Off Topic: Coloring Counterspells

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Off Topic: Coloring Counterspells

By meyou on October 18th, 2011 · Filed in Off Topic · 79 Comments

Counterspells should be bled into the remaining colors of the pie.

Got your attention?

3…2….1….FIGHT!

On the issue of counterspells, I am definitely on what I will call the progressive side. I am on the side of the argument that the future of Magic should not be bound by its past. The history of Magic has been a murky one and the game has continually improved itself. Comparing the game in its present state to the past is not fair. After this article goes to print, I can fathom many will point to the past to validate an opposing argument. Saying blue has always had counterspells is a flawed argument in my mind. I could easily point to a multitude of cards that made print in the early days that would have never been printed under the guidance of today's R&D. Just as an example, I highly doubt a card like Balance would have ever made print. Magic's history has many mistakes and I don't think it is the best interest of the game to keep reprinting them.

This is not to say I want to completely ignore Magic's rich history. I just don't think cards printed for today should be based completely upon the past. I think cards should be printed for the needs of today and for the better of Magic in the future. One of the things I am most pleased about in the Innistrad set is the new fight mechanic. I have always hoped Green one day would get some form of creature removal. When Hornet Sting was first printed, I gladly welcomed the card. Now, I feel the card is a mistake especially in comparison to the fight mechanic. Fight is flavorful and fits the color aspect of green. If I had a Magic time machine, I would hop back and replace Hornet Sting with Prey Upon.

Magic's Fundamental Weakness

I'm not bashful about my hobby and I have explained the game many more times than I can count. The one idea I always talk about is how each color has strengths and weaknesses. This concept is one of the foundations of Magic. I always believed in this philosophy, but I now wonder if this is outdated as LAN lines and the Pony Express. I believe the people at Wizards have made great strides in balancing the power levels of the five colors. However, most of this has been accomplished by focusing on the strengths of the colors. Green has continuously gotten more powerful and creative cards. This can be a dangerous. Tweaking the power levels sometimes leads to degenerate archetypes. This leads to Valakut or Fairies dominating the format because nothing else can compete.

While I agree creating weaknesses in the various colors enhances game play, weakness can enable unfun game states. Take combo decks for instance like Dragonstorm or Ad Nauseam/Tendrils of Agony. If a player isn't playing Blue, there is very little a person can do to prevent an auto-loss. This isn't whining. This isn't a proclamation against certain archetypes. The problem with a lot of Magic is a game of brute strength. Take a Red Deck Wins against a Mono Green deck. The two decks have very little interaction. The game devolves into who can kill who faster.

Since I lack the ability to explain my point clearly with words, let me use an example. Let's pretend we all work in R&D. The choice has been made to push Red and the whole department wants fast Red decks to be viable in the upcoming Standard environment. The problem is a combo also exists that will be constructed viable if left as it stands. The combo revolves around enchantments leaving Red in a pickle. What do you do? Do you push Red even more? Do you weaken the combo? The problem isn't power level. The problem is Red doesn't have the ability to interact with the combo. If Red had the ability to interact/disrupt the combo, Red wouldn't have to be pushed and the combo wouldn't have to be weakened.

Crazy Counterspell Conversation

Let us all be honest for a moment. Nothing beats a counterspell. It is the best spell in the game. Force of Will dominates in the Vintage and Legacy. Cryptic Command made people cry for years. Don't take this as if I hate counterpells. I actually believe they are good for the game. It prevents the crazy from happening. What I don't like is we don't have the same ability in the other colors. Whenever a person casts something crazy like Cruel Ultimatum, I have to sit there and take it if I am not playing blue. Black has some capability to control the game with access to discard, but discard gets weaker as the game progresses. Red, White and Green only get to sit there and take it.

This is the reason I think counterspells should be bled into the other colors. Such a proposal isn't completely ludicrous. From time to time, R&D has flirted with the idea as we have seen more recently with a few counterspells in white in the last few yeas.

For reference:

Spoiler:

I think counterspells and mechanics are no different than creatures, enchantments or anything else. Making no sense am I? This is because I think the idea of the color pie is outdated as well. It has served its purpose over the years, but I think it is time we put it out to pasture. Why? It doesn't serve a purpose except for neutering the game. Take card draw. I think it is incorrect to put card draw in Blue. The question should be how each color gets card draw. Blue gets pure card draw Think Twice, Black gets card draw due to sacrifice Phyrexian Arena, Red gets scry in Magma Jet, Green gets it in creature combat, and White gets extra cards in Tithe like abilities. It not who gets what abilities, it is how they get those abilities. Counterspells shouldn't be any different.

Friends with Benefits

Such a suggestions shouldn't be made unless it is good for the game. It would be irresponsible to make such a change without it benefiting the game. Just amuse the thought and pretend I get my way and counterspells are bled into the other colors. A big advantage is it would loosen up the constraints of card creation. I am guessing from time to time a card gets thrown out for being to powerful for the other colors. If each color had access to a certain level of control, some of those cards would be allowed to see print. Designs could be pushed further because more checks and balances exist in the game.

At the same time, such a move would help balance the Standard format. The trouble with counterspells is they are made too powerful, we get a format dominated by control decks like Fairies. Other colors would have access to keeping something like Fairies in check or whatever dominating deck we are talking about. This can be accomplished simultaneously by adding powerful counterspells in other colors. If a player wanted to play control archetype, those powerful counterspells would be in other colors. Instead of all the good counters in Blue, a player would have to choose which colors they would want to splash. If a good counterspell existed in Black and White for instance, a player would have to play three colors in order to get access to all the good counterspells. This would help balance control decks.

Blue would see a benefit or I hope it would. Since other colors get access to control cards, it would seem reasonable to give Blue more access to abilities it has always been denied since it has always been the king of counterspells. Blue in turn should have access to more creature control and other permanents. Also, since counterspells are being printed in a number of colors, it would open up slots in a set for other blue permanents. Instead of Blue having four counterspells in a set, it would only get two. This would open up two slots for more creative ventures.

Closing Vision

All of this conversation links up to my vision for Magic. When I sit down to play Magic, I want every color to be able to play control, aggro or combo. I don't want to sit down and be forced to play some Red Deck Wins packed full of silly little aggro guys. I want to be able to have the choice. If I want, I could play a control deck and grind out a game till I get a chance to play my big red dragon that will win me the game. I would love the chance to go aggro with something like an Illusions tribal deck or go control if I want. It would be great to have those choices. In order to make this happen, the color pie needs to be tossed out the window in order for the colors of the game to enjoy the full spectrum.

Off Topic: Counter Target Counter

I think word counter needs a tweak in much the same way as battlefield or exile. The reason being is trying to find cards that counters stuff is impossible to search for in the gatherer. The unfortunate thing is we get every other card under the sun with +1/+1 counters on it. I think it is a detriment to have multiple words mean the same thing in Magic. I don't really care what the word would be except I think void is a possible candidate. This would enable players to search for cards with actual counters on them or search for cards that actually counter spells or abilites. Counterspell would get errata to say: Void target spell. The important thing is not the name, but the ability to have two separate words to distinguish two separate functions.

Anyway, feel free to chat in the forums.

By meyou on October 18th, 2011 · Filed in Off Topic · 79 Comments

About meyou

Meyou is a lab rat from Rochester, MN who enjoys the rudiment of thinking and philosophy with free time devoted to the wife, two cats, writing ventures, and Magic.