Perplex or Psychic Strike?
General forum
Posted on Feb. 25, 2017, 9:52 a.m. by DemonDragonJ
I have four copies of Perplex in a black/blue deck, but my friends have occasionally commented that that is not the best of counterspells to use, because I rarely will achieve the result that I desire from casting it, so I am considering replacing with another, similar, counterspell, and my top choice is currently Psychic Strike, because that card has the same mana cost and a very similar effect to it.
What does everyone else say about this? Between those two counterspells, which do you prefer?
Tortuous_TG18 says... #3
Atony1400 Same here but I very much prefer Dissolve Over Cancel because of the card advantage gotten from scrying, even if it's only 1 card. BTW, hi Atony been a while hasn't it? lol
February 25, 2017 3:28 p.m.
@20IzzetEngineer00, I agree, Dissolve and Dissipate are better than Cancel. And yea, it has been awhile!
February 25, 2017 3:47 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #5
Atony1400, I would very much like to have Disallow for this deck, but I am not willing to spend $5 or more on a counterspell, at least not for a "normal" deck; I will spend that much to obtain copies of it for my EDH decks, but it would cost me at least twenty dollars for a full playset for my normal deck, where I need only two for my EDH decks.
Also, while I can understand the appeal of Dissolve and Dissipate, Cancel has no advantages at all over Psychic Strike (and is, in my mind, one of the worst counterspells in the entire game), so I would never even remotely consider it for any of my decks.
February 25, 2017 5:43 p.m.
The only reason I suggested Cancel was simply due to less of a mana restriction. In my mind, paying is much easier than paying . However, there are multiple other budget options available, such as Mana Leak, Negate, Deprive, Stubborn Denial, Convolute, and of course, Counterspell.
February 25, 2017 6:02 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #7
Atony1400, I can understand that idea, but casting a multicolored spell will not be a problem for my deck, since it is well-balanced with its colors.
February 25, 2017 6:16 p.m.
Even the most well balanced decks can get mana screwed. Trust me, I've learned the had way.....
February 25, 2017 6:24 p.m.
Tortuous_TG18 says... #9
Atony1400 Those situations do seem familiar... LOL
February 25, 2017 7:30 p.m.
DarkMagician says... #10
If you're not worried about the tutoring capabilities of Perplex then Psychic Strike is going to be far better since it actually stops your opponent from winning whereas if it's a winning play your opponent won't hesitate to discard their hand. Honestly though I'd say just run Counterspell as it's cheaper, the thing about counters is that they require open mana and therefore potentially set your clock back (not that blue always cares about this). In that aspect Counterspell doesn't set you as far behind as Psychic Strike since you can turn four a two drop and still have mana open for the counter whereas with Strike you'd have to wait til turn five to play the same two drop if you want mana left open for the counter. If you don't mind the slower clock then post rotation I'd definitely go after the play set of Disallow since it's possibly the best three mana counter in the game. Irregardless of which counter you choose your opponents will groan and curse you all the same every time you cast it (though possibly more if you manage to mill a key card or an answer they desperately need, especially if it was the very next card. Insert diabolical laughter here) Any chance you have a link to the deck?
February 26, 2017 12:24 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #11
Ultimately, I purchased four copies of psychic strike to replace perplex, since I believe that the former card shall serve me better.
Now, I have another question for my black/blue deck, which I shall ask here, rather than starting a new thread for it.
I very recently replaced Brainbite with Consult the Necrosages in my black/blue deck, but I am now wondering if Pilfered Plans would be even better for that deck, because consult the necrosages requires its caster to choose one of two options, but pilfered plans gives its caster both options for the exact same mana cost as CtNS.
What does everyone else say about that? Between consult the necrosages and pilfered plans, which card do you prefer?
Atony1400 says... #2
I would prefer Cancel or even Disallow over Psychic Strike, unless you are running a mill deck. Then I would definitely add Strike.
February 25, 2017 10:24 a.m.