MTG Top 10: Non-Blue Counterspells | Magic: the Gathering | Episode 180

[@NizzahonMagic]

So, as many have pointed out, I left out Chalice of the Voice, which some how slipped through the cracks, probably because it basically never counters anything I guess! With 101 points, it would have been #2.

[@Ninjamanhammer]

You misspelled Void.

[@haydonali4169]

Right on man! still behind the first place though, they must be more of a non-rotating format staple than i though. Very cool Nizz, have you thought about top 10 elves yet?

[@artificium_]

@@Ninjamanhammer a misspelling isn't the same as a typo or autocorrect error which this obviously was...

[@darkmatter32x]

Give the good man a slack. Cant be typo, it was autocorrect.

[@Ninjamanhammer]

The important part isn't why it was wrong, the important part was that it was wrong.

[@alecazam6755]

Mental Misstep is my favorite nonblue counterspell.

[@jacksonstein809]

Technically it IS blue

[@alecazam6755]

@@jacksonstein809 I knew this reply would happen lol

[@redstonepro5412]

Mental misstep is a stupid mistake...

[@jerrywhoomst1116]

That card is to good.

[@alecazam6755]

@@jerrywhoomst1116 ding dong your first turn is gone

[@captainstrangiato961]

“Ah, perfect, I have just the right mana and you are merely a mono white player. Prepare to die!” Mana Tithe: I’m about to ruin this whole man’s career.

[@starlightsilverwing9131]

You must pay! Now tax that spell!

[@Kurse_of_Kall]

mana tithing people is one of my favorite things to do in modern. Is it a bad card most of the time? Sure. Is it hilarious when it works once in a blue moon? Absolutely.

[@orzhovthief]

As SafronOlive would say : no one ever expects the mana tithe

[@dyciefisk2535]

Gutteral Responce is the exact type of responce someone gives to denying a counterspell.

[@kenpachiyugioh1804]

Pyroblast and REB are also Pauper legal and see tons of play there

[@Arvaniz]

Soon he'll need to count Pauper tournament points. Hope that shifts some cards in their positions... ;-)

[@davidminor4213]

Been saying that for a while now. Start giving 1/2 points to Pauper. Frankly, Pauper is already bigger than vintage

[@felipeluz5035]

Since only 13 cards had points, I think a quick “honorable mentions” would fit nice on this video... xD

[@blacktimhoward4322]

That's literally the reason there *shouldn't* be an honorable mention. If 500 cards got points, then being mentioned would be honorable. What's honorable about being the 12th best out of 13 options? Plus number 10 has two freaking points, pretty uninterested in seeing anything below that

[@haydonali4169]

Dude no chalice of the void? Awesome video Nizz, keep up the amazing work :D

[@nickbalmes6640]

I was shocked about that too

[@Ninjamanhammer]

It counters, but I don't think he counts it as a counter spell.

[@Nr4747]

@@Ninjamanhammer Lifeforce also is a permanent and also made the list. Seems like a big miss by Nizza.

[@SmuggyOcelot]

Ninjamanhammer Null Breech is also a permanent that counters. So maybe Chalice of the Void wasn’t there because.... because?

[@BrunoBarcelosAlves]

@@SmuggyOcelot I think he specifically mentioned cards that counter spells as an effect or activated ability, and Chalice has a triggered ability that counters spells.

[@darkmatter32x]

Pyroblast and Dash Hopes have special place in my heart.

[@Arvaniz]

Yeah, I was expecting Dash Hopes to come up...

[@The_Ajna]

Dash hopes is one of my all time favorites

[@therealbahamut]

I find dash hopes highly underrated. 2 mana for a counterspell or a 5-point burn? How is that NOT amazing? Also note: even if dash hopes IS countered, it's still CAST. It can still trigger "black spell is cast" or similar clauses even if it doesn't go through.

[@The_Ajna]

therealbahamut exactly. Such a weird and interesting card but again, quite strong

[@sephyrias883]

10:20 And Pauper. It's a sanctioned format as well now, after all.

[@erichbecker3109]

Withering boon, one of my favorite black counter spells

[@BDazzle77]

I like the really niche video topic! I know Maro has talked about potentially seeing more taxing-type counters in white going forward (though probably not in standard) which is something I'm interested in seeing. I do think Lapse of Certainty was a little undervalued here, though. Sometimes it does just delay the inevitable, but it can be better than that in numerous scenarios and isn't just a tempo play. Worst case you still get a full card out of it by negating their next draw step. Memory Lapse has always been a solid card and while the extra mana on Lapse of Certainty limits its applications, I think it is still pretty solid.

[@trpggames2162]

pyroblast and hydroblast, red elemental blast are legal in pauper.

[@PaulGaither]

Red elemental blast and Pryoblast are not-so-secret tech for blue decks. Fetch up a Volcanic Island and you have a one mana hard counter. They were used as singletons in sideboards, which also blew up an opposing Meddling Mage or two. In my Mizzix of the Izmagnus deck, these are both used as well to protect my combos and/or win a counter war.

[@sagemorrison360]

I run a copy of Deathgrip in my Ertai, the Corrupted EDH deck, one of the best non-blue counterspells I've used!

[@AutumnIntoSummer]

I love Warping Wail's diversity. If you leave mana up but don't have any targets for the first two choices, you can use it as a blocking combat trick or ramp into something next turn.

[@HaydenX]

I have at least 2 Mana Tithes in the SB of basically every non-blue, white deck I build in Modern...and even sometimes main board, and even in Azorius/Jeskai. It's just so satisfying for an opponent to think they're safe...or to leave 1 mana open when casing an important creature (like Monastery Mentor for example) and counter the opponent's counter.

[@Rhygenix]

Honourable mention to Dawn Charm. One of the Ultimate Turbo Fog instants out there.

[@systmdfect]

Why isn't chalice on the list? Is it because it doesn't counter "target" spell?

[@Ninjamanhammer]

It counters, but it's not really a counter spell

[@virgileblanchet-mhl1152]

@@Ninjamanhammer Frontline medic doesn't quite qualify as a counterspell either, a better way to differentiate it would be to specify the Triggered rather than activated nature of Chalice of the Void's ability.

[@Ninjamanhammer]

I agree that I wouldn't call frontline medic a counterspell, but it's more a counterspell than chalice.

[@ironthrom7314]

Im a little suprised Dash hopes didnt make the list

[@Nr4747]

I don't think Dash Hopes ever top 8'ed any major tournament ? It's a neat design, though - very flavorful and I also love the name and art.

[@ironthrom7314]

@@Nr4747 that's interesting considering that is a painful counterspell for just two black.

[@efuii]

​@@ironthrom7314The thing is that everyone would pay 5 life to play a bomb rather to see that card countered. In this way, it's a card that deals 5 damage for BB. While that's not bad of an effect, it's not deserving of a card slot either.

[@ironthrom7314]

@@efuii I see what ya mean.

[@PaulGaither]

Dash hopes really won't counter what you want it to, and it cannot reliably be used as a burn spell either. If they are at 5 or less, you cannot just knock the top of your deck and burn them out. It does two things... poorly. Bump innthe night is far better for a Rakdos burn deck.

[@Tempest_Murder]

The art on Bind is great, this topless jester is so full of motion and hatred towards Yavimaya that Multani forwent vines, roots, or Giant spider webs for the highly coveted and impeccable binding that Spectral possum mind cheese provides.

[@danlayne9436]

I know the criteria for ranking were placements in various tournaments, but Nether Void is by far the best counter. It Mana Leaks everything, is an enchantment, and is black which has access to much land destruction. Combo it with Braids and it's GG.

[@RobertScythe]

I haven't played this game for at least 15 years, but when they got rid of the 'interrupt' designation and turned them all to 'instant' I started packing one or two Avoid Fate that worked surprisingly well and was a great "what?" moment. Countering Swords/Terrors/Bolts, et al, with 1 green was pretty damn cool.

[@MetPhD]

Video indirectly lead me to an understanding of pyroblast vs. R.E.Blast... very nice.

[@BretasDoc]

White should be able to counter more! But, in a different way from blue. Not only it would make a level of theme and sense, but also would share the monopoly of responses and power away from Blue (A.k.A the most powerful color) into White (Probably the weakest)

[@GolgariGymBro]

A friend of mine was in an EDH pod and someone was about to combo off. Mana Tithe. Combo got countered. That match is still talked about today. Fucking legendary.

[@Windowlick_]

It's kind of funny looking back on Guttural Response here and you assuring it will see play again, when this video was released on the exact day Veil of Summer was released.

[@NizzahonMagic]

Funny how things work haha

[@gianscro4191]

I played stromglad caval with painter servant in a legacy deck ten years ago,was fun!!!

[@dollors1]

I wish you showcased way more non blue counterspells, it's hands down the best mechanic.

[@NizzahonMagic]

I mean it is an MTG Top 10, how many did you expect!

[@Quiltfish]

42‽ I only knew Mana Tithe and Red Elemental Blast..

[@lijahh1846]

I'm pretty surprised that Rebuff the Wicked didn't have points! Maybe it's just a pet card in my meta and not actually that popular.

[@christopherfitzpatrick1483]

I was just as surprised!

[@OneOfDisease]

You ever do a top 10 sideboarded cards?

[@joserijose]

Hey man, I just started watching a month ago (or something like that) and you already have given me so many good ideas. Thank you very much for your work. Personally, I'd like to see some more personal top tens (I think I've seen one so far)

[@NizzahonMagic]

Glad you enjoy the content!

[@kenshjiarson2204]

Before this gets lost in a sea of comments, I want to say how much I enjoy you list videos. Usually, top (insert number here) lists are lazily made videos primarily used as a way to get clicks. And it shows. Many of these videos are formulaic and stale. However, your videos are different. For one, you take an abstract ideas( the idea of best) and quantify it into something concrete. You also give a thorough explanation about the cards you put on you list, such as the history of the card, why it was good, ect. And even in your opinionated videos, like worst mythiccards ever, you still use a calculated measurement to rank these cards. You took a relatively dull and boring video type and did something creative with it. That's quite the accomplishment. P.S. Your history of the banned and restricted list is also a rally cool and unique idea. Keep creating that as well.

[@NizzahonMagic]

Thanks!

[@marianocolsin8968]

You should do an actualized video showing "you-know-wich" red counterspell

[@stens.8394]

Null brooch would be cool with bottled cloister!

[@dreamweav3r367]

Suggestion: Top 10 5-Color Lands

[@tatesmith4527]

Veil of Summer is basically a counterspell stapled onto a Cantrip, all of this for only G!

[@cax1175]

Warping Wail has saved my Eldrazi in my colorless edh deck a lot from sorceries.

[@trexrex7778]

Honestly one of my favorite is withering boon

[@TheGloriousLobsterEmperor]

I didn't even know there were 10 non-blue counterspells. By the way, my segway got counter. Top 10 vintage cards (minus power 9).

[@legochickenguy4938]

Veil of Summer doesn't technically count but is probably the greatest nonblue counterspell ever printed

[@WillieSmith-sc1et]

Imps mischief has won a lot of games for me. Sure you have to lose a bit of life and your only changing the target, but its almost always worth it. The only other black card on the list was a jank creature that only hits white. Imps Mischief is one and a black and changes the target of target spell with a single target. You lose life equal to the spells CMC. Great against counterspells, removal, do you know how good it feels when your playing mono black and you counter a blue players counter with a 2 drop black spell? It feels amazing. Lol So does redirecting a path for 2 mana and one life, 3 mana and a life to remove Thalia. So worth it. Just saying this card should see way more play. Atleast as a strong sideboard option.

[@scn123169]

FYI, pyroblast and red elemental blast are also legal in EDH.

[@NizzahonMagic]

Pretty much everything is

[@thendar823]

I always loved the idea of Dash Hopes. Somewhat expected to not see it here tho

[@shreksmyhomie2419]

Same. Is it really THAT bad?

[@edgeelric4245]

I seriously expected to see Dash Hopes on this list

[@bolinha0]

Ikr

[@Bidouillechurch]

Oh no autum's veil ? Keep it, grate videos !

[@rareroe305]

I love Rebuff the Wicked to keep my important creatures alive.

[@Kavou]

There is nothing more sweet than countering something with Mana Tithe on turn 1-2.

[@middknight5202]

Did I miss Artifact blast? It's hilarious countering the blue players turn 1 sol ring >:)

[@damienresendez]

Theres a red counter where you and the caster bid life. Who ever wins is who ever bid the most life.

[@thomasravnkilde]

Rebuff the Wicked is another counterspell from Planar Chaos Also, as other have mentioned, Dash Hopes kicks me right in the jewels everytime it’s played -.-‘

[@larryla6121]

Top 10, put on top of library

[@Graatand]

Larry La, or maybe just “bounce to library” in general?

[@Ninjamanhammer]

Number 1 is Brainstorm.

[@legendaryartifactcreature898]

Wonder where Tibalt's Trickery would land on this list

[@keiharris332]

Lightning bolt is my favorite lol. If they target their creature with a spell and I kill the creature with bolt, their spell is technically countered.

[@jediprotector216]

I was thinking, is Lapse of Certainty was able combo off in modern with Approach of the Second Sun? That would be a cool deck idea if that works

[@Blackvolttage]

you can cast the second sun, lapse of certainty it to go to the top and draw to win. buuuut.... it cost you 10 mana to do so, even if we use the blue one (or well, remand that is much better in that scenary, btw) its still 9 mana. I think the other guy didnt realized you are talking about the first cast of the sun (if you vounter the second you never won anyway)

[@deelight6022]

So, lifeforce with painter's servant calling black sounds like fun.

[@eloidasarmi6815]

Lapse of certainity + mill effect = pure counterspell

[@pauperjaymtg2920]

Hey what are the chances you bring pauper into the mix. Atleast mentioning it seeing that pyro and red elemental are staples in pauper! Great video as always.

[@coreblaster6809]

I think adding pauper in would skew the results towards common cards, they might be the best commons but not the best cards.

[@tylerannand3777]

Top 10 alternate win conditions?

[@deathkitty23]

Just started the video but if Wuthering Boon isn't mentioned at least once I'mma be upset, so good in Greven

[@NizzahonMagic]

These lists don't talk about EDH for the most part

[@deathkitty23]

Nizzahon Magic I realized that the second you listed criteria for the list, still good list a lot of my favorite alternatives were on it :)

[@SpaceHeathen]

Was hoping to see Geth's Verdict on here

[@MarcoB123]

Top can't be countered?

[@NizzahonMagic]

Good idea for one in the future

[@MarcoB123]

@@NizzahonMagic thanks

[@Sauvenil]

Would that count cards with Split Second, since they incidentally can't be countered except via triggered abilities like Counterbalance?

[@jasoniorio4528]

Guttural Response caused many people I was playing to disconnect on MTGO..lol

[@DarklordZagarna]

It's funny that a couple of these hardly ever counter anything and Vines of Vastwood counters things all the time, but it isn't eligible for this list. (I do wonder where it would fit if it were!)

[@ekolimitsLIVE]

Dude. Why block the text box for the last two cards

[@DaxRaider]

u said mana thide had a modern point but show no point so whats the correct one ?

[@joelmonteiro1419]

You forgot Chalice of the Void, right?

[@stylesheetra9411]

Yeah seems strange

[@Ninjamanhammer]

Don't think he counts it as a counterspell.

[@NizzahonMagic]

Yeah I did, will make a pinned poat about it later

[@Ninjamanhammer]

Would Nether Void have enough points for the top 10?

[@Jonassvensson-uv9zd]

Stifle? Was and will always be relevant.

[@jaredt2590]

If you're playing green just keep a side board with creatures that can't be countered.

[@jigley9higley]

Hi Nizzahon! Love your videos. I was wondering: what is the card art you use for the background of the scoring explanation? I feel like I've lost to that card before in a game, but I can't remember what it's called or even what set it comes from.

[@NizzahonMagic]

Captive Audience

[@jigley9higley]

@@NizzahonMagic Thank you so much!

[@possEETV]

What about dash hope i love that on a 2 swamp counter?

[@MaMmanouel]

Mana tithe is played in Duel Commander actually (a format very well known in Europe, the meta game is fast because they change the life total to 20hp recently).

[@NizzahonMagic]

It is played in lots of format I didn't mention, but these videos only look at those that have premiere event support.

[@MaMmanouel]

Ok, ok !

[@faiz8866]

Great video as always 👍👍👍

[@NizzahonMagic]

Thanks!

[@flyingpigmonkey1]

Blasts are pauper legal now right?

[@icantpronounce]

I was assuming red elemental blast and pyro blast would be 1&2

[@jacksonstein809]

I’m disappointed that you didn’t use kozilek the great distortion. It has “discard a card with CMC X, counter target spell with CMC X.

[@NizzahonMagic]

It has 1 point. Has nothing to do with "using", it wasn't good enough

[@polyemphis]

I'm surprised you didnt include Ring of Immortals

[@Oracleswrath9999]

I’m surprised the sundial didn’t make the list.

[@brianhelmick1105]

Chancellor of the Annex much? Can my combo love get some help. By your criteria it should be like number 3

[@nostromer]

I wonder if Life Force and Painter's Servant were ever played in conjunction. I could see that being pretty cheese.

[@markstahl1464]

I’ve done it. The deck also needs CoP: Black as well as Dueling Grounds and Whirling Dervish as the finisher.

[@fred-ss4ym]

What about mental misstep ?

[@NizzahonMagic]

Is blue

[@josereneticsay32]

Top Elementals?

[@NizzahonMagic]

Did it just a few weeks ago

[@davidminor4213]

10:23 "These days they are only legal in legacy and vintage" ..... And Pauper!

[@NizzahonMagic]

Well, yeah, and EDH. And Singleton. And Prismatic. Those aren't formats I look at in this series. Maybe some day Pauper will have a GP since it is sanctioned now.

[@davidminor4213]

Nizzahon Magic I understand why you don't include Pauper, however, I wish you would mention it. When you say things like "only in legacy in vintage" you outright exclude the fastest growing meta. Not every common of course (serum visions sees no play there) but Delver, Gurmag, Pyro and Hydro, Brainstorm, Ponder, etc. These are Pauper Staples, and for many newer players, like myself, was first introduced to these Staples through Pauper. It's worth mentioning. You don't include EDH, but whenever an EDH staple cracks a top 10, you usually mention it.

[@bastiaan0741]

No artifact blast?

[@saranobutt]

I need a list like this but for Vintage.

[@AlcerusOfficial]

The good news is that you can use any of these cards for Vintage play. These are only selected because they have been in decks that have won tournaments.

[@danielrowan4716]

I thought Deathgrip would’ve made it on I front of Lifeforce.

[@urparentsdivorcepapers]

.................. AT NUMBER EIGHT

[@KingToll]

Imagine Null Brooch with Experimental Frenzy. :o

[@imakuni67]

Good reprint for MH2, I'd say!

[@fantasticfoil92]

surprised rebuff the wicked wasn't there

[@NizzahonMagic]

Has 1 point

[@erlanddrow7950]

Top 10 non-red burn spells?

[@stuflames4769]

Black comes to mind.

[@Buchaus]

Honestly kinda surprised that rebuff the wicked didn't get any points.

[@hic7021]

You forgot about Dashed Hopes. It is one of the very few black counter spells and has a very high cost to count it.

[@NizzahonMagic]

I didn't forget it, it has 0 points because its bad.

[@hic7021]

Two black for a counter spell that ether the other player pays five life to counter or it counters their target spell. I must disagree,

[@eliakimrodrigues]

@@hic7021 Giving choice to opponents is usually bad in 1v1 formats.

[@sicebae4988]

Where is Chalice of the Void?

[@vario6492]

Wow pyroblast is busted

[@JalebJay]

Lapse of Certainty should have been mentioned it was a color shifted version of Memory Lapse

[@Blackvolttage]

not really as memory lapse is cmc2 and lapse is 3. Surely the white lapse was inspired by the blue one, and could bern mentioned, but thats not a colorshifted memory lapse (maybe it started that way and was waaaaay too powerful?)

[@JalebJay]

@@Blackvolttage Of course they would nerf it as they've been making counterspells cost more for a while. The modern version of Lapse is either Hinder (where you can put it on the bottom) or Remand (where you draw a card instead of putting them behind a draw). Pretty sure Lapse of Certainty is meant to be somewhere in between Memory Lapse and Hinder in terms of power. On another note, Lapse of Certainty's name shares the Lapse from Memory Lapse.

[@davidhoar75]

I like rebuff the wicked

[@theliving1037]

Weird lifeforce is on here, but not deathgrip. Black against green.

[@LordHyren]

Dash Hopes?

[@dylansnowrove3732]

WotC is, without a doubt, biased towards blue

[@rjphilla]

Can't believe Dash Hopes didn't make it

[@NizzahonMagic]

I can.