Playing Control in Magic Part 1: Counterspells
Opinion
CanadianShinobi
14 March 2016
2769 views
Playing Control in Magic Part 1: Counterspells
14 March 2016
2769 views
Playing Control in Magic Part 1: Counterspells
Hello Tappedout! Over the course of this short series I want to discuss how Control decks function in Magic. Or, more specifically, how Draw-Go Control functions. For those of you unfamiliar with who I am, I am an avid Control player, often gravitating toward decks that grind well into the late game and rely on counterspells and heavy amounts of removal, whilst slowly whittling down my opponent through a single win condition, or several smaller ones. Over the course of playing Magic, I have found that many often scorn such decks and those who pilot them. I would like to offer a defence for Draw-Go Control, since it is, arguably, a significant factor in balancing a metagame. To accomplish this I am going to examine the three competitive Constructed formats: Standard, Modern and Legacy; and see how Draw-Go Control stacks up. I ask you to keep in mind, that what I am presenting is an opinion, but I hope to provide adequate research to provide an informed opinion. If you have any disagreements, feel free to voice them in the comments.
For the first part of this series I will examine how counterspells function in both Standard and Modern. The second part will examine the same subject, but will compare Modern to Legacy. Part 3 will discuss the removal spells across Standard, Modern and Legacy and Part 4 will conclude the series by discussing card advantage and address any final conclusions.
My goal with this series is to open an honest and intelligent discussion of the place Control has within Magic. By extension I would like to demonstrate that Draw-Go Control is a necessity within the Modern format, where it is notably absent. So, without further delay, let us examine Control's greatest asset: counterspells.
General
To begin in earnest, I would like to discuss the general function of counterspells. From the outset, their function is obvious, however, there is some necessity in outlining the fundamentals for the upcoming discussion. The function of counterspells is, simply, to stop a certain play that your opponent is attempting to enact. However, what some may not take into consideration is what these spells offer to the shape of Magic as a whole. On some level each colour has its own form of dealing with threats. Red will burn creatures; Green will either play more efficient creatures, or enact the fight mechanic; and Black and White have various forms of direct removal, though White's removal is often more conditional than Black. That leaves Blue. Blue, some may argue utilizes removal on an extremely conditional level either through cards such as Unsummon or Reality Shift. I would agree, but I would then argue that Blue's removal comes in the form of Counterspells. At least, that is one half of what a counterspell is. The other half deals with simply disrupting the tempo of your opponent. Perhaps more than any other colour in Magic, Blue relies on pre-emptive disruption and shaping circumstances to fit its own ends. This is what makes it such a great support colour. It has the capacity to compliment a variety of strategies, though it lends itself mostly toward either Combo or Control decks. As such, counterspells fill a two part role for Blue and are a unique type of spell within the game of Magic.
The other thing to consider when discussing counterspells is: what makes an effective counterspell? I would argue that a good counterspell has three qualities:
1. It is easy to cast, given your mana base.
2. The converted mana cost is efficient for the format.
3. The counterspell is not overly narrow.
I would further argue that point number 2 is essential to keep in mind, because it is the one that can often determine playability, as we shall see.
Standard
With the groundwork out of the way we can now begin the entire point of this discussion, namely the comparison of how Draw-Go decks stack up across formats. And how counterspells are a vital necessity for these strategies. For this section I want to examine an older Standard deck, but one that I had experience playing. The deck existed just before Battle for Zendikar was released so, I feel that it is still a relevant and it still sees some marginal play. The deck is: Esper Dragons.
4x Dragonlord Ojutai 1x Silumgar, the Drifting Death 3x Thoughtseize 4x Anticipate 2x Bile Blight 4x Silumgar’s Scorn 2x Dissipate 2x Foul-Tongue Invocation 4x Hero’s Downfall 2x Crux of Fate 4x Dig Through Time 1x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon 2x Caves of Koilos 4x Dismal Backwater 1x Flooded Strand 2x Haven of the Spirit Dragon 3x Island 4x Polluted Delta 2x Swamp 4x Temple of Deceit 3x Temple of Enlightenment 1x Temple of Silence 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth sideboard: 2x Duress 1x Thoughtseize 3x Ultimate Price 3x Drown in Sorrow 2x Foul-Tongue Invocation 1x Crux of Fate 1x Dragonlord Silumgar 2x Dragonlord’s Prerogative
Here is a list that I ran for a while. For the purposes of this series, I will be using this list as a primary example of Draw-Go Control in Standard. One of the typical features of Draw-Go Control is the noticeable lack of creatures which leaves room for an abundance of disruption, ranging from targeted removal, to the topic of discussion: counterspells.
Standard typically has a 3cmc counterspell in the form of something akin to Cancel. Theros introduced Dissolve which is functionally better. For Standard, 3cmc is often an acceptable and commonly seen cost for a counterspell. Especially as a hard answer to any spell within the format. This is because Standard is typically much slower than Modern and, as such, 3cmc fits nicely on the curve of a Draw-Go control deck. However, the all star of Esper Dragons is Silumgar's Scorn. At first glance the card is somewhat unremarkable given that you need to have a dragon in hand or in play, otherwise an opponent need only pay to negate the spell's effect. In practice however, Silumgar's Scorn was outstanding and was almost always a legitimate Counterspell. Firstly: it is above curve, which means that it is efficiently costed and it is above the average power for a spell of its cost. Compare it to Negate for example, playing an extra blue mana nets you a near hard counter. Secondly: the conditional aspect of the spell was easily mitigated as the game went on and you drew into dragons. Thirdly: the mana cost was easy to pay given the mana base. This card alone was one of the key reasons that Esper Dragons was able to flourish and become a dominant deck within the Standard format. But though it was powerful, the deck did not warp the format, even with such a powerful counterspell. However, in a faster format Silumgar's Scorn is less feasible because it becomes irrelevant much faster since playing expensively costed cards such as Dragonlord Ojutai is not feasible, even within a Control deck. This is largely due to the difference in tempo. When an opponent can drop a game winning creature on Turn 2 then you need a counterspell, or removal to match that creature. Otherwise you will be behind.
Modern
Modern is a very different beast when stacked up against Standard. The main differences are speed and power. For example most Modern games end, or can be decided by Turn 4. Also, Modern has access to powerful cards such as Tarmogoyf and Lightning Bolt which are cornerstones of the format. As such, what is good in Standard is often less so in Modern. While the reverse can also be true at times, I would argue that when it comes to counterspells this is a firm rule to stand by. As I mentioned, Silumgar's Scorn is an ineffective counterspell within Modern for a variety of reasons. While it is on curve for Modern's faster pace and paying two Blue is perfectly viable, it is the conditional aspect of the spell that makes it weak. For comparison here is an old UWR Control list:
3x Arid Mesa 4x Celestial Colonnade 2x Hallowed Fountain 3x Island 1x Mountain 1x Plains 1x Sacred Foundry 4x Scalding Tarn 3x Steam Vents 1x Sulfur Falls 3x Tectonic Edge 4x Cryptic Command 3x Electrolyze 4x Lightning Bolt 3x Lightning Helix 4x Mana Leak 2x Path to Exile 3x Spell Snare 2x Sphinx’s Revelation 2x Restoration Angel 4x Snapcaster Mage 1x Gideon Jura 2x Supreme Verdict sideboard: 2x Celestial Purge 2x Counterflux 1x Shatterstorm 2x Sowing Salt 2x Stony Silence 1x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir 1x Terminus 2x Threads of Disloyalty 2x Wear / Tear
As with the example of Esper Dragons, this is a personal list that I used to pilot. However, the list is currently out of date considering the direction Control has gone in recently. I am presenting an older list because this is more in line with what Draw-Go Control typically looks like. More recently lists are somewhat more akin to Midrange than actual Control decks (see recent Modern Grixis lists). What I mean by this is that a traditional Control deck has limited creatures which often only serve utility purposes, or as a singular wincon. Recent lists however, run more creatures; roughly anywhere between 9-12. This is to compensate for proactive play being much better than reactive play. However, what I would like to draw attention to here is the counterspells within the list. The main counters in the deck are Cryptic Command, Spell Snare and Mana Leak. In purely objective terms all of these spells are mediocre. Cryptic Command is incredibly expensive for Modern and needing three blue mana is incredibly restrictive. Spell Snare hits multiple things in Modern, but is too narrow to be used reliably. Mana Leak is effective early game, but becomes irrelevant quickly in a format of cheap and powerful spells. The eclectic mix of counterspells actually managed to keep pace with the format at one time. However, as creatures and other spells have gotten better, the counterspells of Modern have remained static. As a mentioned above proactive play is much better in Modern than reactive play. What this means is that playing a creature will always be better than sitting with a handful of removal and counterspells, simply waiting for a creature to be played. One of the main reasons for this is that in recent sets better and better creatures have been printed, while non-creature spells have either become worse or are static. A good example of this would be Siege Rhino. Meanwhile cards such as Lightning Bolt, Mana Leak or Path to Exile have failed to see a reprint in a Standard set and will continue to fail to see a reprint because of a shift in policy from Wizards of the Coast.
So What?
As I stated previously, Draw-Go Control decks rely heavily on effective counterspells to be viable archetypes within Modern. UR Twin was the most recent legitimate Control deck within Modern. It kept decks in the format honest through a series of counterspells and a threat that it could use to win out of nowhere. However, it played more of a tempo game than anything else and I am reluctant to consider it a true Control deck (this is especially true pre-sideboard). But, in writing this article I have come to conclude, that it was, in its own fashion a control deck in spirit. The point is that without Control as an archetype within Modern, the format becomes unbalanced. This lack of balance can be demonstrated by an increase in noninteractive decks which attempt to outrace one another. A primary example of this can be seen in recent Eldrazi lists, though a more conventional example is Affinity. And while many players may find this "fun" I am liable to point out that "fun" should be irrelevant when it comes to concerning ourselves with the health of the format overall. Control decks demand interaction, failure to interact with a Control deck is going to be an immensely lopsided affair if you cannot outrace it; and Control decks are often designed to prevent just that. Interaction is what makes for interesting Magic. By having decks interact with one another games become a test of skill over a test of speed. While some players may find Draw-Go Control infuriating the archetype has its merits. I am not advocating we unban Splinter Twin, I firmly believe that such a conversation is without merit at this point. However, what must be considered is that Control as an archetype needs better counterspells if it is to compete within Modern.
Overall, this comparison of counterspells within Standard and Modern is to demonstrate that within proper context counterspells can be effective and powerful, but not dominating. Furthermore, Silumgar's Scorn, to a certain extent, demonstrated that Counterspell could be a viable option within Standard. I say this, fully aware that the two are only marginally comparable, but Counterspell currently has no way to enter Modern, except through Standard. And, to be frank, Modern Draw-Go Control needs something akin to Counterspell. Everything else is too narrow, too slow, or too costly. I hope this article has been informative. Should you have any comments, criticism and suggestions feel free to voice them, all I ask is that it remain civil. Next time I will discuss counterspells compared between Legacy and Modern.
TheAnnihilator says... #2
This was a great article, CanadianShinobi. I really enjoyed it! I kindof feel the Counterspell argument at the end wasn't entirely merited (though I do agree). I would expect the article itself to lend that information without calling it out specifically, and discussing it may have been too much of a deviation from the topic at hand. Then again, I may be wrong.
I think an important piece of information that is important to discussing counterspells is the average mana cost of the threats in the format, threats being both creature and non-creature. The theory is a little simplistic, but I've found that a counterspell (at least, a 1-for-1 counterspell, unlike Top+Counterbalance or Cryptic Command) needs to be the average CMC of the threats in a format. In standard, the cost is much higher and 4-6 mana spells are much more viable -- the average is 3 or greater. However, in Modern the average cost is ~2, probably less, since a majority of threats are spent on 1-2 mana, with only a choice few 3-4 threats seeing play. A counterspell at that average trades poorly with lower CMC spells, evenly with on-CMC spells, and favorably with higher CMC spells.
If you can spare it in future articles, I'd love a mention of Modern Esper Draw-Go, since it's an up-and-coming archetype in Modern and is the definition of draw-go control. It has a much bigger following on mtgsalvation than tappedout, but it has slowly been gaining momentum since the Pod ban, printing of Khans of Tarkir -- which led to UWR's downfall, and the Twin especially. As far as decklists go, using Wafo's original shell for comparisons would be sufficient. (The decklists of tclaw12 or myself would work too, if you prefer a more recent list. I'm sure neither of us would mind.)
March 14, 2016 3:57 p.m.
CanadianShinobi says... #3
Thanks for the feedback, TheAnnihilator. I may have gone a little of topic at the end, but the goal was to draw attention to the lopsided nature of counter magic between the two formats. Also, I'll be building on this in my next article when I compare Modern and Legacy. I will certainly take a look at the Esper lists. I chose lists that I ran personally because I wanted to make sure I was familiar with the deck. Also, I haven't heard anything about an Esper Draw-Go list.
March 14, 2016 5:50 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #4
It's worth noting that Esper Dragons is a tap-out control deck. Most Standard control decks tend to be this way since Sphinx's Revelation rotated out and Elspeth was the go-to win condition for a good while.
I didn't like that you failed to explain why counterspells are played in blue control decks. You just spouted a bunch of stuff about the color pie.
March 14, 2016 6:04 p.m.
CanadianShinobi says... #5
GlistenerAgent Duly noted, I'll make sure to take that into consideration in the following articles.
March 14, 2016 6:21 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #6
For anyone interested in more info, this Constructed Resources episode is really good.
March 14, 2016 6:34 p.m.
kizcannibal says... #7
Nice article, CanadianShinobi ! Thanks for writing about my fav cards, the counterspells. But why didn't you mention Remand? It is simply THE counterspell in the modern meta, and I'd always prefer Remand over Mana Leak. Of course it is arguable if Mana Leak or Remand is more narrow, but I prefer the latter simply just because you can draw into other threats or answers. Remand has a special spot next to all the other counterspells. It feels like a small Cryptic Command in my opinion and you can write a whole essay about this card.
But keep it up, I'm curious about part two.
March 14, 2016 6:40 p.m.
TheAnnihilator says... #9
I piloted the Esper Draw-Go deck to 6-3 at thd Louisville open, actually. If you're looking for info, I can tell you about the deck.
March 14, 2016 8:07 p.m.
BloodoftheBloodMoon says... #10
I'm a die hard combo player (storm, not twin btw), and I'm thinking of making the switch to a more interactive game and actually play grindy games instead of winning or losing by turn 3 or 4. What would you say is the hardest thing be for a control player? (deciding to keep mana open, playing your threat, deciding which spells can resolve or not). The deck I'm thinking of buying into is blue moon, since it would be the cheapest control deck to buy into since I already own the lands and the Blood Moons.
PS: Love the article. Absolutely insightful.
March 14, 2016 11:39 p.m.
GlistenerAgent says... #11
The hardest part is deciding what matters. New control players will think that they need to kill everything immediately, using the first available opportunity at a removal spell or counterspell. You need to plan out how you intend on dealing with their threats, because if you misuse your 1-for-1s you can be overrun by a skilled opponent. You should learn to use your life total as a resource, taking damage to gain an advantage later and make the best use of your cards. This also factors into deckbuilding, where you're trying to find the optimal mix of answer cards and card advantage to beat an expected field.
One simple example of this management of threats and answers is when your opponent has a Tarmogoyf in play. If you have a Path to Exile and a Mana Leak in hand, your knee-jerk reaction may be to Path the Goyf. Sometimes it is correct to do so, but you should favor getting the most value out of your Leak because the 3-4 damage per turn doesn't matter until a certain point.
March 14, 2016 11:45 p.m.
BloodoftheBloodMoon says... #12
That's very insightful. Thanks. So in combo terms, it's deciding when to combo off on a much smaller scale almost every turn. That sounds exhilarating, if that's the case.
March 14, 2016 11:57 p.m.
FAMOUSWATERMELON says... #14
I think that Counterspell is the answer to all this. Every other color has a 1-2 mana hit-all. It's about time Blue had the same.
In other news, the article is great :)
March 15, 2016 5:44 p.m.
elpokitolama says... #15
The problem with modern is that we have tons of counterspells, but little to none of them is effective enough to make control as powerful as it is difficult to master, leading players to use "easier" aggro or midrange decks.
In my opinion, without counting Jeskai control which is the purest form of control and is performing at the moment (maybe because of its good not as bad as anybody else eldrazi match-up?), we may see two other control decks in modern: Scapeshift and Delver (especially the Grixis variant). Scapeshift, just like Twin, buys time before winning on a single turn and Delver plays "cheap" threats (well, thanks to delve now) to grind the opponent while reacting to his actions. Both of these decks, indeed, are performing (not so well these days) at the "cost" of playing more creatures or cards devoted to a certain combo than a pure control deck and thus being "proactive".
I don't know how to classify Blue Moon in all of this, though. x)
March 16, 2016 2:32 p.m.
Mandalorian says... #16
elpokitolama I think Blue Moon fits perfectly. CanadianShinobi, what do you think about Blue Moon? Its been my go to for draw go control recently since even simple Burn decks have gone 3 colors and the deck really punishes the meta's current complicated mana base: Eldrazi, Infect, Tron, Burn, Affinity
March 16, 2016 5:08 p.m.
CanadianShinobi says... #17
Mandalorian To be perfectly honest I'm not very familiar with the deck. However, looking at sample lists it certainly looks like a Draw-Go list, but one that I'm not fond of since it relies heavily on Blood Moon.
Honestly, I feel that my major shortcoming in this article was limiting myself to examining decks that I played personally. I have played Control to near exclusivity so, really I should have opted for a broader perspective. I should have had a single article dedicated to the introduction and outline of what I was planning on discussing. Then I should have compared Standard and Modern in a separate article. I hope I can alleviate this in my next piece since I won't be attempting to do two things simultaneously.
March 16, 2016 5:31 p.m.
BloodoftheBloodMoon says... #18
From the games i've played with blue moon, is that the deck doesn't rely on Blood Moon as much as you would think. After game 1, they're already playing around it. It plays very much like how you described jeskai control in the typical draw-go scenario. A lot of times in games 2 and 3 they would sacrifice their manabase to get basics of each color, cutting them off from being able to tap efficiently. Give blue moon a try. I think you'd enjoy it. I certainly have.
March 16, 2016 6:06 p.m.
10/10 Would read again.
You're preaching to the choir on Counterspell man. We need something in Modern that can help. The fact that it's 
is enough of a hindrance that it's taxing on a manabase. Not to mention, you can only play 4 in a deck (Ok, Snapcaster Mage gives you 8, but that's different).
Honestly though, ever since I looked at Jund being an attrition/control deck, I've never looked back. This has opened my eyes to UWx builds and I've fallen in love.
Great article. I would +1 if I could.
March 16, 2016 8:28 p.m.
TheGrayMerchant says... #20
Very nice read. Although I don't think that reprinting Counterspell is the right way to go in modern. The double blue can be harsh, and it almost forces you to be playing a 2 color deck, unless you pack in shocks and fetches, which will only make the aggro matchup worse. Control needs one or more good 1 mana tempo cards to be good. Something like Mental Misstep without the phyrexian mana, or a U - counter target spell unless its owner pays 2. My favorite counter that I want to enter into modern is Stifle. It's cheap and it allows control decks to counter pesky triggered abilities (Wurmcoil, Smasher, Twin if it were still here) without forcing them to splash G for Voidslime.
March 16, 2016 9:52 p.m.
Mandalorian says... #21
CanadianShinobi, ryanjoha is right in that it doesnt rely on it being on the board as much as you would think. Game 1 I like to slam it on turn 3 and then from there on out going into game 2-3 its a mental game you play with their mana.
There was a match I was reading about where at the end of the Blue Moon's opponent's end step he flashed in a Snapcaster Mage because his opponent had a fetchland that he wanted him to use it so he can Blood Moon on his turn three. His opponent fetches for a red source to bolt it only to regret it as Blood Moon comes down and realizes he should have fetched a different color that he no longer has access to. In this case you can see Blood Moon taking a role in the game even when its not on the table. It also makes Remand an amazing counterspell because much like Splinter Twin you dont really care if they attempt to redeploy their threat later, you just bought yourself a turn. In Splinter Twin you basically Time Walk getting you closer to your combo, in BLue Moon you Time Walk until you can play Blood Moon because then it doesnt matter that they still have that threat in hand, odds are, they cant even play it anymore. You can watch this exact thing happen at Pro Tour BOG where Lee Shi Tian Remands a Tarmogoyf on turn 2, plays Blood Moon, and his opponent is unable to play the same card.
I also like it because of the hilarity that is Vedalken Shackles. Whats better than countering your opponents spells is watching them not play any because they dont want you to steal it.
I would say, regardless of how you personally feel towards Blood Moon, if you like draw go control, then Blue Moon is pretty good right now.
On a separate note, TheGrayMerchant, I dont think the restricts you to 2 colors at all. Alot of Scapeshift control list run 4 Cryptic Commands and they're 3 colors. Same with Jeskai control. Its pretty easy to have and 1-2 other colors available to you on turn 2, i.e. Steam Vents and Hallowed Fountain for example
March 16, 2016 10:38 p.m.
Mandalorian says... #22
Also there are other Stifles in Modern other than Voidslime
They are not perfect but in case you didnt know that there were other options than Voidslime if you didnt want to splash green.
March 16, 2016 10:41 p.m.
I think there are some other things that probably would help better Control in Modern:
1 - Cheap Draw Spells
Yes... because trading 1 for 1 with the opponent hoping that somehow you'll survive until turn 6, than play a Sphinx's Revelation for 3 and gain a 2 card advantage, if it resolves, isn't a great plan. I'd say unban Ancestral Vision, or enable something like Accumulated Knowledge.
2 - More Card Advantage Tools
Blue is probably the worse Card Advantage colour in Modern right now. Every colour has lots of ways of getting Card Advantage for low mana costs. Kitchen Finks costs 3, gives you 2 life, probably 4, eats 1~2 removals or kills 1~2 creatures in combat. Voice of Resurgence costs 2 and probably will be at least 2 for 1. Eternal Witness is a 2 for 1. Atarka's Command 2 for 1. Eidolon of the Great Revel 2 for 1 ate the very least (unless you Spell Snare it). Liliana of the Veil is a 2 for 1 at the very least. Dark Confidant can be X for 1 if it doesn't die immediately. Tasigur, the Golden Fang is 2 for 1 at the very least. Lingering Souls gives you 4 bodys for 1 card. Kolaghan's Command is 2 for 1. Arcbound Ravager is nuts. Collected Company gives you 2 creatures for 4 mana at instant speed (and most of them may be those previously mentioned that trade 2 for 1 on their own). A 2 for 1 at the very least.
On blue, we struggle to trade 2 for 1. We have Snapcaster Mage and Cryptic Command. Snapcaster is perfect, if we happen to have the right answer against our opponent's treat in our graveyard. Cryptic is powerful but costs 4 mana. And that's all we've got. Blue doesn't have more efficient tools to trade 2 for 1s. Electrolyze works well in some games. In others don't. Supreme Verdict is good Card Advantage if our opponent is playing lots of creatures, but if not, is just a clunky sorcery speed and mana intensive removal.
March 21, 2016 1:36 p.m.
BloodoftheBloodMoon says... #25
I think you're confusing card advantage with card value. Decks like abzan and zoo and burn play those cards because they are the best cards for what they do. No one plays Voice of Resurgence for card advantage. They play it to make their board state bigger. If the opponent kills it, they don't lose board state, that's why voice of resurgence is good. Not because it eats removal.
March 21, 2016 2:58 p.m.
ryanjoha Maybe you're right. But I still see it as Card Advantage in the sense that it will most likely trade with a creature or removal, and leave a (probably) bigger token behind. That's Card Advantage in my point of view. You and your opponent lost a card each (you Voice of Resurgence, your opponent any X/2 creature or any non Path to Exile removal, which would still give you a land, btw), but you got a token, and he'll have to "spend" another removal or creature to become even.
The same is true for Pia and Kiran Nalaar, Kitchen Finks, Lingering Souls, Young Pyromancer, Collected Company, etc. You spend a card to gain 2, 3 or 4 cards value. Maybe I'm confusing, but I always thought this was Card Advantage at some extent.
March 21, 2016 3:16 p.m.
BloodoftheBloodMoon says... #27
You get a 2 for 1 on all those cards, I agree. But not all 2 for 1s are card advantage. Would you classify Hordeling Outburst as card advantage? I wouldn't. But according to your criteria, it would count
ChiefBell says... #1
CanadianShinobi
March 14, 2016 1:16 p.m.