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Commander Nexus
  1. Commander Nexus
  2. Archetypes
  3. Stax
Stax artwork

Stax

decks slow the whole game down with cards that make spells cost more, stop lands from untapping, or limit what players can do each turn. The deck is built so those limits hurt it least. Many groups dislike playing against it, so check with your table first.

  • KindArchetype
  • Cards1,355

An archetype is a whole game plan: the way a deck tries to win.

Find these cards in the app Commanders with this archetype

How it plays

You play cards that make the game harder for everyone: spells cost more, lands do not , players can only one spell a turn. Your own deck is built around those rules, so they slow you down less than they slow the table.

How it wins

Slowly, once nobody else can do anything. A single creature attacking every turn is enough when no opponent can a spell to stop it.

What beats it

Cheap and cards that destroy artifacts or enchantments, since most of your are one or the other. Decks that make their mana from creatures or skip around many of your rules.

If this is your first deck

Not a first deck, and ask your table first. Many groups dislike playing against it, and it asks you to know every card on the table and how each rule affects it.

Commanders to Start With

The most played commanders where Stax is one of their two main plans, in order from EDHREC, a site that counts the Commander decks players post online.

Example Cards

StaxCards that restrict game actions, tax resources, or prevent players from untapping permanents.Open the full glossaryUntapTurning a tapped card upright so it can be used again. Cards normally untap once per turn during your untap step, so an effect that untaps something early gives you a second use of it.Open the full glossaryCastTo cast a spell is to put it on the stack and pay its cost, usually from your hand. Playing a land is not casting, and a copy of a spell is not cast either.Open the full glossaryRemovalSpells or abilities that destroy, exile, or bounce your opponents' cards.Open the full glossaryTokenA permanent that is not a card. Tokens are made by other cards' effects, and a token that leaves the battlefield stops existing. Creature tokens, Treasures and Clues are all tokens.Secure the WastesOpen the full glossaryLockA set of cards that, once in play, stops the other players from doing anything useful: their lands stay tapped, their spells never resolve, or their turns are skipped. The game is not over, but nobody else can win it. Stasis with Smothering Tithe is a lock.StasisOpen the full glossary