Staxx Oath v. 2.0

[Kassow-Rossing]

Thx for the feedback (first one hehe). I will think about Upheaval instead of Nicol.

I have never seen Upheaval be any close to win for 6 mana. The way I see it, you need to have 9-12 mana for it to be really strong and you need to have your land drop after the spell resolves. Nicol only costs 8 mana and can be casted earlier. Opinion?

Well, i feel that upheavel is a lot more consistent, since it acts a pseudo-wog. Of course this is just a scenario:
But with 8 mana you can play upheavel + mana artifact.

Nicol also has an ackward cost, IMO, since it's harder to splash for double BB.

But upheavel, apparently isn't a auto-include, since it didn't fit the winning deck (monoblue staxx) of the last GP:
here's the decklist:

http://blog.magicplayer.org/

Okay sorry but I need to correct you. Nicol Bolas does not have an ackward cost. It is very very easy to get to the four colored mana by the time you have 8 converted. BB is not hard when having 8 mana's.

I will test Upheaval but I didn't like it in my Staxx Oath v. 1.0 because it just didn't do much. It's sometimes cool to return all and get the advantage but it's just game loss against aggro unless you get a whole lot of more mana going on and Nicol Bolas is just cheaper.

Edit: I've checked out the deck list and it's a mono blue staxx instead of 5-color. When a mono blue staxx deck doesn't run Upheaval, 5-color shouldn't But I'll test it again for twenty-fifty matches, no worries. The U-Staxx has some very neat cards that looks interesting but the overall power lvl is much lower yet the colors must be much more consistent. I don't think I'll switch the deck that much. I'll keep my own build. Maybe test the 3x "Time Warp". Works really well with the seven Planeswalkers in my deck.

[Kassow-Rossing]

Updated! Not nearly finished though. No testing cards have been tested yet.

[kmzandrew]

I really like upheaval in my staxx oath build. It is pretty much an auto win if you cast it at 9+ mana and can still be a great reset even if you have to cast it for 6. I personally found it to be much more useful than something like wildfire as it will always end the game if you have enough mana and is more versatile as well.

For reference here is my current list (altough it seems its missing a card or two, maybe i'll just add thopter combo as it seems very solid since tezz can just fetch up both pieces)

LAND- 36
mishra's workshop
rishadan port
the tabernacle at pendrell vale
wasteland
dust bowl
academy ruins
ancient tomb
blinkmoth well
library of alexandria
maze of ith
tolaria west
darksteel citadel
city of traitors
urborg tomb of yawgmoth
flagstones of trokair
island
city of brass
forbidden orchard
glimmervoid
flooded strand
windswept heath
arid mesa
polluted delta
scalding tarn
misty rainforest
wooded foothills
bayou
scrubland
badlands
underground sea
volcanic island
tundra
tropical island
savannah
taiga
plateau
Artifact- 28
chrome mox
mox diamond
everflowing chalice
grim monolith
fellwar stone
mind stone
boros signet
izzet signet
azorious signet
darksteel ingot
coalition relic
worn powerstone
thran dynamo
gilded lotus

sphere of resistence
winter orb
static orb
voltaic key
tangle wire
icy manipulator
clock of omens

crumbling sanctuary
crucible of worlds
obelisk of alara
sensei's divining top
smokestack
mindslaver
scroll rack
BLUE- 10
mana drain
gifts ungiven
intuition
fact or fiction
collective restraint
Thirst for knowledge
compulsive research
transmute artifact
mind spring
upheaval
GREEN- 3
crop rotation
life from the loam
oath of druids
WHITE- 6
moat
ravages of warthirst
armageddon
oblivion ring
faith's fetters
martial coup
BLACK- 2
demonic tutor
tainted pact
Planeswalkers- 6
elspeth
ajani vengeant
tezzeret
garruk
jace mind sculptor
gideon jura
Creatures- 3
sharuum
sphinx steel wind
baneslayer
GOLD- 1
vindicate
RED- 3
burning of xinye
wildfire
rolling earthquake

[Kassow-Rossing]

Thx for the feedback Knzandrew.

Tell me how much do you like Chrome Mox? I don't think I need the extra speed and won't it just exile a needed spell after ramping?

I don't think Upheaval can beat Nicol Bolas because it's simply cheaper and better. I can't see myself casting Upheaval for 6 only to let my opponent play the first land in the following turn. But okay I'll try it again. Maybe I got unlucky in my first version online.

[kmzandrew]

I really like chrome mox for the early acceleration. Thanks to the spoils mulligan you also don't really have to worry about it gumming up an opener and as a lategame topdeck, sure its bad, but I think the speed it can offer is worth it.

Another card that might be interesting to look at would be time warp/capture of jingzhou. We are up to 6 planeswalkers at this point as well as a few other things that work well with time walk effects so it might be worth testing.

[Kassow-Rossing]

I suggest you read the whole discussion from top to bottom before you comment any further

But thx for the feedback. I don't think I'll like Chrome Mox. It - after all - only adds mana after what you exile which:

1. Often only gives one colour mana instead of five colours.
2. Makes the card completely disappear instead of discarding the land only to get it back with Loam or Crucible.

[LasH]

Hey Guys,

long time no posts about this deck..

After the loss of life from the loam, do u still think the deck is viable? There are no good targets anymore for Gifts/Intuition and the whole theme lost a big thread.

I also ask myself why inkwell leviathan sees play in your list above Simic-Sky Swallower. Do u really cast transmute artifact to get the levi online? Thats the only advantage is see there. What do i miss? SSS is not afraid of moat, shroud and also trample and cheaper..

[GoblinPiledriver]

Using Transmute Artifact for Inkwell Leviathan is an option.

Maybe it's not the main thought about the use of Inkwell Leviathan. Inkwell leviathan makes also synergies with Academy Ruins and Thirst for Knowledge. So in early game you can discard the Leviathan to Thirst. And in the very late game you can reanimate the Leviathan with Academy Ruins.

I think the best idea why using Leviathan over Simic Sky Swallower is that you can kill an opponent with 3 attacks. With Simic Sky Swalloer you would need 4 attacks.

And so it's more Oath of Druids than Transmute Artifact why using Leviathan over SSS.
(With a Progenitus you could even kill an opponent in 2 Turns)

[Kassow-Rossing]

Well my respond to both posts:

To the Life from the Loam: The deck is still viable even though not as effective. I've changed some cards and the overall format has changed as well after the banning of Survival and LftL.

To the Inkwell: I don't play Inkwell any longer in my 3.0 version. It is strong but the only reason Emrakul wasn't in the first version was because of Life from the Loam. Since Loam is no longer an option for the deck, Emrakul will see play. It is castable (Record: Cast it turn 6) and the greatest Oath target there is. I'm testing only playing ONE creature and that is Emrakul thus always ending up with that Eldrazi on the board after Oath'ing and also adding Polymorph since that makes for two easy win-conditions. I will make a new thread about the new version of the deck soon to come.

Any criticism and ideas are welcome! Even criticism concerning my spelling
Patrick

[Tabris]

I´am looking forward to your 3.0 version. I was always wondering why people mixing staxx with oath (I know why it could be good but didnt expect it to be) and since I´ve build a staxx deck (4c w/o green) by myself I am interested how strong it could be.

[LasH]

Okay here are some ideas:

I miss Idyllic tutor. He can find oath/moath/abyss or nether void.

Also fabricate see's no play in your build. I think both card work similar to demonic tutor in this deck..

Wargate seems extremly strong in this build: 0 = tabernacle, workshop, academy ruins, 1= sensei, 2= oath

And i also suggest Venser Planeswalker for decktesting, bc it has synergy to alot of cards (faith fetters, o-ring, bojuka, grim monolith, other pw's etc)

I look forward to your 3.0 version

[GoblinPiledriver]

I think Venser don't have eough Targets for the major first ability. For the second it's even worse.

I would prefer Progenitus over Emrakul.  Emrakul is weak against Oblivion Ring, Journey to Nowhere and Karakas.

And if Emrakul is your only creature this even a bigger problem.

[Kassow-Rossing]

I will post the new version very soon.