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In Magic, control is hard. In a 1v1 format it's a lot easier to predict what your opponents are doing and move to counter their big moves. But in Commander, with three other players at the table, it's next to impossible to do that. And that's where Stax comes in. Stax allows control on a different axis to counterspelling what your opponent is playing. If they can't afford to cast their big spells, then they can't cast them. But what are the moving pieces that make Stax work? Let's take a look.
A Look At The Game Changers
Ever since Wizards of the Coast released the new bracket system for commanders, we've had to pay attention to the game changers that exist within decks. Stax has quite a few pieces that are considered game changers:
These Game Changers aren't necessary to build a proper, functioning Stax deck, but they pile misery onto the opponent (which is sort of the point of playing Stax in the first place). The core cards for Stax depends on which direction you want to carry the game.
Staxxing For Fun And Profit
Stax is a control archetype at its heart. There are many different (and new) ways to build Stax. However, the way it chooses to control depends on the commander, and the preference for stax. For example, an Orzhov Stax deck may prefer to make its opponents pay more, taxing them out of the game and making plays against the Stax player less profitable. On the other hand, an Azorius Stax deck might be focused around bouncing and counterspelling threats, with a bit of board control put in to ensure they always have an out. Most colors have Stax pieces, including the ones you might not even realize (I'm looking at you, Red and Green).
Aside from the typical archetypes for Stax decks, there are a few other directions that some players prefer to explore. Stax wants to deny its opponents resources on the board and slowly whittle away at their advantage. Any of these plans, once properly executed, will lead to the rest of the table just resigning. Very few Stax decks actually win the game, they just frustrate their opponents into quitting. A win by any means...
Now that we've covered what Stax decks want to do, let's take a look at how they do it.
One Spell Per Turn Staples
Some cards in Magic force the opponent to only be able to play one spell per turn. If you're looking at this archetype, here are a few suggestions:
These cards all have the same ability to shut down anyone (including yourself) from casting more than one spell a turn. They may have additional abilities that may help your board state, but for the most part they do one thing, and do it really well.
Card Draw Stax Staples
Card advantage is one of the most important parts of playing Magic, but what if you could manipulate your opponents' ability to draw cards, or capitalize on it? Here are a few options for Staxxing your opponents' card draws:
These can give you a significant boost toward your own card advantage or ramp you into your big haymakers. However, there's balance to this coin. What about shutting your opponents off card advantage altogether?
Before Hullbreacher was banned, it would also show up in this part of the list. These cards can disrupt your opponents' game plans and make it near impossible for them to gain a significant advantage over you.
Winning the Counterspell War
There are two ways to win a counterspell war: have more counterspells than your opponent, or make it untenable for them to cast counterspells. Here are a few cards that can help you ensure that your counterspells resolve, but your opponents either won't or will cost a lot more than yours:
These make it either bad for your opponent to attempt counterspells, or make it impossible for them to cast them at all. Because, if your opponent can't counter your spells, you win the counterspell war by default.
Lands Matter?
Land destruction and mass land destruction are usually frowned on by most casual players. The second worst thing you can do is shut down your opponents' ability to produce mana. Luckily, there are a lot of interesting Stax pieces to help with that:
- Back to Basics
- Winter Moon
- Blood Moon
- Magus of the Moon
- Harbinger of the Sea
- Winter Orb
- Static Orb
- Hokori, Dust Drinker
- Rising Waters
These cards make it hard for your opponents to even play the game. Staxxing their lands isn't the nicest thing to do, but it's the most effective way to control your opponents' ability to interact with you. With proper deck-building you can even turn these into one-sided effects.
Shutting Down Artifacts and Activated Abilities
Sometimes, you'll find that artifacts or activated abilities on creatures are slowing down your game plan. There are ways to shut these down too:
These will make it a lot more difficult for opponents to interact with your board. Eventually, you'll take over the game, and this sets you up for success.
Pay Your Taxes
One of the most powerful ways to leverage Stax against your opponent is taxation. Here are a few things that make your opponents stuff cost more to cast:
- Thorn of Amethyst
- Sphere of Resistance
- Lodestone Golem
- Norn's Annex
- Ghostly Prison
- Sphere of Safety
- Windborn Muse
- Spelltithe Enforcer
- Smokestack
- Tangle Wire
All of these cards tax your opponents' resources on the board in different ways. Playing Magic becomes more difficult the more of these there are in play. For example, a Sol Ring is much less impactful when you have to pay 4 mana to cast it as opposed to 1.
Stax Is A Different Kind Of Control
The biggest issue with playing control decks in the Commander format is how difficult it is to control three other people. However if you whittle down their resources and make it untenable to interact with yours, you solve a lot of the problem. When your opponent can only do one or two things a turn, you only have to interact with one or two things every turn, and that makes the game more viable for you (albeit a lot slower). There are pros and cons to playing Stax in Commander. Missing one counterspell or one bounce spell could unravel your entire plan. If you do decide to play stax, be prepared for an Archenemy-type game. It's high-stakes, but almost always worth the effort to play it.
