Actually your history on Stax is incorrect. The stax archetype is not named after the card Smokestack at all. The true orgins of the name came from an acronym for "The 4 thousand dollar solutions" or also $t4ks, which was reworked to be written Stax also.

Thanks for pointing that out, I just looked up an article on it. I should have done more research.

No worries :)

No worries :)

Really loving this deck so far!

Have you considered Grim Tutor instead of Diabolic Intent? The "sacrifice a creature" additional cost seems a bit too steep at times, compared to 1 more black and 3 life, don't you think?

I dont own a copy of Grim Tutor but I understand the steep cost, I'll consider it for sure. Thanks for the suggestion SurpriZe.

So would suggest replacing Diabolic with Grim Tutor or do you think the sacrificing of a creature might be important at times?

Also, would you have made any other changes to the deck, if you had the access to all cards available in EDH?

what are some stronger combos for this stax edh?

you mentioned earlier that there is stronger combos than the ones you have in your edh

This looks like the best Stax primer on tappedout! Deretti, Hanna, Ship's Navigator, and Augustin all seem like awesome commanders, but I've been looking for one specifically in BU for sacing permanents while controlling the stack. Would Muldrotha, the Gravetide be a good choice, or does she cost too much?

Dankey: If you are looking for a BU sacrifice deck while controlling the stack then there are a few options. Muldrotha, the Gravetide is just a really busted card overall and if you like the oppressive features of the Sultai triple colors it will give you a lot of value. Dralnu, Lich Lord sounds like what you are looking for but he also has a very severe drawback considering things like Pyrohemia and even Anger of the Gods exist. Wydwen, the Biting Gale is a very safe and annoying option. Although her abilities aren't directly related to sacrificing permanents, you can dodge removal (Either theirs or your own) with her ability. tjalling: I always think there is room for improvement but I love this deck.

To clarify, I want black to force opponents to sac THEIR permanents but I also want blue to answer the stack via counterspells.

Muldrotha is nice for when you need to bring back prison permanents from the graveyard back into play, but isn't essential for this strategy. I'm trying my best to avoid running Zur, as he draws too much hate.

is dyrad arbor really ramp without green sun zenith?

I have to know. How salty of a player will this make my opponents?