Hello Vintage Community!
So I've been testing the following list to great success vs. MUD over the past couple weeks on MWS and in testing generally, and the I think I've managed to shore up most truly weak points about the deck. Basically, I have a new philosophy about the metagame. I believe that in a meta full of prison strategies and slower decks that look to climb the unclimbable hill to beat those strategies, a deck like landstill can thrive. Why can it? Well Control is a natural predator of Prison because it answers the lock pieces as they come and then overwhelms with card advantage over the course of the long game. I do not really consider Tezzeret a "Control Deck" in the traditional sense of the word, and thus I think it has difficulties with MUD just like every other deck in the format it seems. You see, THAT'S the problem. MUD has 0 natural predators right now other than perhaps those of the Trygon kind, and EVEN the decks meta'd to beat MUD (Trygon Tezz) are still sort of poor at consistently beating MUD because they are just distorting they're plan A to stop MUD's Plan A while MUD is not doing anything to any of its plans and simply runs effective SB answers like Maze of Ith to trump the effort of the opponent.
So, in summary,
Anti-MUD deck --> Distorts its whole MD and SB to accommodate hate for MUD which inhibits its plan A
MUD --> Sits on its ass and watches the poor hate deck defeat itself with poor overall design.
Even strategies like Lotus Cobra are not fool proof and can STILL LOSE TO MUD!
Why not introduce a natural MUD predator to the mix that also has game against many other match-ups? I think Landstill may have a moment to seize here. I mean, honestly, what other deck can accommodate 23-25 lands (4-5 basics) as well as a free answer to Lodestone Golem that is a land AND 5-9 Strip effects? No other is the answer. Landstill attacks the very resources that MUD tries to Control and
does it better than MUD while perhaps sacrificing a bit in the speed department. I honestly think that the only reason Landstill fell off the map was Dredge, but I think I may have found a way to give Landstill pilots decent game there as well. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you:
GhostStill
Land (24):
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Volcanic Island
4 Island
1 Mountain
4 Mishra’s Factory
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Library Of Alexandria
and (9):
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
4 Null Rod
2 Crucible Of Worlds
Planeswalkers (2):
2 Jace The Mindsculptor
Enchantments (4):
4 Standstill
Instants (20):
4 Force Of Will
4 Mana Drain
3 Mindbreak Trap
4 Spell Pierce
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Ancestral Recall
Sorceries (1):
1 Time Walk
Sideboard
4 Leyline Of The Void
2 Bojuka Bog
3 Energy Flux
3 Ingot Chewer
3 The Tabernacle At Pendrell Vale
Let me explain some of the numbers and card choices. I will be backwards about this and start with the Sideboard:
3 The Tabernacle At Pendrell Vale — This card is a godsend vs. Dredge because the main reason you could not beat Dredge before was not the lack of black for Leyline, but rather the lack of a clock to beat the slow creature rush that Dredge can execute with precision. Bloodghast is the bane of your existence and Tabernacle gives you an out to hardcast bloodghast as well as hardcast narco/Stinky. Dredge decks are full of creatures, but not mana so you should be able to use this is conjunction with Wasteland to keep the board clear.
4 Leyline — Obviously the best Dredge hate around. I feel it is more safe to play leyline in this deck than most because you have 8 different ways to protect it on turn 1 (4 FoW and 4 Spell Pierce).
2 Bojuka Bog — I really wish this could be 3. This is the last piece of the puzzle to beating Dredge. If you you can't mull into Leyline you must mull into this baby as this + Tabernacle will usually get there. Once Crucible is online Bogs might as well be Leylines as you can now RFG a yard every other turn with an active wasteland on your Bog. I mean, perhaps Bog is too "Cute", but it doesn't break Standstill and I like that.
3 Energy Flux — Energy Flux + Null Rod = usually gg vs. Metalworker MUD and Flux against regular MUD is hard to beat as well. Cards like Hurkyl's are bad for you because you can't follow a Hurkyl's up with Yawg. Win. Therefore, you are left with the most powerful permanent answer to MUD and that IS Flux.
3 Ingot Chewer — This is a necessary evil in the MUD match-up when they start sphering/thorning you out early. It also answers cards that Bolt can't like Crucible or Needle or Smokestack. Ingot Chewer can also be relevant vs. Dredge in the long game at Exiling Bridges.
Maindeck
2 Jace — I feel that 2 is the right number because you have 4 answers to Jace as well. He is a late-game finisher so 2 seems fine.
2 Crucible — Same logic as Jace, more or less. Late game finisher that you may not mind seeing in the early game, but usually don't want to see too early.
4 Null Rod — I was running Gorilla Shaman before and that was huge mistake. There is no card like Rod in the whole game. It stops fast mana. It stops Time Vault/Key. It stops Metalworker. It stops Trike. It stops Steel Hellkite. It stops Painter/Grindstone. It stops Obeyline. It stops Aether Vial. I mean, I can't believe I ever had a list of this deck without 4 Rod. Rod is a bit of a crutch for this deck to vault you to the mid and then end-game and that is why you run 4 and not 3. Without Rod you can just lose to broken hands. It also is a better Drain sink than Gorilla Shaman for sure. Speaking of drain. . .
4 Mana Drain — Some might argue that Drain is dated, but it still wins games. Draining into Jace or Rod or Energy Flux (post SB vs. MUD I did this in a tournament already) can be back breaking for an opponent. Do NOT underestimate the power of this classic.
4 Force Of Will — Umm. . . This is a control player's friend.
4 Spell Pierce — Some might argue that REB is better. They would be wrong. REB is waaaay too narrow for the sort of deck you are. Pierce still hits many important cards and wins counter wars. I would never run less than 3. The only card that I would consider running over Pierce is Stifle and I just can't justify that right now as Stifle doesn't really mow down decks the way it used to when Flash was a deck.
4 Lightning Bolt — That's right. You read that correctly. 4 Bolts Baby! Now this is clearly a meta choice, but I think it will be a long-standing meta choice. There are so many important X/3's or smaller to kill right now, Lodestone being the biggest. Then there's Confidants, Welders, Trygons, Hate-bears, Lotus Cobras, Goblins, Juggs, Metalworkers and more. This card is here to stay for the time being.
3 Mindbreak Trap — Perhaps a bit techy but I've liked it thus far. Admittedly it was more powerful when I ran Shamans over Rods (They hold back their moxen so as not to have them eaten and then go all in for Tinker in one turn and BOOM! Tinker has now been the victim of a trap), but it is still pretty darn powerful. This slot is definitely the most flexible, however, and I'm definitely open to other ideas in this slot. Bear in mind that my blue count is 23 for the MD and I really don't like the idea of going down to 20 (for boarding purposes) so I'm not sure I could justify replacing these with REBs. Perhaps these could be 3 Stifles? This is definitely a slot I'm willing to mess with a bit.
5 Lotus, Moxen, Recall, Walk — The only card out of these 5 that is questionable is Mox Ruby, but I think it is very helpful for early Bolt or early Chewer against Spheres. It also contributes to turn 1 Standstill and faster Jace so I think it's worth running.
2 Ghost Quarter — The namesake of the deck is only a 2 of? Why did I call this deck Ghost-Still then. Welll. . . the deck has 7 Strip effects because of Ghost-Quarter and I'm now convinced that 7 might be our magic number. 7 Strips means you often see one in the opener vs. MUD or Dredge to slow their deck to a grinding halt. Ghost Quarter is a deceptively good card.
1 Library — I think pretty obvious as a card draw engine that doesn't break Standstill. If this was unrestricted oh man. I'd have to design a new deck.
4 Factory — Your win con. Good in multiples. Nuff said.
The rest of your lands — I think pretty self-explanatory. I might need 1 more blue source, but I'm not sure what I'd cut to make room for it as the list seems super tight right now. If anyone can see an option I'd be open to suggestions.
Peace,
-Storm
