Top 10 Non-Blue Counterspells in Magic

[@B-Ran_the_Man]

Oh Mana Tithe......never gets old catching people off guard with a counter spell from white!

[@brandonrasmussen9165]

I play it in modern, people don’t see it coming and after getting hit by it they play around it the rest of the game even after sideboarding it out

[@garrettsmith4034]

I ALWAYS play mana tithe and dash hopes XD. I was playing a mono black mirror match in oath with a friend and they Krikk'd to 4 life. Dash hopes go brr. They still hate that card.

[@Necroskull388]

Catching unsuspecting fools with Mana Tithe is one of the best feelings in Magic. It says a lot that SaffronOlive’s video on Smallpox in Modern is mostly just a compilation of him cackling while casting Mana Tithe.

[@cax1175]

Kozilek the Great Distortion is easily the most popular colorless commander

[@CaptainB1994]

Indeed, my favourite use of it I've seen was during an episode of Game Knights on The Command Zone channel.

[@Seifersythe]

The fact that it refills your hand makes it perfect for a ramp Eldrazi deck.

[@johnsanko4136]

Yeah, just fill your deck with rocks and try to drop him fast. Then you refill your hand and figure out how to win with him and whatever other mana sink you can find

[@CaptainB1994]

@@johnsanko4136 By rocks you mean things like the various Signets, Sol Ring and Gilded Lotus right?

[@thelastrebel13]

Laughs in golos.....🥲

[@jettblade]

One card that I am surprised to not see is Dash Hopes. It costs BB and counters a spell but has any player may pay 5 life to counter Dash Hopes. I know that letting you opponent have control over your spell isn't good but 5 life is kind of a significant amount to tax someone. Its not the best but its a 'damned if you do/damned if you don't' type of card, which I like.

[@davidyerman4502]

I was waiting to see that, since I used to run it back in the Time Spiral block and champion it in my budget MTG group

[@jamesskaine4877]

I have been wanting to make a RWB control burn deck, and this card kind of filled all of the roles I wanted. Even just BR burn it could still be a cool option. A fun turn 5 would be Kolagan's Command, then protect it with Dash Hopes, it really would make them wonder if letting Command go off would be the better option

[@MrUppmas]

The problem with all these cards that let your opponent choose is that you always get the effect that is better for your opponent. When they really want that spell to resolve they pay the life, whenever they don't really care they just let it get countered. It's a bad counterspell because you can't trust it to counter a game ending spell, and it's a bad burn spell because you can't force your opponent to take damage.

[@jettblade]

@@MrUppmas What you said is true. More than often it won't work how you wanted it to but making your opponent choose puts pressure on them. Also the fact you could be playing mono-black and could counter spell them can really throw off a player. You're game plan with Dash Hopes is to stop not a game ending spell or do damage to them but make players have a harder time making choices that is best for them. Sometimes playing against a player can be better than playing against their deck.

[@jamesskaine4877]

@@MrUppmas Yeah, it's flaky nature makes it a bad card, but I have ways in the deck to increase it's consistency. Young Pyromancer and Monastery Mentor, if either of them are on the board it makes the choice significantly more difficult. Since the payment counts as a counter it would deny the token generation, but could still also put them in a very bad position. But all being said, Dash Hopes is bad, it's too specific in its mana cost, and giving you opponent options on not losing make it pretty bad

[@snailracer4082]

"Top 10 Cards With Great Effects But Are Ruined Only By Their Mana Costs in Magic."

[@theskypirate6563]

This is a great idea! Please do this!

[@dorping_Wolf]

obvious place 1 Enter the Infinite.

[@ultraalex20]

Dude that’s arguably a fuck ton of cards xD It would prob need to be split into separate videos for each format ahahaha

[@benikujaku4567]

Maybe "by the colours of mana they require" would be better. Cards having good effects but costing too much are way too numerous otherwise

[@rosewarrior706]

@@benikujaku4567 like a card that would be amazing in red but is stuck in white

[@cis22]

Rebuff the Wicked should have been discussed alongside Avoid Fate. Since they are very similar and are both mostly outclassed by hexproof, shroud, and protection. Dawn Charm is also a nice counterspell in white. Although you'll almost never counter anything with it, having the option to do so should the rare opportunity happen would feel great. (For example, countering a game-winning Jaya's Immolating Inferno in an EDH game.)

[@joe2125]

warping wail has been clutch for me in mono white EDH. so many game ending threats or board wipes are sorceries

[@XYGamingRemedyG]

Lol, I remember when the internal banlist was just getting talked about on the TDL channel. Amazing how far the channel has come...

[@randommaster06]

Great video, eagerly awaiting the next one. We need a Top 20 list of best/worst pronunciations in videos this year.

[@unpassantquipasse8268]

With the amount of life drain black can do, it's a bummer that Dash Hope did not appeared in the top.

[@darianleyer5777]

Request: Top ten cards with an effect that changes the text box of another card. Example: Mindbend lets you change all instances of a single color word in the Text box of a spell or permanent to a different color word. For instance, an Izzet player could use it to let Pyroblast/Red Elemental Blast counter/destroy White cards. This effect does not change card names or mana symbols.

[@darianleyer5777]

Request: Top ten cards that have had their mana costs changed between printings (the oldest example I know of is Orcish Oriflame).

[@AsmodeusMictian]

Wasn't there another card from earlier in M:tG's history that did the same thing or am I misremembering?

[@darianleyer5777]

@@AsmodeusMictian there are two similar cards. One is functionally identical, except it changes basic land types in text boxes. The other can do both lands and colors, but only on permanents.

[@AsmodeusMictian]

@@darianleyer5777I believe one was Phantasmal Terrain (change one type into another) but I still cannot for the life of me remember the one to change colors. It had to be sometime between Fallen Empires and Mirage (that's when I really heavily played cardboard Magic.) Addendum: Well, I looked it up. The one I was thinking of was Slight of Mind. It was last printed in 5th ed, which seems about right. Damn that's brought back some memories!!

[@darianleyer5777]

@@AsmodeusMictian The one for just lands is the one I DON'T have a copy of.

[@moogleboy]

Red Elemental Blast which is just another set of Pyroblasts. Dawn Charm is a fantastic modular in white. Null Brooch, a persistent counterspell with a cost that could enable some shenanigans. Order of the Sacred Torch, anti-Black tech on a threat. Stromgald Cabal is the reverse of Order. Finally, most surprisingly, Rebuff the Wicked.

[@fallendeus]

Red elemental blast is just slightly worse that pyroblast but in like 99% of cases fills the same role.

[@JD-gk7eh]

@@fallendeus There's one time when Red Blast is better: if Misdirection effects are being played. Pyroblast can be redirected to any permanent but REB requires another blue permanent if you wish to Misdirect it. This was significant in previous days of Vintage and Legacy when MisD was played as Force of Will 5-6. With Force of Negation around, maybe MisD's days are relegated to commander, where it does see some play still.

[@jamesyoung3731]

Top 10 Doom Blades (2 mana conditional murder)

[@cl0k3]

Top 10 cards that prevent your opponent from countering your cards could be a cool idea.

[@DaneeBound]

Insert that shot from the Yu-Gi-Oh! R Manga, where Yami Yugi counters a De-Spell with a De-Spell.

[@lordjaraxxus5418]

spell cloning like fork should be on the list then.

[@cl0k3]

@@lordjaraxxus5418 well I moreso mean permanents like grand abolisher or autumn veil that directly turn off countering. So ig I moreso mean top 10 cards that prevent/negate countering

[@lordjaraxxus5418]

@@cl0k3 and spell cloning does counter counter spells negate? clone the negate to negate the negate.

[@mageius]

One of my personal favorite non Blue counter spells is: Mages' Contest Costs: RR1 Instant Card Text: You and target spell's controller bid life. You start the bidding with a bid of 1. In turn order, each player may top the high bid. The bidding ends if the high bid stands. The high bidder loses life equal to the high bid. If you win the bidding, counter that spell. It's only had 1 printing in Invasion but it's a great card in Commander and an decks that don't care about the life loss or that can take advantage of it. However it's also a great example of how a punisher style mechanic could be done well with having the ability for the player casting the spell to be able to help force your opponent to choose things or have the ability to get the effect you want even if it costs you something.

[@johnsanko4136]

Tithe is one of my all time favorite niche cards. Half the time you can side it out after they saw one because the emotional damage will persist and slow their tempo. Gutteral won me quite a few games against Faeries back in the Alara days. And, of course REB/BEB/Pyroblast/Hydroblast are some of the silliest cards ever made.

[@garrettsmith4034]

I appreciate this video so much. Was wondering if green had one. Thanks for the upload. Have a safe holiday.

[@SkarmoryThePG]

a video that may be worth looking into is cards like Mana Tithe and Force Spike - same (or close to) effect, different colors, and looking into the popularity of them

[@ivolopez-felix5270]

Mana tithe is awesome. Especially in cube when people done expect it unless they have played it a few times

[@gmradio2436]

There is nothing like counting a blue counter deck with a non-blue deck. Their face will be priceless.

[@aaronpyrez1573]

I think that a card that would’ve been worth mentioning is Illumination. Double White to counter an Artifact or Enchantment spell, with the controller of the countered spell gaining life equal to its mana cost. While cost is certainly restrictive and it only hits two cards types, Artifacts and Enchantments, even as creatures, they seem plentiful enough to make Illumination a surprising card to see.

[@xana3961]

As a quick address, there ARE basic lands that generate colorless mana! They're called wastes. They have only "Basic Land" as a card type with no land sub-type. I know you said that there's no "normal" basic lands that make colorless but its worth mentioning that wastes exist.

[@RaceBandit]

IIRC they were introduced in Oath of the Gatewatch, but I don't think Wastes ever came back...?

[@cinnamonkittamon]

@@RaceBandit there's a wastes in Jumpstart 2022 apparently

[@blazedehart2748]

2:54 tbh Withering Boon has been almost an auto-include in Black edh decks since Thassa’s Oracle was printed.

[@damsonrhea]

It might be a good idea to put up your internal banlist somewhere people can see, so people don't suggest cards on it.

[@ArtemSayapov]

Pyroblast is technically speaking better than red elemental blast, since you can cast it with no blue permanents or spells to target, which could help if you're playing storm or prowess.

[@ericmargelefsky6885]

Lifeforce! Repeatable color hosing at its best.

[@numnut154]

You don't hear this often about a White spell, but Rebuff the Wicked (White) is just a strictly better Avoid Fate (Green).

[@HydroponicTricks]

can you put "current price as of this video" for each card in your videos? Helpful now and fun in the future if the price changes drastically.

[@bigbloke2000]

What about Null Broach in commander?

[@nobodyimportant72]

Where does one find that "eternal ban list" because a card has been too good and shown up too often on these lists?

[@mistvillage171]

So why is pyroblast better than red elemental blast? Im so confused

[@Riccardocrisci]

where is chalice of void?

[@darkraidragon4865]

Another thing to note about Pyroblast is that you can use it to target your own non-blue cards. Which is important because their is a keyword called Heroic. Heroic gives you benefits for targeting your own cards. Something Red Elemental Blast can't do.

[@p1nk5l1p9]

I'm surprised Dash Hopes didn't make an appearance.

[@bbancaking1298]

Top 10 pauper staples that don't see play anywhere else

[@cream3148]

You didn’t mention not of this worlds use in Turbo Depths. Kind of a staple for that deck.

[@tvdinner1986]

Bonus points if you yell OBJECTION! or TAKE THAT! while pointing your finger dramatically

[@Retroloft556]

No Null Brooch? Damn that's fun in empty hand lock.

[@Grit1234567]

Why is pyroblast worded “if it’s blue” instead of “blue spell”?

[@nielsmarckmann3897]

Pyroblast’s wording means it can target any permanent or spell, but will only do something if the target is blue. This allows you to cast it targeting a land if you want to get it out of your hand for a Hellbent effect or trigger a Young Pyromancer or something like that. Red Elemental blast is worded in the way you describe, that’s the only difference between the two cards. That’s why pyroblast is considered “strictly better”

[@Grit1234567]

@@nielsmarckmann3897 thank you!

[@uphillwalrus5164]

@@nielsmarckmann3897 Red Elemental Blast is arguably better than Pyroblast in non-storm commander decks with Deflecting Swat being everpresent in that format

[@nielsmarckmann3897]

​@@uphillwalrus5164 That's true. It's also better if someone targets you with a Mindslaver effect. In any case, the difference matters so little that most Legacy players run a 2:2 split to play around things like Cabal Therapy.

[@andynonya1490]

I threw Warping Wail in my Chatterfang EDH deck

[@afriendofafriend5766]

I feel like Withering Boon would be decent in commander?

[@joeylafrond2472]

There are WAYYY too many better options. Particularly for Black.

[@SB-xe3pj]

Come for the top content. Stay for the spelling mistakes

[@sk8rdman]

0:19 The ability to target counter instant spell does seem quite powerful...

[@LordxPrime]

No Dash Hopes?

[@MABfan11]

Top 10 Highest Mana Values in MTG

[@bbancaking1298]

Top 10 animate dead targets in commander

[@rodeofrancisco6130]

If only white had better counter magic.

[@kennydarmawan13]

5:42 Is it kou-zee-lek or koh-zee-lek? 10:03 tie-balt or tee-balt? 10:22 he pronounced transmogrify a lot better now.

[@Temmie_on_smash]

Tee-balt

[@randomcatname7792]

Maybe it's tih-balt

[@cinnamonkittamon]

@@randomcatname7792 that's how I've always pronounced it

[@WangerZ3291]

Top 10 of spells that counter spells without countering them i.e. veil of summer

[@danielgraves13]

nobody EVER expects the Tithes

[@baroquerookbr3214]

I'm surprised there are 10. When I stopped playing I thought there were only 3 playable

[@DismemberTheAlamo]

I mean, you SAY there isnt another card that even comes close to Pyroblast... but you better put some respect on the OG Red Elemental Blast

[@fallendeus]

They did it as a mention. It's just that pyroblast is better.

[@beaushaver3779]

Dash hopes? Nothing? Dash hopes is THE black counter spell and is brutal to an opponent.

[@fernandobanda5734]

Dash Hopes is a terrible terrible card.

[@oliverbehrer5252]

the best non blue counterspell counters blue hmm

[@Chivalrousarts]

What about Burnout!! Draw a card, superior.

[@wilux2469]

Pyroblast was moved onto your "Internal banlist"? What internal banlist? What are you hiding? Is there some other hidden channel? Where is this list used?

[@orvatus6195]

This KZbinr has a bunch of other channels which also largely produce Top 10 content like this. Particularly the YuGiOh related channel has approximately 250 top 10s on it, and some cards tend to be noteworthy in a lot of aspects, so they appear quite often. Since these top 10s also typically try to explain background info in some detail, that can get repetitive. So cards get moved to an internal banlist to have some more variety.

[@lasarousi]

A reminder why I don't like to play blue in general.

[@ThePhysicalReaction]

It’s unfair. It’s unjust. !

[@bbancaking1298]

Top 10 0-mana counterspells

[@viix3815]

These... do nothing for me.

[@m.k.1547]

Top 10 cards that are banned from my lists videos

[@DaneeBound]

You get a counterspell! And you get a counterspell! And you get a counterspell! Everyone gets a counterspell!

[@sparkyanimations213]

Yaaaay

[@Entropic_Alloy]

Not of this World is played in Turbo Depths builds in Legacy. Those builds have fallen out of favor lately, but are always on the edges and possible contenders.

[@cax1175]

I run Not of this World and Warping Wail in my Kozilek the Great Distortion edh deck. Kozilek is the best colorless commander personally, because he can protect your things so well. And I love warping Wail, nobody sees a counter coming from a colorless deck.

[@astuteanansi4935]

You might be right, but saying "best colorless commander" is kinda like saying "tallest midget", you might be right but the bar is set pretty low.

[@cax1175]

@@astuteanansi4935 Colorless decks are better than you think

[@waterlily3376]

Poor Rebuff the Wicked. Didn't get included on a list that did include Avoid Fate.

[@seb_social25]

It has been lost to time where copy spells were counterspells counterparts

[@bbancaking1298]

Top 10 cards that would be great if they were a different color

[@alexpaul4144]

Top 10 dragons or demons…always loved those types

[@ultratog1028]

How did Avoid Fate make this list over Rebuff the Wicked, which is strictly better, albeit white instead of green. Wait HOW DID CHALICE OF THE VOID NOT MAKE THE LIST

[@themantyf1116]

I love Avoid Fate. It's just a unique card that people won't really see coming. It might never be the best option, but still casting it feels good for the unicity. Also, Red Elemental Blast should be the representative card. The main (and relevant) difference is that Pyroblast can be redirected to fizzle, since it doesn't destroy non-blue permanents but can target them. As for the Great Distortion being the worst titan...you really don't check for multiplayer formats, do you? The evaluation really suffers from how it uses Standard/Modern/Vintage as the absolute scale.

[@andrewraebig9271]

Re: Withering Boon Flip the script on this one - if Withering Boon was an enchantment with "Pay 3 life: Counter target creature spell," would that still be bad, or would it be broken?

[@cinnamonkittamon]

"As a normal basic land won't be able to help at all" Wastes: "Yeah I didn't want to help you anyway"

[@randy5606]

Playing mono white in commander I go first plains buddy goes next sol ring lol very memorable turn

[@bbancaking1298]

Top 10 unlockable creatures

[@jameshonaker585]

One of my favorites among the non-blue counterspells is Dawn Charm; it's flexible in having three decent options, and flexibility can sometimes count for a lot. An important thing to note about a lot of the non-blue counterspells is that their strength lies in their surprise factor. If your opponents get got by them, they're not going to want to make THAT mistake again...and you'll usually throw them for a loop that first time.

[@BR4IN1N4J4R]

Agreed. They're curve balls your opponent likely isn't mentally ready for. They're prepared for whatever your color is meant to do, and suddenly a counterspell from left field suddenly leads to an opponent needing to rethink their strategy

[@nathanjones8667]

Can we get Top 10 Vampires?

[@jsweatisdead]

Huge miss was Veil of Summer

[@nsos28]

Target counter spell

[@taylorester2658]

Top ten meme cards

[@wyattdupre2721]

Hot take: every color should get some kind of counterspell. Blue should have the best followed by black and red then white and green having the "worst" or more expensive/niche counterspells the further you get from blue

[@surge7652]

But white is a blue ally and red is an enemy of blue?

[@randomcatname7792]

Also green is known for having annoying counterspell related things far more than anything but blue

[@thepiratedoggo1996]

Warping Wail has always been a nice utility. a generic answer to a lot of cards and problems, it's helped me a fair bit in a lot of my eldrazi commander decks and pioneer ones.

[@VieneLea]

#1 each time I see two cards with nigh-identical wordings (like Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast) I can't help but wonder how are they different rules-wise.

[@nanya524]

One of the (pyro) can only be used if there is a legal target while red elemental Blast can be used at any time. Well, one or the other, but one can be used even if there is no blue target.

[@VieneLea]

@@nanya524 Thanks a lot!

[@fallendeus]

@@nanya524 pyro can be used at any time, red elemental can only be cast if a blue permanent exists or a blue spell exists on the stack. It's why pyro is ran over elemental, because it will never be a dead card in hand.

[@BoardingPilot]

Top 10 worst or inconsistent board wipes, like alpha brawl

[@devin5201]

Gutural response a.k.a. "Monkey hate mages!"

[@BladeRabbit]

Top 10 list idea, top 10 cards with Gorrillas in them

[@bobfranklin2572]

Not of this world goes in my voltron edh decks for some serious memes

[@rexevans100]

Top ten worst 1 mana or less spells?

[@АрманИбраев-б2п]

I'd rather always play against aggro decks of any colour, than play against blue decks, hate them so much!!!🤬🤬🤬 In Kazakhstan, we call a blue colour in magic - a f@ggots' colour!!! That's how much most players hate it here😂😂😂