Stax effects are some of the nastiest cards that MTG players can use, especially in Commander. That said, many Stax effects all carry one common downside: they’re symmetrical. If you can break parity, however, then these simple cards become game-ending. If this sort of gameplay is something that you’re after, Mists of Stagnation, a forgotten MTG Stax piece from Judgment, unlocks an option for graveyard-focused decks to use.
MTG Mist of Stagnation
Mist of Stagnation can be an absolute disaster for players who aren’t stocked up on cards in the graveyard. Even if they have a couple of cards to untap some lands with, only working with a few mana per turn is an unsalvageable position. That said, like every Stax piece, this card also bogs you down, which means you need lots of cards in your graveyard to take advantage of this card.
Fortunately, getting cards into your graveyard is extremely easy. Commanders like The Master of Keys, and Sidisi, Brood Tyrant will naturally fuel Mist of Stagnation, allowing you to untap all of your permanents. Alternatively, self-mill engines like Ripples of Undeath and Palantir of Orthanc allow Mist of Stagnation to see play in all kinds of graveyard-based strategies.
To ensure Mist of Stagnation slows your opponent down, you’ll also want to run some effects that interact with your opponent’s graveyard. Ashiok, Dream Render, Soul-Guide Lantern, and Espers to Magicite all do this while creating additional value in other scenarios.
Alternatively, running this card with an untapper Commander, like Derevi, Empyrial Tactician, lets you play through Mist of Stagnation without a graveyard. You can take this idea further with cards like Seedborn Muse and Wilderness Reclamation since Mist of Stagnation only stops your things from being untapped during your upkeep.
Notably, unlike most Stax pieces that affect lands, Mist of Stagnation’s untap clause is a trigger. Thanks to this, Strionic Resonator and Lithoform Engine can copy it, turning your artifacts into mana generators. Obeka, Splitter of Seconds takes this to the next level, layering a bunch of upkeeps on top of oneanother. Since you get your extra upkeeps after combat, Obeka can potentially turn Mist of Stagnation into a Sword of Feast and Famine, completely flipping what this Stax card is supposed to do.
Completely Locking Down the Table
While making Mist of Stagnation work in your favor isn’t too difficult, there are a few combos you can execute to lock your opponents out. A Leyline of the Void played at the start of the game, or followed up with by a Soul-Guide Lantern effect, will lock your opponents out of untapping anything. Rest in Peace and Eon Hub, on the other hand, affects everyone equally, meaning that they will lock you out alongside your opponents.
With any infinite lockout set up, any creature with Vigilance should be able to end the game. To prevent your opponents from doing the same, Web of Inertia will handily also shut down combat. This lets you easily win by doing nothing with a Darksteel Reactor in play.
Completely Unheard Of
With a bit of synergy, locking down your opponents with Mist of Stagnation is surprisingly easy. Considering this, the card’s heavy lack of play is quite shocking. Cards that only see play in a couple thousand decks are generally underplayed, but according to EDHREC, only 622 decks are using this Judgment enchantment.
Considering that this card only has one printing from 27 years ago, this might not be the most shocking. Thankfully, since it is relatively unknown, players can pick up a copy of this enchantment for just $0.50, making this one of the deadliest win conditions on a budget. So long as you don’t mind locking your opponent’s lands down to win, it’s hard to beat Mist of Stagnation for its pricepoint.
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