Glowing Ranks #1: Counterspells

G'day Zoners!

Today we're kicking off a new TGZ segment to celebrate my favorite cards with specific functions int the typical Commander deck. Much like Oprah, I have favorite things, and while there's a laundry list of literature about them here on TGZ, Glowing Ranks will be where I'll grind out a concrete top 5. 

We'll be kicking off the series today with one of EDH's most controversial card archetypes- the counterspell. Here we go.

Honorable Mention- Cryptic Command

Duh. I felt really bad about not mentioning this in the list, but it's worth explaining why. 

Cryptic Command is more than just a counterspell. It does basically everything you'd want a card to do as a blue player, and so it's really impossible for me to justify putting it in a list where most of these cards don't do half the things Cryptic does.

I think it goes without saying that Lost in the Mist and Dismiss are two possible functions that this card can be, and neither of them could crack my Top 5, so I felt weird about putting this here, even if it is an excellent card. 

5. Negate

Playing enough removal to answer creatures has been, for a long time, a sufficient answer. Although I may have to change that with the Gods out now, I'm still much more inclined to sit back and let people have creatures, but not relevant game-ender spells. 

Negate is great, and though it sounds lyrical, it's doesn't make it less true. The power that this card has is miles above the silly, more specific counters like Annul or Swan Song. Hitting P-dubs is a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, and Negate has the ability to cover all the cards you really don't want to see in EDH. Creatures can be dealt with. G-Waves and Exsanguinates have to be stopped on the stack. 

It's not pure counterspell, but I'm okay with that. I mentioned a while back on The Stack that Island-Island is can be played into or played around. This is one of the advantages of Negate, especially in most of my double-colored decks. The mana cost allows me the flexibility to have other cards in my hand, and if all I have to give up is a creature, I'm not worried. 

4. Memory Lapse

Memory Lapse is a house. Against decks that can draw out of it, it still costs them resources. Against decks that can't, it stops their tempo "instantly." As I'm so often on the play due to my die-rolling deficiency, Memory Lapse is often the way I keep my opponent(s) from getting too far ahead. Used properly near the end of the game, it can even give you a whole turn before your opponent goes off.

Like Negate, the converted mana cost provides an insane flexibility for such a powerful card. However, unlike Memory Lapse, the better cards to counter are creatures in the late, and silly mana rocks like Sol Ring and Darksteel Ingot, or Cultivate, in the early game. 

In Daxos, I also play this when I decide that what my opponent's casting is something I really want. 

3. Lapse of Certainty

Lapse of Certainty has the same function as Memory Lapse, but it they are completely different. 

I won't argue that ML is better than LoC. In fact, I had a game last week where both were in my hand, and I ran into a mana situation because this is more expensive. Still, I'll be honest- it's ahead on this list because it's not blue.

That's not meant to be color-discriminatory, because I don't dislike blue as a color at all- it just goes along with what I was saying about broadcasting Island-Island earlier. This spell is surely going to catch people off their guard, and the element of surprise is great, even if you know I play this, and could expect it. 

I also like the art way better. It's kind of a weird thing to be from Conflux, especially because it doesn't look like anything from any of the Shards, but I'll take it. Some cards are just too playable to pass up.

2. Trickbind

This is a piece of tech I feel people know little about. 

For those who don't know GG, or have never played against him in a game of Magic, there's almost always going to be an Oblivion Stone, a Nevinyrral's Disk, or both in the context of a given game. 

Frustrated with having to force the Wraths, I decided it was time to find more answers than K-Grip. A Gatherer search following a particularly unpleasant game against Glissa T's proved to be well worth my while. I found this and another little spell called Interdict, which I immediately slammed into my decks the following week and proceeded to shutting down his silly slow-rolling. 

What I've discovered further about this card is that it breaks more than just Disks and Stones. Creatures with ETB effects are a vast majority of the meta, and Trickbind stops them too. The fact that this also adds triggered abilities gives this insane value. Terastodon and Tricking Purphoros with a huge Goblin Offensive on the stack are my best accomplishments to date when it comes to triggered abilities. Hitting Fetchlands and Strip Mines is also pretty tech too. 

1. Voidslime

I love everything about Voidslime. To me, this is the primo counterspell. It covers everything I'd want to stop, the art is sweet, and its converted mana cost makes it uniquely fitted for UG, which is a color combination I love to play. 

This card is one of the few special answers for infinite combo decks like Saffi or Black Mike, which thrive on triggered abilities. 

Like I said- I love everything about it. Even the bad flavor text. 

Well, that wraps up our first Glowing Ranks.

Do you have five favorite counterspells? Be sure to share yours in the comments below. Your thoughts are always appreciated. 

Thanks again! Pass Turn.

-UL