Beatstick

From CMC Wiki

A Beatstick is a monster whose life and attack values are reasonably high for its mana cost.

Usually they have no activated ability, but may have passive ones. A good example of a generic beatstick would be Stone Golem, having no abilities at all. Another beatstick would be Spiked Golem; it has the same cost as Stone Golem, yet slightly lower stats, offset by having +20 attack on defense. Beatsticks with no ability at all are often referred to as being "vanilla". Less commonly used, are beatsticks which also have a minor ability, called "french vanilla".

Because they don't have useable abilities, they are generally used simply to inflict damage to the opposing player or their monsters. Beatsticks are also more difficult to kill with damage-dealing spells due to their higher life, and often cost less than Monster Destruction spells, making them generally inefficient to deal with through spells.

Beatstick also refers to a deck based on these types of monsters (usually the monsters with 5 or 6 mana cost). Grey is the most common color since the Mana Bucket provides 1 more mana then the equivalent light and dark sources. Although it is challenging to win against a deck that employs a large number of beatsticks, many consider them uninteresting to play against, since on any given turn the deck running beatsticks can be expected to play efficient monsters and attack, with little variation throughout the game. Pure beatstick decks (those running only generators, sources, and beatsticks) are not very adaptable during play, and can encounter some situations they are entirely incapable of dealing with. With proper support, however, a deck running beatsticks can be very powerful.

Some people consider using a beatstick deck to demonstrate a lack of creativity in its user. While the beatstick deck itself is not a creative work, the deck's consistent draws and power can make it an attractive choice, even for those who can make or already have made more interesting decks. Additionally, due to the interchangeability of cards in a beatstick deck, it is easier to collect the cards to make a decent one than to make a decent stall or combo deck.