In today's Vintage metagame we are faced with many choices as to what deck to run, and as to what individual card choices go with that build. In no one deck type for Vintage are there more choices currently than in the deck archytype known as Stax. Recent results have shown Stax to be one of, if not the best overall deck in T1. Part of this success stems from a new variety in Stax builds that were previously unseen before. Today I am going to introduce you to the three major forms of the deck known as Stax and will run you through some card choices in each.

Before I get too into the current decks, perhaps a little history on the deck itself is in order. Gro-A-Tog was running rampant. Something had to be done to bide time until the DCI could restrict cards out of one of the most dominant decks in Vintage history. The answer was a mixture of cards that slowed down the Gro-A-Tog deck that was based on many low costed draw spells and that could also take advantage of the fact that Gro-A-Tog used a weak mana base. A surge of the Tog decks appeared in response to an article so the early proto-Stax deck was perfectly suited to stopping this tide. Also another new deck was invented that made Stax a more valuable deck in the T1 metagame. With the release of the Scourge set from Onslaught block we were introduced to a new mechanic, Storm. Mike Long set about to break Tendrils of Agony and in doing so created what is possibly the most powerful magic deck since the "4 of" rule. Long.dec was born. The deck focused on stringing together the most broken spells ever made for Magic the Gathering and took combo to a level beyond anything else in the game. Of course several cards ended up getting restricted from this deck. Burning Wish and Lion's Eye Diamond both got the cut and the deck settled down into what we currently have in the format, TPS and DeathLong, among other lesser known builds. In the run up to these restrictions, however, something had to be done to battle this deck. The idea was born to stop the deck by restricting its mana and slowing down the amount of spells this deck could play in a turn. Cards such as Sphere of Resistance and Tanglewire were used in conjunction with Goblin Welder to bring Long.dec to a standstill. The deck was named $T4KS, an acronym for "The Four Thousand Dollar Solution," and Stax its use of Smokestack to lock the opponent out of the game for good. The four thousand dollar part is due to the fact that before current proxy rules this deck cost nearly $4000.00 US due to the deck running eight of the "power nine" cards and a full set of Mishra's Workshops. To read more on the history of Stax there is a full primer on the early archytype that can be found at StarCityGames. Here is an early example of Stax from its earlier days:

The Four Thousand Dollar Solution

Deck list for historical reference 4 Mishra's Workshop 1 Tolarian Academy 4 Volcanic Island 1 Badlands 4 Polluted Delta 1 Bloodstained Mire 1 Strip Mine 1 Island 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Diamond 1 Black Lotus 1 Lotus Petal 1 Sol Ring 1 Mana Crypt 1 Mana Vault 1 Grim Monolith 4 Sphere of Resistance 4 Tangle Wire 4 Smokestack 4 Goblin Welder 4 Meditate 1 Timetwister 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Memory Jar 1 Tinker 1 Wheel of Fortune 1 Windfall 1 Time Walk 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Yawgmoth's Will 1 Karn, Silver Golem 1 Triskelion

Once Long.dec was restricted away, we saw a brief span where Stax wasn't dominant (very very brief). New cards from the Mirrodin block, however, made sure that Stax was going to be a big force for some time to come. Chalice of the Void was an early choice, but many were not happy with it at the time, but then the major card for the deck reared its ugly head. Trinisphere brought Stax to a whole new level, and to the X at the end of the name rather than the previously used $T4KS acronym, which came from internet users getting bored and just using X rather than the long versions of Ks. Trinisphere opened up the proverbial can of whoop ass and brought many a tear to players eyes as Stax was able to roll over them with two free timewalks courtesy of a first turn Mishra's Workshop into Trinisphere. Players across the board would be forced to wait at least two extra turns before being able to play a spell while Stax worked on setting up a hard lock that was very very difficult to beat. The next phase of the deck that really began to push it over the edge closer to restriction was the addition of Crucible of Worlds which allowed for an easier hard lock in combination with Smokestack and could form its own soft locks with Strip Mine and Wasteland. Long story short, Trinisphere ended up getting restricted, not entirely for its brokenness, but mainly for the fact that it was making the game "unfun."

Which brings us to our current state of Stax. The deck became a victim of the fallout every deck realizes after it gets its heart sort of ripped out. Many players who were riding the wave of Workshop/Trinisphere were no longer able to sit back and win regardless of their skill level. The reversion back to Sphere of Resistance called for some changes in Stax design and theory. The primary Stax designer is Kevin Cron of Meandeck fame. Kevin's Stax builds have revolutionized the deck, and kept it alive over many months of disfavor. Credit should go to him for other players like Roland Chang and Robert Vroman who were able to take Stax in other directions based on Kevin's work and dedication to the deck.

In that light I will begin with the main form of Stax that Kevin has been working on for a while. This version is basically known as CronStax, but has been called numerous other names such as KeeperStax due to the similar feel of the two decks.

CronStax, by Kevin Cron 11th place at StarCityGame P9: Richmond
Maindeck: 4 City of Brass 2 Gorilla Shaman 4 Mishra's Workshop 1 Strip Mine 1 Trinisphere 4 Sphere of Resistance 3 Crucible Of Worlds 2 Chains of Mephistopheles 2 In the Eye of Chaos 3 Chalice of the Void 2 Seal of Cleansing 1 Lotus Petal 4 Wasteland 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Balance 1 Black Lotus 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Mana Vault 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Sol Ring 1 Swords to Plowshares 1 Crop Rotation 1 Tinker 1 Karn, Silver Golem 4 Smokestack 1 Tolarian Academy 1 Yawgmoth's Will 1 Vampiric Tutor 4 Gemstone Mine		Sideboard: 2 Arcane Laboratory 2 Old Man of the Sea 2 Ray of Revelation 1 Seal of Cleansing 2 Ground Seal 2 Meddling Mage 2 Choke 2 Viashino Heretic

This form of Stax has removed cards that seem like auto-includes from past Stax builds. Notice that both Goblin Welder and Tangle Wire are nowhere to be found in this build. CronStax is designed to focus entirely on the lock, and anything that does not directly lock the opposing player out of the game is not included. Tangle Wire is of no use against an Instant heavy deck, and Welder is really only good when you are activly trying to move Artifacts in and out of the graveyard through cards such as Thirst for Knowledge. Major highlights of the deck include the use of older cards such as Chains of Mephistopheles which is a solid anti-draw card that is readily droppable turn 1, and In the Eye of Chaos which is perfect for locking out cards such as Force of Will and Gifts Ungiven. This build is especially proficient at establishing an early soft lock and maintaining a sort of "virtual" card advantage over its opponent. However, this is most likely the most difficult Workshop deck ever, and takes an extremely solid player to pilot successfully through a tournament. Thus I would not recommend this build for those just beginning with Stax decks. However in coming months this could be the best version to start with for the addition of Supression Field from Ravnica, the ability fits in quite well with the build of Stax and it could make this a superior deck in the next several months.

This build is a perfect choice if you believe you will be playing against Gifts and other Mana Drain based decks. Unfortunatly this version does have problems at times with aggro decks such as Food Chain Goblins and Fish. Sideboarding properly, which includes having a perfect sideboard in the first place, is an absolute must for this deck. This deck rewards wonderful playskill and can punish those not prepaired for intense upper level Magic play.

Perhaps the Stax builds with the most excitement and buzz around them currently are the UbaStax builds. These decks are so named for their abuse of Uba Mask along with Bazaar of Bagdhad. Uba Mask provides amazing card advantage for the Bazaar player, and can be used in conjunction with Goblin Welder to create a sort of lock. The lock is acheived when an opponent has no worthwhile cards in hand and uba mask is in play. After revealing their draw, from Uba's effect, the Stax player can then "weld" out the Mask before the first main phase. With Uba Mask no longer in play, there are no effects in play that state, "you may play cards removed from game this way." Since this effect is gone, the "drawn" card is simply lost and the opponent is left with nothing from his draw. Beyond this amazing aspect of the deck, UbaStax still focuses on obtaining a hard lock with Crucible of Worlds and Smokestack, just as any Stax deck is built to do. Here is a list from Robert Vroman, the primary creator of UbaStax, which recently won a major Star City Games power event in Chicago.

UbaStax, by Robert Vroman 1st place at StarCityGames P9: Chicago
Maindeck: 5 Mountain 2 Gorilla Shaman 4 Bazaar of Baghdad 1 Strip Mine 4 Mishra's Workshop 3 Uba Mask 1 Sundering Titan 1 Trinisphere 3 Crucible Of Worlds 2 Solemn Simulacrum 2 Duplicant 4 Chalice of the Void 1 Barbarian Ring 4 Wasteland 1 Sol Ring 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mana Vault 1 Black Lotus 1 Wheel of Fortune 4 Goblin Welder 4 Smokestack 1 Karn, Silver Golem 1 Tolarian Academy 3 Null Rod		Sideboard: 2 Orb of Dreams 1 Uba Mask 2 Maze of Ith 2 Lava Dart 2 Duplicant 2 Price of Glory 3 Viashino Heretic 1 Null Rod

Of note in this list is the replacement of Sphere of Resistance with Null Rod. Null Rod is generally a symmetrical card in something that is running a full complement of Moxen and other artifact acceleration, however Vroman takes advantage of Bazaar and Workshop to negate this symmetry and create an asymmetrical advantage for the UbaStax player. This is especially effective in areas where Vial Fish decks are commonplace and can be effective against many other fully powered decks. Perhaps the worst matchup for this UbaStax build is Control Slaver. Control Slaver also runs Goblin Welders and can also counter something like Null Rod that would normally ruin its day. Dragon and Cerebral Assasin can also cause problems for the deck due in part to the inevitability of these decks, and also because they can abuse Uba Mask almost as well as the Stax deck can since they also run Bazaar of Bagdhad. Cerebral Assasin is especially difficult due to the Goblin Welders in that deck. Crucible of Worlds with Wasteland recursion is probably your best weapon against this type of deck, and graveyard hate out of the sideboard can really help. One major advantage this deck has over its other Stax cousins is its ability to turn aggro in short order. The ability to assume the beatdown role much more smoothly results in a much better matchup against decks like Fish and Food Chain Goblins, which require blockers since those decks are able to keep up with the permanent destruction of Stax.

From one winner to another we will move on to our current Vintage World Champion deck. 5 Color Traditional Stax was piloted by Roland Chang at this years GenCon championships, and it took home the prize. For the first time in the three year modern history of T1 Championships we saw a non-Mana Drain deck win the title. This build of Stax is based on every tidbit from the past two years of work on the Workshop Prison deck type. Generally called 5cStax or TraditionalStax, this deck is built around the classic combinations of Goblin Welder, Tanglewire, Smokestack, Crucible of Worlds and Mishra's Workshop. The deck also gains advantage by running Thirst for Knowledge to not only draw cards, but to dump large artifacts into the graveyard to be brought into play via Goblin Welder. This deck is brutally effective at locking an opponent out of even playing spells in a game as early as the first turn if the Stax player starts. Here is Mr. Chang's championship deck from GenCon this past month:

5cStax, by Roland Chang 1st place at GenCon Vintage World Championship
Maindeck: 4 City of Brass 1 Gorilla Shaman 1 Strip Mine 4 Mishra's Workshop 1 Triskelion 1 Sundering Titan 1 Trinisphere 3 Sphere of Resistance 3 Crucible Of Worlds 3 Thirst For Knowledge 4 Tangle Wire 1 Barbarian Ring 4 Wasteland 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Jet 1 Black Lotus 1 Mana Vault 1 Sol Ring 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Swords to Plowshares 1 Balance 4 Goblin Welder 1 Tinker 1 Crop Rotation 1 Tolarian Academy 1 Karn, Silver Golem 4 Smokestack 1 Vampiric Tutor 3 Gemstone Mine		Sideboard: 2 Tormod's Crypt 1 Jester's Cap 3 Chalice of the Void 2 Seal of Cleansing 2 Choke 3 Red Elemental Blast 2 Viashino Heretic

One of the primary advantages of a Stax deck built like this or like Kevin Cron's Stax decks is the almost limitless card options you have for several MD slots and your entire sideboard. Options like Choke are not availible to Vroman's deck in that build's mono red form, this leads to difficult matches for UbaStax, that 5cStax can get around better through superior boarding. The goal of this deck is to play welder and as many prison pieces as possible. The key here is to drop threats like Tangle Wire and Sphere of Resistance as soon as possible to keep the opponent off of their game. Once the game is completely locked down, then you begin to hack away at the opponents life totals with something like Karn, Silver Golem. The only drawback this deck can have is that it does not like to assume the role of the beatdown really. Control is this deck's primary function and decks can sometimes out-control it. A series of well aimed counters can spell doom for this deck with its limited card drawing, thus Goblin Welder can be very very important for this deck against heavy control decks. Vroman's build is much more successful at answering this sort of threat through superior draw and faster clocks brought about by running a heavier aggro supporting cast.

All three of the decks listed above are solid choices for a player interested in learning Stax. I would strongly recommend testing each of the builds to see not only what fits into your metagame, but also what fits most into your play style.

CronStax - For the well versed T1 player looking to play a defensive game of Stax.

UbaStax - An all around solid choice that can fit very well into a newly emerging meta, this build excels in card advantage and offensive Stax play.

5cStax - A mix between the two above lists in terms of its play style, this is a solid mix of proactive lock pieces and defensive answers.

When I began writing this article I was also asked to run down how to play the decks themselves. A full tutorial would be long and arduous, however I will attempt to give some solid pointers on running these decks more smoothly when first setting out with them.

#1. First turn threat - Stax is a deck type that is geared towards tempo through anti-tempo cards. The primary reason Stax is so good is that it takes seemingly symmetrical card choices and makes them lean in the Stax player's favor. To make this anti-tempo work you must have something to play turn one. Obviously you cannot keep a hand with ONLY a first turn threat, but just about anything will do on turn one. Turn one options with Stax include Gorilla Shaman, Goblin Welder, Sphere of Resistance, Chalice of the Void, Null Rod, Chains of Mephistopheles, Tangle Wire, Crucible of Worlds, and a spattering of other card options. I would say at the very least you need to open with a Wasteland and a very solid turn two play. Remember, it is okay to have your first turn threat Force of Willed. This is still card advantage for you since it is a two for one trade.

#2. Do not walk into Mana Drain - There are some rather obvious situations in T1 where you know you are playing against a Mana Drain deck and they have two Islands untapped. Dont play a Smokestack first in this case. It seems somewhat obvious, yet players do it over and over again, perhaps hoping it is a bluff. Obviously you cannot let double blue scare you off of your game plan, but basically you need to continue to play minor threats until you have them somewhat off of their mana base, then drop your larger threat. The only time it is okay to walk into a Drain is if they are otherwise locked out of the game, or if Goblin Welder means that you can just Weld in something that will win you the game. This is something that requires practice with the deck and knowing your opponents. I suppose the advice here is: just be smart about things. Even though this isnt a blue based control deck, Stax might be the hardest deck to play OPTIMALLY in T1.

#3. Do not rely to much on your Welders - Welder hate is sprining up again in force everywhere. I have seen many players set about a game with their gameplay based solely on having an active Goblin Welder in play. Goblin Welder is amazing, and is an integral part in two of these three Stax decks I have presented to you. However, he is only a 1/1 after all, and thus is fragile. Basing the course of a whole game on the assumption you can keep that Welder alive is folly and could lead you down some nasty paths. This, like the last tip, will become easier to recognize once you have played with the deck more and more.

That's about all I have for you guys to set you on your way. I cannot stress enough the importance of testing these decks and tuning them towards your own specific meta. Problems can be drastically obvious when you metagame for lots of Oath and lots of Fish shows up instead.

All in all, these decks are some of the best stacks of 60 cards ever put together in the game of Magic. They reward careful deckbuilding and superior skill. For those of you not interested in actually playing the deck, I hope this article also gave you a little insight into what you WILL face when playing in a T1 tournament.

If you have any other questions for me I will gladly answer them in the forums here. You may also send me a PM here or e-mail me at Lunarsoldier@yahoo.com

-Scott Lemenager aka Lunar
Edited by Goblinboy
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