November 4th 2001, the date for many a state championships was drawing nigh. I was underprepared and underslept for this event. I ended up going to Kentucky States (I was also eligible to participate in Minnesota States, I think) with a suboptimal build of Nether-Go – and if you want the complete play-by-play, I suggest looking in my archives and reading the report. I finished with a 6-2 overall record, which was only good enough for thirteenth place. Sigh. However, in the top eight, I watched a player play this strange blue/white deck. It had loads of counterspells, board cleaners, and a small rebel chain to compliment it. This is where I had my first experience with Counter Rebels.
CounterPost. Played by Eric Kazee at the Kentucky State Championships
Overall Placement. 5th
4x Parallax Wave
4x Fact or Fiction
4x Counterspell
4x Absorb
2x Misdirection
2x Disenchant
4x Ramosian Sergeant
1x Defiant Falcon
1x Ramosian Lieutenant
2x Defiant Vanguard
2x Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero
1x Nightwind Glider
1x Ramosian Sky Marshall
4x Brainstorm
4x Coastal Tower
4x Adarkar Wastes
10x Island
6x Plains
Cut to Pro Tour: Chicago, when all ninety-six decks that were played on day two were revealed to the public. I noticed a huge amount of Fires decks, a smattering of Green/White ‘Geddon, the weak Void archetype and the interesting Counter Rebel deck. There were two different versions: One played a larger chain and just splashed blue for Powersinks and other counters (one such deck was played by Alex Shvartsman) and another version ran Absorbs (Kamiel Cornelissen used this deck). I, however, blew both of these decktypes off, since I was more interested in the mono blue nether spirit deck that Onada Mishonda played; I felt that it fit my play style more.
Yet another cut, this time to my ex-girlfriend’s house in Louisville, KY. We had just came back from a tournament at Books and Music Exchange. I had played and lost with Adrian Sullivan Chevy Blue. It is loads of fun to play granted, but it lacked a more powerful punch, and I felt that it just sat on its’ laurels way too often, while getting pounded upon by other more aggressive decks. That weekend there was a free tournament at 7towers, and I decided that it was time to try out a new deck:
Counter Rebels. Played by Kamiel Cornelissen
Final Placement 2nd
4x Absorb
4x Counterspell
4x Brainstorm
4x Ramosian Sergeant
2x Wrath of God
2x Fact or Fiction
2x Dismantling Blow
2x Defiant Vanguard
2x Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero
2x Defiant Falcon
1x Dominate
1x Rout
1x Disenchant
1x Jhovall Queen
1x Ramosian Sky Marshal
1x Rebel Informer
10x Island
8x Plains
4x Adarkar Wastes
4x Coastal Tower
Sideboard
3x Prohibit
2x Fact or Fiction
2x Dominate
2x Disenchant
2x Circle of Protection: Green
2x Mageta the Lion
1x Wrath of God
1x Rout
What are the noticeable differences between the two decks so far? Eric deck used a smaller Rebel Chain that depended on the Sky Marshal to do the winning for him. Kamiel used a slightly larger chain that depended on getting the Sivvi out as soon as possible, then searching up to the Sky Marshal and the Jhovall Queen. The advantage here goes to Kamiel; his versatile rebel chain allowed him more flexibility in his matches.
Twenty-four lands is a pretty good number, but it seemed to never support Eric in his quest for the right amount. A majority of his spells required double-colored mana, and in my testing I was always wishing for more land. However, in my testing of Kamiel’s deck I was always mana flooded. Twenty-six is a fine number; it supports the main decked Rebel Informer and also helps the Wrath of Gods, Dominates, and Rout. Eric deck depended way too much on getting out a Wave and hiding behind it: Advantage again goes to Kamiel.
Library manipulation stays the same in just about both decks – except that the two extra Fact or Fictions in Eric deck helped him find the crucial parts that he needed more often than not.
Mass removal (the ability to clear the board and recover faster) clearly lies with Kamiel. The three maindecked removal spells plus the Dominate are less subjectible to removal. The Parallax Wave often comes into play with a huge bullseye on it, and is only a way to stop the bleeding. Of course, if you can kill the opponent first, then it really doesn’t matter.
The counterspells are pretty much the same. Four Counterspells and four Absorbs is the accepted way to go, but the inclusion of a couple of strictly sideboard cards are two wasted slots in Eric deck. Other than minor discrepancies, the decks are very successful, and I chose to use them both as a source of information when I built my deck.
Well, that inspiration quickly ran dry, as I decided to copy Kamiel’s deck card-for-card in the first tournament I played with it. The only thing major I changed was the sideboard, and that was just to reflect the metagame in that area.
Counter Rebels, Played By Joshua X Claytor
Final Placement: 7th place.
4x Ramosian Sergeant
2x Defiant Falcon
2x Defiant Vanguard
1x Ramosian Sky Marshal
1x Jhovall Queen
2x Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero
1x Rebel Informer
2x Dismantling Blow
1x Disenchant
4x Brainstorm
2x Fact or Fiction
1x Dominate
1x Rout
2x Wrath of God
4x Counterspell
4x Absorb
8x Plains
10x Island
4x Coastal Tower
4x Adarkar Wastes
Sideboard:
2x Tsabo’s Web
2x Misdirection
2x Rootwater Thief
3x Chill
2x Wrath of God
2x Power Sink
2x Dismantling Blow
As you can see, the main deck is the same, but the sideboard is a comedy of errors. The Chills were not needed, nor were the Power Sinks. Also, the Thieves were basically useless except in the mirror match.
After the disappointment of that tournament, I arrived in Vine Grove, ready to make changes to the deck – and to also playtest the heck out of it. I was not familiar with it all and I needed to make myself an expert with Kamiel’s deck so that the next time I played it I would not get beaten so easily.
After the first round of testing, I decided that I liked another Wrath of God effect in the deck. In all its effectiveness, the Dominate takes more than four mana to be really useful. I took it out and added another Wrath. I closed my mind to the deck and refused to make any more changes to it. I would take it to many local tournaments, learn the deck, and still make no new changes to it. It seemed like a machine. However, the introduction of Control Black made me open my eyes, and I decided it was time to make some changes.
Counter X Played By Joshua X Claytor
Final placement 5th
3x Wrath of God
1x Rout
4x Brainstorm
2x Fact or Fiction
2x Dismantling Blow
1x Disenchant
4x Absorb
4x Counterspell
1x Lightbringer
1x Jhovall Queen
2x Defiant Vanguard
1x Ramosian Sky Marshal
2x Defiant Falcon
2x Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero
4x Ramosian Sergeant
4x Adarkar Wastes
4x Coastal Tower
10x Island
8x Plains
Sideboard
1x Rebel Informer
1x Dominate
1x Thermal Glider
2x CoP: Green
2x CoP: Blue
1x Nightwind Glider
2x Disenchant
2x Mageta the Lion
1x Rout
1x Wrath of God
1x Meekstone
The only change I made that involved the main deck was the omission of the Rebel Informer. I felt the metagame had shifted from Rebels to Control Black, and although I never saw it come into play, I was right. I faced exactly no rebel decks that day, but played three control black decks, losing two of them and drawing with the third. The inclusion of the Lightbringer is one that has remained in my deck since then.
However, I am still not happy with my deck’s performance. I have since changed strategies, and am now using a silver bullet type approach. Here is the new decklist to show you what it has evolved into. Any feedback would be appreciated.
Counter X
Decklist by Joshua X Claytor
4x Absorb
4x Counterspell
4x Brainstorm
4x Ramosian Sergeant
3x Wrath of God
2x Fact or Fiction
2x Disenchant
2x Defiant Falcon
2x Defiant Vanguard
2x Lin Sivvi, Defiant Hero
1x Rout
1x Jhovall Queen
1x Nightwind Glider
1x Ramosian Sky Marshal
1x Rebel Informer
1x Thermal Glider
1x Lightbringer
9x Island
7x Plains
4x Adarkar Wastes
4x Coastal Tower
A lot of testing has gone into this deck. So far, barring mana screw, it improves its chances against Blue Skies and Control Black hugely. The mirror match is also improved, as there are more creatures now.
Why are there so many one ofs? The deck gains flying support with the addition of the Gliders, and targeted removal with the inclusion of the ‘Bringer and the reintroduction of the Informer. Is this the best build of the deck? I hope not; there is always room for improvement.
Does Planeshift introduce anything new for the deck? In my eyes that answer is no. Sideboards around the nation may be tempted to include Chris Pikula or Orim’s Chant, and I myself have experimented with them. I have yet to see a good reason to include these two cards.
That is it for this week. Next week, I’ll bringing you more Invasion Block Constructed stuff. I hope you enjoyed!
Joshua X Claytor
DCI Member 1341681
I play Magic: the Gathering, a collectible card game, I think Invasion is Neato, and remember always go for the Gold!
Congrats this week to Tom Swan for kicking a lot of butt on Darwin Kastle’s home field.