How To Give Your PlayGroup PTSD w/ Mono-Blue STAX

Commander / EDH* Artifact Combo Cruel Control Mono-Blue Stax Theme/Gimmick

GorehoundABB

Artifact (28)

• 1x Basalt Monolith
• 1x Blood Clock
• 1x Boompile
• 1x Darksteel Forge
• 1x Forcefield
• 1x Grim Monolith
• 1x Knowledge Pool
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Mana Web
• 1x Meekstone
• 1x Mycosynth Lattice
• 1x Nevinyrral's Disk
• 1x Oblivion Stone
• 1x Portcullis
• 1x Proteus Staff
• 1x Quicksilver Fountain
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Static Orb
• 1x Thought Vessel
• 1x Thran Dynamo
• 1x Thran Temporal Gateway
• 1x Umbilicus
• 1x Unwinding Clock
• 1x Vedalken Shackles
• 1x Ward of Bones
• 1x Winter Orb
• 1x Worldslayer

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Enchantment (18)

• 1x As Foretold
• 1x Back to Basics
• 1x Dream Tides
• 1x Energy Vortex
• 1x Frozen Aether
• 1x In the Eye of Chaos
• 1x Invoke Prejudice
• 1x Land Equilibrium
• 1x Leyline of Anticipation
• 1x Mana Breach
• 1x Mana Vortex
• 1x Monastery Siege
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Overburden
• 1x Pendrell Mists
• 1x Power Artifact
• 1x Propaganda
• 1x Shimmer

Instant (7)

• 1x Blue Sun's Zenith
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Evacuation
• 1x Force of Will
• 1x Long-Term Plans
• 1x Sunder
• 1x Thwart

Sorcery (4)

• 1x All is Dust
• 1x Devastation Tide
• 1x Fabricate
• 1x Whelming Wave

Commander (1)

Land (34)

• 1x Academy Ruins
• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x City of Traitors
• 1x Dark Depths
• 1x Inventors' Fair
• 23x Island
• 1x Mage-Ring Network
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Teferi's Isle
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Tolaria West
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Creature (7)

• 1x Blightsteel Colossus
• 1x Kuldotha Forgemaster
• 1x Noble Benefactor
• 1x Silent Arbiter
• 1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
• 1x Treasure Mage
• 1x Urza, Lord High Artificer

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Maybeboard

Artifact (11)

• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Cursed Totem
• 1x Ensnaring Bridge
• 1x Eternity Vessel
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Orb of Dreams
• 1x Spellbook
• 1x Storage Matrix
• 1x Storm Cauldron
• 1x Tangle Wire
• 1x Torpor Orb

Creature (3)

• 1x Fatespinner
• 1x Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
• 1x Muzzio, Visionary Architect

Enchantment (10)

• 1x AEther Barrier
• 1x As Foretold
• 1x Back to Basics
• 1x Collective Restraint
• 1x Forced Fruition
• 1x In the Eye of Chaos
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Teferi's Realm
• 1x Web of Inertia
• 1x Words of Wind

Sorcery (1)

• 1x Acid Rain

Instant (5)

• 1x Capsize
• 1x Gifts Ungiven
• 1x Mental Misstep
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Spell Pierce

Land (5)

• 1x Crystal Vein
• 1x Lotus Vale
• 1x Mishra's Workshop
• 1x Terrain Generator
• 1x Tolarian Academy

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The deck is designed to annoy and anger anyone who plays this in a multiplayer format. Enjoy and watch your friends squirm in frustration as you cast spells that extend the game to a war of attrition, patience and complete douchebagery.

Originally designed with Winning as a secondary goal in mind, I decided to take this deck to its next logical extreme being a viable STAX deck. Your primary objective is to cause as much chaos as possible and tilt people out while creating a board state that only you can benefit from. Even if you draws aren't up to par with the rest of the table just by playing this deck , you will probably have players concede out of frustration once you get the combos going.

Some Disgusting Combos include :

Mana Vortex + Overburden + Mana Breach = Soft Land Lock. Play anything bounce up to 2 lands and sac one. Effectively a net loss every spell.

Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir + Knowledge Pool = Opponents can't cast spells. Hard Lock.

Blightsteel Colossus + Worldslayer = If you can get Damage in and most likely you probably will Win.

Shimmer + Quicksilver Fountain = Soft Lock on Land.

Taniwha + Sunder or Evacuation = No Lands or No Creatures take your pick.

Taniwha + Worldslayer + Silent Arbiter = Cheat Combat. Blow everything up. Keep our lands. Good times.

Invoke Prejudice + Mycosynth Lattice = Counter All Creatures Forever.

Mycosynth Lattice + Nevinyrral's Disk = Turn everything into Artifacts and then Nuke The Board. Everything must go.

Shimmer + Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth = Name Swamp and Noone will have lands every other turn.

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The Rest of the deck are Shit Disturber Enchantments, Problematic Artifacts , Mana Rocks, and Wrath Effects to keep you in the game as the deck does not have that many creatures to rely on. Although the creatures that did make the cut have back breaking effects that will allow you to navigate the board with ease.

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Shit Disturber Enchantments/Plainswalker

Mana Vortex - One of many Enchantments that Hates on our Opponents Mana Base by destroying 1 Land per Turn. Yes, it hits our lands too but thanks to our commander, phasing negates this draw back to only our opponents. To be a complete asshole play this on turn 3 and slow everyone's plans down to oblivion.

Dream Tides - One of the best Stax Cards of the deck. This pretty much assures that we won't get beaten down by big fatties or little guys on the ground. We constrict our opponents mana by having them choose which creatures they want to untap. Because of the addition cost plus our land destruction package, untapping creatures and even attacking becomes an undesirable option unless they know for sure it will close out the game. And as an added bonus, its pretty much Blue's answer to Choke , forever locking down green creatures in their tracks. (Thanks Winterblast for the clarification!)

Overburden - Another card that constricts the opponents mana base by letting them curve out. This one is particularly handy as it combos well with most of our enchantments that screw around with our opponents mana and creatures.

Shimmer - To hate out a color out of the game. Otherwise use it on yourself for extra fun if you can't get Taniwha on board.

Mana Breach - More Mana Screwing. People will hate you for playing multiple cards that bounce their mana. See Disgusting combos for the best 3 turn curve you can get with this deck. Trust me, it's hilarious if ever done.

Propaganda - Dream Tides protects us green creatures but for every other color, this card does work. Another Enchantment that shield you from attacks. This combined with Dream Tides asks your opponent is it worth it to pay 4 mana to attack and untap?

Land Equilibrium - Because Mana Vortex isn't enough land hate. The Polor Opposite of Land Tax . Kills mana ramp in its tracks.

Invoke Prejudice - Your opponent likes to play Creatures? Let your Opponent pay double for their big fatties.

In the Eye of Chaos - Invoke Prejudice but for Instants. Let your Opponent pay double for their counterspells.

Energy Vortex - A very complicated Lightning Bolt . But one that rewards us for killing our opponents lands with our phasing shenanigans.

Pendrell Mists - The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale in enchantment form. When you are killing your opponents mana with this on the board. It's pretty much a removal spell.

Frozen AEther - Protection against anyone who wants to hate you out of the game. Let their spells and lands come in to play tapped. That'll show them.

Monastery Siege - Addition card draw or give you and all permanents you control Frost Titan 's ability. It will make it difficult to ruin enchantment combos. Fun times.

Jace, the Mind Sculptor - One of the decks few late game win cons. The ultimate pretty much spells doom to whoever's on the receiving end.

Back to Basics - One of the most hated cards in Commander. Anyone without a steady supply of Basics will be punished by playing Non Basic Lands. One of the more late game bomb cards. This on Turn 3 will make you a target no matter what. Use it sparingly.

Leyline of Anticipation - Lets us Cast all of our spells at Instant Speed to work around the Phasing of our Lands. Also free spell if its in the opening hand.

As Foretold - A card that allows us to get some spells in from under phasing. Considering how grindy matches with this deck gets, it will get out of control quickly.

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Wrath Effects

With a Mono Blue Deck I am surprised by how well these cards work with the deck. We only have 10 of them due to color restrictions but I am always willing to add more in later.

Sunder - Bounce all Lands. With Phasing, this doesn't affect us at all. Plus its at instant speed. Float all the mana with your mana rocks at your opponent's end step with your lands phased out and play it before the phase ends. Everyone will hate you.

Worldslayer - Play it, Equip it to a big creature with Trample and Nuke The Board. This one Hits lands. If its on our 11/11 friend with infect. The Game is pretty much over.

Oblivion Stone - Activate it and Nuke all Non-land Permanents.

Devastation Tide - Bounces all Non-land Permanents with a Miracle trigger.

Evacuation - Bounces all Creatures. Doesn't hurt us. We hardly play any.

Nevinyrral's Disk - Nukes all Non-land Permanents.

Cyclonic Rift -Bounces all your Opponent's Non-land Permanents at instant speed.

All Is Dust - Nukes all Colored Permanents except lands because that would be busted.

Boompile - A 50/50 Wrath Effect.

Whelming Wave - A 4 Mana bounce everything spell in blue. It doesn't effect Taniwha since it has a creature type Serpent.

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Card Draw

We don't have much card draw spells but these are pretty good for what they do. The other spells that draw us cards are pretty late game but don't underestimate these spells.

Mystic Remora - EDH Staple. Draw 1 unless your opponent pays 4.

Blue Sun's Zenith - Probably the second best draw spell in this deck next to Scroll Rack . It shuffles back in for additional uses so it saves me time and space in the deck for more shenanigans.

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Mana Rocks

Mana Crypt - 0 for 2 with 50/50 downside.

Thran Dynamo - 3 mana for 4.

Basalt Monolith - 3 mana for 3. Takes 4 to untap.

Sol Ring - 1 for 2. EDH Staple

Mana Vault - 1 for 3. Takes 4 to Untap and pings us for 1 every turn it stays tapped. With Unwinding Clock we don't care its more fast mana.

Grim Monolith - 3 mana for 2 mana. One of the best cards of its class for fast mana.

Thought Vessel - A Mana Rock for 2 that gives us no maximum handsize and additional mana to boot.

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Problematic Artifacts

Darksteel Forge - Makes all our mana rocks and annoying artifacts indestructible.

Knowledge Pool - Screws with everyone's spells and gives everyone an opportunity to play cards from eachother's decks. Its a fun time.

Mana Web - The probably the ultimate mana screw card ever printed. If you ever wanted to see a mono color or dual color deck cry when they realize they are forced to tap out, play this on turn 3.

Meekstone - Say no to big fatties.

Forcefield - An extremely broken card that allows us to stall out the early game beats until we find our key pieces.

Mycosynth Lattice - Fixes Everyones Mana and allows degenerate things to happen with Invoke Prejudice and Nevinyrral's Disk

Portcullis - Exiles all excess creatures you don't wanna deal with. Only downside is that the ETB's still go on the stack but with a board of 1 or 2 creatures it hard to make that relevant.

Quicksilver Fountain - Blue's Slow Acting Blood Moon . Neat bit of information with this card : If a land that has a flood counter on it is permanently an Island for the rest of the game as long as it has a Flood Counter on it. The Artifact is both the enabler and disabler. So if your Opponent thinks they are getting away with destroying this artifact, they are wrong.

Blood Clock & Umbilicus -A Sweet Punisher Card that hits our Opponents for 2 if they don't bounce a permanent on their turn.

Vedalken Shackles - Stealing creatures is fun. Stealing Creatures and using their creatures to activate Proteus Staff is better.

Winter Orb - To punish everyone else for playing lands.

Static Orb - Punish Everyone for playing permanents. Acts as a Second Winter Orb . With both Orbs on the field at once it should read, Untap 2 Permaments, one of which can be a land.

Unwinding Clock - Untaps all our Artifacts on our Opponents Turn. Sounds Fair.

Ward of Bones - A better Portcullis in a sense since we won't have to worry about ETB triggers since the opponents cant cast anything. By limiting our resources we soft lock our opponents draws, plays and land drops. Extremely funny with Taniwha 's land phasing triggers.

Thran Temporal Gateway - A Quicksilver Amulet for artifacts.

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Creatures

Blightsteel Colossus - Our big finisher.

Silent Arbiter - Set the rules of Combat for the rest of the Game.

Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir - Shuts down any shenanigans your opponents have on your turn.

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Tutors

Treasure Mage - Let's us find our big finisher.

Kuldotha Forgemaster - Tinker on a body.

Noble Benefactor - When Blue doesn't give you any good tutors, play one that gives everyone a tutor.

Long-Term Plans - A tutor that allows us to plan ahead.

Fabricate - An artifact tutor. Self explanatory.

Tolaria West - Transmute Land into Mana Rocks and Lands. Key for finding Sol lands and any piece needed for the Dark Depths combo

Proteus Staff - A pseudo tutor that lets us shift our weak creature into our big bads for 3 mana.

Muzzio, Visionary Architect - A pseudo tutor that lets us shift our deck for any artifact in the deck and one that rewards us for playing more of them.

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Misc Spells. These are handy no matter what.

Thwart - A Free Counter

Force of Will - The Best Free Counterspell we can ask for.

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Handy Lands - Good Utility Lands that have tricks of their own.

Dark Depths - A land that presents a 20/20 indestructible flyer over the course of the game and combos with Thespian's Stage .

Thespian's Stage - Combos with Dark Depths . Also can clone any of our 2 mana lands.

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - A land that makes all lands swamps. Paired with Shimmer or Mana Web and your opponents will hate you forever.

Inventors' Fair - Another land tutor that most players cannot counter without a Stifle Effect.

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If you do end up wanting to play this deck remember: These Two things.

1) Understand How Phasing Works.

All you need to know is that at the beginning of your uptap step, any permanent that is phased out phases back in and vice versa. Taniwha is a unique card as it does both of these things for itself as well as our lands.

As it gets pretty complicated here is a basic run down.

Turn X- Play Taniwha.

Turn X+1 - Taniwha Phases Out at the Beginning of the Untap Step.

Turn X+2 - Taniwha Phases Back in on the Beginning of the Untap Step and your Lands untap. Taniwha triggers on your Upkeep to Phase Out the Lands. Lands can be floated for Mana in response to Taniwha's ability during the Upkeep Phase so play out any instant speed abilities here before or after the trigger resolves Just as long as it is still the Upkeep Phase as the mana pool will empty during the Draw Phase.

Turn X +3 - At the beginning of the Untap Step, Lands Phase Back and the Untap phase continues as it would normally. Taniwha Phases Back Out etc.

It is pretty complicated to understand but once you understand the basic fundamentals of Phasing, you can make some people very very angry with the kind of one sided plays the deck has up its sleeve.

2) Don't be afraid to stir the pot in the long game.

It will win you the game in the long run. Don't try to do everything in 1 turn. The less you do the better. This is a very political deck and while it is a fun deck to play it can be brutal to navigate at times if everyone is trying to hate you out of the table.

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Be careful and have fun with Mono Blue Stax.

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Date added	8 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	14 - 0 Mythic Rares 46 - 0 Rares 15 - 0 Uncommons 2 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.74
Tokens	Construct 0/0 C, Marit Lage
Folders	Liked Decks, EDH decks, cool decks, Blue fun, Commander, kill me, buildstax, EDH Ideas, Commander, Other Peoples Decks