Legacy: Landstill - Deck Tech and Sideboard Guide

Hello, Legacy fans! Today, we'll discuss (once again… I sound like a broken record) a traditional archetype that was has come back from the dead thanks to Modern Horizons 3! We're talking about Landstill, a variation of Azorius Control based around Standstill.

This blue enchantment from Odyssey does exactly what its name suggests: when you put it in play, players will stop playing spells, and try to force others to break the standstill and draw 3 cards. However, this deck is built to gain a lot from these situations. For instance, you can Eternalize Timeless Dragon without activating Standstill's triggered ability, so your opponent will probably just accept their losses and let you draw three cards.

The cards from MH3 that found their way into this deck are Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student and Consign to Memory. Tamiyo might have popped up in blue tempo decks, but she stands out much more in control decks. When I reviewed MH3, I mentioned that Tamiyo is, with a little investment, a 1-mana planeswalker. Her planeswalker version might not be much, but she doesn't give your opponent a lot of time to answer, and, once again, she costs only 1 mana! I guessed control decks would certainly be interested in her services then, and I was right.

As for Consign, it is one of the best sideboard answers in the current meta, considering a good portion of decks with a colorless base are in, such as Eldrazi, Forge Combo, and Cloudpost Ramp. It is also useful against any Storm decks you face, as well as Initiative decks.

The list we'll work with today helped John1111 top a Challenge 32 in Magic Online on November 10th. It uses the same Azorious control base as most decks in this style - Brainstorm, Force of Will, Swords to Plowshares, Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, and Teferi, Time Raveler. But two incredibly essential cards were replaced in part by Standstill: this deck doesn't play Ponder or Narset, Parter of Veils. Timeless Dragon complements this deck's key card really well, and alongside Lórien Revealed, makes sure you can play a land with this deck turn after turn.

Its removal kit, besides Swords to Plowshares, includes Prismatic Ending, which lets you answer a good part of noncreature issues. It also includes Underground Sea and Volcanic Island, which interact really well with Converge, and Supreme Verdict, which obliterates boards and can't be countered.

As for Force of Will, you'll complement it with Spell Pierce, which is very efficient considering its cost, and Counterspell / Dovin's Veto. Finally, we have the strongest ex-Planeswalker of all time, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, who is both an alternative win condition and simply a value tool in games with a lot of attrition.

The list above focuses on Tamiyo, but this isn't the norm for all the lists in this archetype. Some use Snapcaster Mage in her place, and others not even that.

Other cards in this archetype are Urza’s Saga (and artifacts like Aether Spellbomb, Currency Converter, Expedition Map, Pithing Needle, Retrofitter Foundry, and Soul-Guide Lantern), Comet, Stellar Pup, Force of Negation, March of Otherworldly Light, Narset, Parter of Veils, Ponder, Shark Typhoon, and The Wandering Emperor.

Like any great control deck (and considering how many cards in it find lands for you), Landstill's mulligan is exceptional. Obviously, hands with Standstill are better, but this isn't a combo deck. You can easily keep hands with only lands and answers, and then find action as the game plays out.

Hand examples:

This hand has more lands than you'd prefer, but is basically ideal: it can play Tamiyo on turn 1, has Force of Will as protection if you need it, and plays Standstill on turn 2 if you don't need to use it as fuel for Force. It even has an Otawara to answer anything that you can't predict. Verdict: Easy keep.

This hand is also pretty safe; the only exception is if you know you're facing a turn-1 combo and lost the coin flip. In other cases, you have answers for spells, creatures (though you'll need to find a land for Swords with Timeless Dragon), and Tamiyo, if you want to create value. Verdict: Another easy keep.

This hand is complicated. It has many lands, though Wasteland is functionally a spell, but it is slow and doesn't answer anything until turn 3. Unless you know you're facing another control deck, and you're going first, it isn't worth it. Verdict: Mulligan.

Brainstorm usually carries these types of hands, as it finds what you need. In a vacuum, it plays Tamiyo and then Standstill, which is what this deck wants at all times. Verdict: Keep.

John1111's sideboard was quite straightforward, which you won't find often in blue decks that like playing several similar cards for similar purposes. Maybe it's because it doesn't play Ponder. In any case, it is quite straightforward.

Back to Basics is perhaps one of the strongest cards in Legacy that doesn't see much play. After all, you just need to take one look at how Blood Moon dominates the metagame to understand how a card that affects nonbasic lands globally has space in Legacy. The aforementioned Consign to Memory is well-positioned in this format, as it answers a very significant portion of relevant decks.

Surgical Extraction is still one of the best "turn-0" answers for graveyard decks. Force of Negation adds redundancy to your deck in terms of counterspells, particularly 0-cost ones, which is essential to stop combos. Finally, The Wandering Emperor is an extra win condition in battles of attrition.

Here are a few cards that have also been included in this sideboard: Ashiok, Dream Render, Blue Elemental Blast/Hydroblast, Comet, Stellar Pup, Deafening Silence, Dress Down, Engineered Explosives, Flusterstorm, Ghost Vacuum, Grafdigger’s Cage, Meltdown, Nimble Obstructionist, Powder Keg, Pyroblast/Red Elemental Blast, Pyroclasm, Supreme Verdict, Torpor Orb, and Wear//Tear.

Remember, this deck can access extra colors through fetchlands or extra lands in the sideboard.

Frognator

Landstill has resources to race against a revived Atraxa or even an Archon, or if they try to play more aggressively. They don't have an answer against Supreme Verdict, except forcing you to discard it preemptively.

Post-side, just try to stop them from reviving their creatures, kill any Psychic Frog they play, and try to win through card advantage.

In:

Out:

Eldrazi Aggro

The counters you have that affect noncreatures don't have many targets, and they can counter Force of Will with Cavern of Souls. Back to Basics is brutal against their mana base, and Consign to Memory at least stops any card they protect with Cavern. It is also very efficient when they can't access this land.

In:

Out:

Red Stompy

They can ignore Force of Will because of Vexing Bauble. On the other side, the most recent lists can't ignore Back to Basics, considering they replaced a good part of their basic Mountains with Sundering Eruption and Gemstone Caverns. Which is… quite ironic for a deck with Blood Moon.

In:

Out:

Dimir Aggro

Dimir's popularity is rising, so prepare yourself to face Frog and its friends. They don't play many basic lands and don't have access to Troll of Khazad-dûm, so Back to Basics can disrupt their game plan quite a lot. Your 2-mana counters and Jace aren't very efficient.

In:

Out:

Forge Combo

You can't let The One Ring, Mystic Forge, or Karn, the Great Creator resolve. Easy, isn't it? They can even create a lot of mana over Back to Basics, but this will delay them quite a bit.

In:

Out:

Legacy might be very powerful, but effects that create many cards for very little mana are often quite limited. Nonetheless, this deck uses one of the options available in the market in a structure that has already proven its efficiency.

If you like control, are looking for a different approach, and want to draw many cards, Landstill is waiting for you.

What did you think of this deck? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!