Blue in Mercaidian Block

[manchot_13]

I recently posted a deck in the deck forum that was a controllish blue deck that was mercaidina block/ sixth edition. istanbul replied that i should drop the whole counter theme because blue doesn't have much good countermagic. I would disagree with this because of several good counterspells: counterspell, rethink, daze, foil, not to mention the spellshapers...

someone also mentioned thrwart... but that is not my favorite spell in the world.

Any opinions on blue in mercaidian block's counter magic or any comments on mercaidian block blue at all?

 

[Killer Joe]

Blue Counterspells (non-permanants) in MM/NM/PY:
Counterspell
Thwart
Misdirection
Daze
Rethink
Foil

Blue Permanant that have counterspell abilities:
Stronghold Machinist (Counter non-creature spells)
Stronghold Biologist (Counter creature spells)
Spiketail Hatchling (Sac: Force Spike)
Spiketail Drake (Sac: Mana Leak)

I don't know if I missed anything, however, let's assume that I have covered all of the poosibilities above. <Yellowjacket has a very thoughtful look on his face and is amazed at how blue got soooo many good counters this set.

Yeah, I'd pretty much say that blue is good in MBC (Mercadian Block Constructed - MM/NM/PY)

A thought (and a little off topic). Counterspells are getting a bit expensive lately (Thank God), but I'm not sure that ALL idea's for a lesser than 2UU counterspell have ended either. Dissapate and Forbid both were for 1UU. Surely new counterspells with conditions could still be made using that cc slot. I will admit that I'm very proud of Wiz Co's R&D team for comming up with a 2U counter (Rethink). That makes it splashable in a two or more color deck. One of my fav's of the past, that I'd like to mention are; Dismiss 2UU: Counter Target Spell. Draw a Card. NOT! Successfully Counter Target Spell and then you may Draw a Card. Am I right on that? Oops, you countered my Dismiss, but on resolution of the countered Dismiss, I still draw my card, yes?

Play blue in MBC and be sure to take something that'll keep you awake during the game, 'cause it'll be a long one.

 

[Istanbul]

You said it was supposed to be a MBC deck. Not an MBC/6th deck.

Daze is easily dealt with, Rethink can be planned for, and Misdirection is useless against anything that does target. Even if you don't plan for Rethink, that's still a limited number. And with the number of fast threats, it's going to be very tough to counter everything you need to counter. (Especially considering how few of the countermagic spells are quickly castable.)

 

[FoundationOfRancor]

I disagree istanbul, I think Daze, Counterspell, and Foil can all help early rush. While we have great counters like Misirection and thwart for later game...


Course I REALLY like MM block so I might be partial

 

[Chaos Turtle]

What are you talking about?

Oops, you countered my Dismiss, but on resolution of the countered Dismiss, I still draw my card, yes?

A countered Dismiss does not resolve! Silly.

Maybe you meant that countering the spell Dismiss targetted, causing Dismiss to fail to counter a spell, but still let you draw a card... but that doesn't work either, cuz a targetted spell whose targets are all made invalid, is countered upon resolution, and has no effect.

Silly.

Anyhow... back on-topic...

While I agree that (generally) Masque Block counterspells are merely average, within the block they are quite good. Thwart/Foil is a control-combo that is surprisingly effective in the right deck (one that does not require a lot of mana). So good is Thwart, in fact, that it's popping up in a blue/green (!) deck, a Rising Waters variant with Exploration and Foil.
Again, though, in the MBC-only format, these are pretty good counters considering the slowness of the format.

 

[Killer Joe]

I agree with Chaos Turtle, I'm on crack. Man, all of those cards I've drawn..... now I know why my opp. would look at me funny. Sorry past opponents!
Arhhhhhh, if they didn't catch it then I deserved to draw the card anyway.
Thanks C.T.

 

[Cateran Overlord]

Damn, how could I forget the Spiketails in my list o' MBC counters! They're the coolest blue creatures in the set!