Blue: The lost art

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TheCasualOblivion

Guest
I miss the old days, back before Tempest when people who played blue actually knew how. I imagine there are people who know how to play blue effectively. Its just that there are so many people who don't, and it has been this way for a long time.

Here is an example:

Two player game, early in the game I play something like shock on an unimportant creature of my opponent, or I play vanilla 2/2 bears. My opponent counters it. Now, I know that the guy has about 4-6 counterspells in his deck and I want to smack him. I actually try to tell him he's made a mistake, to untap his lands and put that counterspell back in his hand. I know he doesn't have a lot of them, and I also know I have things coming later he needs to counter a lot more.

"I had one, so I used it. I always do."

And the game just goes on, and I win easily.

I miss the early days of my (magic) childhood. Back during Ice Age block, we only had 3 worthwhile counterspells (regular, Power Sink, and Force of Will). There was no choice but to learn how to make them count, and learn what NOT to counter.

I will teach these guys to play blue, if I do anything.
 
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Mikeymike

Guest
Holy...the forums just went and got all sexy-like on us!

I know exactly what you are saying man.

My problem is usually on the other end of the spectrum. I don't play counters too often (MP). I'll usually top out at 4, and they are almost always in there to protect an important part of my deck.

I will forego countering certain spells to either 1) save it for the utility that is coming after my key card or 2) I have another answer in the deck that can handle my opponent's threat.

And sometimes I'll die with 1-2 counters in my hand. I freaking hate that.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Wow, I've encountered bad playing a lot, but playing blue control never seemed to me to be something that was all that difficult (compared to certain other strategies).
 
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TheCasualOblivion

Guest
I never found that difficult either. I'm just amazed how often its played badly.
 

Ferret

Moderator
Staff member
Spiderman said:
Well, if you're referring to the original post, is 4-6 counters really "blue control"?
In my experiences, I'd say no. Most Blue control decks I encountered had at least 8-12 counters in them. Also, they'd have cool cards like Control Magic, Tims, and large flyers....or lots of FISH!

-Ferret

"Yeah, it's not as fun and far too easy to play these days..."
 

Killer Joe

New member
I've lessened my count of countermagic spells to the 6 - 8 range as of late. I love playing Blue but not for MP, though. :rolleyes:
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Spiderman said:
Well, if you're referring to the original post, is 4-6 counters really "blue control"?
I'd just call it "really bad." Six counterspells is not enough disruption for a monoblue deck to function with a control-based strategy, and it's not going to help as part of an aggro strategy. There might be some strange decks that use 4-6 counterspells with good reason, but I don't recall ever encountering any. If playing blue aggro or something is what we're talking about, then I'd still say it isn't among the most difficult of decks. Stuff like Forbidian or a Dream Halls combo deck can be difficult to play perfectly though. But most blue decks are mildly forgiving (in comparison to monoblack or monogreen, for example).
 
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Mikeymike

Guest
CO's point isn't about Blue Control, its about knowing how to play counters effectively, which is the (IMO primary) 'art' of playing blue.
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
I agree, I was just trying to clarify's Oversoul's first post about blue control which I assumed he got from CO's initial post (and I did not get due to the low number of counters). Since Oversoul further explained it, I'm understand what he's talking about now :)
 
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