deck wants the Null Rod to hit play turn 1 or 2.  Running 3 drastically reduces your odds of getting Null Rod IN PLAY - the other decks will be playing Duress, counterspells, etc, so in addition to seeing it more often, you'll see multiples, which isn't a bad thing! 

Either your null rod sticks early and you have a redundant card in hand (but you've accomplished one of your deck's primary goals!) OR your first null rod gets dealt with and you have the second one to play.  I like both of those options better than running 3, getting your first dealt with (or not seeing it in the first place) and not seeing another one for awhile (yes you can tutor for it, but you'd have to waste an early turn tutoring and probably won't have mana to play it the same turn as tutoring for it.

In a deck like this or something like Landstill, where Null Rod in play is a primary ingredient for your deck winning (as opposed to something like ICBM Oath which can run a couple to help compliment its plan), the only correct number is 4.

Dante

Preach it brother. <insert gospel music here>

[credmond]

Well I think you can go below 4 null rods in landstill, but you need to bring in a card that overlaps significantly in functionality with null rod (like chalice of the void) to fill in the gap of the missing null rod. Landstill can be tweaked to make chalice of the void set at one a strong play and so having a mix of 3 null rods and a couple of chalices can be an effective alternative. Notice though that I am not advocating the reduction of the actual number of cards that fulfill a null rod function.

In the BUG fish deck we are talking about however, chalice isn't a strong card and other cards don't really offer as great a functional overlap, so 4 null rods is best, since that is a good number to have to make sure you can keep consistent pressure on the mana base, which is a strong component of how a fish deck wins.

Basically for a fish deck you want 4 cards in your deck that hose artifact mana to maximize it occuring in your top 8-9 cards or else your whole mana denial strategy can be compromised by a blazing mana start from your opponent. Going down to 3 means you will have a lot fewer early "sticks" of the card and the consequence of that is that it weakens the potency of your wastes and stifles and cursecatchers.

If you do go down to 3 in testing, keep exact track of what card you are swapping the null rod out for and see how often your opening grip of 7 is weakened by the presence of the replacement versus the null rod that would be there to make your cursecatchers and stifles and wastes extra brutal.

[The Wolf]

I was wondering how sold you are on the two stifles in the deck.  Every time I we test with that card it never seems to do what it’s supposed to.  People use fetches early when you’re tapped out because of a lack of brainstorm.  I still have never used it against a storm player.  And how often does stifling an oath trigger actually win a game?

My point is, this card seems very situational, and even then the effect isn’t that game breaking.  Could these slots be used on two better options for the deck?

[Serenity]

Hey guys,

iam working on a similar deck.
It´s also a fish deck with a heavy eye on mana denial but my built is in uwb.

See the following list:

Creatures(16):
4x Dark Confidant
3x Meddling Mage
3x Sage of Epityr
4x Cursecatcher
2x Jötun Grunt

Spells(24):
4x Force of Will
2x Extirpate
3x Daze
2x Spell Snare
3x Duress
2x Thought Seize
3x Swords to Plowshares
2x Stifle
2x Null Rod
1x Brainstorm

Lands(20):
3x Tundra
3x Underground Sea
3x Flooded Strand
3x Polluted Delta
3x Wasteland
1x Strip Mine
2x Island
1x Swamp
1x Plains
-------------
 60 cards

My problem is, that I don´t own p9 cards so the deck is certainly unpowered.
The strategy is to deny your opponents mana with stifle,waste,strip,extirpate on duals or fetchies,null rod
while you`re beating on him with your guys.
I think there is to little number of null rods in the deck.
Do you think this deck can compete in the actually metagame or will it go under?
I think it´s similar to the deck in this thread but I don´t know which color is a stronger choice (white/green) in this deck.
If you have any comments, please feel free to post.

Serenity

[PETER FLUGZEUG]

@ Serenity: This thread isn't about "everything fishy". Read the title. BUG fish. Innovating NULL ROD strategies in vintage. Also, if you think there is too few null rods in the deck, add more (two more) before posting the list. (And re-read the thread.) What is sage of epityr for? I mean, you don't even play ninja.
@ all: Please don't use this thread as the new "oh a fish thread, i'll post my list!" thing.

I agree with negate. I think it's best for the situations, where you have played duress + confidant or some cursecatchers and then sit back and take that advantage home, not playing more spells and having a hard counter backup that still is active after a few turns of draw, turn em sideways, go.

[ErkBek]

I was wondering how sold you are on the two stifles in the deck.  Every time I we test with that card it never seems to do what it’s supposed to.  People use fetches early when you’re tapped out because of a lack of brainstorm.  I still have never used it against a storm player.  And how often does stifling an oath trigger actually win a game?

My point is, this card seems very situational, and even then the effect isn’t that game breaking.  Could these slots be used on two better options for the deck?

I'm playing Stifles because Phil told me they're good. They've been situationly good for me. Sometimes they just chill in my hand all day. One nice thing about playing 2 it forces your opponrnt to play around them, even when you don't have one. I could see cutting them, but I'm not sure for what (probably need to be replaced by blue cards). 

I don't think I'd go up to 4 Negates. Snare is situational as well, think I'd rather have Stifle. I guess you could run 1 maindeck Threads as a tutor target against welder and aggro.

[Sean Ryan]

I like the direction you have been taking this version of Fish.  I was testing out the deck Moxlotus ran and I came to similair conclusions that Bouncer and Trygon Predator sucked. 

The biggest problem I found was being able to keep the maindeck focused enough to beat the top tier while not having enough room in the Sb to deal with the tier 2 decks aka: Stax/Fish/Oath/ and especially Ichorid.  How have you been dealing with this?

Running white over green deals with these holes, but I would like to make this work as Tarmogoyf is such a great clock.

[Moxlotus]

I like the direction you have been taking this version of Fish.  I was testing out the deck Moxlotus ran and I came to similair conclusions that Bouncer and Trygon Predator sucked. 

I should note a few considerations I took with that list.  I thought Oath was going to be a lot more popular (hence the predators and bouncers), tinker-DSC was what was in a bunch of CS lists rather than tinker-titan, and I had 2 trickbinds in addition to the 2 stifles because of the large number of combo decks in attendance piloted by very good players.

I'd still like to play 14 creatures minimum though.

[ErkBek]

I'd still like to play 14 creatures minimum though.

I don't see the need for 14 creatures if you play more ways to find Ancestral (which will draw you into more creatures). Waterfront Bouncer hardly counts as a creature b/c he's not a clock.

[the boogie man]

If the stifles aren't performing, why not try trygon predator main again? He is denial and a flying beater, With 3 toughness. And he wrecks stax and puts a lot of pressure on a lot of other decks.

[Moxlotus]

If the stifles aren't performing, why not try trygon predator main again? He is denial and a flying beater, With 3 toughness. And he wrecks stax and puts a lot of pressure on a lot of other decks.

I'd cut bouncer before I'd cut Predator for sure.

[The Wolf]

I think a pair of disrupts in this deck would fit very well.  That card can do some pretty great things, and still cycles late game for a blue.  I think that's what I would play over the two stifles. 

[andrewpate]

Disrupt is redundant with Cursecatcher, but in a really terrible way because you can't invest the mana in advance.  It forces you to leave up until they walk into it.  It is also narrower, to the point where it is almost completely dead against some decks, including Stax, which is too big a chunk of the meta for me to dedicate maindeck slots to a card that would be better if it were Lonely Sandbar.

In addition, a 1-mana reactive spell that "cycles late game" is really weak with the curve of this deck working the way it does.  5 Duress effects really put the pressure on you to run one out on turn 1, and Null Rod has to come down quite early as well.  Cursecatcher is a decent alternative (or, with a Sapphire or Jet, compliment) to a turn 1 Duress, but Disrupt rarely does something there, especially now that Brainstorm is restricted.  Stifle adds to the mana denial component by stopping a turn 1 fetch, which is a great way to spend that early mana.  Stifle a Delta on turn 1 and follow it up with a turn 2 Null Rod; this puts many decks in a hole deep enough for you to get a clock down and win before they can fight through the rest of your disruption.  A Disrupt can maybe win the occasional game, like when they keep a sketchy hand because it has turn 1 Ancestral to dig out (which, to be fair, does happen), but Stifle will have a more lasting impact the vast majority of the time.

[The Wolf]

Seems right, I was just thinking of cards that could go in that slot because I really don’t like stifle.  I understand that stifling a 1st turn delta is good, but if that’s your goal for a card I feel like it should be a 4 ofso it’s in your opening grip consistently.  With only 2 its rare when you get it in your opener and even rarer when they happen to walk into it. Daze would be better then disrupt anyway if you wanted more countermagic. 
Personally, I would run a 6th duress effect and a ponder to dig for your rods.  That being said, as much as I like the looks of this deck,I am not a fish player.  So, if the card has been working for you then I would roll with it.

[Sean Ryan]

Stifle

Considered alone it is not that great, but when combined with the overall strategy of mana denial/tempo it really shines. 

Consider this situation:

You have been playing a long drawn out game against Slaver.  You have managed to resolve a Null Rod while steadily beating them, wasting nonbasics and even Forced their Tinker.  You think you have it made.  However, the entire game has been leading up to Yawgmoth's Will.  They have held back on their fetch land now for some turns out of fearing Wasteland, waiting to rip Will.  But you have been holding Stifle in your hand now for awhile.

The fact that it helps against Storm is just a bonus.

[The Wolf]

That is exactly why I don’t like the card.  That situation is never going to happen.  In a long drawn out game against slaver they are going to have, 2 fetch lands, a UG sea in their hand, some sort of bounce for your null rod and a lotus or a counter for you stifle. 

If you want to argue early mana denial, fine.  I see its uses there and it can really catch people with their pants down.  If you’re hoping to counter your opponents Will by stifling a fetch, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble. 

[Harlequin]

There is also enough Triggered Removal out there to note that Stifle's secondary role is creature protection.  Duplicant, Flame Tounge Kavu, Engineered Explosives, Powder Keg, and Sower of Temptation are all card that frequent sideboards.  Also stifle can be useful to protect your Rods from Ingot Chewer. 
*Note that Many of the cards above are creatures that cannot be negated.

I think the role of stifle looks like:
#1 - Early Game Fetchland Denial
#2 - Creature/Rod Protection
#3 - "Lethal" protection

[Sean Ryan]

That is exactly why I don’t like the card.  That situation is never going to happen.  In a long drawn out game against slaver they are going to have, 2 fetch lands, a UG sea in their hand, some sort of bounce for your null rod and a lotus or a counter for you stifle.

If you want to argue early mana denial, fine.  I see its uses there and it can really catch people with their pants down.  If you’re hoping to counter your opponents Will by stifling a fetch, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble.

Thats funny, because I won a Mox off that exact situation against a pro.  It might be infrequent but similair situations come up for me all the time in the Drain match.  Think about it, Slaver usually runs 2 Seas.  You Waste one early and they have one left, they hold the fetch to find it then you Stifle.  This provides you the window to finish them, hence the reason Fish needs a real clock.  Don't mistake the trees for the forest, the main point is that combined with the overall strategy of tempo and mana denial Stifle is great.

Buying time against an Oath trigger has also been useful, especially when you just need that 3rd mana for Krosan Grip.

Sean