Do you play Mental Misstep, Lightning Bolt and the likes in EDH?
Pros: When you need to absolutely kill one turn plays like Birds of Paradise or other mana dorks.
Cons: Value goes down the drain fast as the games go on.
Outside of competitive high-powered games and 1v1 I don't see trading 1:1 with t1 plays as a good idea, so I never play misstep. Bolt as a reactive answer for 1 mana is a fine card though, since red lacks better removal.
Buddy runs Bolt in his Gisela deck, where it can obviously do more than just 3. I feel like if you're running red or some color combo that just needs efficient removal for dorks or utility creatures, bolt can still be fine.
As for mental misstep, I think counters need a bit more "oomph" in this format, and it answers a narrower subset of cards than bolt or other counters, so i can't see myself running it.
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Vorthos-player with way too much time on his hands and a love of thematic decks.
EDH - Yes, Each One is Named After a Song. I love tying music to my decks.
Personally, I run Mental Misstep in every deck that has blue.
I wouldn't necessarily say that value goes down the drain as the game goes on. I'll use it to counter a 1CMC tutor, Top, Clamp etc any day of the week - misstep hits entirely too many cards for it not to be good. Just my .02
mental misstep is awesome, like seriously awesome:) Stopping sol rings, mana vaults, swords to plowshares/path to exile/Exploration/Nature's claim etc (and that are just a few). And that's in multiplayer, 1v1 it is even more valuable.
The playability of both of these cards is basically dependant on your meta and whether you're playing multiplayer or 1v1. I generally play quite relaxed multiplayer so this will skew my opinion. Bolt is 50/50 for me. In any red deck that wants to double damage or has a payoff for direct damage it is worth bringing. Outside of those it can still certainly be useful but I think is far from an auto include. Misstep is either amazing or trash depending on your meta. For me, I would basically never run it because I'm not as scared of the 1cmc as I am of the 3+ like Cyclonic Rift or Reveillark.
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EDH BRGKresh the BloodbraidedBRG, A box of lands and ideas.
Modern: RG Titanshift. A deck made of cards too stupid for EDH.
Retired: Lots. More than I feel you should suffer through or I should type out.
For me, I would basically never run it because I'm not as scared of the 1cmc as I am of the 3+ like Cyclonic Rift or Reveillark.
Not to nitpick here, but Cy. Rift isn't a 3+ spell. It's cmc is two, regardless of it's overloaded status or not. Being able to laugh off an overloaded Rift with a single blue mana is entertaining on oh so many levels.
Bolt is in all my red decks that care about spells or damage in any way. It is not in my go big Timmy decks, aggro, or decks that are more combo and synergy driven like Nekusar. So yeah, a 50/50 card, which makes it very good, and meta considerations can get it included in other decks.
Misstep is a meta consideration. It hits some great stuff, but some of that is only relevant early, so it's value does drop off as the game goes on. Rarely am I going to feel ok spending a card to counter Sol ring or exploration turn 5. I always want to counter top, and a few other one drops. MM is runnable in cut throat metas where you can be sure that you can probably counter something choice turn 1. Otherwise, it's dead too often.
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Whether its blue players countering your spells, red players burning you out, or combo, if you have a problem with an aspect of Magic's gameplay, you can fix it!
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It is worth it to stop combo control responses such as dispel or swan song. Same goes for spell snare as it hits a lot of good cards.
Consider this, competitive decks run cheap spells to combo off faster. Why not run a one mana stop?
Countering a top to stop card advantage or draw setting is epic.
I find it super weird that anyone would be happy to counter a t1 top with mental misstep. I mean, 1v1, sure, but multiplayer? Not that math is quite this simple for multiplayer, but countering anything in a 4 player game basically puts you down 2 cards vs the rest of the table, since the other two players have lost nothing (i.e. assuming pre-counter everyone had 7 cards, now you and one opponent have 6 while the other two have 7), or down an average of 2/3 of a card vs each opponent. That's essentially the same exchange as if an opponent cast ancestral recall. I have a very hard time believing top is really so critical as to be worth such a poor CA exchange - it's a good card mostly because it's low cost, not because it's high impact. Maybe if it's Melek or something. Otherwise it seems way more important to counter the crucial high-impact spells, that are worth taking such a painful CA hit to deal with.
Every single edh deck with blue that cares about its general should play mental misstep, no?
Countering sol rings and tops are icing on top of having the most efficient stp/pte protection available.
Spending a card to stop a card is card disadvantage. But not all card disadvantage is the same. Players gladly go down a card to instant speed tutor.
Definitely a meta consideration but so is including Doomsday in your 99.
Bolt on the other hand is solid staple in all metas. Slow metas are full of annoying walkers. Fast metas are full of low cc. Tuned metas are full of low p/t utility dorks.
For me, I would basically never run it because I'm not as scared of the 1cmc as I am of the 3+ like Cyclonic Rift or Reveillark.
Not to nitpick here, but Cy. Rift isn't a 3+ spell. It's cmc is two, regardless of it's overloaded status or not. Being able to laugh off an overloaded Rift with a single blue mana is entertaining on oh so many levels.
An excellent point, my derp. Having said this, it still laughs in the face of Misstep.
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EDH BRGKresh the BloodbraidedBRG, A box of lands and ideas.
Modern: RG Titanshift. A deck made of cards too stupid for EDH.
Retired: Lots. More than I feel you should suffer through or I should type out.
Misstep is a meta consideration. It hits some great stuff, but some of that is only relevant early, so it's value does drop off as the game goes on. Rarely am I going to feel ok spending a card to counter Sol ring or exploration turn 5. I always want to counter top, and a few other one drops.
Other people made similar comments, but I'm wondering why you wouldn't want to counter Time Stretch... Sorry, I mean Sol Ring. It's the most problematic and abusive card in the entire format.
I find it super weird that anyone would be happy to counter a t1 top with mental misstep. I mean, 1v1, sure, but multiplayer? Not that math is quite this simple for multiplayer, but countering anything in a 4 player game basically puts you down 2 cards vs the rest of the table, since the other two players have lost nothing (i.e. assuming pre-counter everyone had 7 cards, now you and one opponent have 6 while the other two have 7), or down an average of 2/3 of a card vs each opponent. That's essentially the same exchange as if an opponent cast ancestral recall. I have a very hard time believing top is really so critical as to be worth such a poor CA exchange - it's a good card mostly because it's low cost, not because it's high impact. Maybe if it's Melek or something. Otherwise it seems way more important to counter the crucial high-impact spells, that are worth taking such a painful CA hit to deal with.
Your argument can be applied to any counterspell, as you seem to realize, but it's not really 100% accurate. Yes, you can argue that a counterspell gives your opponents that it doesn't directly affect each two cards of virtual card advantage, but that's not the same as you losing 2 or 3 cards of actual card advantage. And, besides, there's a lot of high-impact spells at 1 mana, especially in EDH.
Top can be a decent target, depending on context. Sol Ring, no matter what, and the feeling of countering a turn 1 Sol Ring is fantastic. Other decent targets (in part due to ubiquity) include, but are not limited to:
All that said, none of these cards come remotely close to the ubiquity of and problems caused by Sol Ring, which in and of themselves (exacerbated further in some groups with the addition of Mana Crypt) are reasons enough to consider and probably run some selection of:
I find it super weird that anyone would be happy to counter a t1 top with mental misstep. I mean, 1v1, sure, but multiplayer? Not that math is quite this simple for multiplayer, but countering anything in a 4 player game basically puts you down 2 cards vs the rest of the table, since the other two players have lost nothing (i.e. assuming pre-counter everyone had 7 cards, now you and one opponent have 6 while the other two have 7), or down an average of 2/3 of a card vs each opponent. That's essentially the same exchange as if an opponent cast ancestral recall. I have a very hard time believing top is really so critical as to be worth such a poor CA exchange - it's a good card mostly because it's low cost, not because it's high impact. Maybe if it's Melek or something. Otherwise it seems way more important to counter the crucial high-impact spells, that are worth taking such a painful CA hit to deal with.
Hitting that top may completely wreck your opponent's plan, Top or Sol ring getting countered can make a playable hand into something completely unplayable.
I find it super weird that anyone would be happy to counter a t1 top with mental misstep. I mean, 1v1, sure, but multiplayer? Not that math is quite this simple for multiplayer, but countering anything in a 4 player game basically puts you down 2 cards vs the rest of the table, since the other two players have lost nothing (i.e. assuming pre-counter everyone had 7 cards, now you and one opponent have 6 while the other two have 7), or down an average of 2/3 of a card vs each opponent. That's essentially the same exchange as if an opponent cast ancestral recall. I have a very hard time believing top is really so critical as to be worth such a poor CA exchange - it's a good card mostly because it's low cost, not because it's high impact. Maybe if it's Melek or something. Otherwise it seems way more important to counter the crucial high-impact spells, that are worth taking such a painful CA hit to deal with.
Hitting that top may completely wreck your opponent's plan, Top or Sol ring getting countered can make a playable hand into something completely unplayable.
And what if that person wouldn't have been the threat anyway? What if you actually need their help to stop someone else pulling shenanigans?
Trading 1:1 is fine if it's reactive, but proactive? You've better have a really good reason, and T1 you're not going to have any idea whether it's worth it or not, unless it's an established meta and you already know who has the nastiest deck.
Depends, like..I don't know what that Top is going to do..and a Turn 1 Sol Ring is rarely ever a good thing.
Sol ring is semi-reasonable since it's a ludicrously overpowered card. Top is far from ludicrously overpowered, it's in the same category as cards like brainstorm - low cost, self-replacing cards that have a relatively minor upside but very little downside. If you're running around trading 1:1 with every low-impact 1-drop and feeling like you got a good deal in a multiplayer game...that seems like a very good way to lose horribly.
I wouldn't call a turn 1 Top low impact, it doesn't provide immediate power however it is difficult to kill and with any sort of library shuffling effects it can get out of hand quickly, and it isn't trading 1 - 1 with a low impact 1 drop. It is trading 1 - 1 for a low impact 1 drop that can't be disenchanted or hit with board wipes so it has few answers that don't cause collateral damage.
I wouldn't mistep a ponder, or a brainstorm or an opt, but something that advances the game like Sol Ring, Burgeoning or a Mana-Dork, or something that allows for consistency like Top, or Vamp Tutor, Misstep isn't an Auto include in every blue deck..but something like Kess where I could burn it on Turn one if someone tries a sol ring, and have it there later as an option to counter a spell pierce that is hitting an important spell during my turn.
FWIW, I run Red Elemental Blast & Pyroblast in Kaalia. And I just used it this weekend to stop a t3 Flash that no one else had an answer to, and then followed up with Angel of Finality to nuke it forever (enough so that said Tymna/Thrassios player just started incessantly targeting me solely because I denied him his quick and dirty win so...)
But these one mana answers are "card disadvantage" right? #smdh
Rather lose a card than lose the game. All day. Sometimes I think players are too focused on "the value" and always trying to keep a maximum number of cards in hand they forget you have to try to win and/or prevent others sudden win from happening too. Progress the game, don't just durdle around and draw cards.
Your argument can be applied to any counterspell, as you seem to realize, but it's not really 100% accurate. Yes, you can argue that a counterspell gives your opponents that it doesn't directly affect each two cards of virtual card advantage, but that's not the same as you losing 2 or 3 cards of actual card advantage. And, besides, there's a lot of high-impact spells at 1 mana, especially in EDH.
Top can be a decent target, depending on context. Sol Ring, no matter what, and the feeling of countering a turn 1 Sol Ring is fantastic.
OK, I'm going to stop you there because countering ANY T1 play in a 4 player game should never feel "fantastic". At best it should feel like a painful but correct play that puts you at a distinct disadvantage, but less of a disadvantage than if that player had landed a sol ring or whatever. It's still a lot worse than if no one had a sol ring in the first place, and I usually don't pump my fists every time that happens.
Sol ring (and mana crypt) are anomolies because they're ludicrously more powerful than any other legal card in terms of T1 impact. Still don't think I'd counter them (or put in a card designed to counter them) unless I knew the deck in advance, or had strong reason to suspect it was powerful (i.e. high tier commander, fetch dual t1, etc).
Countering any spell is card disadvantage, but later on it's easier to recoup CA and the spells your countering are more clear in their potential threat. A T1 sol ring might lead to a T2 smokestack, or it might lead to a T2 lurking chupacabra. I'd much rather wait to see what's going to happen before I commit cards - and if someone else might offer to answer it instead. Playing counters aggressively doesn't let you do that.
FWIW, I run Red Elemental Blast & Pyroblast in Kaalia. And I just used it this weekend to stop a t3 Flash that no one else had an answer to, and then followed up with Angel of Finality to nuke it forever (enough so that said Tymna/Thrassios player just started incessantly targeting me solely because I denied him his quick and dirty win so...)
But these one mana answers are "card disadvantage" right? #smdh
Rather lose a card than lose the game. All day. Sometimes I think players are too focused on "the value" and always trying to keep a maximum number of cards in hand they forget you have to try to win and/or prevent others sudden win from happening too. Progress the game, don't just durdle around and draw cards.
Not sure if you're talking to me, but I play counters quite often and certainly accept the loss of CA in stride as the cost of having strong answers. Answering a game-winning spell (how does flash win the game these days? Is it still protean hulk?) and protecting your own threats from hate are great reasons to run counters. T1 top is NOT a game-winning spell, or even close to it. My point is that it's not worth committing a card to counter a play as unexciting as top in multiplayer, not that playing counters is a bad idea in general.
While Lightning Bolt isn't as good in EDH as it is in other formats, thanks to being a 40 life multiplayer format where large creatures are generally more common, it's still a solid piece of removal. If I've access to white and/or blue, and thus have better onemanacreatureremoval I tend to pass, but in decks without those colours, I tend to run it as bolt still kills a lot of very relevant creatures for a very low cost.
Mental Misstep's effectiveness is very dependent on the power level of your group. In a typical casual EDH playgroup, I wouldn't run it, but as you get more competitive, it gets much better. Not only do competitive decks tend to run more low CMC spells, but those spells are more effective - countering a Vampiric Tutor when you expect you opponent to get a Craw Wurm ain't worth it. Doing so when you expect them to get half a combo or an Ad Nauseam is much better - especially if you can do so when tapped out. Likewise stopping a T1 Mystic Remora is a great play in an environment where people are often casting 2+ spells/turn from turn 1 onwards. It's also good for protecting your stuff - Swan Song, Red Elemental Blast, Pyroblast, Nature's Claim, Pongify and so on are extremely common at the competitive level, and being able to stop them without paying mana is a very solid play. Although I will note that this last point is key - I wouldn't run it if it cost U, but being able to pay life instead makes the card good. Overall I wouldn't say Mental Misstep is a total no-brainer for cEDH decks with blue, but it definitely should be considered when putting such a deck together. I also generally wouldn't burn it on a Top - in the environments I do play MM, there are usually much more important targets.
Also, Red Elemental Blast and Pyroblast are amazing and should be in every red deck without blue, and still fit in many that do have blue.
I think a lot of Mental Misstep's complications come from a relatively common thought-process that you're better off packing regular counter spells to stop the player's win-conditions instead. No point countering that tutor if he's going to draw into the card eventually anyway.
I'm not saying that it's right or wrong, but strictly speaking from the "logical logistics" standpoint when making deck-building decisions, this kind of logic feels very sound and most people would probably just follow it. Let's face it, in reality we've all seen situations where both ends of the spectrum have been right and wrong at different times (although I'm a firm believer that you're wrong if you think it's ever safe to let Rhystic Study stay and draw a bunch of cards because I've seen the wrong end of that decision from people who had the luxury of choice then too many times even in more casual groups).
Admittedly I don't run Misstep because of said "logic", although considering my playgroup is around 75% competitive, I really should consider it (and in a fit of irony I had my IsperiaFlame Slashed recently...) Likewise this thread now has me wondering why I don't run Lightning Bolt in my Ryusei deck that stars Repercussion and has Furnaceof the Twin Gods (and as extra-added sugar I already have a foil Bolt anyway...)
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Pros: When you need to absolutely kill one turn plays like Birds of Paradise or other mana dorks.
Cons: Value goes down the drain fast as the games go on.
Salt is part of the game. Deal with it.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
As for mental misstep, I think counters need a bit more "oomph" in this format, and it answers a narrower subset of cards than bolt or other counters, so i can't see myself running it.
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I wouldn't necessarily say that value goes down the drain as the game goes on. I'll use it to counter a 1CMC tutor, Top, Clamp etc any day of the week - misstep hits entirely too many cards for it not to be good. Just my .02
BRGKresh the BloodbraidedBRG, A box of lands and ideas.
Modern:
RG Titanshift. A deck made of cards too stupid for EDH.
Retired: Lots. More than I feel you should suffer through or I should type out.
But Lightning Bolt is amazing, I treat it as instant removal that is only 1 mana. It keeps its value throughout the game.
Mana curves matter.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Not to nitpick here, but Cy. Rift isn't a 3+ spell. It's cmc is two, regardless of it's overloaded status or not. Being able to laugh off an overloaded Rift with a single blue mana is entertaining on oh so many levels.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Misstep is a meta consideration. It hits some great stuff, but some of that is only relevant early, so it's value does drop off as the game goes on. Rarely am I going to feel ok spending a card to counter Sol ring or exploration turn 5. I always want to counter top, and a few other one drops. MM is runnable in cut throat metas where you can be sure that you can probably counter something choice turn 1. Otherwise, it's dead too often.
Onering's 4 simple steps that let you solve any problem with Magic's gameplay
Step 1: Identify the problem. What aspect of Magic don't you like? Step 2: Find out how others deal with the problem. How do players deal with this aspect of the game when they run into it? Step 3: Do what those players do. Step 4: No more problem. Bonus: You are now better at Magic. Enjoy those extra wins!
Consider this, competitive decks run cheap spells to combo off faster. Why not run a one mana stop?
Countering a top to stop card advantage or draw setting is epic.
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EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
Countering sol rings and tops are icing on top of having the most efficient stp/pte protection available.
Spending a card to stop a card is card disadvantage. But not all card disadvantage is the same. Players gladly go down a card to instant speed tutor.
Definitely a meta consideration but so is including Doomsday in your 99.
Bolt on the other hand is solid staple in all metas. Slow metas are full of annoying walkers. Fast metas are full of low cc. Tuned metas are full of low p/t utility dorks.
An excellent point, my derp. Having said this, it still laughs in the face of Misstep.
BRGKresh the BloodbraidedBRG, A box of lands and ideas.
Modern:
RG Titanshift. A deck made of cards too stupid for EDH.
Retired: Lots. More than I feel you should suffer through or I should type out.
Other people made similar comments, but I'm wondering why you wouldn't want to counter
Time Stretch... Sorry, I mean Sol Ring. It's the most problematic and abusive card in the entire format.Your argument can be applied to any counterspell, as you seem to realize, but it's not really 100% accurate. Yes, you can argue that a counterspell gives your opponents that it doesn't directly affect each two cards of virtual card advantage, but that's not the same as you losing 2 or 3 cards of actual card advantage. And, besides, there's a lot of high-impact spells at 1 mana, especially in EDH.
Top can be a decent target, depending on context. Sol Ring, no matter what, and the feeling of countering a turn 1 Sol Ring is fantastic. Other decent targets (in part due to ubiquity) include, but are not limited to:
All that said, none of these cards come remotely close to the ubiquity of and problems caused by Sol Ring, which in and of themselves (exacerbated further in some groups with the addition of Mana Crypt) are reasons enough to consider and probably run some selection of:
And somewhat less so (Budget/backup options):
Hitting that top may completely wreck your opponent's plan, Top or Sol ring getting countered can make a playable hand into something completely unplayable.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
Trading 1:1 is fine if it's reactive, but proactive? You've better have a really good reason, and T1 you're not going to have any idea whether it's worth it or not, unless it's an established meta and you already know who has the nastiest deck.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
I wouldn't mistep a ponder, or a brainstorm or an opt, but something that advances the game like Sol Ring, Burgeoning or a Mana-Dork, or something that allows for consistency like Top, or Vamp Tutor, Misstep isn't an Auto include in every blue deck..but something like Kess where I could burn it on Turn one if someone tries a sol ring, and have it there later as an option to counter a spell pierce that is hitting an important spell during my turn.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
But these one mana answers are "card disadvantage" right? #smdh
Rather lose a card than lose the game. All day. Sometimes I think players are too focused on "the value" and always trying to keep a maximum number of cards in hand they forget you have to try to win and/or prevent others sudden win from happening too. Progress the game, don't just durdle around and draw cards.
Steel Sabotage'ng Orbs of Mellowness since 2011.
Sol ring (and mana crypt) are anomolies because they're ludicrously more powerful than any other legal card in terms of T1 impact. Still don't think I'd counter them (or put in a card designed to counter them) unless I knew the deck in advance, or had strong reason to suspect it was powerful (i.e. high tier commander, fetch dual t1, etc).
Countering any spell is card disadvantage, but later on it's easier to recoup CA and the spells your countering are more clear in their potential threat. A T1 sol ring might lead to a T2 smokestack, or it might lead to a T2 lurking chupacabra. I'd much rather wait to see what's going to happen before I commit cards - and if someone else might offer to answer it instead. Playing counters aggressively doesn't let you do that.Not sure if you're talking to me, but I play counters quite often and certainly accept the loss of CA in stride as the cost of having strong answers. Answering a game-winning spell (how does flash win the game these days? Is it still protean hulk?) and protecting your own threats from hate are great reasons to run counters. T1 top is NOT a game-winning spell, or even close to it. My point is that it's not worth committing a card to counter a play as unexciting as top in multiplayer, not that playing counters is a bad idea in general.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6
Mental Misstep's effectiveness is very dependent on the power level of your group. In a typical casual EDH playgroup, I wouldn't run it, but as you get more competitive, it gets much better. Not only do competitive decks tend to run more low CMC spells, but those spells are more effective - countering a Vampiric Tutor when you expect you opponent to get a Craw Wurm ain't worth it. Doing so when you expect them to get half a combo or an Ad Nauseam is much better - especially if you can do so when tapped out. Likewise stopping a T1 Mystic Remora is a great play in an environment where people are often casting 2+ spells/turn from turn 1 onwards. It's also good for protecting your stuff - Swan Song, Red Elemental Blast, Pyroblast, Nature's Claim, Pongify and so on are extremely common at the competitive level, and being able to stop them without paying mana is a very solid play. Although I will note that this last point is key - I wouldn't run it if it cost U, but being able to pay life instead makes the card good. Overall I wouldn't say Mental Misstep is a total no-brainer for cEDH decks with blue, but it definitely should be considered when putting such a deck together. I also generally wouldn't burn it on a Top - in the environments I do play MM, there are usually much more important targets.
Also, Red Elemental Blast and Pyroblast are amazing and should be in every red deck without blue, and still fit in many that do have blue.
I'm not saying that it's right or wrong, but strictly speaking from the "logical logistics" standpoint when making deck-building decisions, this kind of logic feels very sound and most people would probably just follow it. Let's face it, in reality we've all seen situations where both ends of the spectrum have been right and wrong at different times (although I'm a firm believer that you're wrong if you think it's ever safe to let Rhystic Study stay and draw a bunch of cards because I've seen the wrong end of that decision from people who had the luxury of choice then too many times even in more casual groups).
Admittedly I don't run Misstep because of said "logic", although considering my playgroup is around 75% competitive, I really should consider it (and in a fit of irony I had my Isperia Flame Slashed recently...) Likewise this thread now has me wondering why I don't run Lightning Bolt in my Ryusei deck that stars Repercussion and has Furnace of the Twin Gods (and as extra-added sugar I already have a foil Bolt anyway...)