Premodern Stiflenought Deck Guide (2026)
Premodern Stiflenought is a mono-blue tempo deck that protects a one-mana 12/12, Phyrexian Dreadnought, with Stifle, Vision Charm and free counterspells. It was the most played deck at 9.9 percent of the MTGDecks metagame in the 60 days to mid-September 2026, with a 53 percent win rate over 4,398 recorded matches between March 18 and September 14, 2026. Since September it has shared the top of the MTGTop8 results with Enchantress and Sligh, at about one list in eleven. On September 12, 2026 it won both the MTGO Premodern Challenge (LuffyDoChapeuDePalha, 7-1) and the 21-player Crab Cup Invitational Qualifier #9 (Brenden Romkey, 7-0-1), whose list is the reference here. Romkey had already won a 22-player Crab Cup qualifier with Stiflenought in October 2025.
How the deck wins
- Phyrexian Dreadnought costs one mana and is a 12/12 with trample, but its enters trigger sacrifices it unless you sacrifice creatures with total power 12 or more. Stifle counters that trigger. Vision Charm phases the Dreadnought out in response, so there is nothing to sacrifice, and it phases back in during your next untap step. Trample means a 1/1 chump blocker still lets 11 damage through, so two attacks deal 22.
- Daze, Foil and Thwart protect it without spending mana: Daze returns an Island, Foil discards an Island and another card, and Thwart returns three Islands, while Gush returns two Islands to draw two cards. Counterspell is the hard answer once you have mana to spare.
- Portent, Opt, Impulse, Flash of Insight and Peek dig for Dreadnought and protection, one Powder Keg sweeps one-drops, and Chain of Vapor returns a permanent your counters cannot touch. Most lists also play one Misdirection in the main deck to turn targeted removal around; Romkey keeps his in the sideboard. Without a Dreadnought the deck plays a slower game of counters and cantrips until it finds one.
Core cards
- 4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
- 4 Stifle
- 4 Vision Charm
- 4 Counterspell
- 4 Foil
- 4 Gush
- 4 Portent
- 4 Opt
- 3 Daze
- 2 Impulse
- 2 Chain of Vapor
- 1 Powder Keg
- 17 Island
Key cards
- Phyrexian Dreadnought: Costs one mana for a 12/12 trampler and is the only threat in the main deck. Stiflenought never sacrifices 12 power of other creatures to keep it, so every Dreadnought needs Stifle or Vision Charm. It is on the Reserved List, and four copies are most of the deck's price.
- Stifle: Counters Dreadnought's sacrifice trigger, and the 12/12 stays on the battlefield, ready to block. It also counters fetchland and Rishadan Port activations, Goblin Lackey and Goblin Matron triggers, Survival of the Fittest and Hermit Druid activations, madness triggers and a Pernicious Deed activation after the Deed was sacrificed. It cannot counter spells, so it does nothing against Swords to Plowshares.
- Vision Charm: Phases out target artifact. Cast in response to the Dreadnought trigger, it leaves nothing to sacrifice, and the Dreadnought phases back in during your next untap step, able to attack. The same mode saves it from Swords to Plowshares, Smother or a Powder Keg activation. The other modes mill four cards or change a land type until end of turn.
- Foil: Counters any spell for the cost of discarding an Island and another card. It is the answer to removal on the turn you deploy Dreadnought.
- Gush: Return two Islands to draw two cards without spending mana. The two Islands also feed Foil and your next land drops.
- Daze: Return an Island to counter a spell unless its controller pays one. Strongest early, when the opponent taps out for their first plays.
- Counterspell: Counters any spell for two mana. The free spells do the early work, and Counterspell stops removal and key spells once the game goes longer.
- Portent: Look at the top three cards of any player's library and put them back in any order, then draw a card in the next upkeep. On your own library it sets up Dreadnought or protection.
- Powder Keg: It is the only sweeper in the main deck. At one fuse counter it destroys every artifact and creature with mana value 1: Goblin Lackey, Mogg Fanatic, Jackal Pup, mana elves and your own Dreadnought.
- Chain of Vapor: Returns any nonland permanent to its owner's hand for one mana: a blocker, Solitary Confinement, Parallax Wave, Humility, Oath of Druids, or your own Dreadnought in response to removal. The controller of the returned permanent may sacrifice a land to copy it, so an opponent can answer by bouncing one of your permanents.
Mulligan guide
Keep
- Phyrexian Dreadnought with Stifle or Vision Charm, two or three Islands and ideally a free counter: with two Islands that is a protected Dreadnought on turn two.
- No Dreadnought, but Islands, Portent, Opt or Impulse to find one, and Daze, Foil or Counterspell to protect it once it lands.
- Against decks full of removal, a hand of counters and cantrips with only one protection spell. A turn-four Dreadnought behind two counters beats a turn-two Dreadnought into Swords to Plowshares.
Ship
- A Dreadnought with no Stifle or Vision Charm and no cantrips to find one.
- One Island and a hand of spells: Daze, Gush and Thwart need Islands on the battlefield, and Foil needs one in hand.
- Five or more Islands and no Dreadnought. The deck wins with one threat, so a flooded hand is a slow control game at best.
Daze, Gush and Thwart return Islands to your hand and Foil discards one, so the 17 Islands also pay for spells, and a hand with three Islands and free spells does more than its land count suggests. Mulligan to a playable six rather than keep a Dreadnought with no way to protect it.
Play tips and sequencing
- Stifle leaves Dreadnought on the battlefield, able to block on their turn and attack on yours. Vision Charm keeps it phased out and safe from their removal until your next untap step, and it phases back in able to attack. Use Vision Charm when they hold removal and you do not need a blocker, and Stifle when you need the blocker.
- Dreadnought costs one mana, so with two Islands you can cast it, answer the trigger and still hold Daze or Foil; Thwart needs a third Island. Count your Islands first: Thwart returns three, Gush two and Daze one.
- Keep an Island card in hand: Foil discards one, and Gush puts two back in your hand. Skipping a land drop you do not need keeps Foil live.
- Gush can return Islands that are already tapped, so use their mana first, then cast Gush for two cards at no extra cost.
- Your own Powder Keg at one counter also destroys your Dreadnought. Use it before Dreadnought lands, or phase Dreadnought out with Vision Charm in response to the activation.
- Portent can target the opponent: looking at their top three cards and making them shuffle can take away the answer they were about to draw.
- Against Goblins, Elves, Full English Breakfast, The Rock and fetchland decks, a Stifle held for their key activation or trigger can be worth more than protecting a Dreadnought you have not drawn yet.
Matchups
- Goblins (slightly favorable): Dreadnought walls an attacker and ends the race in two swings, Powder Keg at one counter sweeps Goblin Lackey, Mogg Fanatic and Skirk Prospector, and Stifle counters Lackey and Goblin Matron triggers. Their Rishadan Port and sideboard Pyroblast attack your mana and counters. Goblin Tinkerer, main deck in most lists, destroys Dreadnought for one red mana and survives the 1 damage. Naturalize in the green lists and Overload in some sideboards destroy it too, so hold Stifle for the Tinkerer's activation or Vision Charm for any of them. Bring Hydroblast, Essence Flare and Cursed Totem. MTGDecks: 55 percent over 360 matches.
- Sligh (favorable): Burn does not kill a 12/12, and Price of Progress and Wasteland do nothing against an all-Island mana base. After boarding, Hydroblast counters burn or destroys red creatures, and Powder Keg and Essence Flare handle Jackal Pup, Mogg Fanatic and Grim Lavamancer. Watch your life total: Cursed Scroll, Sulfuric Vortex, Fireblast and Pyrostatic Pillar are how they get there, and Hydroblast or Annul answers the Vortex. After boarding, Overload destroys Dreadnought or Powder Keg for one red mana, and their Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast come in against your counters. About a quarter of Sligh lists are a second build with four Black Vise, four Pyrostatic Pillar, four Mishra's Factory and only eight creatures. Black Vise is colorless, so the Blasts can't touch it; counter it as it is cast. Powder Keg on one counter destroys it along with their one-drops, but also your own Dreadnought unless you phase it out with Vision Charm first. Pillar deals 2 damage to you for Stifle, Daze, Counterspell, Vision Charm, Portent, Opt, Impulse and Dreadnought itself, but not for Gush, Foil, Thwart or a Flash of Insight with X of 2 or more. Since mid-July about a third of the classic Jackal Pup lists play Goblin Vandal, which destroys Powder Keg, or a Dreadnought still tapped from attacking, if it attacks unblocked and they pay {R}; Stifle counters that trigger. MTGDecks (Burn): 70 percent over 325 matches.
- Enchantress (unfavorable): Swords to Plowshares and Seal of Cleansing answer Dreadnought, Solitary Confinement prevents its damage, and Parallax Wave exiles it, then returns it to face the sacrifice trigger again, which makes this your worst common matchup. After boarding, Aura of Silence makes Dreadnought cost three and can be sacrificed to destroy it, and Xantid Swarm stops your spells on the turn it attacks. Counter the engines and lock pieces with Annul and Counterspell, and return Confinement or Wave with Chain of Vapor once Sterling Grove is gone, since it gives their other enchantments shroud. Brain Freeze mills a deck that draws extra cards, but it cannot target a player under Solitary Confinement. MTGDecks: 39 percent over 373 matches.
- Mono Black (unfavorable): Duress and Cabal Therapy take Stifle and Vision Charm before Dreadnought lands, Hypnotic Specter's random discards take more, and Smother, Diabolic Edict and, in more than half the lists, Snuff Out kill a resolved Dreadnought. Counter Hypnotic Specter and keep Vision Charm for the removal: it beats all three, while Misdirection, where you play it, can only send Smother to one of their creatures or Edict back to them. Bring Annul for Cursed Scroll and Phyrexian Arena. MTGDecks: 42 percent over 314 matches.
- Landstill (unfavorable): Their answers line up against a one-threat deck: four Swords to Plowshares, Disenchant, Wrath of God and, in most lists, Powder Keg, plus Mana Leak, Prohibit and Counterspell for the turn you deploy. About half the lists also play Humility, which makes Dreadnought a 1/1. The first spell you cast into a resolved Standstill draws them three cards, so hold free spells until they matter. A Dreadnought cast under Humility gets no sacrifice trigger and becomes a 12/12 trampler once Chain of Vapor returns Humility, though they may sacrifice a land to copy the Chain onto your Dreadnought. After boarding your Annul counters Standstill, Humility and Powder Keg, and they bring their own Annul and Meddling Mage naming Dreadnought. MTGDecks: 41 percent over 213 matches.
- Terrageddon (favorable): Phyrexian Dreadnought outsizes Terravore while fewer than 12 lands are in the graveyards, Daze and Foil can counter Armageddon without mana, and Gush or Daze cast in response even save your Islands, though once it resolves only Foil is still free. Basic Islands give their Wasteland nothing to hit, and Stifle counters their fetchland and Rishadan Port activations. Their outs are early pressure and removal: four Swords to Plowshares and main-deck Naturalize, plus Disenchant or Seal of Cleansing in many lists, so hold Vision Charm mana. After boarding, Back to Basics stops 21 of their 26 lands from untapping, though Naturalize can destroy it, and their Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast come in against your counters and Back to Basics. MTGDecks: 59 percent over 193 matches.
- Replenish (unfavorable): Swords to Plowshares, Seal of Cleansing and Parallax Wave answer Dreadnought, Abeyance shuts off your instants for a turn, and a cycled Decree of Silence counters a spell. Annul counters Opalescence, Parallax Wave and Attunement, but Replenish is a sorcery, so keep Counterspell or Foil for it. Stifle counters Attunement's draw and Decree's cycling trigger. After boarding, Meddling Mage names Dreadnought or Stifle, and Defense Grid in about half their lists makes your spells cost three more on their turn. Leave Brain Freeze in the sideboard: every enchantment you mill returns with Replenish. MTGDecks: 42 percent over 206 matches.
- Oath of Druids (even): Sphere of Resistance adds one to every spell, even Daze, Foil and Gush cast for their alternative costs, and Swords to Plowshares answers Dreadnought, as does a main-deck Naturalize in about half their lists. Their Wasteland has no targets in an all-Island deck, but Winter's Grasp and Thermokarst, each main deck in about three lists of four, destroy Islands. A resolved Dreadnought turns on Oath of Druids whenever they control fewer creatures, so counter Oath with Annul or Counterspell, or Stifle its trigger. After boarding, Back to Basics hits a mana base of about 24 nonbasic lands out of 28. MTGDecks (Oath Ponza): 51 percent over 156 matches.
- Psychatog (unfavorable): Both decks play Gush and Foil, and theirs adds Duress and Accumulated Knowledge. Smother kills Dreadnought, and so does Powder Keg, main deck or sideboard in about half the lists. A large Psychatog can block it, Chain of Vapor in some lists returns it, and Annul comes in after boarding. Resolve Dreadnought when they tap low, keep Vision Charm for Smother, and win before their card advantage takes over. MTGDecks: 42 percent over 113 matches.
- The Rock (even): Duress and Cabal Therapy strip the combo, Smother and, in about half the lists, Diabolic Edict kill Dreadnought, Pernicious Deed for one sweeps it, and Naturalize comes in after boarding. But The Rock plays no counterspells, so Dreadnought resolves whenever you can protect it, and Stifle counters Deed's activation after they have already sacrificed it. Annul counters Deed on the stack, and Wall of Blossoms absorbs only four of 12 trample damage. MTGDecks: 49 percent over 116 matches.
- Elves (even): Chump blocks barely slow a trampling 12/12, but Elves goes wide with Deranged Hermit and Gaea's Cradle and finds its pieces with Survival of the Fittest. Stifle counters Survival activations and Deranged Hermit's Squirrel trigger, and Powder Keg, Essence Flare and Cursed Totem handle mana elves. Nantuko Vigilante, main deck in almost every list, and Naturalize after boarding destroy Dreadnought or Powder Keg, but Stifle counters Vigilante's trigger when it is turned face up. Powder Keg with no fuse counters destroys every Squirrel token and any face-down Vigilante, since both have mana value 0. MTGDecks: 49 percent over 78 matches.
- Full English Breakfast (slightly unfavorable): A resolved Survival of the Fittest is hard for mono-blue to answer: Chain of Vapor only returns it for a turn. Stifle is your key card: it stops Hermit Druid, Karmic Guide and Palinchron, and Vision Charm can mill what their Krosan Reclamation put back. Back to Basics hits 22 nonbasic lands. Four main-deck Cabal Therapy come for Stifle. After boarding, expect Xantid Swarm and Duress, plus Uktabi Orangutan, Naturalize and, in about half the lists, Swords to Plowshares for your Dreadnought. MTGDecks: 45 percent over 53 matches.
- Reanimator (favorable): Reanimator can put Akroma or Phantom Nishoba onto the battlefield on turn one with Dark Ritual and Putrid Imp. A turn-one Reanimate still leaves them one mana for Daze, so Foil and later Counterspell are your reliable answers, and Chain of Vapor returns a reanimated creature to their hand. Their Cabal Therapy and Duress go after your counters. After boarding about half their lists add Oath of Druids, which gives them a creature in each of their upkeeps once you have Dreadnought and they have none, and some add Naturalize or Crumble for Dreadnought. MTGDecks: 63 percent over 51 matches.
- UG Madness (favorable): Dreadnought outsizes Arrogant Wurm and Wild Mongrel, and Stifle counters a madness trigger, so the discarded card stays exiled. They fight the combo turn with Circular Logic and Daze. Waterfront Bouncer, main deck in most lists, returns a resolved Dreadnought, and Gilded Drake, main deck in about half the lists, takes it unless Vision Charm phases it out in response, which makes them sacrifice the Drake. After boarding, Naturalize and, in some lists, Annul come in. MTGDecks (Madness): 64 percent over 50 matches.
- Aluren (slightly unfavorable to even): Man-o'-War returns Dreadnought to your hand, their Chain of Vapor answers it or a hate permanent, and the combo can win before Dreadnought connects twice. When they Chain your Dreadnought, you may sacrifice an Island to copy the Chain onto Aluren. The outs are Daze, Counterspell and, after boarding, Annul on Aluren plus Stifle on Survival activations and key triggers. After boarding, Xantid Swarm's attack trigger stops you from casting spells for the rest of that turn, so Stifle the trigger or destroy the Swarm first with Powder Keg on one counter, and the black lists name your counter with Cabal Therapy. MTGDecks: 50 percent over 18 matches, limited data.
- The Solution (even): Meddling Mage naming Phyrexian Dreadnought stops the combo, Swords to Plowshares or Disenchant, main deck in about half their lists, removes a resolved one, and Exalted Angel, Lightning Angel and Lightning Bolt behind Mother of Runes pressure your life total. Counter the Mage, or destroy it with Powder Keg on two counters; on one counter the Keg takes Mother of Runes, but also your own Dreadnought. Bring Hydroblast: it also destroys Lightning Angel, which is red, unless Mother of Runes gives it protection from blue, which Stifle can counter. Expect Annul after boarding. MTGDecks: 50 percent over 14 matches, limited data.
- MUD (favorable): Daze and Foil cost no mana, so Winter Orb does not stop you from countering Tinker, though their artifact mana often pays for Daze. Gush draws two for free, and the Islands it returns come back untapped, one land drop at a time. Stifle counters Goblin Welder activations and Tangle Wire triggers, Dreadnought is a 12/12 their Triskelion cannot kill, and Vision Charm cast on their turn phases out the Orb or Tangle Wire through your next untap step. Their outs are Sphere of Resistance for your free spells, Ensnaring Bridge and Icy Manipulator for Dreadnought, and Defense Grid, Shattering Pulse, Powder Keg and Rushing River after boarding. Back to Basics from your sideboard keeps all 21 of their lands from untapping. MTGDecks (Tinker Welder): 75 percent over 12 matches, limited data.
- Deadguy Ale (slightly unfavorable): Four Swords to Plowshares and four Vindicate answer Dreadnought, and so do Disenchant, main deck in about half of the recent lists and in most sideboards, and Smother in about a third. Duress takes Stifle or Vision Charm before it can protect anything. Their Wasteland, in four lists of five on MTGTop8, has nothing to hit. Your window is the turn they tap out, and a Decree of Justice, where they play it, is unreliable because Stifle can counter the cycling trigger. No match data.
- Clerics (unfavorable): Duress and Cabal Therapy attack a two-card combo, and Dreadnought is a nonblack creature with mana value 1, so Smother, Snuff Out and Diabolic Edict all answer it. Vision Charm beats all three, so deploy with it up. Stifle can counter Dark Supplicant's ability after they have sacrificed the three Clerics. No meaningful match data.
- Tron (even): Swords to Plowshares exiles Dreadnought, Disenchant in most lists destroys it, and some lists add Powder Keg, which kills it at one counter, but Tron needs all three Urza lands for its big spells. A turn-two Dreadnought behind counters, or Back to Basics on the Urza lands, punishes the setup, and Stifle counters the trigger when they cycle Decree of Justice. No meaningful match data.
- Dromar Control (unfavorable): Meddling Mage naming Dreadnought, four Swords to Plowshares, Vindicate and counterspells give them an answer at every step, and Shadowmage Infiltrator draws them ahead. Counter the Mage and deploy when they are tapped out, and expect Annul after boarding. Very limited data: 56 percent over 9 matches.
- Zombies (even): Their Duress and Cabal Therapy come for Stifle and Vision Charm, and Snuff Out and Diabolic Edict answer a resolved Dreadnought. A single 12/12 does not stop the drain plan either: Shepherd of Rot and Gempalm Polluter finish through a blocker. Resolve Dreadnought while they are tapped out and race; do not sit on it. No match data.
- Stasis (even): Your free spells work under their lock too: Gush, Daze and Foil need only Islands, the Islands Gush and Daze return come back untapped when you replay them, and a Dreadnought protected by Stifle needs only two untapped Islands. Vision Charm does not help under the lock: Stasis skips every untap step, so a phased-out Dreadnought stays out until Stasis is gone. Stifle counters Forsaken City's untap trigger, which forces them to pay Stasis with an Island. Their four Chain of Vapor return Dreadnought to your hand, though you may sacrifice an Island to copy the Chain onto Stasis. A third of their lists play Powder Keg, Annul comes in after boarding, and Black Vise punishes a hand that Gush has filled. Brain Freeze from your sideboard and Vision Charm's mill pressure their library, which Gaea's Blessing protects. MTGDecks: 52 percent over 98 matches.
- White Weenie (unfavorable): Their creatures come down before your counters matter, and Phyrexian Dreadnought cannot block their shadow creatures. Swords to Plowshares, plus Seal of Cleansing and Disenchant, each main deck in about half their lists, answer your 12/12, Whipcorder taps it, and after boarding Aura of Silence makes Dreadnought and Powder Keg cost two more and can destroy either. Powder Keg on their one-drops and Chain of Vapor buy time, Vision Charm saves Dreadnought from their removal, and Stifle counters Mother of Runes' protection; Armageddon after their board is set leaves you without mana for counters. MTGDecks: 25 percent over 20 matches.
- BW Control (favorable): Your counters line up against a deck of sorceries: Counterspell or Foil on Wrath of God and Vindicate, and Stifle on the Soldier trigger of a cycled Decree of Justice (they still draw) or on Eternal Dragon's return in their upkeep (the Dragon stays in the graveyard). Duress and Gerrard's Verdict are their way in, and Vindicate destroys Dreadnought without the 12 life Swords to Plowshares would give you, as do Seal of Cleansing, Disenchant and Smother where they play them. MTGDecks: 61 percent over 62 matches.
- Gro-a-Tog (even): Both decks play Counterspell, Daze and Gush, so the first threat that sticks decides this tempo mirror. Quirion Dryad grows with every white, blue, black or red spell they cast, so Chain of Vapor, which resets its counters, and Powder Keg at two counters, which also kills Meddling Mage, are your best answers. Meddling Mage naming Phyrexian Dreadnought or Stifle shuts off half of your plan, and their Swords to Plowshares exiles a resolved Dreadnought. Their Armageddon, main deck in most lists, leaves you without mana for counters, and Ice taps Dreadnought for a turn. MTGDecks: 49 percent over 35 matches.
- Pit Rack (slightly favorable): Duress and Cabal Therapy take Stifle and Counterspell, and Smother, Edict and Snuff Out kill Dreadnought. Powder Keg on one counter destroys every Rack and Cursed Scroll at once, Chain of Vapor bounces Bottomless Pit, and Gush puts two Islands and two cards into your hand, which keeps The Rack from dealing much damage. MTGDecks: 57 percent over 37 matches.
- Rebels (slightly unfavorable): Stifle counters a Rebel search and wastes the mana they paid for it, but you also need it for the Dreadnought trigger. Swords to Plowshares exiles Phyrexian Dreadnought, Whipcorder taps it every turn and Defiant Vanguard destroys it on a block, and Powder Keg on one counter kills Ramosian Sergeant and Mother of Runes. No match data.
- Contamination (unfavorable): Contamination makes your Islands tap for black: you can no longer cast Stifle, Vision Charm, Counterspell or your cantrips, so Phyrexian Dreadnought sacrifices itself to its own trigger. Counter Contamination with Daze, Foil, Thwart, Counterspell or, after boarding, Annul before it resolves; after that, of your blue cards only Gush, Daze, Foil, Thwart and Misdirection can still be cast, plus the colorless Powder Keg. Their Duress and Cabal Therapy take your counters first, and Smother, Innocent Blood and Powder Keg, each in most lists, kill Dreadnought. MTGDecks: 36 percent over 22 matches.
- Turbo Lands (slightly favorable): Turbo Lands hides behind Glacial Chasm, a land you cannot counter that prevents all damage Phyrexian Dreadnought would deal to them, so fight their spells instead: counter Exploration, Horn of Greed and Seismic Assault, and keep Stifle for a Horn of Greed draw or a Seismic Assault activation. Chain of Vapor returns a resolved Horn or Assault to their hand, but they may sacrifice a land to copy it onto your Dreadnought. After boarding, Back to Basics keeps almost all of their lands from untapping, and Hydroblast answers Seismic Assault; expect Pyroblast from them. No match data.
- Fluctuator (favorable): Counterspell, Foil and Daze answer every spell they need: Fluctuator, Songs of the Damned and Drain Life or Haunting Misery. Stifle counters only one cycle, and the discarded card still reaches their graveyard, so save your counters for the spells. Powder Keg on two counters destroys Fluctuator, Chain of Vapor bounces it, and Vision Charm cast on their turn phases it out until their next untap step. After boarding expect Miscalculation and Misdirection, which can redirect your Counterspell onto the Misdirection itself, so the Counterspell has no target left and does nothing. No match data.
- RG Zoo (favorable): Zoo's burn does not kill a 12/12 and its creatures cannot race one, so Phyrexian Dreadnought ends the game in two or three attacks. Their main-deck answer is Naturalize, which destroys Dreadnought because it is an artifact, so hold Vision Charm, Daze or Foil for it. Powder Keg on one fuse counter destroys Jackal Pup, Mogg Fanatic and Grim Lavamancer, and Stifle counters their fetchland activations. After boarding they bring Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast for your counters and Vision Charm, and Hull Breach, Crumble or Overload in some lists for Dreadnought; bring Hydroblast and Essence Flare. MTGDecks: 71 percent over 131 matches.
Sideboard guide
- vs Sligh, Goblins and RG Zoo: Hydroblast, Essence Flare, Cursed Totem. In: three Hydroblast and three Essence Flare. Out: both Chain of Vapor, Peek, Thwart, Flash of Insight and a Portent. Hydroblast counters a red spell or destroys a red permanent for one mana, and Essence Flare kills a creature with one toughness in its controller's next upkeep, before it can attack again: Jackal Pup, Mogg Fanatic, Grim Lavamancer, Goblin Lackey, Goblin Matron. Against Goblins also bring Cursed Totem for a second Portent: it shuts off Goblin Tinkerer, Mogg Fanatic, Goblin Sharpshooter and Skirk Prospector. Most other lists split the Blasts between Hydroblast and Blue Elemental Blast.
- vs Elves: Essence Flare, Cursed Totem. In: three Essence Flare and Cursed Totem. Out: Peek, Thwart, Flash of Insight and a Portent. Essence Flare kills a one-toughness elf, and Cursed Totem shuts off Quirion Ranger, Wirewood Symbiote and Masticore, and also mana elves and Priest of Titania, since mana abilities are activated abilities too. The main-deck Powder Keg sweeps the one-drops; phase your Dreadnought out first.
- vs White Weenie and Rebels: Essence Flare, Misdirection. In: three Essence Flare and Misdirection. Out: Peek, Thwart, Flash of Insight and a Portent. Essence Flare kills their one-toughness creatures: Mother of Runes, Savannah Lions, Soltari Priest and Soltari Monk, or Ramosian Sergeant and Defiant Falcon. Misdirection turns a Swords to Plowshares aimed at Dreadnought onto one of their creatures.
- vs Enchantress: Annul, Brain Freeze. In: three Annul and both Brain Freeze. Out: Peek, Flash of Insight, two Portent and an Opt. Annul counters Parallax Wave, Solitary Confinement, Opalescence and Enchantress's Presence for one mana (Argothian Enchantress is a creature), and the two main-deck Chain of Vapor return a resolved lock piece once Sterling Grove is gone. Brain Freeze is for the games without a Solitary Confinement and only wins if it empties their library, since every enchantment it mills comes back with their Replenish, and their sideboard Gaea's Blessing shuffles the graveyard back.
- vs Replenish: Annul. In: three Annul. Out: Peek, Flash of Insight and an Opt. Annul counters Opalescence, Parallax Wave and Attunement; keep Counterspell and Foil for Replenish itself, which is a sorcery. The two main-deck Chain of Vapor return a resolved Wave. Do not bring Brain Freeze: milled enchantments come back with Replenish.
- vs Stasis: Annul, Brain Freeze. In: three Annul and both Brain Freeze. Out: both Impulse, Peek, Flash of Insight and an Opt. Annul counters Stasis itself and Black Vise, and Brain Freeze plus Vision Charm's mill pressure their library, which Gaea's Blessing protects in about half their lists. Powder Keg stays: on one counter it destroys Black Vise.
- vs Oath of Druids and MUD: Annul, Back to Basics. In: three Annul and both Back to Basics. Out: two Portent, an Opt, Peek and Flash of Insight, since Sphere of Resistance taxes every cantrip. Against Oath, Annul counters Oath of Druids and Sphere; against MUD it counters Sphere, Winter Orb, Tangle Wire and every other artifact they cast, though not what Tinker puts onto the battlefield. Back to Basics stops most of their lands from untapping: Oath of Druids runs about 24 nonbasic lands of 28, MUD all 21 of its lands.
- vs Full English Breakfast, Terrageddon, Tron and Turbo Lands: Back to Basics, Cursed Totem, Hydroblast. In: both Back to Basics. Out: Peek and Flash of Insight. Nonbasic lands don't untap: Full English Breakfast runs 22 nonbasic lands, Terrageddon 21 of 26, Turbo Lands almost all of its lands, and Tron needs its Urza lands, while your Islands are unaffected. Against Full English Breakfast also bring Cursed Totem, which shuts off Hermit Druid, for Thwart. Against Turbo Lands also bring three Hydroblast, which answer Seismic Assault and their Pyroblast, for Powder Keg and two Portent.
- vs Landstill: Annul, Misdirection. In: three Annul and Misdirection. Out: Powder Keg, Peek, Flash of Insight and a Portent. Annul counters Standstill, Humility and their Powder Keg, and Misdirection turns Swords to Plowshares onto one of their creatures. Chain of Vapor from the main deck handles a resolved Humility, and remember that the first spell cast into a resolved Standstill gives them three cards.
- vs Mono Black, The Rock, Pit Rack and Contamination: Annul, Misdirection. In: three Annul and Misdirection. Out: Peek, Thwart, Flash of Insight and a Portent. Annul counters Mono Black's Cursed Scroll, Phyrexian Arena and sideboard Powder Keg, The Rock's Pernicious Deed, Pit Rack's The Rack, Cursed Scroll and Bottomless Pit, and Contamination itself. Their removal is Smother, Diabolic Edict, Snuff Out, Innocent Blood and The Rock's Deed: Vision Charm beats all of it, and Misdirection sends Smother to one of their creatures or Diabolic Edict back to them.
- vs Aluren and Fluctuator: Annul. In: three Annul. Out: Peek, Flash of Insight and an Opt. Annul counters Aluren and Survival of the Fittest, or Fluctuator, for one mana, and keeps Daze, Foil and Thwart free for the spells that finish the combo.
- vs The Solution: Hydroblast. In: three Hydroblast. Out: Peek, Flash of Insight and an Opt. Hydroblast counters Lightning Bolt and Fire, though not Ice, or destroys Lightning Angel, which is red, unless Mother of Runes protects it, and Stifle counters her activation.
- vs Psychatog, Gro-a-Tog, Dromar Control, BW Control, Deadguy Ale, Clerics and Zombies: Misdirection. In: Misdirection. Out: Peek. It turns Swords to Plowshares, Smother or Vindicate aimed at Dreadnought onto one of their permanents, or Diabolic Edict back onto them. Against Snuff Out, which needs a nonblack target, Vision Charm stays the better answer. Against Reanimator and UG Madness the main deck stays as it is.
Budget and upgrades
Typical cost: $1,380–$1,570. The reference 75, Brenden Romkey's Crab Cup qualifier list, costs about $1,570 at the Premodern-era printings tracked here, and four Phyrexian Dreadnought are about $1,100 of that, or 69 percent. Dreadnought and Powder Keg are on the Reserved List. Next come four Stifle at about $153 and one Powder Keg at about $70; the other spells and the 17 Islands are inexpensive.
- Buy the four Phyrexian Dreadnought first. They are on the Reserved List, and nothing replaces them.
- If your events allow tournament-legal reprints, Stifle costs about $10 to $15 instead of about $38, Misdirection about $12 instead of $49 and Foil about $2 instead of $12. That saves about $185 and brings the 75 to about $1,380.
- Every other card in the main deck except Stifle and Powder Keg costs about $12 or less a copy, and the mana base is 17 basic Islands.
- The sideboard Misdirection, about $49, and Cursed Totem are the easiest cards to leave out at first. Cursed Totem is in about one sideboard in twenty; most other lists play one Misdirection in the main deck.
Every deck that costs under $500 with reprints is on our budget decks page, priced from a real tournament list.
