It might not be what you're looking for in terms of cmc, but I really like
Crystalline Crawler as a support piece as well. Instead of just getting big due to the untapping it helps the engine generate tons of mana.
I had Crawler in an earlier build and it’s a good shoutout! I don’t mind the mana cost since you can get mana back instantly if you need it and it promises future fun. I love cards that let you convert a ressource into another (and why I use most colorless sac outlets except Spawning Pit), they typically lead to more interesting deck possibilities or lines of play. I’d like to find a slot for this, will scour the list for cuts.
It’s getting more and more tempting to go up to 400 cards or something to slot in all the sweet cards.
Love this suggestion! As you say, it intersects with a bunch of themes and is a spicy tutor. There are more targets than I thought honestly and the best ones are also great in the archetype. As much as I like this one, it’s a bit too narrow at this size. And tbh, I am more excited to fit the Crystalline Crawler that you suggested first.
I was drafting
a cube featured on the front page of CubeCobra and got to draft this deck
It's a self-mill deck but what piqued my interest was the prison element.
Currently, my stax pieces are more for aggressive decks
Winter OrbTangle WireWastelandLightstall InquisitorThalia Guardian of ThrabenElite Spellbinder
+ Black
discard and Blue
tempo counters.
These are great and I really enjoy them. So the thought is, maybe I can set up a controlling Stax package.
Academy Ruins is a known quantity and is very good in decks like the one above. Not only does it prevent milling out, it also extends the GY into a second hand, just like
Emry does. I know it’s not a prison piece per se, but we’ll get there.
Being a land is a huge upside for a few reasons. It's tougher to interact with than
Emry, meaning your engine is more robust. It also plays so well with
Life from the Loam. Loam lets you mill to your heart's desire since you know you'll be able to recur it and the Ruins. You can set up
Gifts Ungiven piles to that effect as well giving Simic decks late game inevitability.
The best targets with Ruins? These three come to mind.
Ballista and Explosives serve as interaction while
Mindslaver is a win condition. This is where the prison element comes up and turn after turn you recur the same card and mess up opponent’s board. Do you have other favorite cards to pair with
Academy Ruins?
Ensnaring Bridge is brutal. It shuts down aggressive decks very effectively and gives you the time to set up your gameplan. Unless you are going hard on the discard plan (maybe this is the card I want for my
Firestorm discard control decks), it will be tough to empty your hand very fast meaning creatures can still attack on turns 3 and 4.
The biggest difference with the other stax pieces is that this one doesn’t let up. Wire and Orb leave you an out given enough time, not so with Bridge. I feel like it will create huge emotional spikes as well. Some positive (like when you attack and instant speed attach
Cranial Plating to the unblocked 1/1) and most negative where you are locked out of the attack step. It’s a cool one with Welder and sacrifice outlets too as you can manipulate and set up a board and get rid of Bridge when you are ready to attack. Other cards become appealing too like
Song of Creation for combo decks. Baubles and cards that let you bank a draw on the board are great too.
Am I unhinged? The only cube here with Bridge that I know of is dbs’s Mox Combo Cube but he’s a real sicko with
Stasis even
