LobsterCon 2026 Tournament Report | 36th Place w/Stasis
I was one of the fortunate folks who secured a LobsterCon 2026 ticket, my second LobsterCon. Truly a blast, Duress Crew organizes a great event.
My 2025 finish with a Broccoli Soup brew wasn't impressive. I included two {Grave Servitude} (it kills a {Goblin Lackey}!), four {Skittering Skirge}, two {Carnophage}, and no {Drinker of Sorrow} or {Phyrexian Negator}. Questionable decisions all around! I dropped after round three.
I took a different approach for 2026. I messaged HARTL on Oct. 14, 2025, donated to the doggies, and studied his primer for 6 months, frequently referencing it as I practiced. It’s a great primer; I learned just about everything I know about {Stasis} from it. The money goes to charity, I highly recommend it!
{Stasis}
My list was similar to HARTL's, but with the addition of {Root Maze}. Over the course of a long tournament, a win-now button is incredibly valuable. I feared going to time, and hoped {Root Maze} would give me extra minutes to recharge between rounds.
DECKLIST_START
Instants (26)
4 {Gush} [4][u]
4 {Chain of Vapor} [u]
4 {Counterspell} [u][u]
4 {Impulse} [1][u]
3 {Thwart} [2][u][u]
2 {Daze} [1][u]
1 {Annul} [u]
1 {Brain Freeze} [1][u]
1 {Flash of Insight} [x][1][u]
1 {Mana Short} [2][u]
1 {Foil} [2][u][u]
Sorceries (1)
1 {Upheaval} [4][u][u]
Artifacts (5)
3 {Black Vise} [1]
2 {Powder Keg} [2]
Enchantments (5)
1 {Root Maze} [g]
4 {Stasis} [1][u]
Lands (23)
18 {Island}
4 {Forsaken City}
1 {Cephalid Coliseum}
Sideboard
4 {Hydroblast} [u]
3 {Annul} [u]
3 {Chill} [1][u]
2 {Brain Freeze} [1][u]
1 {Mana Short} [2][u]
1 {Hibernation} [2][u]
1 {Gaea's Blessing} [1][g]
DECKLIST_END
Day One
Round One - Moneyball (Alex)
Game One
Alex mulled to five. I deployed {Stasis} too early and couldn’t maintain it. He tore my hand apart, then dropped {The Rack} and {Hypnotic Specter}.
This game was winnable. Jitters and fear of holding combo pieces against discard got me, but had I been patient, I'd have won.
Game Two
I don’t recall mulligans. He deployed two {Mishra's Factory}, swung a few times, but I locked down with {Stasis}.
Game Three
{Duress} into {Ravenous Rats} and {Cabal Therapy}, flashed back, plus {The Rack}; a great draw, and I couldn’t keep up.
Record: 0-1 (1-2)
I have little big tournament experience. I was nervous and scared against discard; I wasn’t patient — the cardinal sin of a stasis player.
Alex is great. We kept in touch for the rest of the event.
Round Two - UW Dreadnought (Jose)
Game One
Jose led on {Flooded Strand}, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I love the {Standstill} matchup.
He cast some cantrips; strange. I expected to stare at each other for a while.
He cast {Meddling Mage}, naming something irrelevant.
Wow, this guy is really on a brew.
He jammed {Phyrexian Dreadnought}. I'd never seen [u][w] Dreadnought in person. It resolved; he {Stifle}d, I countered, he {Vision Charm}ed. With {Stasis} in hand, I didn’t fight.
{Stasis} resolved, and few things are more fun than {Phyreixan Dreadnought} staying phased out forever. {Black Vise} bled him to death.
Game Two
I deployed an early {Black Vise}; I don't value it against most decks, but it is effective against strategies that spend time sculpting.
He cast {Meddling Mage}, naming {Stasis}, and then another the following turn, which I had to counter because naming {Chain of Vapor} would have been crushing. Two mages and Dreadnought combo were in his top 10 cards.
Game Three
I changed my sideboard strategy: cut {Gaea’s Blessing}, as {Brain Freeze} seemed unlikely, for countermagic.
A turn one {Black Vise} was insufficient against an early Dreadnought.
Jose confirmed the {Brain Freeze} sideboard plan.
In retrospect, I wish I had countered the first {Meddling Mage} when he didn’t have enough lands to Dreadnought.
Record: 0-2 (2-4)
My headspace was zen. I don’t expect to win big tournaments, which keeps me cool-headed. There is a fine line between low expectations and loser mentality. I walk the line well.
Round Three - [u][w] Landstill (Rob)
Game One
Rob’s was more obviously Landstill. opening on {Coastal Tower} for a turn two {Standstill}. On his end, I cast {Impulse} to crack it right away.
My hand was {Forsaken City}, {Stasis}, and {Mana Short}. The latter resolved, allowing [Stasis and {Black Vise} to bleed him.
Game Two
{Root Maze} and {Stasis} resolved when Rob tapped out. Our match finished with 20+ minutes left in the round. Thank you, {Root Maze}.
Record: 1-2 (4-4)
Round Four - [g][w] Madness (Oliver)
Game One
Opponent resolved some creatures, but {Root Maze}, {Stasis}, {Forsaken City} got the concession.
Game Two
Turn one {Basking Rootwalla}. I counter {Tireless Tribe} on turn two. {Stasis} and {Black Vise} bleed him dry.
Record: 2-2 (6-4)
Round Five - [g][b] {Tempting Wurm} Rock
Game One
I countered their {Naturalize} on {Stasis}, and {Black Vise} got the concession.
I side in {Annul}s for {Pernicious Deed}, which was surely in their board, right?
Game Two
He cast a blind Tempting Wurm on turn two. I put two islands onto the battlefield, which cast {Impulse} before my second turn. On his next turn, he attacked. I stay patient with a {Stasis} ready.
He attacked me down to eight life. I {Mana Short} on his end step. {Forsaken City}, {Stasis}, {Root Maze}. I shake his outstretched hand.
Record: 3-2 (8-4)
He didn’t have {Pernicious Deed}, so I had for {Annul}s in the deck against zero targets.
Round Six - [u][b] {Psychatog} (Robert Luemers)
Robert is one of, if not the best, {Psychatog} players; extremely sharp, tactical, and careful.
Game One
A long game where he resolved {Psychatog}, hit for five, one, and one. I bounced it and countered it on the way down. He conceded to {Stasis} plus {Black Vise}.
Unclear about the sideboard plan. I took out {Upheaval}, {Root Maze}, and {Annul} for {Mana Short} and two {Brain Freeze}.
Game Two
Many turns, many game actions. We fought a war over {Duress}. I resolve {Stasis}; he was mostly tapped out. He cast a naked {Cabal Therapy} and missed, but saw my {Brain Freeze}.
A turn or two goes by; Robert goes to clean up. I start my turn, untap skipped, and I draw for turn.
I drew my fucking card for turn.
I forgot to pay for Stasis.
I for to PAY FOR STASIS!
My hand was held in my left hand and the drawn card was in my right. I realized my mistake before the new card touched my hand. I immediately told Robert, “I forgot to pay for Stasis.”
I kept the card I drew out so it wouldn't be mistaken for my hand. On my playmat were eight tapped islands, one untapped island (which I intended to tap for {Stasis}), and two {Forsaken City}.
Robert immediately called a judge. “We need to talk about how to handle this. I know it wasn’t intentional."
The judge arrived, and Robert explained what happened. There was no “he said she said,” everything was described correctly, Robert said he didn’t think I was trying to cheat, and acknowledged that I “told on myself.”
{Self-Inflicted Wound} by Mathias Kollros
The judge, after hearing the facts, issued me a warning, and I could pay for {Stasis}. Robert asked if there was a way to prevent me from seeing the card drawn for turn, presumably asking for the card to be shuffled. The judge, however, said there was not. I tapped the island and passed.
A turn or two later, Robert cast {Duress}, presumably for {Brain Freeze} or {Chain of Vapor} he knew about, along with {Foil}, and two unknowns. I {Chain of Vapor} my {Stasis}, hoping he would counter. He does.
He’s tapped out, and {Duress} resolved. I have not one, but two {Brain Freeze}. He took one, then I cast the other for about 12. I hit his remaining black source, and he conceded.
Robert won out to make Day Two.
Record: 4-2 (10-4)
That was scary as hell. I’ve never been issued a warning before. I was tired and getting sloppy.
Round Seven - Burn (Nate Shue)
I got into Premodern in 2024 after only playing Modern. I didn’t have any old bordered basic lands. Obviously, this wouldn’t do, so I scoured Discord and found a guy selling as many Tempest basics as you wanted. I reached out for about 20 of each. I ask if he's selling anything else. He had {Gush}es, {Daze}s, {Foil}s, among others. I bought them all.
After a tournament in Connecticut, my friend Andy said, "Wait, Nate Shue? That guy beat me in the quarter finals of LobsterCon last year!" Apparently, Nate knocked out multiple New Yorkers in the Swiss.
Game One
From the beginning, it felt like hanging out with an old friend.
{Jackal Pup} hit early. My patience let me counter {Seal of Fire} with {Annul}. I counter {Ball Lightning}, then slam {Stasis}. His hand grows, but then: land drop, {Lightning Bolt} me to seven.
Two turns pass, he’s taken three damage from fetchlands, and one from {Black Vise}. {Mountain}, {Seal of Fire}, I’m down to five. Double {Fireblast}.
Sideboard is easy. Slow junk, including Annul, out. Three {Chill} and four {Hydroblast} in.
Game Two
Turn one, {Jackal Pup}. Turn two, I cast {Chill}. Eventually, {Stasis} is in play after he tapped out, casting spells mid-{Chill}. I drew multiple {Hydroblast}, to fend him off.
A {Pyroblast} the {Chill}, so I {Chain of Vapor} it to hand to redeploy next turn. Despite holding him back all game, I was whittled to four life against his one untapped mountain.
I cast {Root Maze} to prevent a topdecked {Mountain} for {Fireblast}. {Black Vise} took care of the rest.
Game Three
Turn one, {Jackal Pup} to my turn two {Chill}. Absent {Stasis}, I {Hydroblast} the pup (sorry, HARTL) after it hit twice. Burn is land light, so {Chill} was a challenge. I saw {Stasis} mid-{Impulse} but chose {Hydroblast} since his mana screw thus far suggested he wasn't going to tap his lands.
A turn or two later, I resolve a second {Chill} to seal the deal. {Black Vise} drew the concession.
Nate is the man. It was an absolute pleasure and honor to play him. Even in defeat, he was warm and friendly. I’m thankful we have people as kind and sportsmanlike as him representing our format.
Thankful for the win, more thankful for the new friend.
Record: 5-2 (12-5)
Round Eight - Angry Hermit (Chris Hall)
Chris was super nice and fun to play against. He’s an expert with his deck and finished in the Top 16.
My brain was 90% mush at this point. I really don’t remember enough of these matches to give a play-by-play. Here's what's roughly left:
Game One
We Fought over a {Hermit Druid}. {Reanimate} secured it to the battlefield to do the {Sutured Ghoul} thing.
Game Two
He cast {Phyrexian Dreadnought} and {Stifle} into my counter before {Stasis} and {Black Vise} do their thing.
Game Three
{Phyrexian Dreadnought} stuck and hit me once before I cast {Stasis}. He cast {Lotus Petal} and passed to my turn, which featured {Powder Keg} in my hand. Should I destroy the petal? I decline to hold open mana for {Counterspell}.
He was hellbent, so I thought I had at least one turn before he could possibly have a {Phyrexian Dreadnought} plus {Stifle}/{Vision Charm}. The next turn, he cast {Phyrexian Dreadnought} and sacrificed 12 power worth of tapped {Phyrexian Dreadnought}, and I put my head in my hands.
I prayed for {Chain of Vapor} on top of my deck, but it wasn't there.
Record: 5-3 (13-7)
With no more losses to give, I needed to win the next match to make it to Day Two and win out to the Top 8.
Round Nine - [r][g] Goblins
My opponent seemed exhausted, uninterested in chit-chat, though not in a rude or antisocial way, just super tired.
Game One
He mulliganed to six. He cast {Goblin Lackey} into my {Daze}. Stuck on two lands, {Black Vise} was juiced. {Goblin Tinkerer} destroyed {Black Vise} and attacked for four turns before {Stasis} entered, followed by {Root Maze} for the concession.
Game Two
He mulliganed once or twice and opened on land, {Mogg Fanatic}. I cast {Chill} on turn two to his groans. No other creature resolved, and {Black Vise} closed the door.
Record: 6-3 (15-7)
End of Day One
Made the cut! Dodged Elves and played well in most matches. {Root Maze} was awesome. Unfortunately, I missed dinner. Maybe next year, I'll believe in myself and not make dinner plans on the assumption I’ll drop.
Day Two
Open deck lists on. Only two Elves players made the cut, which I was excited about. Two {Stasis} players made it, myself and Jacob Lee, for a 50% conversion rate.
Round 10 - [r][g] Goblins (Phil Morin)
Game One
Won the die roll. {Goblin Lackey} hit me to cheat in {Siege-Gang Commander}. I cast {Stasis} the next turn with {Forsaken City}. He {Wasteland}ed it, but I maintained {Stasis} with {Gush} and {Thwart}. {Black Vise} does its thing.
Game Two
I mulliganed to five. He cast {Goblin Piledriver}, I cast {Powder Keg}. Counters stopped follow-up goblins, but {Goblin Piledriver} was relentless for 12 turns. I thought about cracking the {Powder Keg} each turn, thinking he was holding goblins to play around it.
At 8 life, I drew {Mana Short} while sandbagging {Stasis}. I cracked {Powder Keg} and {Mana Short} on his upkeep to pave the way for {Stasis} and {Black Vise} in the {Forsaken City}.
Record: 7-3 (17-7)
Round 11 - Elves (Grant)
Well, it’s been fun. I dodged for 10 rounds. Maybe if I hadn’t punted round one against Moneyball, I would have had a loss to give to Elves.
Game One
The details don’t matter. I try to counter stuff, but he keeps playing elves.
I have no sideboard plan. I bring in {Brain Freeze} because why not?
Game Two
The details don’t matter. I try to counter stuff, but he keeps playing elves. I buy myself an extra turn by casting {Chain of Vapor} on {Deranged Hermit}.
I had {Brain Freeze} in hand and hoped he would build storm next turn. He stormed to four, attacked, and won after I cast {Brain Freeze}.
Record: 7-4 (17-9)
That loss knocked me out of Top 8 contention. Still super proud. I kept playing for Top 32.
Round 12 - [r][g] Goblins (Patrick)
Game One
Patrick played hard. {Goblin Lackey} converted {Siege-Gang Commander}. {Stasis} slowed down the aggression and enabled {Black Vise} to go to work.
{Mountain} into {Skirk Prospector} chipped me to two life by sacrificing goblins for mana and more goblins to {Siege-Gang Commander}. It was just barely not enough.
Game Two
He kept a slower hand, opening with {Mogg Fanatic} into {Goblin Tinkerer}. He hits land drops for a while, including {Wasteland} and {Rishadan Port}.
I assembled {Forsaken City} and {Root Maze}, with {Stasis} in hand, waiting for the right moment, which ultimately drew the concession.
Record: 8-4 (19-9)
Patrick and I had fun chatting before, during, and after the match. He gave me the ultimate compliment.
"Your deck isn’t THAT annoying to play against."
Round 13 - Full English Breakfast (McLean)
Looking over McLean’s decklist, I asked him what {Eladamri’s Vineyard} was. Overall, English Breakfast is not a matchup I’m comfortable against. I don’t really know the lines beyond the basics. My goal was to prevent {Hermit Druid} from activating.
Game One
On the play, turn one, he cast {Eladamri’s Vineyard}. I had {Foil} in hand, but, perhaps foolishly, didn’t counter the card I didn't know before the match started. I didn't want to drop to a single {Island} in hand. Since it didn't win the game, I didn't counter it.
He resolved a {Hermit Druid} next turn, which I bounced {Chain of Vapor}/ I drew {Daze}, a dead draw with {Eladamri’s Vineyard} in play. {Hermit Druid} resolved again and went off the following turn.
Don’t have a sideboard plan for this matchup; no {Cursed Totems}, so I brought in two {Brain Freeze}, which McLean confirmed was my best chance after the match.
The logic was that if I could mess with the order of their graveyard, I could make the combo more challenging to pull off.
Game Two
On the play, I kept {Counterspell}, {Thwart}, and islands. I {Counterspell} his first {Hermit Druid}, but he resolved a second under my {Thwart}.
I passed the turn with {Mana Short} and {Thwart} in hand with three untapped islands. My plan was to {Mana Short} him in response to a {Hermit Druid} activation.
To my surprise, in his main phase, he just hardcast {Volrath’s Shapeshifter}. I {Mana Short} in response so he couldn't win that turn, and then {Thwart the {Volrath's Shapeshifter}.
It was all for not against his in-hand {Unearth}. Next turn, he activated {Hermit Druid} and ordered his graveyard with {Karmic Guide} on top. He cast {Unearth}, targeting {Volrath's Shapeshifter}, which sees {Karmic Guide} before the {Unearth} resolves and enters the graveyard.
HFEB players are built different. I trusted his understanding and explanation of the rules. He thought about what to return with the {Karmic Guide} shapeshifter with concern on his face. Something was wrong.
It turns out, he had forgotten he drew {Psychatog} for the turn, so his line was extra complicated. I patiently waited to see if he could figure out this solitaire match, hoping we might get to see a game three.
He targeted {Triskelion}. The board was tapped {Hermit Druid}, a {Volrath’s Shapeshifter} with {Unearth} on the top of the graveyard, and {Triskelion} with three counters.
He flashed back {Cabal Therapy}, sacrificing {Hermit Druid}, targeting himself, and naming {Psychatog}. He exiled cards from his graveyard so that the {Volrath's Shapeshifter} became {Battlefield Scrounger}.
He activated its ability, putting {Palinchron}, {Akroma, Angel of Wrath}, and itself on top of his library. After these cards are removed, {Volrath’s Shapeshifter} was left as a {Phyrexian Devourer}. He activated the ability three times, putting 20 counters on {Phyrexian Devourer} shapeshift.
Holding priority, the Triskelion pinged itself to death, which puts the Triskelion at the top of his graveyard, turning the {Volrath's Shapeshifter} into {Triskelion} with 20 counters to throw at my face.
Record: 8-5 (19-11)
I felt I had no tools for this matchup. Perhaps I made a mistake by fighting over {Hermit Druids} instead of the {Reanimate} spells. Would love others' thoughts.
Round 13 - [u][g] Survival Madness (Mario Zuniga)
Game One
I countered {Arrogant Wurm} cast with its Madness cost off a {Frantic Search}. I was bopped by {Basking Rootwalla} and {Treetop Village}.
This tapped out my opponent, however, and I jammed {Stasis} despite a sufficient support. Knowing he had no main deck enchantment removal, I felt I could get away with it.
I cast {Black Vise}, and drew a second copy. I went for it aggressively, leaving only {Forsaken City} to maintain {Stasis}. Double {Black Vise} was enough.
Game Two
He resolved {Survival of the Fittest}. I let him go off, including deploying four {Basking Rootwalla}. I countered {Arrogant Wurm}s and {Wild Mongrel}s.
{Hibernation} reset his board. I countered {Survival of the Fittest} on its way back down, but that was bait to resolve a {Wild Mongrel}. I had to bounce it with {Chain of Vapor} and counter it. Finally, I’m deployed {Stasis} and {Root Maze} to finish the game.
Final Record: 9-5 (21-11)
Concluding Thoughts
Holy cow, I finished a 300+ player tournament in 36th place! Starting 0-2 felt familiar, but finishing 9-5 felt extraordinarily unfamiliar. I’m proud of how I played, but I also caught many lucky breaks. I got equity from playing a deck that many folks weren’t expecting and weren't confident against.
I love {Root Maze}. It takes nothing to splash the [g] since you’ll only play it after {Forsaken City}, and most of the time it ends the game. It turns a winning position that could drag for a while, especially if the opponent draws lands (or worse, {Wasteland}), into a handshake.
This felt invaluable over two long days, and a big reason why I never once went to time in all 14 rounds.
I am unsure if you need {Root Maze} and {Upheaval}. I’ve loved {Upheaval} in the past. It’s gotten me out of many losing positions. {Root Maze} is strictly a win-more card, but {Upheaval} can turn a game around.
You can {Root Maze}, {Stasis}, and {Forsaken City} on turn three and win the game; you can’t {Upheaval} until much later. I moved {Upheaval} mainboard for two reasons:
I feared {Enchantress}.
Sage advice from Mike: “Never side out Upheaval.”
In the end, I never cast {Upheaval} at Lobstercon 2026. I never faced Enchantress. I sided it out {Upheaval} multiple times.
I didn’t miss the fourth {Black Vise}. Some opponents play passively, only casting spells if they are under a {Black Vise}, but that wasn’t my experience at LobsterCon.
I loved the mainboard {Annul}. Felt totally reasonable, and casting it game one was often devastating.
I didn’t love {Foil} because of the card disadvantage. I’ll probably trim one from future lists.
Sideboard {Gaea's Blessing} didn’t get used. My {Phyrexian Dreadnought} matchup didn’t come down to it, and I didn’t face {Phyrexian Devourer} combo.
{Mana Short} is an absolute powerhouse. I’m not sure about running a second copy mainboard, but I’m considering {Power Sink}. Generally, my opponents throughout the tournament could have been less aggressive, which would have made it harder to deploy my combo. In those situations, another {Mana Short} or {Power Sink} would have felt nice.
Thanks!
First and foremost, I must thank the NYC Crew, The Order of the Sacred Torch.
The Order of the Sacred Torch, Lobstercon 2026
I didn’t know any of these guys 18 months ago. Now, many are my good friends.
Thank you, SWB, for practicing with me and offering advice.
Thank you, MattW, Dave, Chris, Chris, Taylor, Bill, Andy, Justin, and Bryan (Finalist) for supporting me throughout the tournament. It’s such a great feeling to have people encourage you after every match.
Thank you, Lan and Lanny, for your support and companionship.
Thank you, Nick (Top 8), for getting me into Premodern!
Thank you, HARTL, for your wonderful primer.
Thank you, Eric and Erin, for hosting Rachel and me for the entire weekend. You’ve been great friends, and I’m so thankful for you.
Thank you, Rachel, for being my partner and best friend. I’m so grateful you support my hobbies and encourage me to do what I love.
Submit Your Article To Eternal Durdles!
Hit the 'Submit Article' Button in the header!
Or message @ForceofPhil on Discord, Twitter, BlueSky, or Reddit.
Subscribe to Eternal Durdles on YouTube!
Subscribe to Common Sense: Sorcery podcast on YouTube!
Featured image: {Root Maze} by Rebecca Guay