which Counterspell should I use?
Commander (EDH) forum
Posted on April 27, 2015, 4:08 p.m. by K34
Which is better for a commander game against a deck for which you have no experience; Disrupt or Mana Leak?
Does it absolutely have to be between those? If you want the tax option, Disrupting Shoal and Logic Knot are better since they can scale with the progression of the game.
April 27, 2015 4:18 p.m.
Neither of those are great counterspells in EDH. One of the reasons that EDH decks can cost so much is because of cards like Flusterstorm, Force of Will, and Mana Drain. Those are the best counters, but they are probably out of most people's budget.
Other budget friendly options include: Swan Song, Dispel, Arcane Denial, Pact of Negation, Counterspell, and Spell Pierce.
April 27, 2015 4:21 p.m.
its EDH you will have plenty of mana to play things like Cancel Stoic Rebuttal Plasm Capture Counterspell Don't play the tax counters
April 27, 2015 4:59 p.m.
Flusterstorm and Spell Pierce aren't even that good. Pretty much anything that's not a hard counter is bad in commander.
April 27, 2015 5:09 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #7
@sonnet666: That's very wrong.
Conditional counters are fantastic... in combo-control. They're very good in counter wars, and they're economical enough to be viable protection for early-game combos. However, tax-based counters do not scale well into late game, and they are outclassed in battlecruiser games that don't rely on minute budgeting of resources.
April 27, 2015 5:28 p.m.
Eliiiiiiiiiiiiiiza says... #8
Of the two that you presented, I'd actually go with Disrupt. Late in the game, they can pay 3 colorless mana, so you may as well draw a card off of it. However, if their strategy relies on resolving some huge X spell or casting their commander over and over, I'd go with Mana Leak.
April 27, 2015 5:49 p.m.
Eliiiiiiiiiiiiiiza says... #9
Scratch that, Mana Leak all the way. Counter wars over important spells are pretty serious in EDH and tying up their mana could be pretty backbreaking, even if it is just three.
April 27, 2015 5:50 p.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #10
mana leak, but in commander you should expect open mana
April 27, 2015 6:41 p.m.
This is some good insight. Now I don't know which one to use, or even if I should just try a hard counter. I don't have a budget for it anymore, so I'm just stuck with what I already have.
April 27, 2015 6:52 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #12
It really depends on the deck and your meta to be honest.
In general, though, Disrupt is worse because it's more limited and it's easier to counteract.
April 27, 2015 6:53 p.m.
Eliiiiiiiiiiiiiiza says... #13
It might help to know what commander you're up against?
ThisIsBullshit says... #2
Mana Leak, but keep in mind that late game or even mid game, it's super easy for a commander player to pay three or one, what with all the mana ramp floating around.
April 27, 2015 4:11 p.m.