Stasis

General Plan#

Stasis is a very interesting matchup because the opponent’s deck doesn’t necessarily try to kill you fast: it tries to bring you to a spot where you can no longer win.

The opponent’s typical plan is to wait for the moment when you’ve tapped out on your turn to try to resolve a threat that gets countered. In that window, when you’re low on mana or completely tapped out, the opponent can land Stasis and turn the game into a lock.

Your main goal is therefore very clear:

Stasis must not resolve at the moment when it can completely lock you out.

You don’t always have to prevent Stasis from being cast at all. Sometimes you can even beat it if you have continuous mana, answers, or an adequate board. But you can’t let the opponent resolve it when you’re out of mana, out of useful permanents, and out of ways to respond.

In general, you should consider the matchup fairly favorable, mainly because the opponent’s “removal” is often more tempo play than definitive answers. Cards like Chain of Vapor buy time, but they don’t actually remove your plan. The opponent often has to stop your threats on the stack, and that means discard, double spells, and sequenced pressure are very effective.

The Main Versions#

You can split Stasis into three main families:

• Mono U Stasis;
• U/G Stasis, with Root Maze;
• U/R Stasis, with red removal like Fire // Ice and Pyroclasm.

The general approach stays similar: you want to prevent Stasis from resolving at the wrong moment, and you want to build a window where one of your important threats can get through.

The differences lie mostly in the kind of interaction you have to respect.

U/G Stasis#

The U/G version runs a variable number of Root Maze, sometimes one, two or even three copies.

This version can feel almost more “combo” than prison, because Root Maze significantly accelerates the opponent’s ability to turn Stasis into a real lock. That said, from your point of view, the approach doesn’t change radically compared to the mono blue version.

Root Maze by itself isn’t the main problem. It’s symmetric, and losing a turn by playing a tapped land isn’t necessarily lethal. The problem arises when Root Maze combines with Stasis and actually prevents you from getting back into the game.

In Game 1, if the opponent can quickly assemble Root Maze + Stasis, it can be an almost complete lock. In these spots you want to have mana that doesn’t rely on lands, or a window to close the game asap.

Cards like Birds of Paradise can help if they stay untapped before Stasis resolves, but they aren’t a perfect solution. Post-board, Elvish Spirit Guide can sometimes let you cast a Naturalize even under the lock, and that’s an important detail to keep in mind.

The U/G version is seen less often, but it has to be respected because it can make Stasis lock much harder to beat once assembled.

U/R Stasis#

The U/R version requires different attention.

Here you have to play around cards like:

• Fire // Ice;
• Pyroclasm.

These cards can easily turn your creatures into a 2-for-1 for the opponent. For example, playing two mana creatures on the board can look correct to develop mana, but if the opponent answers with Fire // Ice or Pyroclasm you can lose both time and resources.

Against U/R Stasis, then, you shouldn’t commit creatures unnecessarily. Birds of Paradise, in particular, is often a more fragile resource than it seems: not only if Stasis resolves it can be used only once, but also a perfect removal target.

In many spots, holding Birds in hand can have more value than playing it right away. It can become a discard target for Survival, a post-removal resource, or a way to avoid exposing yourself to a 2-for-1.

Mono U Stasis#

The Mono U version is probably the most representative of the matchup.

Here the opponent’s plan is more linear: counter the relevant spells, buy time with Chain of Vapor or similar effects, then resolve Stasis at a moment when you can no interact.

The main cards to respect, other than Stasis, are:

• Counterspell;
• Daze;
• Thwart;
• Chain of Vapor;
• Brain Freeze;
• Cursed Totem, Annul and Essence Flare post-board.

The important thing is that many of these cards don’t beat you on their own. Stasis is the real problem, but it often needs to be accompanied by time, counters, or support permanents. This gives you room to build turns where the opponent can’t answer everything.

Your Best Cards#

Wall of Roots#

Wall of Roots is one of the best cards in the matchup: it produces mana without tapping. This is fundamental against Stasis, because it lets you keep accessing mana even when you don’t have an untap step.

Unlike Birds of Paradise, Wall of Roots can generate mana multiple times across multiple turns. This makes it one of the most important resources for staying operational and, in certain cases, for casting an answer or completing a line.

Eladamri’s Vineyard#

Eladamri’s Vineyard is very strong against Stasis.

It gives you green mana continuously, without requiring you to tap lands or creatures. This is exactly what you want against a deck trying to lock the untap step.

On top of that, the opponent often doesn’t convert that mana as well as you do. They can use it for some generic spells, to pay additional costs, or to cast some cards more easily, but they still need blue mana for most of their important interaction.

In the worst case, they can convert that mana into Black Vise or some sideboard spell; but in general Vineyard is much more asymmetrical in your favor than against other green decks in the format.

With Vineyard in play you can use Survival, cast Naturalize, develop multiple spells, and stay alive under Stasis much better than in a normal game.

Discard#

Discard spells are very important, but they shouldn’t always name Stasis.

With Cabal Therapy, the call depends on the spot. If you’re in a position where Stasis completely locks you, then naming it makes sense. But in many cases, it’s more correct to name the card that prevents your plan from resolving.

Frequent calls can be:

• Counterspell, especially if the opponent represents double blue;
• Chain of Vapor, if a resolved threat of yours can win but loses to a bounce;
• Thwart, if the opponent’s setup makes it plausible;
• Stasis, if you’re vulnerable to the lock;
• Annul post-board, if your plan goes through Survival or Animate Dead.

The rule is always the same:

Don’t name to hit. Name the card that beats you.

Counters and Tempo Plays#

Counterspell#

Counterspell is the most natural call when the opponent keeps double blue up.

It’s also one of the cleanest cards against you, because it can stop any key spell regardless. If you want to build a turn around an important threat, stripping Counterspell can be the first step.

Daze#

Daze has to be respected if you know or suspect that the opponent runs it.

Not all lists run the same number, but when present it can punish your more aggressive sequences. Against Stasis you often want to use all available mana, so Daze can be stronger than it seems.

If you can play around Daze without losing too much time, it’s often worth doing so. If instead waiting exposes you to Stasis, you have to evaluate whether to force anyway.

Thwart#

Thwart is a very heavy card for the opponent.

It can be strong, but bouncing three Islands against a deck like yours is a real cost. Even if the opponent has four mana available, a four mana counterspell can lose a lot of time.

This means that sometimes you can force a spell knowing that Thwart, while being an answer, will slow them down enough to give you a new window the following turn.

Chain of Vapor#

Chain of Vapor is one of the most important interactions to consider.

It isn’t a definitive removal spell, but it can break your sequence on the turn you try to win. It can bounce Survival, Shapeshifter, or a relevant piece, buying the time needed for Stasis to stabilize.

If your plan loses to Chain of Vapor, it can be correct to name it with Therapy. This is especially true when you’ve already resolved a threat or when the opponent no longer has enough mana to counter but can still interact at low cost.

Brain Freeze#

Some lists run Brain Freeze, usually in small numbers.

It isn’t always a central card, but it can be a problem if your plan goes through Hermit Druid or through lines where you end up with few cards in your library. As in other matchups, any card that punishes a full mill has to be taken into account.

If you’re planning a Hermit line, you have to ask whether you can beat Brain Freeze, whether you can strip the card with discard, or whether it’s better to switch to Survival.

Essence Flare#

Some blue versions can run Essence Flare, which works as a kind of delayed removal.

It isn’t the biggest problem in the matchup, but it has to be known. If the opponent puts Essence Flare on Hermit Druid, you can still activate Druid in response to the trigger in upkeep. This makes the card less definitive than other removal, but it can still create uncomfortable windows.

Post-Sideboard#

Post-board you want to increase the cards that interact with Stasis, Black Vise, Cursed Totem, and the other problematic permanents.

The cards that usually come in are:

• Duress;
• Xantid Swarm;
• Naturalize;
• Ray of Revelation;
• Monk Realist;
• Uktabi Orangutan.

Disenchant-like effects are very strong because they can answer Stasis directly. Naturalize is particularly versatile because it can hit both Stasis and problematic artifacts.

Uktabi Orangutan is interesting because it can remove:

• Black Vise;
• Cursed Totem post-board;
• any other support artifacts.

Removing Black Vise can gain a lot of time, especially in games where Stasis tries to lock you while Vise kills you slowly.

What to Cut#

You should usually consider cutting a number of Birds of Paradise.

Birds is useful before Stasis resolves, but under Stasis it becomes a one-shot source of mana. This doesn’t mean Birds is always bad, but post-board, when more answers come in and you want to increase the quality of your draws, cutting some is reasonable.

Speeding into Hermit Druid lines also ins’t always the right approach. If you find yourself activating Hermit in upkeep and then having to resolve Krosan Reclamation, you have to be aware that the opponent can counter it. If Reclamation gets countered, you can simply lose on the draw step.

For this reason, post-board the Hermit plan has to be used with precision. It shouldn’t be abandoned, but you can’t treat it as an always-safe line.

Annul and Cursed Totem#

Post-board you have to respect Annul.

It’s a very common card, often at least one or two copies, because Stasis also uses it to improve other matchups, like Elves. Against you it’s very effective because it can counter:

• Survival of the Fittest;
• Animate Dead;
• some other relevant enchantments or artifacts you might have (beacause you hate Stasis).

This makes your Duress and Cabal Therapy even more important.

You also have to expect Cursed Totem. Totem is very strong against you because it shuts off many activated abilities of creatures, including Hermit Druid and several Shapeshifter lines. Luckily you have answers like Naturalize and Uktabi Orangutan, which are already strong cards in the matchup.

How to Win the Matchup#

Against Stasis you want to build a sequence where the opponent is forced to answer too many things.

The Stasis player tends to handle threats on the stack with counters. If you can create a turn with:

• discard plus threat;
• double threat;
• threat plus answer to Stasis;
• Xantid Swarm plus combo piece;

then the opponent can find themselves in a position where they can no longer cover everything.

Every card you bring in post-board is very relevant: Naturalize, Monk Realist, Ray of Revelation, Uktabi Orangutan, Xantid Swarm, and Duress are all cards that can solve a specific problem or open a winning window.

This is why the matchup tends to be favorable. Your deck has many different threats and many post-board answers, while Stasis often has to have the right combination of counters, lock pieces, and tempo.