Hey all,

Right now there's an uproar in the world of Magic publications. Players are satisfied with decklists as the majority of their reading material. Writers are taking a stand against it and promoting a new mantra of "teaching people how to fish rather than giving them fish".

The most extreme example -- one writer calling readers "bad players".

Are you a bad player?

I really don't know.  Calling people bad players is just a marketing technique.

I will agree that players will benefit more from learning how to utilize the cards in their deck most effectively rather than taking a list off the web to a tournament setting.  So this month I'm taking the opportunity to focus on strategy rather than putting up assorted decklists and card reviews.

What better way to start than the counterspell?

There are two main categories of counterspell:
hard - You cast it, you counter a spell.
soft - You cast it, you counter a spell IF a certain condition is not met by the opponent.  This can include paying additional mana (Rune Snag, Force Spike), paying life (Dash Hopes), etc.

The counterspell to watch out for in standard is the following card:


Mana Leak falls into the category of being a soft counter, countering a spell if the condition of paying 3 mana is not met by its controller.

Early on when mana sources are scarce, Mana Leak is as good as a hard counter.  Late game, your opponent can be hesitant knowing that Mana Leak can potentially counter a big threat, forcing your opponent to either play lesser casting cost spells or delaying the expensive spell.

Here are some tips on playing Mana Leak effectively:

Threat evaluation of a spell:
The threat level of a spell is the degree to which a spell will hinder you from your ultimate goal of winning.  A spell such as Rampant Growth or other mana accelerant is not much of a threat since it does not directly do something against you (pairing it with Valakut is one of the few exceptions).  A spell like Mind Sludge is a huge threat since it will typically force you to discard your hand and is therefore a must-counter spell.  There are a few questions you can ask yourself to determine if a spell is worth countering:

Do I have another answer for the spell? 
If your opponent is attempting to play a creature, will you be able to answer the creature with another spell?  More importantly, will that spell produce card advantage for you?  Remember that your life points are a more abundant source than the number of cards you have in hand, so you can take a few hits to gain card advantage.

An example here would be letting a creature resolve to wipe the board with a Day of Judgment next turn.

Do I have a better answer for the spell?
Besides card advantage produced, another way to determine if a leak is necessary is to determine if you have a more specific answer.  Mana Leak is a versatile card that's better for cards you're not expecting.  If you have an answer such as Naturalize for an artifact or Negate for a noncreature spell, you can save the versatility of Leak for another spell.

Will the spell kill me?
Self-explanatory.

How much card advantage will the targeted spell produce?
If the card countered produces card advantage for the opponent, then you should consider countering it.  Usually, spells that either draw, select, or filter cards for your opponent are not worth countering since there's a chance that the opponent won't get a threatening spell.  You're better off countering the threat itself rather than what will get the threat.

Spells that fall into the category of producing card advantage include mass discard, planeswalkers, board wipes, and repeatable effects.

Can I actually counter it?
Remember Leak only counters if the opponent can't pay 3.

Will I be tapped out after I play the spell?
Remember that a spell can be bait for a more threatening spell.  Being tapped out means you have no way to defend yourself against any other threats until you untap.

A player will throw out a decoy spell to bait a counterspell if there's a more threatening spell in his grip.

More on the art of baiting:
From the control player's view, keep in mind the double bluff.  If you can convince your opponent that you have a counterspell in hand, then you can influence how he plays around the (possibly imagined) spell.

Miscellaneous notes on Mana Leak:

• Anytime you see an Island or other source of blue mana, watch out for this card.  There are few times when the guaranteed counterability of Negate is preferred.
• Keep track of how many Mana Leaks are in your opponent's graveyard.  More Leaks in your opponent's graveyard means that there are less likely to be some in your opponent's hand.
• The less your opponent knows about your deck, the better.  If your opponent knows your deck, he can determine the greatest threats available to the deck and strategize how to respond to them.

Part of the skill with Mana Leak is being able to lie to your opponent.  Do you have a Mana Leak?  Do you plan to use it?  Do you have another answer? Remember that a big part of playing blue is mind games for your opponent.

If you can strike fear into your opponent with your counterspell shenanigans, you're well on your way to manipulating how your opponent plays. And you know a blue mage loves his control magic.

Until next time,
@shadowsketched