General Counterspells

[japahn]

A core part of blue, hated by some, loved by others.

Even though my cube is low power and synergy-based, I think counterspells scale tightly with cube power level, so my suite is:


That's 9/408 = 2.20% of the cube



Which counterspells are interesting to run?

Which counterspells are just too frustrating?

How many counterspells do you run? Why?

 

[ravnic]

Counterspells are crucial for blue as they are the colors only permanent answer to creatures ans all other kinds of spells - especially if you exclude claustrophobia effects. (Which I do because I think they undermine blues weaknesses)

I also think strong but fair counterspells make for fun gameplay, as they reward stuff like timing and bluffs. I never felt breaking anything at my lower power level with these:



I tried to have as many as possible in the objectively superior pre 8th edition frame

 

[Nanonox]

I like counters that are versatile (so I can do things if my opponent chooses to play around the counterspell)



or cheap (so I can cast other cheap spells to advance my game plan and still hold up protection)



I don't run all of these, but I could be convinced to add them.

There are also tempo counterspells which can help push the archetype in blue



To answer your other questions, I don't find any counters frustrating, but I do find Mystic Confluence too strong (I am still pressured by my play group to play it, but that is another matter). I run 9 counters so far to support 2 blue drafters (we are often only 4 players) and account for hate drafting. I'm not sure the number is correct, but so far it's been decent.

 

[Mondschwein]

I'm surprised people here play so many powerhouses like CCommand, Exclude, Counterspell and Mana Leak.
Those are the ones I strongly consider:

 

[ravnic]

Do you guys run nonblue counterspells? I forgot about these two:



Yes, they don't say counter, but if I count Willbender, I have to count Bolt Bend. And Shelter works so well in countering removal, bounce, stealing and auras (as well as combat trick, making creatures evasive, surviving earthquakes ...) that I count it as a counterspell of sorts.

 

[Mondschwein]

I used to run Shelter but I don't like protection, even if it's temporarily, as I also don't like creatures getting unblockable so easily (flying and menace are exceptions). What I like is

 

[Onderzeeboot]

I think counterspells are fun, and a core part of blue's identity, and (as ravnic rightly points out) necessary to answer various problems that blue can otherwise only temporarily answer. That said, I try to run not too many, because I like it when the blue player has to work for it a bit. The other parts of the color, like the massive amount of card advantage, already make it an extremely good color, and having too many catch-all answers, even though they are timing-dependant, can smother other colors, just because blue can protect its board too well.



That's all I run at 450!