The author typically runs between 4 and 10 counter spells, depending on their strategy. Blue heavy decks often have more counters than those relying on graveyard interaction or combat. They also play toolbox type decks with more removal and board wipes. Counterspells are only useful to prevent losing to a card or stopping someone from stopping them from winning. In general, having at least 10-15 counterspells is optimal for Commander decks with a hard control plan.
The amount of counterspells depends on the commander and game plan for winning. Counterspells can only stop one threat at a time, and in 1v1 decks, they are great for protecting a game-winning play. However, in multiplayer, it is generally preferable to run more removal and fewer counters.
In EDH, the author only runs counters if they have extra effects or to protect a game-winning play. They rely on sweepers and spot removal to stop board states getting out of control. CEDH decks run very tight on mana and depend on overall efficiency to achieve their goals. Spell Pierce is a good, cheap counter spell that usually is a hard.
A good rule of thumb is 3-5 counterspells for a deck that wants minimal interaction and 7-10+ for heavy control. Don’t go overboard on them as they are essential for achieving your goals. A suite of mana drain, force of will, and hinder or spell crumple is recommended.
For pure control decks, 8 counterspells are typically used. For Azami, Idk, and other decks, running board is a good option. The quantity of counterspells depends on the kind of deck you want to build but as a general rule, it is recommended to run no less than 7-8.
📹 How many counterspells should you play in cEDH
Well in this video we are looking into how many counterspells you should try and aim for. A ratio so to say. And if you have to …
How many tutors is too many in edh?
The number of tutors required is contingent upon the level of competition. A higher-powered deck may include one or two tutors, unless the game involves cEDH, which allows for greater flexibility in gameplay.
What is a good Commander deck ratio?
Magic: The Gathering (MTG)’s Commander decks are designed to be creative and inspired, with around 35 to 40 land cards. These decks are made up of 100 unique cards, with a legendary creature acting as the player’s commander. Commander is the most popular paper format for MTG, but it can be challenging for beginners to start building a deck. Wizards of the Coast has released pre-constructed Commander decks in various themes and archetypes, which are a great starting point for new players.
Beginners can either start with a pre-constructed deck and tinker with it or build their own from scratch. Commander decks are heavily reliant on color identity, as players must assemble a cohesive strategy using 100 unique cards with limited colors. This presents an exciting deck-building challenge for newcomers to master.
How many counterspells for a Commander deck?
For Commander decks with a hard control plan, it is recommended to have at least 10-15 counterspells. The total counterspells should depend on the commander and game plan for winning. Commanders in blue that thrive on instant spells can benefit from more counterspells than a normal creature-based deck. The main question is how much control you want to control the game in your pod. Counterspells should prevent opponents from getting value from their best cards.
This number is high, but it is a recommendation for a hard-and-fast control deck. Blue decks have the most options for counterspells to balance out control. The best types of counterspells depend on the commander and game plan.
How many counterspells to run in Commander?
For Commander decks with a hard control plan, it is recommended to have at least 10-15 counterspells. The total counterspells should depend on the commander and game plan for winning. Commanders in blue that thrive on instant spells can benefit from more counterspells than a normal creature-based deck. The main question is how much control you want to control the game in your pod. Counterspells should prevent opponents from getting value from their best cards.
This number is high, but it is a recommendation for a hard-and-fast control deck. Blue decks have the most options for counterspells to balance out control. The best types of counterspells depend on the commander and game plan.
How many counterspells can you counterspell?
In order to cast a Counterspell, one must first take a Reaction action, which can be done once per round. It should be noted, however, that multiple counterspells can be cast per round, with the potential for seven castings if seven individuals are able to cast counterspell normally.
How many spells should you have in a Commander deck?
A typical Commander deck may comprise approximately 38 lands, 38 creatures, and 24 spells, which is deemed acceptable for a monocolor deck, though somewhat sparse.
How many removal spells should you have in a Commander deck?
The author recommends having at least 8-10 removal spells in their Commander decks, as part of a 15- to 20-card interactive suite of cards. Removal removes opponents’ cards, while interaction involves effects that interact with opponents’ cards. Examples of removal include Swords to Plowshares and Nature’s Claim. In a game, the author values interaction, especially as Magic cards get further pushed.
Some players play less removal, believing their opponents will also have interaction to deal with threats. However, there is no guarantee that opponents will remove the card threatening your game plan, and relying on opponents to make plays convenient for you often backfires.
Is scavenging ooze good in Commander?
Scavenging Ooze and Oran-Rief Ooze are two excellent allies in any deck. Scavenging Ooze gains counters for every card that is exiled from an opponent’s graveyard, while Oran-Rief Ooze enhances counters during attacks.
How many counterspells to play in edh?
For Commander decks with a hard control plan, it is recommended to have at least 10-15 counterspells. The total counterspells should depend on the commander and game plan for winning. Commanders in blue that thrive on instant spells can benefit from more counterspells than a normal creature-based deck. The main question is how much control you want to control the game in your pod. Counterspells should prevent opponents from getting value from their best cards.
This number is high, but it is a recommendation for a hard-and-fast control deck. Blue decks have the most options for counterspells to balance out control. The best types of counterspells depend on the commander and game plan.
Do commanders keep 1 /+ 1 counters?
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What is the counterspell rule?
When trying to interrupt a creature during a spell, the spell fails if the creature is casting a spell of 3rd level or lower. If the creature is casting a spell of 4th level or higher, the DC equals 10 + the spell’s level. If successful, the spell fails and has no effect. If the spell is cast using a 4th level or higher slot, the interrupted spell has no effect. A reaction is taken when a creature is within 60 feet of the player.
📹 How much removal should you run in Commander?
EDH #Commander #mtg Removal in Commander is a balancing act – discover what I mean in today’s philosophy talk. Let’s help …
I only run more removal to make sure I have it in hand when I need it. Don’t counter the Tutor, counter what they find. You counter the tutor they can still find what they need to win. Don’t remove their resources to get to their win con. Remove their win con. My mono white angels has 8 single target versatile set of removal and 2 versatile board wipes
I think the “run more removal” rhetoric is a response to people playing basically 0 removal Obviously every deck has a balance of removal and everything else, and i think people not playing ENOUGH removal is a more common issue than the alternative. Plus, some decks want more removal than others. Control decks, in particular, are an archetype built around removal, and they can be very successful.
“Let them have that rhystic study” I am sorry, what, in a Cedh pod, one of the best cards to be playing is rhystic study, since everyone will be vomiting fast mana, draw spells and free interaction. Even more so since in cedh, drawing 20 cards means you are very likely to straight up win next turn, sure, it is not a wincondition on its won, but it does provide the fast mana, tutors and counterspell backup to win, so better remove it.
One good point in here was: Knowing when to use removal is more important having more removal. Also lower cost removal is better than higher cost removal, but I would also counter a 6 drop that will put my opponent 6 cards ahead by my turn. Lol the ‘why would you counter a stax piece?’ line was funny. Drawing cards wins games remove the things that draw cards. Overall a bad take on removal if you play at anything above a precon level.
yep, i seen so many times people just board wiping without a plan. a couple of weeks ago i was in a game when someone decided to play farewell even do they did not have any other cards in their hand, and i had 2 cards in my had, left 6 mana open, for either a couter spell and teferi protection. he did not plan in me having them after i left 6 mana open with 2 cards left in hand. he did not only wasted his removal, he gave me the game. or another time in which i was not the threat but just the idea of me becoming the treat, 2 people focus their removal on me and not at the guy that was the actual threat. also they tend to get angry at me when i actually remove actual threats or bait their removal only to do something that secures me the win.
I think remove directly a value piece is not a bad play. I will have less threats to answer after and he is less likely to draw protection. I consider it as the same value as a board wipe. That why people remove rustic study. If you cast sire of stagnation as 6 drop hoping to refill your hand, i removed it for max 3 mana you are time warp and out of the game. The downside of doing that is the fellbad moment for the player
All that said, some people should run more removal. I used to play with this guy who would always whine about folks powerful cards, but literally ran no removal. He was the only person I’ve ever non-jokingly told “you need to run more removal” 😅 Personally I think people should run more fog effects, and mass protection spells. Usually pretty easy to keep mana up for, and can easily blow someone out of the game.
In CEDH, we play answers like removal and counterspells only to answer combos and win cons or break stax pieces to go off and win through stax. Decks of that power level can afford to run a bit more sloppily and loosely to be as resource and mana efficient as possible. That’s how you play at the highest level of power and even casual level play can learn a lot from that.
Another helpful tip for removal I have is find the niche cases your deck enjoys! An example is vandalblast. Many people default to it as one of the first options in a red deck because it’s one mana for an artifact or five for all other artifacts. But, if you’ve got red in your aristocrats style deck, try Ingot Chewer! It’s evoke is the same cost as vandalblast, and it gives you a thing to sac to something else real quick, or even just gives you another zulaport/artist/garna trigger 🙂
I basically only use removal to protect my strategy OR if it’s part of the strategy (ex: tergrid). Sometimes there are times where something on the board is obviously going to cause huge problems very quickly or soon, but those are relatively uncommon for me. I usually let other players burn their removal for those haha
“Versitility beats volume” is so true. You have to be able to deal with a variety of threats in commander. That being said, “run more removal” is still good advice for new players who will often run no removal, or maybe throw in 1 or 2. Being able to stop your opponents from winning the game or to just deal with the one person who is targetting you (or to just threaten removal in order to get them to target someone else) is important for you to be able to win the game yourself. The exact number varies from deck to deck of course, but I agree with the sentiment that it isn’t your responsibility to deal with every threat and that you need wincons & card draw just as much, if not more, than removal.
There are 3 points I think this article missed that are also important to remember: 1. One common time “Run more Removal” or “Just Play more Removal” comes from an assumption based on little info. If I make a post on reddit, discord, etc and it is like “My table ganged up on me by all going after me aggressively…” the response of “RmR” is them ASSUMING that I “didn’t have enough to deal with that aggression…” Well, no. If I have 12 removal spells, I don’t have all of them at once and if I get attacked 3 turns in a row by Phyrexian Hydra, followed by Putrefax, followed by Fynn and 3 deathtouch creatures to KO me… I can’t remove all of that AND survive… unless my hand is nearly ALL removal spells. No deck can reliably hold off 3 other decks all the time. 2. The second is people who say that are assuming that everyone wants to play at a “more optimized” level of play… I once saw someone comment on a reddit post entitled something to the effect of “Why don’t you run more removal” with “Because I don’t want to, you can’t make me, and I probably have more fun than you.” And a person responded “Well, then prepare to get stomped…” Instead of making it about the GAME, they made the argument PERSONAL. (A personal attack based on a gameplay style preference) 3. And the biggest point is some commander spaces online (and I would argue the general commander sphere) have CULTIVATED a “run more removal” attitude. I know of one play space that has in their rules “If you think you have enough removal, think again and add like 5 or 6 more pieces.
One thing people mention rarely, is that “playing more removal” is just an unwinnable arms race that leads to long, boring, drawn out games where nothing exciting ever happens. If everyone at your table is running 15 to 20 removal pieces, but each player has say, around 10 things in their deck that really make big plays, well, you can do the math…. Everything gets removed, 8 board wipes go off, and somebody ends up dying to chip damage on turn 27 and the games been going on for 3 hours. I’m a much bigger fan of seeing peoples decks actually play out. A few roadblock removals here and there, maybe a boardwipe or two, and someone wins on turn 10-12 still. Lower removal in a pod leads to quicker games, which leads to more games, and no one at the table is sweating on a 120% efficiency 45 piece interaction suite. Edit: also its just a low skill band aid.
Idk about kind of a lot of these takes. Now, I only play and really only have ever played cedh but I think you should state “I’m not talking about when you are trying to build the strongest deck or trying to win as often as you can” then you should just consider that statement and that you were about to give strategic advice about how to play when not truly trying very hard and then let your mind really marinate in the cognitive dissonance and just play edh. And I think most people would call Edh cedh. So, “when in Rome”, just play cedh. Or at least leave discussions about strategy and attempting to win to the “cedh” arena. Summary; if you mean cedh then a lot of this is incorrect. If you mean “a version of edh where people intentionally don’t build powerful decks and aren’t actually trying to win” then I don’t think it makes sense to give strategic advice on it.
I’m a big fan of tax or sac effects. The Rishiden pirates are a good example. I always ask “what else can this card do?” Remove the big threats create other problems to deal with the board. Sure i can’t remove everything, but i can make it hard to keep certian things Do you wanna sac a permanent or pay the 2? Then remove the things that are a problem. Be that itch that you cannot get!
Lost count of how many times I’ve seen someone spend removal on a long-term value piece or something without immediate board impact, then have no play when the game-winning cards start hitting the board. Nine times out of ten, that mana rock or Endless Horizons is really not worth burning your only Disenchant effect. Unless they’re going to draw a very large number of cards, you do not want to counter their card draw spell; save it for the one relevant piece they drew. Learn to threat assess correctly, and the rest of the table will like you better, regardless of the game’s outcome. Don’t be the guy who could’ve stopped the infinite combo but didn’t because that irrelevant piece of Stax REALLY rubbed you the wrong way two games ago.
I fully agree, on average ill run around 5-8 removels in my commander decks. Bacause i found that they attend to be dead cards until they’re needed. And in my play group, we normally play with mid to low power commander decks. So removal isn’t as needed as other things like draw, ramp, and fun janky cards.
I feel like for mana efficiency, tempo, and card advantage talking about mana sinks in this discussion is very important. Sometimes you have 3 mana open, it’s late game and you don’t know if someone is about to plop down a finisher. If you can sink that mana into something, then keeping up removal and not using a card is much more plausible due to the flexibility you have if you realize you don’t need that removal. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve waited to either activate Jade Mage in my tokens deck or play a Beast Within, and the apprehension of the possibility of said Beast Within makes me joyous playing Jade Mage. Gods help you if you find a Scholar of Athreos in an Orzhov deck.
Good article but one note re: decimate. You can’t pick and choose with it which is why it’s actually kind of a bad card. If you don’t have an artifact, creature, enchantment, AND land you want to target, then you cannot cast the spell at all. Board states where there’s something of all of those to bonk without having to zap your own stuff aren’t as common as you’d think .
I do not think you need to remove everything, only something that hinders you way more than all other opponent’s (early game), something that kills you or something that makes your opponent win. However to consistently be able to deal with this I think you need 11-15 interaction cards (removal and protection and in-between at instant speed) at the power level I play at slightly above Pre con.
Playing a board wipe every turn is a lot of fun. It’s basically taking a turn. If I play a land and slow everyone else I’m up. Removal is good and you should be running upward of 10 pieces if you want to win. Commander is a social format and you should play in the way that is the most fun but it is strategy advantages to run a lot of removal