CounterTop Stoneforge

[Malakai]

4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
4 Counterbalance
4 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Mental Misstep
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Stoneforge Mystic
1 Batterskull
1 Sword of Body and Mind
2 Counterspell
2 Vendillion Clique
2 Vedalken Shackles
2 Jace, the Mind-Sculptor
4 Flooded Strand
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Arid Mesa
4 Tundra
4 Island
1 Plains
1 Karakas
1 Academy Ruins
2 Volcanic Island

Sideboard:
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
2 Path to Exile
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Jace, the Mind-Sculptor
2 Vendillion Clique
2 Pyroblast
2 Spell Pierce

The rumors of Counterbalance's death have been greatly exaggerated.

The basic idea of this build was to use the raw power that CounterTop provides against combo to allow us to pre-sideboard against aggro. This in turn gives us enough room in the sideboard to enact a powerful plan against control, while still leaving us enough room to shore up the more fringe matchups.

Initial testing looks promising, although I haven't had as much opportunity as I would like. I'm definitely curious about people's suggestions on the manabase; I actually have an easier time making three-color manabases in legacy and two-color.

[Hanni]

I posted my Counterbalance SFM build in the Blade Control thread, but people didn't really appreciate the idea in there. Counterbalance is only dead because it's not in style right now. CounterTop is still insanely powerful.

Here's my build...the name is an upgrade from Superfriends :P

U/W The Justice League

// Lands (21)
4 [ON] Flooded Strand
3 [ON] Polluted Delta
1 [ZEN] Marsh Flats
4 [R] Tundra
7 [UNH] Island
2 [UNH] Plains

// Creatures (4)
4 [WWK] Stoneforge Mystic

// Spells (35)
2 [NPH] Batterskull
2 [ALA] Elspeth, Knight-Errant
2 [WWK] Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 [IA] Brainstorm
4 [CHK] Sensei's Divining Top
4 [CS] Counterbalance
3 [IA] Counterspell
3 [NPH] Mental Misstep
4 [AL] Force of Will
4 [IA] Swords to Plowshares
3 [FD] Vedalken Shackles

// Sideboard (15)
SB: 4 [WL] Peacekeeper
SB: 4 [PS] Meddling Mage
SB: 2 [6E] Wrath of God
SB: 2 [WL] Aura of Silence
SB: 2 [SOK] Pithing Needle
SB: 1 [BOK] Umezawa's Jitte


Initial testing looks promising, although I haven't had as much opportunity as I would like. I'm definitely curious about people's suggestions on the manabase; I actually have an easier time making three-color manabases in legacy and two-color.

My motto for a U/W Control manabase? KISS. Keep it simple, stupid.

[saspook]

// Creatures (4)

// Spells (35)
2 [NPH] Batterskull
3 [FD] Vedalken Shackles

// Sideboard (15)[cards]
SB: 2 [WL] Aura of Silence

I would cut a batterskull for a Sword of X and Y in order to have more three's. You could also consider a creature in the three spot, either Vendillion or Trinket Mage.

[Hanni]

Two Batterskull is really good, though. My problem with a Sword of X and Y is that I run very few bodies maindeck. 4 SFM, 1 Batterskull, and 2 Elspeth is a little light to rock non-bodied equipment. Jitte in the SB is justifiable because I'm usually bringing Meddling Mages in with them (vs Goblins and Elves, primarily).

Two Batterskull is good, because Batterskull is good in this deck even without cheating it into play via SFM. This deck easily gets to the mid and late game, where a resilient 5 mana 4/4 Vigilance Lifelink is a solid win condition. Think of it as a worse Baneslayer Angel that bounces back if it eats removal, that I can tutor for and cheat into play with SFM. Sometimes the first Batterskull gets destroyed, and sometimes I want two Batterskulls in play.

Vendilion Clique would be a great way to up the 3 count, but the only spell I'd cut for it would be Elspeth, and I'm not sure I want to do that. Hitting 4cc stuff with Counterbalance is good too (Natural Order, Jace TMS, etc). Plus, Elspeth is still really good, despite her decreasing popularity.

Your concern about the 3cc spot is very valid, though. I've been compensating by saving Counterspells for 3cc stuff, or using Swords to Plowshares on 3cc creatures like Knight of the Reliquary, etc. Even with only 3 3cc spells, I've still countered many 3cc spells with Counterbalance. The draw power of Brainstorm, Top, and Jace goes a long way towards finding and putting things on top of the library.

For matchups where 3cc spells are important to counter (like against SNT), I can bring in Peacekeeper, Aura of Silence, or both. In the SNT matchup specifically, I bring in both. Peacekeeper is great vs Emrakul, and Aura of Silence is great vs hardcast Hive Mind (and slows them down from casting Grim Monolith, too).

[Malakai]

Your build looks decent, but too top heavy for my tastes. I honestly only have Jace in there as a concession to the other control decks. The second Batterskull is something I considered, but I couldn't find room for it. I think you want the SoBM regardless, just for the ability to keep attacking when a Knight of the Reliquary is in play.

I hate your sideboard, though.

Only three Missteps? I must be prioritizing resolving Top higher than you are; or that's just where you stuck the second Batterskull.

[Hanni]

Your build looks decent, but too top heavy for my tastes. I honestly only have Jace in there as a concession to the other control decks. The second Batterskull is something I considered, but I couldn't find room for it. I think you want the SoBM regardless, just for the ability to keep attacking when a Knight of the Reliquary is in play.

The deck isn't really that top heavy, though. Compared to your deck, it's just two Elspeth's, which are fantastic in this deck. Thing is, CounterTop control in most forms is fairly slow. I don't mean slow as in slow to assemble, but slow as in the games last longer than a few minutes. Hitting 2WW + 1 to spin Top is not uncommon whatsoever.

SoBM as an answer to Knight of the Reliquary is narrow, though. With such few bodies, a single resolved removal spell leaves you sitting with a useless SoBM on the board. I suppose KotR is more of a problem for you than for me, since I'm running Elspeth. For me, early KotR's get stolen by early Shackles, Elspeth chumps KotR's all day long until I hit a removal spell, and Jace bounces the guy so I can hit him with a Counterspell. Elspeth also keeps my Batterskull swinging against a KotR by putting it in the air as a 7/7. I haven't had very many issues against G/W Aggro, though.


I hate your sideboard, though.

Well, the sideboard is very customizable, but I've had great success with it. Not sure why exactly you would hate it, but nothing in my sideboard is set in stone.


Only three Missteps? I must be prioritizing resolving Top higher than you are; or that's just where you stuck the second Batterskull.

4 Missteps vs 3 doesn't make that huge of a difference in resolving a Top. I guess if you're meta is infested with 4 Misstep.dec, running the full playset is good, but 3 has been fine for me. I mean, it's a narrow counter, and Counterbalance hits 1cc stuff even on the blind flip fairly often. The nice thing about running 4 Top's is that I can always cast another one if the first one does eat it to a Misstep. And no, that's not where I stuck the 2nd Batterskull; I stuck the 2nd Batterskull in the SoBM spot.

[Shimi]

I was trying something similar last month but could not find time to test my list.In my mind CounterTop needs to solve/fight some problemes today like Jace,Natural Order and Show and Tell, that's why I'm going to ask if three 3cc cards + Counterspells + FoW are enought to stop these meanaces, I would love to fit some more 3cc spells in the form of Cliques(which fight other cliques/jace/No/SnT).

I really like 2 batterskulls but sometimes I think if it is not too many 5cc for CTop soft lock.

Did someone tested Dismember(together with StP) as a 1of or 2of so you can play more 3cc cards and still having fast removal?

I will try to get some testing and would like to see what matchup's did you tested against and what were the results and conclusion.

Thx.

[Piceli89]

I'm getting interesting into playing Countertop+Jace, and after having played a Thopter list for a while I was willing to shift towards a more redundant build cutting the ThopterSword (too many times dead pieces stuck in hand while being beaten by aggro-control decks, many permanents to be cast that tap you out and it's not my playstyle).
What I learned is the absolute marvel that Ensnaring Bridge is. In the current metagame, a resolved Bridge means gg or almost to the following decks:

- Reanimator-the only out is Terastodon or Angel of Despair.Both of them seem to have fallen in the sb to make room for more JGs.
- Merfolk- absolutely no out, barring you drawing 3 counters in a row.
- Dredge- see Reanimator.
- Other decks. Even NO Rug can't beat it if it doesn't pack the MD Trygon and you can keep up with the exalted Hierarchs/Arbors.
- Canadian Threshold has to burn you.

The problem is that it requires a heavy-controllish Countertop build to support it fully. With Thopter, you could stall the game enough to get a decent board position, eat the Bridge on the Foundry and swarm for the win. In such a shell as the lists above, this is an option no more avaiable. On the contrary, it may provide occasional dissinergy with Batterskull, other than turning on removals.

That's why I was thinking about which direction to take. SFM is really powerful, but the metagame seems to be slowly adopting to her. More and more Grudges are coming from several decks, making it less reliable as a plan after the sideboard. This implies that sometimes, in order to avoid the post-side hate, you'd better side out the whole SFM package entirely, but in this way you leave yourself with too few win-conditions.
Of course I know that, even if she gets removed, she has done Card advantage and you're likely to cast the Bskull as game goes on, but lately I've found myself uncomfortable in tapping myself on turn2 to play a card that gets easily removed and gives them a free turn to untap, remove, cast a threat.This happens in particular against green. Even NORug, on the play, can be dangerous if your SFM eats a Daze/Bolt and they land a Goyf quickly. You set yourself pretty back on tempo.

Perhaps the best direction is to get back to a CBTop Super-friends list, with a backup victory plan?
Food for thought.