This concept was batted around on the Legion's private mailing list for about a week before PT Rome '98. It is based off of the original Turbo Stasis deck played at the US Nationals in 1996 (a heavy Necro environment). The major change is the loss of the white spells in favor of a more mono-colored base, as a precaution against Wastelands.

A few weeks before Rome, before Academy decks took over the State Championships, Manuel and I were discussing the expected metagame at Rome. At the time, we were predicting Necro and Sligh.

It was my basic thought that, since any deck could potentially lose to Sligh just because of the Bolt Bolt Fireblast Fireblast factor, trying to use a deck that beat red specifically would be a waste of Game 1 resources. Since luck would play a major role in any match versus Sligh, I decided it would be safe to oversideboard against red and probably lose to it blindly in Game 1.

That's where Stasis came in. A proven Necro-killer, Stasis in Extended does not have to worry the least little bit abourry the least little bit about turn 1 Ritual Hypnotic Specter. Duress was a potential danger, but Brian tested the MoM Stasis deck 14 games versus Necro and didn't lose a single one. So it was an overestimated danger.

The benefit of Mind Over Matter as a lock card over Kismet is that Howling Mines become mana for you and Icy Manipulators for your opponent. MoM shuts down the deadly Stasis-killer: Quirion Ranger. Your opponent will never have more than one land untapped. Etc.

Obviously, the downside is the extra casting cost. It can be Pyroblasted. Stuff doesn't come into play auto-tapped. A variant on this deck could include a Kismet as well, for the squeamish. Claws of Gix functions as Despotic Scepter used to, allowing for a early Stasis lock to survive a creature rush.

Manuel and Brian did the only playtesting of this deck, and reported excellent results. No real testing was done versus Academy, although it seems like heavy countermagic should be useful against it. However, a lack of an offense is a severe detriment versus a combo deck like Academy, so it could pretty much go either way.

This deck had a 14-0 record versus Necro, a 5-0 record versus PT Jank, a 6-0 record versus Recurring Whale/Living Death type decks, x-0 records versus a lot of rogue decks and a 0-8 record versus Sligh. These ress Sligh. These results do not reflect the use of a sideboard, however. So plan your sideboard accordingly! :)

Cathy Nicoloff