WHAT ARE THE BEST COUNTERSPELLS IN cEDH - THE PLAY TO WIN PODCAST 

Something I think could be cool is if we could get a moxfield list or something of cards you guys talk about in the podcasts so people can follow along and use as a reference

This was an amazing conversation on how Kinnan is the only deck in the format. Also some counterspells.

Cam: "This week Tyler's back again" Tyler: "Oh, shit." 😂

Drown in the Loch is also an interesting one since you have the flexibility of having it be a kill spell in need be (similar to pyroblast)

You guys and playing with Power uploaded almost at the same time. I choose you everytime

Guys! Stifle can counter a lot more than Dockside Extortionist and ThOracle's ETB and when it does it's soooooo rewarding. Namely: The Pact of Negation trigger, Flusterstorm or Brain Freeze's storm, Final Fortune's delayed trigger, Ranger-Captain's silence effect, many more ETBs like Imperial Recruiter's, Spellseeker's, Dualcaster Mage's. Heck, I have even countered a Sensei's Divining Top activation (the draw a card effect). It also stops the Underworld Breach sacrifice trigger (not that it matters though). TL;DR: I just LOVE Stifle in cEDH.

Your production quality is absolutely fantastic on top of good commentary and a good amount of humor! S-tier content!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I could listen to you 3 talk about Magic all day! Please keep these kinds of episodes coming!

So good to see Tyler in the conversation. The combo of your guys personality and senses of humor, made me watch a video I probably would have skipped just because I knew it would be so much fun!! Loving the extra content!!

Abjure still sees play in Yuriko since she loves going back to the command zone, but not much else IIRC.

Don’t forget Ertai’s meddling. Can also target uncounterable spells, and can feed mana into it for more time counters.

Tyler's face when he says "goodbye" fucking killed me

Trickbind personally is underrated along with: Render Silent, Nix, and Bolt Bend (cheap version of deflecting swat).

It's nice to be able to watch this on my break right now 👍🏽

I have a bunch of Rebuff the Wicked when I used to play Modern and now my friends are like "What the hell is that spell!?" lol love that response everytime

I like seeing and hearing Tyler!

Muddle is definitely the most underrated card on this list. Its flexibility is great.

You all are sleeping on Blue Elemental Blast imo. Hits Dockside, Breach, Winota, Blood Moon, Kiki, Najeela, Dargo, Magda/Birgi, Kraum, Glinthorn, etc.

It's been a ride watching the cmc of counters go from 2 being a decent cost to being a lot of mana

No idea why freeze framing on Tyler is so funny, but I chuckle every time it happens

Love y'all's content. You guys have been doing great work on these podcasts. Especially love seeing the collabs with other content creators.

Great cast boys! I’ll be sharing this with my group! 🙌

Very cool of you guys to touch on how to sequence counters when you have a few options in hand

I cannot believe, they did not mention one of the best counterspells Arcane denial. I also like exclude (counter and draw card).

I love these sparatic podcasts in between weekly videos, love the content, keep it rolling!

I think its about time for a Slicer game on Play to win!

Great chat at the end theorycrafting counterspells in other colours! To throw my 2 cents in.. For white(if it isn't a mana-leak type of effect), it would probably be something along the lines of Arcane Denial. Counter target spell, it's controller draws a card. For red, I can see it being sacrificing an artifact or creature as an additional cost to counter the spell, and with green I think it would be something along the lines of Boseju or Assasin's Trophy. Counter the spell, it's controller searches for a land and puts it into play(I think it would be like that mainly because if WoTC starts printing these kind of colour pie breaking cards without taking into consideration other formats, they might as well just cancel any and all non-EDH support)

deflecting swatting someone’s peer into the abyss to myself has to be my favorite use for swat 😂.

Avoid fate was one I threw in my first magic deck lol since no one thought green had counters. It is very situational but i mean its just fun to see peoples faces after countering something in golgari.

I know it's a 5 mana counter (and some people don't run those I guess?), but Wandering Archaic is pretty useful vs decks that run counter magic. "We really want to be on 1 and 0 mana counters" pretty much means 'I scoop to you casting any significant Hatebear, since nobody runs removal in cEDH' for some decks, you really need counters vs creatures in some match ups. I run some sub-par counters specifically because I need to hit Oppo and Dranith, though I do pack removal to deal with them. I would *TOTALLY* play U to Delay with only Suspend 1, lots of cards will work differently/not at all if suspended, like counters. Also it'd be boss to protect your win con, better Dispel woo! I actually find Force of Will can be an awkward card in decks that aren't as heavy on Blue, or don't run disposable Blue spells like cantrips. Silence can be played in response to some lunatic that casts Fevered Suspicion... it's not perfect, but it does effectively counter stuff that requires subsequent casts. Mizzix's Mastery is probably a better (but still truly irrelevant afaik) example I guess, or Yawgmoth's Will for one that still doesn't see much play but might matter more? OH! SILENCE POOPS HARD ON UNDERWORLD BREACH! Ha! I got there! Hey, what about Stubborn Denial in any deck that expects to have a strong Commander, Kraum or Ishai maybe? U for that is pretty sick? Am I wrong? It's like 'Kinda Mean Guardianship'!

This is why I run lifeforce and douse in my Cedh rograhk and thrasios list. It’s not just a one time use counterspell or something I have to recur to use again. It’s a repeatable engine that can’t be countered by most counterspells. That’s the biggest benefit in my opinion, the fact that if I use douse on your dockside the number of cards that answer my douse activation are incredibly low. And even if you have it, I can just pay 2 more mana after you burn it. It helps that black and red are pretty much the most played colors. Force of will does nothing against a boarded douse or lifeforce. Also you can use douse and lifeforce as many times as you want in a turn under a rule of law. Also just saying painters servant is legal.

54:01 There's also the 2 mana counter for enchantments/artifacts, Illumination. Also some minor ones that counters something that target you or your creatures. Not to forget some creatures that can activate to counter spells.

My favorite White Counterspell is Deafening Silence, it’s only 1 mana and it counters all their other spells in hand off the stack before they can even play them. And that is why I play stax 😂

One counterspell that I am trying to make work is Drown in the Loch, 2 mana in 2 colors is a lot, and the graveyard requirements suck. But being able to destroy creatures or counter spells is very good.

I say it every week but this was another killer episode guys. Also, in response to Dylan's comment at 5:17 I 100% agree and was having a conversation just three days ago with my best friend about how there's a lot of color identity leak amongst 4 of the 5 colors, and while some of Blue's ID has been given to the other colors by and large they're the only color with real access to counter magic and that's pretty fucked.

Awesome video and really good at breaking down the nuisance of the cards

Perfect timing with the podcast dropping while im at work. Also i picked a perfect time to get into Cedh. This podcast and Dominaria Remastered have been very helpful. Now i just need a dual lands reprint that isnt from a $999 proxy box *cough wizards cough*

Not a counterspell, but a fantastic piece in a counter war: what would you say about Vexing Shusher? (obviously in non-blue lists) Since you can use it to force an opponent's spell through the counter war if it's stopping something that you need stopped.

One important functionality about counter spells vs direct removal is that the opponent never gets any value out of the card (barring specific cast triggers). The scenario I always bring up to newer players on why countering a spell (permanent) is more powerful than removing it after it hits the board is if your opponent casts and resolves Tatyova, they are able to maintain priority to perform another action, such as playing a land, which will give their card value before you have a chance to get rid of it. This is why counter spells are the second-best removal. Obviously, the best removal is player removal; why removal one permanent with a card when you can remove their entire hand, field, and library?

Been loving the podcasts, especially when it’s the 3 musketeers! Also I know it was question from a couple of weeks ago but Dylan looking nice being the headphones guy part of the pod 😉

Please Tyler stay on!!! Your input is my favorite

I love these kind of vids guys keep up the great content, see you at puntcity 2!

I think Arcane Denial is seriously overlooked in CEDH. A non-conditional hard counter with same Mana Cost as Delay and it replaces itself by giving yourself a card. Giving an opponent two cards is a fine tradeoff - there are always opponents profiting from you playing a counterspell (ie they don't lose cards in hands while you do), this just shifts the player(s) who profit(s) from your counterspell AND you replace your lost card.

Very interesting you guys didn't talk about Vexing Shusher. I still run it in my Turbo Ad Naus Korvold list and the card is just cracked when I get a dockside off. Gives me a very protected win-attempt.

Great video as always. You could try making tier lists as the NPN, sometimes I take screenshots to share them.

Don't forget Swan Song being an alternate wincon in Timetwister loops

52:56 On a similar note I think it would be cool if you guys did a video about mana dorks and then had a section talking about what a mana dork would look like in each color combo like Deathrite Shaman. Like they could all look like Avacyn's Pilgrim but that is just a filter dork.

I love mindbreak trap for a couple reasons. Thoracle combo goes off, if anyone has a counterspell that puts you to 3 unless they just sent it without their own counter. It also exiles spells so it smacks breach decks. And you can exile everything but your opponents pact of negation and screw them by leaving then with nothing and having to pay.

it's definitely not something i reach for in high color lists, but i play disrupting shoal in rashmi and have been pretty impressed

Id love to see a white mana counter spell thats like a swords to plowshares or a path to exile

Very entertaining, thank you!

“Seasonal Veils” made me fluffing cackle bro

Illumination!!! It's 2 white mana for an instant that says " counter target artifact or enchantment spell. If that spell is countered that spells controller gains life equal to the spells mana cost."

About that ad nauss discussion, usually players focus on stopping ad nauss rather then what comes after, so technically you don't need to find that many responses with ad nauss if attempts to counter ad nauss have already been made and you managed to defend .

thank you all for such rad work always :-) i'm trying to put together Kinnan rn, and am learning a bunch from Tyler's lists; i'm finding myself removing "tier 2ish" counterspells (dispel, spell pierce, miscast, etc) and moving more toward creatures who can provide stack interaction (Glen-Elendra Archmange, new Jin-Gitaxias) (helps w/ having more dependable Kinnan activations) / i'm wondering how well Perplexing Chimera has worked as a kind of counterspell/commandeer? it seems like such a strong choice especially with homeward path :o

It's hilarious that throughout this video, the video stream only stops when Tyler is trying to say something, otherwise the video is fine, only for Tyler!🤣

As someone who's dipping their toes into cedh, (mainly not fully getting into it cause of money) I love every bit of yalls conversations here, and explaining the reasonings for your personal opinions on these cards. I would also like to say that as a higher level casual player, my favorite counter is by far render silent. (In my pods, nobody has ANY kind of response to that other than instant sadness because they were about to win)

Does no one play arcane denial anymore?

Good video. What about Wash Away? Counter a spell that wasn't cast from hand for 1 mana or 3 mana for reg counter. 1 mana to counter a commander.

One thing to keep in mind with the free counterspells if when you are casting them from the grave with Underworld Breach. In this case the only "Free" one is Pact of Negation, as the others the escape is an alternative cost so you can not use the alternative cost that makes them free as part of the escape. I.E. if you have Force of Will in your graveyard you can not escape it and pay 1 life and exile a blue card, instead you have to pay 5 and exile 3 cards.

been loving these podcast ep lately! GG EZ

Random thoughts I had along the lines: Mindbreak Trap has turned around a lot of games for me recently than any other spell. It's often not that great at protecting your own win, but it is really good at breaking opponent's backs. I think whether Daze is better than Mindbreak Trap depends on what the deck is you're talking about.

I very much prefer delay over mana drain in my dawnwaker build. I always assumed I'd simply be able to dump that main phase mana into an activation, but more often I lost access to blue for my 2nd or 3rd piece of interaction.

7:00 Mana leak is not a modern all-star btw, mana leak is one of those cards you hope to never register but might if you can't make UU.

The one exception for trickbind's narrow nature is Split Second, it guarantees it happens.

What i do like about the stifle, it allow you to be in the position to be in the last spot to respond and avoid to be forced by others players during the passing priority.

So happy I’m not the only one who says grand arbiter when I say grand abolisher lol. 5:47

muddle the mixture is purely for searching up spellskite or Kinnan or dockside for Neoforming into Glint-horn the next turn in my pirates deck.

Tyler is very nice to have around

I really like running Repudiate// Replicate in my Silas/Kodama deck but that's because it both helps to further my gameplan and incidentally stop a game winning play.

Withering boon is another counter in black, but only counters creatures, Dash hopes can set off a combo of life loss for example exquisite blood on the battlefield, attempt to cast vito, they counter vito, you use dash hopes if they pay 5 life use imps mischief and your combo resolves

Abjure sees play in Yuriko. It honestly could be a staple in that deck Trickbind having split second not only wins the stack but sometimes can KILL ppl. The upside is too high to IGNORE.

For the argument of Spell Pierce vs Miscast, in a vacuum I think Miscast is better. When considering that Flusterstorm exists and is usually included before both of them, I like playing Spell Pierce if I want more of this effect because it hits what Flusterstorm can't.

I wonder what your thoughts are on the new remand in white. (doesnt counter but returns spell to hand).

How do y’all feel about Stubborn Denial? It’s a 1-mana fierce guardianship if you’re on Kraum

The clip of you all trying to remember minor misstep’s name was hilarious

Thank you!

Discontinuity is my favorite “counter spell” it’s so run in Urza stax/big mana

Turning a blind eye to Illumination, I see.👓 Yes, I'm proud of that one.

I think for as long as Thassa will be dominating format in alt. win condition - Trickbind should be considered as an ability counterspell. At least in my pod the split seconds like Angel's grace and Trickbind heavily impact thassa players

A weird one is Ertai's Meddling. 2 mana might be too high but it gets around mindbreak trap dovin's veto

In my Niv-mizzet Parun mid range storm list I have countless times used an offer you can't refuse on my own LED then used the two treasures to play Breach - 60% of the time, it works every time

White counters could also be exile spells and give the opponent something like treasures, a tapped land, a creature. A deal you can't refuse and swan song should have been white counters also.

Stifle/trickbind is really underestimated. They can stop a lot of creature winning effects and stop storm effects like brain freeze or Flusterstorm. Also can stop your pact triggers

What about Ertai’s meddling? The delay that can counter uncounterable spells

hydroblast is single target removal for breach, kraum, dockside with a phimage on the stack, slicer (other red commanders that aren't kraum) even when it isnt a counter spell, so i dont know if i agree. mainly if you already passed priority on red cards and can destroy while it is on the board.

it might be more of a high power card but what are your thoughts on arcane denial. 1generic 1blue it counters any spell but in return you give the person 2 cards and you get one card on the next upkeep. Is the card draw that make the card unplayable or is it just the 2 mana?

i also think that white should have "unless his controller pays X" counterspells, they are not too powerful and it would be a great fit/compromise in the color pie

After putting in my free Counters, we go to one mana, pyroblast/red blast are first on the list. A Dispel that removes the two best draw engines in the game mystic+rhystic is so important. If its a control deck and we dip into the two mana Counters, Dovin's veto is first.

i'm a big fan of Big Fart Noise. underplayed in the cEDH meta, imo

Don’t forget when discussing the power of counter spell Our format has lied and tricked itself thanks to faster and faster grixis decks Our format runs a lot of creatures… There are few creature counter spells. Don’t get trolled into cutting counterspell… you need more answers for creatures these days. Anyways, I got this idea form Ryan at playing with power. He talked about it on their commander tier list video I think. Anyways cheers Podcast is getting more professional

What's your guys' opinion Krosan Grip? I think the idea to end the stack right there and and the chance to blow up someone's mana rock is a good 2 for 1.

Don't think I heard you guys mention Foil. Do you guys think Foil is worth running in a mono-blue or two-color-blue list or do other counters still beat it out?

And another banger 👌🏻

just a note about veil of summer, It says spells cant be countered period. It doesn't care about the color of the counter

is foil ever playable in cedh in heavy blue decks? or are islands too few and far between

I miscast a kraum ikra player's ad naus. And he goes, simian spirit guide, into elvish spirit guide, into manamorphose, into dark ritual. Its kinda cool but i got mindbreak trap after that 😜.

If you have counterbalance on the field and a Sensei’s top. And opponent plays a 1 mana spell can you activate in response tops 2nd ability to put top on top of deck then counterbalance reveals top to counter spell???

White counter could be one W: Counter target spell unless it's controller pays x where x is the number of creatures you control

Note: Veil of summer makes things uncounterable. Even if they pyroblast or red blast still uncounterable.