[Archetype] CounterTop

[Nihil Credo]

[Deck] CounterTop
by Bardo


I. Purpose. This is a discussion and development thread for aggro-control decks built around efficient creatures (e.g. Tarmogoyf) and Counterbalance / Sensei’s Divining Top (“CounterTop” or “CT”) that can claim Gro and Threshold among its ancestors. Well-established decks that incorporate CT, such as DreadStill or It’s the Fear, or decks that have another central focus (like a CT deck that runs 4 Survival of the Fittest) should be discussed in the appropriate thread, not here.

II. History. Legacy deck designers were slow to accept what professional Extended players had long-known: Counterbalance with Sensei’s Divining Top is busted freaking good. I don’t know who knew what when, but running Counter-Top in the maindeck became slowly adopted only after Grand Prix: Columbus (2007), where the only deck running maindeck Counter-Top in the Top 8, funny enough, was the first place Flash deck, built by Billy Moreno and played by Steve Sadin; neither of which are known for their Legacy credentials. (To give credit where it is due, combing through events leading up to GP: Columbus in the Historic Top 8 thread, the Hatfield brothers can be found running 3 Counterbalance in the sideboards of their Threshold decks pre-GP Columbus, presumably for the mirror match.)

After GP: Columbus, it would be another three months before we saw maindeck Counter-Top again, this time in Fish played by Jason Jaco in the Top 8 of the Legacy World Championship at GenCon (2007). After GenCon, people finally bought the ticket and took the ride with Counterbalance.

In 2008-09, we see the now-familiar Counter-Top soft lock with strange bedfellows. As in:

* Dreadstill: Counter Top + Dreadnought/Stifle + Standstill-man lands + mana disruption
* It’s the Fear: Counter Top + Intuition/Life from the Loam + recursion
* Painter: Counter Top + flashy finish (Grindstone / Painter’s Servant)

What we’re seeing here, and this is still a hallmark of modern Counter-Top decks as well: flexible design and intense hybridization. These decks are not executing their strategy along a single line of play (e.g. play some guys, burn your face). They're like several decks mashed into one 60 card deck-list.

By 2009, widespread acceptance was complete; forms continued to diversify, yielding the next evolutionary step in the Gro lineage: the Brassman and Nassif versions of Counter-Top from the finals of Grand Prix: Chicago (March 2009). The creature-base has all been replaced from the Gro decks of yore, but the Gro skeleton is still showing under the skin: the cantrips; free counters, efficient, double-duty beaters; anemic land count, etc.

Going forward, Counter-Top will evolve as its ancestors have always evolved: incorporating new cards and technologies; adapting to the metagame; and exploiting its nearly-perfect, flexible, blue-based core to make it to the top tables. These decks reward tight technical play, with mistakes being rather unforgiving. As such, good players will be drawn to Counter-Top and will do well with some practice.

III. Why These Decks are Good. Counterbalance is good because Legacy is fast. Since nothing rotates, all of the best cards float to the top of the Legacy card pool. Why spend three mana on Unmake when you play Swords to Plowshares for one mana? In a vacuum, there’s no good reason.

Powerful cards in Legacy are cards that create the most value for the least cost. So when we look at the typical mana curve of a competitive Legacy deck, the curve is clustered around converted mana costs of 1-3, which is why Counterbalance is more than a niche card in the Threshold mirror.

Another key to their success: a flexible, multi-purpose form that exploits powerful synergies between good cards. As I wrote about Gro in December 2004: “One of the most powerful aspects of Super Gro is the interlocking synergies that the cards have with one another. Cantrips [Brainstorm, Serum Visions] fill your graveyard while drawing cards and setting up your turns; fetchlands also fill the graveyard [for threshold] while developing your manabase and turning Brainstorm into a combination play; Daze, Misdirection, and Force of Will offer protection while you tap out to play your threats.” [Source]

The names of the cards these days are different, but the fact that each key design piece becomes more powerful with everything around it remains the same. For instance:

* Sensei’s Divining Top: Combos with Counterbalance, fetchlands, Dark Confidant
* Brainstorm: Combos with Counterbalance, fetchlands
* Counterbalance: Combos with Top, Brainstorm, Ponder
* Tarmogoyf: Combos with the format

IV. Card Choices. When you open up the hood of any Counter-Top deck, here’s what you’ll find.

Counter Top Skeleton

Draw / Card Selection
4 Brainstorm
3-4 Sensei’s Divining Top
2-4 Ponder

Counters
4 Force of Will
4 Counterbalance
2-4 Daze and/or Spell Snare

4-8 Removal

4 Tarmogoyf
4-8 Other Duders

18-22 Land
(usually 8 Onslaught fetchlands; 6-10 A/B/U/R duals; 0-6 basic lands; 0-3 utility lands)

Building Out The Shell

I’m not going into detail here, just listing some of the commonly-played cards to flesh out the skeleton and adjust to your metagame.

Counters
Spell Snare
Daze

Removal
Swords to Plowshares
Engineered Explosives
Vedalken Shackles
Krosan Grip
Umezawa’s Jitte

Creatures
Dark Confidant
Trygon Predator
Trinket Mage
Sower of Temptation
Knight of the Reliquary
Qasali Pridemage
Lorescale Coatl

Utility
Enlightened Tutor
Academy Ruins

APPENDIX. Enough chit-chat, here are some proven lists:

Counter Top, Gabriel Nassif
Winner, Grand Prix Chicago (2009)

4 Sensei’s Divining Top
4 Brainstorm
2 Ponder

4 Counterbalance
4 Force of Will
3 Daze

4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Vedalken Shackles
1 Krosan Grip

4 Dark Confidant
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Sower of Temptation
2 Trygon Predator

4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
4 Underground Sea
3 Tropical Island
3 Tundra
2 Island

Sideboard:
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Planar Void
1 Burrenton Forge-tender
1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Hydroblast
1 Engineered Plague
1 Perish
1 Darkblast
1 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Energy Flux
1 Kataki, War’s Wage
1 Krosan Grip
1 Enlightened Tutor

(This sideboard looks pretty random, but if you organize it by function: 3 anti-graveyard cards; 8 anti-creature cards; 3 anti-artifact cards; plus 1 Enlightened Tutor)

Converted Mana Cost Distribution, Nassif List

0: 20
1: 14
2: 15
3: 5
4: 2
5: 4

Counter Top, Andy Probasco
Finalist, Grand Prix Chicago (2009)

4 Sensei’s Divining Top
4 Brainstorm
3 Ponder

4 Counterbalance
4 Force of Will
3 Spell Snare

2 Vedalken Shackles
2 Krosan Grip
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Pithing Needle

4 Tarmogoyf
3 Trinket Mage
3 Sower of Temptation

4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
3 Tropical Island
2 Volcanic Island
1 Underground Sea
6 Island
2 Academy Ruins

Sideboard:
3 Firespout
3 Duress
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Hydroblast
2 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Krosan Grip
1 Pithing Needle

Converted Mana Cost Distribution, Brassman List

0: 23
1: 15
2: 8
3: 7
4: 3
5: 4

Counter Top Threshold w/ Natural Order/Progenitus, Jesse Hatfield
Grand Prix Trial: Chicago (Feb. 28, 2009)

4 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder

4 Counterbalance
4 Force of Will
4 Daze

4 Tarmogoyf
3 Nimble Mongoose
3 Werebear
1 Progenitus

4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Natural Order

1 Dryad Arbor
4 Flooded Strand
4 Wooded Foothills
2 Tropical Island
2 Volcanic Island
2 Tundra
1 Savannah
2 City of Brass

Sideboard:
4 Krosan Grip
4 Pyroblast
4 Pyroclasm
3 Submerge

Converted Mana Cost Distribution, Hatfield List

0: 18
1: 19
2: 15
3: 0
4: 3
5: 4
10: 1