Casual Blue Counter Deck

Desmonthesis · Joined: 20 Aug 2007 Posts: 8

Hey, first time posting here, but I just put together a deck for a casual tournament with a bunch of friends, and was looking for some tips.

Lands:
20 Island

Creatures:
3 Sage Aven
3 Sage Owl
3 Thieving Magpie
2 Phantom Warrior
1 Walking Dream
1 Wormfang Crab
1 Denizen of the Deep
1 Aphetto Alchemist
1 Arcanis the Omnipotent

Enchantments:
1 Lifetap (Sideboard)
1 Arcane Laboratory
1 Telepathy

Sorceries:
2 Index
1 Exhaustion

Instants:
4 Power Sink
4 Spell Blast
3 Counterspell
3 Mana Leak
2 Cancel
2 Remove Soul
2 Twiddle
2 Unsummon
1 Shadow Rift
1 Peek
1 Rites of Refusal
1 Confound
1 Leap
1 Spy Network

Artifacts:
1 Thran Foundry
1 Kraken's Eye
1 Isochron Scepter

Any suggestions would be more than welcome Very Happy

FiReBLT · Joined: 31 Dec 2004 Posts: 224

- More Isochron Scepter would get great in a deck like this.
- I would say that Peek is better than Telepathy, purely because it draws a card
- 1 or 2 Sensei's Divining Top would probably be better than Sage Aven.
- Making the deck more consistent in the lower drops (A full set of your mana leaks, and other such lower cards) could replace the full sets of higher casting cost cards (such as Spell Burst). This is because you only need 1 of cards like Spell Burst in the late game to completely shutdown your opponent.

Desmonthesis · Joined: 20 Aug 2007 Posts: 8

Here's a revised decklist based on the suggestions above and some playtesting

Lands:
20 Island

Creatures:
4 Sage Owl
4 Thieving Magpie
2 Phantom Warrior
1 Walking Dream
1 Wormfang Crab
1 Aphetto Alchemist
1 Arcanis the Omnipotent

Enchantments:
1 Arcane Laboratory
1 Telepathy

Sorceries:
2 Index
1 Exhaustion

Instants:
4 Power Sink
4 Spell Blast
4 Counterspell
4 Cancel
4 Mana Leak
2 Remove Soul
2 Twiddle
2 Unsummon
1 Peek
1 Spy Network

Artifacts:
1 Thran Foundry
1 Kraken's Eye
3 Isochron Scepter
2 Sensei's Divining Top

Kaiser · Joined: 15 Sep 2004 Posts: 313

+4 Vedalken Shackles
+2 Stalking Stones
+4 Compuldive research
+1 Teferi

-2 Twiddle
-2 Phantom Warrior
-1 Wormfang Crab
-1 Walking Dream
-1 Aphetto Alchemist
-2 Index
-1 Exhaustion

Desmonthesis · Joined: 20 Aug 2007 Posts: 8

I think I got the deck to how I want it.

http://www.mtgfanatic.com/Decks/ViewDeck.aspx?ID=28556

View it there, or:

Lands (24):
23 Island
1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds

Creatures (16):
4 Sage Owl
4 Thieving Magpie
3 Phantom Warrior
2 Killer Whale
1 Belltower Sphinx
1 Aphetto Alchemist
1 Arcanis the Omnipotent

Enchantments (2):
1 Arcane Laboratory
1 Telepathy

Sorceries(6):
2 Index
4 Compulsive Research

Instants(20):
4 Power Sink
4 Counterspell
4 Cancel
4 Mana Leak
2 Peek
1 Spy Network
1 Pulse of the Grid

Artifacts(7):
1 Thran Foundry
1 Kraken's Eye
3 Isochron Scepter
2 Sensei's Divining Top

I'm tempted to trade out the Killer Whales for a couple boomerangs, but I'm still open to suggestions

Curby · Joined: 06 Sep 2007 Posts: 5

Mono Blue Control, the parent deck archetype of "counterspell decks," has many directions it can go in, so it depends on (1) the expected metagame and (2) how much you're willing to spend. In general, it seems you're using too many narrow utility creatures and small attackers for a true control/counterdeck. This archetype typically only needs 2 creatures in the entire deck, for applying the win after control is achieved.

One idea is the old Capsize/Forbid/Ophidian/Sapphire Medallion/Tradewind Rider decks. Medallions help power Capsize and Whispers of the Muse, Capsize and Tradewind lets your Ophidian hit home, Ophidian and Whispers help power Forbid, and their lack of mana from Tradewind+Capsize will gradually (or quickly) lock them. This deck runs some cards that are a few bucks each, which might break your budget.

There's also modern blue control that's a bit more expensive due to Force of Will, Morphling, etc. Refer to this thread for an in-depth discussion of the deck.

Casual play usually means "lots of creatures," so to keep things on a budget you might consider some reasonably cheap cards like Propaganda, Control Magic, and Vedalken Shackles (all under $2). Nevinyrral's Disk has been in control decks since it was printed, and should be considered if it's within budget. Newer counters like Rune Snag can be considered over older variants like Mana Leak.

Consider Rainbow Efreet as your finisher. It kills slower than a Morphling, but plays similar combat tricks, survives sweepers, and is less mana-hungry, which is important in a deck without free counters like FoW. Oh, and you can get ten for the cost of a Morphling.