Sacred Torch "Slowdown" III | How I Stalled and Got 4th w/Stasis

Magic: The Gathering · by Drew Glauberg · August 1, 2026

Despite playing Magic for more than a decade, I never considered myself a tournament grinder. That changed when I was introduced to Premodern.

About six months into learning the format, I went to my first tournament: Lobstercon 2024. I went in with half a cold and lost voice, and walked out with a Top 16 finish. From that moment, I was hooked.

For the 2026 Sacred Torch Showdown III, I traveled to New York City the night before to stay at my grandmother's apartment — shout-out grandma, you a real one.

The nerves grew as I had been tuning my deck and strategy over the past few months. I play almost exclusively {Stasis}, and collaborated with the {Stasis} Discord for tips, tricks, sideboard plans, and meta predictions. I was eager to show my worth.

{Stasis} by Fay Jones

Stasis

Instants (26)

4 {Chain of Vapor}
2 {Arcane Denial} [1][u]
1 {Brain Freeze} [1][u]
4 {Counterspell} [u][u]
2 {Daze} [1][u]
1 {Flash of Insight} [x][1][u]
4 {Impulse} [1][u]
1 {Mana Short} [2][u]
3 {Thwart} [2][u][u]
4 {Gush} [4][u]

Artifacts (7)

3 {Black Vise} [1]
2 {Powder Keg} [2]
1 {Tsabo's Web} [2]
1 {Claws of Gix} [0]

Enchantments (5)

4 {Stasis} [1][u]
1 {Root Maze} [g]

Lands (23)

18 {Island}
3 {Forsaken City}
1 {Cephalid Coliseum}
1 {Treva's Ruins}

Sideboard

2 {Annul} [u]
2 {Blue Elemental Blast} [u]
1 {Hydroblast} [u]
1 {Brain Freeze} [1][u]
3 {Chill} [1][u]
3 {Cursed Totem} [2]
1 {Flash of Insight} [x][1][u]
2 {Upheaval} [4][u][u]

I hardly slept that night, watching the hours tick down until the event. Before I knew it, it was time to go. I put on my suit, tie, and lucky wizard hat, and hopped on the subway. I may or may not have been the first to arrive.

Tables were called. I made my way over and started to set up when I was told I was selected to play the feature match. Being on the feature match is almost every player's dream, and it made this event feel that much more real. Not only did I have to win, but I also had to win knowing the world was watching me!

{Standstill} by Heather Hudson

Round One vs. Landstill

I know this favorable matchup well: play draw go, counter any threats, resolve {Stasis}; easy stuff. I'm relatively pre-boarded with a main deck {Brain Freeze}, {Tsabo’s Web}, and {Powder Keg}s.

Game one ended with some relatively new tech, a miser's {Root Maze}, to hardlock the opponent out of mana.

Things got interesting in game two when my opponent, expecting {Stasis} in the meta, sideboarded in two {Mystic Penitent}s! I had never seen the card before. Vigilance in Premodern? Preposterous!

{Mystic Penitent} by Larry Elmore

Unable to find a {Stasis} in time, {Mystic Penitent} and {Mishra's Factory} beat me down. On to game three.

I opened a pretty good starting hand. No early counter, but I had turn one {Black Vise}, which meant either the Landstill player dies, as most of their spells require another spell on the stack or a creature to target on board, or they play the game with four cards. Not only is it challenging to lessen their hand size, but it prevents them from holding up as much interaction.

Luck was on my side when my first drawstep was a second {Black Vise}, but the luck turned when my opponent deployed both {Mystic Penitent}s uncontested.

The matchup suggested a control battle, but the game turned into an all-out aggro race! This super close match ended in a fatal misplay in which my opponent died to {Black Vise} damage on the spot. I highly recommend watching this match; it's a real nail-biter.

Round 2 vs. Oath Ponza

Still riding the high of winning on camera, I sat down across from my opponent ready to win. Upon seeing Oath Ponza, I sighed in relief. This matchup is almost better than Landstill!

It's basically the same strategy: counter threats, and don't die to creature lands. Against Oath Ponza, though, I don't have to worry about opposing countermagic

Game one was easy. Opponent tapped out, and I resolved {Stasis}, which locked them down until I found {Black Vise}.

Game two went about as bad as it could have gone. Their turn two {Sphere of Resistance} snuck onto the board, followed by another on turn three. On the draw, I didn't have enough mana to cast {Counterspell}s in my hand.

Missed land drops were exacerbated by {Thermokarst}s on the two {Island}s I had in play, sealing the deal.

{Glowrider} by Scott M. Fischer

Despite keeping what I thought was a good starting hand, a turn two {Glowrider} and a pair of {Rishadan Port}s taxed my mana long enough for the former to attack me 10 times.

I was disappointed, but this loss steeled my resolve to win my future matches.

Round Three vs. Mono [u] {Upheaval}

Round three began, and I was deeply confused. The first spell my opponent cast was {Howling Mine}. Was I against turbo {Stasis}? I was confident playing {Stasis} but am notoriously bad in the mirror.

My opponent ran fascinating cards to outdraw me, including {Trade Secrets}, which I had never seen actually cast before, {Boomerang}, and {Hoodwink} to limit my mana.

Unable to get rid of enough cards in hand, {Black Vise} plus {Stasis} made quick work and won me game one.

Game two played out similarly. I fought opposing {Black Vise}s and resolved my own. Before I could close it out completely, a timely {Upheaval} plus {Black Vise} put a ton of pressure on my life total. Luckily, {Forsaken City} helped me get under their {Black Vise} while I rebuilt to win game two.

{Upheaval} by Kev Walker

Round Four vs Oath Ponza

Despite losing to it earlier in the day, Oath Ponza remained a pretty good matchup.

Game one ended on turn three with a tapped-out opponent against my {Root Maze} lock. Luckily, I cast {Root Maze} on my turn two, made my opponent's turn two land drop — a {Wasteland} — enter tapped. Had I not cast {Root Maze}, the hard lock would not have been possible.

Game two ended about the same way my round two game two did. My mana was constricted, and creature lands annihilated my life total. I started to sweat, only partly because of the suit I wore.

My turn three draw was {Root Maze}. When combined with the {Stasis} and {Forsaken City} in my hand, there was nothing my opponent could do.

Round Five vs Moneyball [b]

So far, every matchup was favorable. When my opponent played basic {Swamp}, I thought my dreams of Top 8 were about to be crushed.

Hand disruption is deadly to a {Stasis} player. So much so that I believe it best to keep hands without {Stasis}. The best way to beat Moneyball [b] is to counter their threats for as long as possible to stay alive.

{Root Maze} by Rebecca Guay

By four or so, both players will be empty-handed. A topdeck {Stasis} is the safest {Stasis} because they can't get rid of it. It needs to arrive at the right time, however, as having sufficient resources to keep it around is a tall order.

Despite establishing {Stasis} in game one, my resources were stretched too thin. {Wasteland}s destroyed {Forsaken City}, and the game went to the opponent after I could no longer pay for {Stasis}.

Game two started the same way, but ended with the top of the deck letting me maintain {Stasis} long enough for {Black Vise} to do what it does best.

We started game three with only five minutes on the clock. Even with an established {Stasis}, I knew from experience that I could maintain it with a full grip of cards, but wouldn't have enough time to cross the finish line. We drew.

Round Six vs. Oath Ponza (again)

Not much to say about this matchup that wasn't already said. Slam {Stasis}, control the threats, win the game. Games one and two ended the same way, although both games lasted fairly long.

Round Seven vs. [b][w] Control

It was at this point that the pressure ramped up. With one loss and one draw, I had no idea if I was still alive for Top 8. Other players told me that if I won my round seven, there was a chance I could squeeze in, though bubbling was a possibility. If I lost, it was over.

Another {Swamp}, and my heart was in my throat. My previous matchup against [b] deck ended in a draw; could I win this in time? When I saw a {Plains}, I calmed down, though I was down to one card in hand by turn three.

{Gerrard's Verdict} by Carl Critchlow

Discard is still a problem, but the lack of low-to-the-ground threats makes [b][w] Control one of {Stasis}'s easiest matchups; just counter {Disenchant}s.

I {Mana Short}ed in response to a large {Decree of Justice}, and locked up game one.

Game two didn't go as well. I couldn't find {Stasis} in time; a large {Decree of Justice} swung for lethal.

This was it, the game that would decide if I would play again or go home without a placement. I shuffled up, heart beating faster and faster. The first few turns went as expected: discard ate my hand, but I rebuilt.

A {Stasis} hit the board after an attempted hardcast {Exalted Angel}, and locked out the game for good. {Upheaval} was the exclamation point to win the match.

{Exalted Angel} by Michael Sutfin

I still, by this point, had yet to know if I'd squeezed into the Top 8. I sat there, unable to think, waiting for the round to finish. I was tired, and my brain hurt after playing {Stasis} for eight hours. All I could do was wait and see if my effort had been in vain. The round ended; I looked at the standings.

I had made it! Eighth place! All of the testing and collaboration wa worth it. Even if I lost in the quarterfinals, I completed my goal with my favorite deck. But it wasn't over yet. It was time to play for all the glory!

Quarterfinals vs [b][w] Control

Lady luck was smiling upon me! Another great matchup.

Game one ended as the previous match did. With so many dead cards in the preboard game, emptying their hand is difficult, and {Black Vise} made quick work.

Game two seemed par for the course, but I was unable {Stasis}, which left me vulnerable to a token army.

Game three was closer than I hoped and very long. Onboard threats forced a less-than-ideal {Stasis}, but it bought enough time for {Black Vise} to kill my opponent.

Semifinals: Grow-a-Tog

My first matchup I was less familiar with than I'd like to be. Early growing threats combined with countermagic, cantrips, and the ever-dangerous {Meddling Mage}, which I HATE, made this my most difficult match.

A turn three {Meddling Mage} slipped through my countermagic. My opponent tanked for a while on what to name, and the whole time I was screaming in my head, please not {Stasis}. I had one in hand, and casting it this early would have been a great boon, stalling threats on board and turning off cantrips.

"Chain of Vapor."

Into magical Christmasland I returned. I resolved {Stasis}, and layered a {Root Maze} to lock game one.

Game two, an early dread took me to seven life before my {Powder Keg} cleared it, and a {Psychatog} confirmed I had no countermagic in hand. It hit me for lethal.

What a game game three was! I had it locked up for a long time, but without a win condition, it led to draw-go, turn after turn. My opponent played expertly and set up with a {Seal of Cleansing} followed by a flashbacked {Ray of Revelation}, allowing him an untap step, which was all he needed.

{Chain of Vapor} by Carl Critchlow

I had to burn {Chain of Vapor} on {Seal of Cleansing} to resolve {Stasis} and hope his lack of mana would buy the time I needed. Unfortunately, a resolved {Psychatog} pumped to over 20 did me in.

Upon rewatching the game, I realized there was still more I could have done! I had completely forgotten that {Flash of Insight} was in my graveyard. I could have used it to find another {Chain of Vapor} for {Psychatog}.

When you play for 10 hours straight, you're bound to make mistakes. That, in combination with a sideboarding mishap of not bringing in the second {Brain Freeze}, ended my run in fourth place.

{Brain Freeze} by Tim Hildebrandt

Overall, I think I did well. The combination of some good match-ups and ith tight gameplay (aside from the semifinals) led me to the highest placement I have ever achieved.

I think my deck performed well. {Powder Keg} felt clunky at times, but it remains a good answer to {Meddling Mage} and {Decree of Justice} tokens. For other threats, it is too slow.

I was pleasantly surprised with {Root Maze}. It may seem win-more, but definitively ending the game is powerful. In the future, I will test one fewer {Powder Keg} and one additional {Root Maze}.

The current meta feels good for {Stasis}, though I still struggle against Stiflenought. With more practice, I should be better in that matchup.

Thank you to everyone for making such a fun tournament. I hope to see everyone next year!