The Surge cost is basically worthless. Generally, to get the best usage out of it, you're going to play a threat and then use the surge cost to cast it as an uncounterable Counterspell to protect your original threat. However, your opponent can just as easily respond with another counterspell on the original spell, so the uncounterability isn't relevant there. You could just as easily have used a Negate or Dispel in that scenario.
Your opponent can't respond with another counterspell on the original spell if they believe as you do that Negate or Dispel are better options. Threat -> Remand -> Dispel -> Overwhelming Denial works. Threat -> Remand -> Overwhelming Denial -> Dispel does not.
I honestly think that this is as close to an actual Counterspell as we're ever going to get... Even though I always said we should do this: "UU, pay 3 life as additional cost: counter target spell."
I personally like this counter-spell, although I tend to err on the side of liking things first, then deciding I don't later.
Cards like this one will shine in Blue Modern because blue is very reactive by nature.
Oh yeah, and Noxious Revival is Amazing!!!!
Don't forget about Mutagenic Growth, Gut Shot, and Surgical Extraction!
I think it would only be playable in some sort of standard combo deck, jeskai ascendancy?, where you want protection of something and not just making sure you win a counter war.
I think Manamorphose is the card to play with this in modern. It turns the Last Word mode into a better version of Counterspell (still 1 for 1, but drawing and discarding is a bonus). Combine with Gitaxian Probe, and you have two "free" ways to cast this for UU while drawing a card, and that might be enough.
In Standard it is a maybe. Maybe the 1 CMC cards in standard will be good enough to play with it. Note that you can cast Fiery Impulse in response to an opponents spell and then counter with the Surge cost with 1 instant/sorcery in the graveyard to fulfill both conditions (Spell Mastery checks on resolution of Fiery Impulse, but it is counted as "cast" the instant it is put on the stack). Magmatic Insight and Bone Splinters are decent on your turn, and maybe Fiery Impulse + Wild Slash are good enough on your opponents turn. The Last Word mode is occasionally going to be good enough in standard as well, much more so than in modern.
I doubt any modern decks would honestly run this, even with the "potential" UU cost. Remand and mana leak are far superior in that they always cost 2 and are splashable.
Modern: UUUBlue Man Group
Legacy: UWBMiracles
Edh: UUUThassa Control WWWHokori Stax GGGJolrael, Empress of Land Stompy BBBGriselbrand French List RBGShattergang(Super Villians) RWGHazezon Flicker UBRMarchesa Aggro URGMaelstom Wanderer (Maelstorm)
It is still (majority of the time) a better Last Word.
This was never meant to be Counterspell (or a better version of it), it's simply a better Last Word with some bonuses on top of it.
Look at the other versions of "alternate counterspell cost/additional costs" cards we had (Deprive, Stoic Rebuttal), all them have requirements to be met and because of those requirements, pretty much only Deprive saw some fringe play.
I'm not saying its a great card, but at the very least, it is a much improved version of an older rare, which is more than can be said of some other cards.
Wow... I mean wow there is a lot of complaining about this card when it's almost exactly what I saw people hoping for when Surge was first spoiled. I know people on this site will complain about anything but this is getting a little ridiculous. It's a good counter spell that gets cheaper, I personally love it and I don't see why there is so much hate for it. Now to be fair I am a firm believer that no format can actually be healthy without a good control deck being viable (allowing the format to be slightly slower, meaning more decks can be viable) and to do that you need good removal and good disruption spells which we have been sorely lacking for a while (not asking for them to reprint path but would a doomblade kill them?) but as is this is a perfectly good counter spell with nice little bonus (snapcastering it is a neat trick), let give it some play testing before tossing it in the junk bin.
In what universe? If you build a deck like that, and ever draw that hand, I will personally come to wherever you live, perform complicated acts of awestruck ********, then disembowel myself to escape the world that allowed something like this to occur and validate you.
That is some of the worst flavor text I've read. I had to see what the hell Jace was talking about. Was that Hippo legend used when it was in standard? If not then that was a flavor fail on a good card. That's like putting:
"Well, I think it's time to planeswalk" -Jace Beleren
Man I sure wish we could have the whole crop of Gatewatch 'walkers get the Red Wedding treatment by Ob Nixilis. Maybe after defeating Ulamog and Kozilek? Bah. Too much to hope for. Magic shouldn't be a cartoony super hero show IMO.
The card is interesting. I do find it amusing that dispel is probably better in most cases.
That flavor text is probably made up by whomever mocked up the translation. Remember the fake flavor text on Magus of the Wheel?
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Your opponent can't respond with another counterspell on the original spell if they believe as you do that Negate or Dispel are better options. Threat -> Remand -> Dispel -> Overwhelming Denial works. Threat -> Remand -> Overwhelming Denial -> Dispel does not.
I personally like this counter-spell, although I tend to err on the side of liking things first, then deciding I don't later.
Cards like this one will shine in Blue Modern because blue is very reactive by nature.
Oh yeah, and Noxious Revival is Amazing!!!!
Don't forget about Mutagenic Growth, Gut Shot, and Surgical Extraction!
Manamorphose?
Thirst for Knowledge % to hit artifact
Pact of negatation has it's role covered in modern.
niche, maybe playable.
Pioneer:UR Pheonix
Modern:U Mono U Tron
EDH
GB Glissa, the traitor: Army of Cans
UW Dragonlord Ojutai: Dragonlord NOjutai
UWGDerevi, Empyrial Tactician "you cannot fight the storm"
R Zirilan of the claw. The solution to every problem is dragons
UB Etrata, the Silencer Cloning assassination
Peasant cube: Cards I own
UR Blue-Red Control
Modern:
UBR Grixis Control
UWR Jeskai Control
In Standard it is a maybe. Maybe the 1 CMC cards in standard will be good enough to play with it. Note that you can cast Fiery Impulse in response to an opponents spell and then counter with the Surge cost with 1 instant/sorcery in the graveyard to fulfill both conditions (Spell Mastery checks on resolution of Fiery Impulse, but it is counted as "cast" the instant it is put on the stack). Magmatic Insight and Bone Splinters are decent on your turn, and maybe Fiery Impulse + Wild Slash are good enough on your opponents turn. The Last Word mode is occasionally going to be good enough in standard as well, much more so than in modern.
I think its going to see play as a 1 or 2 of in some modern decks. At least in the sideboard.
EDH will eat this up though.
Draft it Here!
UUUBlue Man Group
Legacy:
UWBMiracles
Edh:
UUUThassa Control
WWWHokori Stax
GGGJolrael, Empress of Land Stompy
BBBGriselbrand French List
RBGShattergang(Super Villians)
RWGHazezon Flicker
UBRMarchesa Aggro
URGMaelstom Wanderer (Maelstorm)
Dunes of Zairo
SHANDALAR
Innistrad - The Darkest Night
~THE RAVNICAN CONSORTIUM~
A Community Set
Commander: Allies & Adversaries
This was never meant to be Counterspell (or a better version of it), it's simply a better Last Word with some bonuses on top of it.
Look at the other versions of "alternate counterspell cost/additional costs" cards we had (Deprive, Stoic Rebuttal), all them have requirements to be met and because of those requirements, pretty much only Deprive saw some fringe play.
I'm not saying its a great card, but at the very least, it is a much improved version of an older rare, which is more than can be said of some other cards.
because wizards is doing everything it can to crap all over standard?
GGo Elf YourselfG
WThat Cat Has A Knife!W
BUGWhip your assBUG
"Well, I think it's time to planeswalk" -Jace Beleren
on Emrakrul's next card.
Man I sure wish we could have the whole crop of Gatewatch 'walkers get the Red Wedding treatment by Ob Nixilis. Maybe after defeating Ulamog and Kozilek? Bah. Too much to hope for. Magic shouldn't be a cartoony super hero show IMO.
The card is interesting. I do find it amusing that dispel is probably better in most cases.
Per the MTGS spoiler:
"You should've thought of that before you summoned that pathetic purple hippo."
—Jace Beleren
Thanks, and, oh.... oh jeez.
Did kim kreines write all the flavor text....
ps - why isn't that flavor text visible on the card... I see the surge cost and text, the uncounterable text, and the counter target spell text.
meh