UG Stasis

Magic has always been known for its incredible art. What many people don’t know however, is that the majority of the game’s early artwork was done by students from the nearby university. In fact, one of the only pieces done by an established artist was also one of the game’s most confusing. Have you guessed which card we’re talking about yet? Oh right, the title gave it away. Alright fine, yada yada yada, let’s talk about UG Stasis.

When it comes to Stasis decks, the idea is to h̶i̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶p̶p̶o̶n̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶f̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶a̶g̶g̶r̶e̶s̶s̶i̶v̶e̶  slow the game down so you control the board, eventually winning via your win conditions (in this case, creatures). I decided to go with a UG build because the colours offer so many cards that compliment the main component – Stasis. So let’s talk about the card, shall we? Despite its effect being ultra simple, it results in some very complicated lines of play. “Players skip their untap steps.” Just think about that.

Alright, so if the effect is static and effects both players, then how the heck do you get around it? I decided to include several different ways, including a card that was meant to fight Stasis – Quirion Ranger. The card is seriously awesome in this deck, as it allows you to pay the U mana for Stasis in conjunction with Tropical Island, while untapping your Drakes or Spirit for the beat down.

Aside from creatures, the deck also contains several spells that work to give you an advantage in a Stasis-ized world. Exploration allows you to play around the inherent drawback of having Stasis on the board, as it means you can sort of get around the effect. Combining it with cards such as Daze and Thwart help you not run out of land to play each turn. Another combination is Instill Energy and Birds of Paradise, which provides a U each turn without using your land drops. And then of course there’s Chain of Vapor on Stasis during your opponent’s turn – one of the best ways to play the deck and lose friends at the same time.

I’m not even going to try to tell you about every interaction the deck has, because there are a LOT of them. I do want to mention however, that UG Stasis requires a lot of practice and patience. I also recommend that you re-think the sideboard, as I wanted to post the deck today and thus put very little time/effort into it.  With that being said, I would be very interested to hear what you all decide to use. Happy Brewing!

UG Stasis

Land

4 Tropical Island

1 Forest

8 Island

9 Fetchlands

Total: 22

Creatures

4 Quirion Ranger

4 Birds of Paradise

4 Sea Drake

1 Cloud Spirit

Total: 13

Spells

4 Stasis

4 Exploration

3 Instill Energy

4 Daze

4 Force of Will

4 Brainstorm

1 Chain of Vapor

1 Thwart

Total: 25

Sideboard

4 Tormod’s Crypt

4 Ensnare

3 Misdirection

2 Chain of Vapor

2 Tidal Surge