Subject: A new Force-free era... Date: Fri, 26 Sep 1997 17:35:36 -0400 From: Bennie Smith Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy Hear ye! Hear ye! Let us all give thanks for the timely passing of that most unnatural of counterspells, Force of Will. While that card was with us, it touched all of our lives, directly or indirectly; now that this monstrosity is leaving us, sanity and fun can shine back on this wonderful game... You know, I've always enjoyed the chess-like board manuevering of Magic, with creatures, artifacts and enchantments the visable pieces, and the hand presenting the unknown, cards that livened things up. In a similar vein, I really have always disliked counterspells and lock-down decks that prohibited their opponant from participating in the game. It always seemed like these elements took alot out of Magic, but since they were inherent to the game, I dealt with it same as everyone. Back in the day, you could do things to make sure you could get a spell cast, such as wait for the opponant to "tap out," presenting that precious window of opportunity to bust a move. There were also cards like Icy Manipulator, Black Vise, and Strip Mine that helped control the control player. With the loss of the Strip Mine and Vise, and the addition of a pitch counterspell, the whole game took a subtle turn for the worse. Now the counterspell player could be both aggressive AND reactive, something that had not really been possible before. That potential has given rise to the rash of counter/control decks that seems to have dominated Standard and MirvLight of late. This is also the reason why speed is so prevalent now, especially burn decks. The counterdecks are so strong that one way to try and defeat them is to launch such a fast attack that the control deck has no time to take control of the game. So, in the wake of the recent Type 2 card rotation, we have two types of decks - the counter-everything deck, and the burn everything deck. Neither of which are fun to play against; in fact, most opponants would probably compare it to root canal surgery. Remember the days of playing tournament Magic and actually having fun, even if you lost? We've lost that currently, but I think the singular loss of Force of Will will correct alot of that. First off, you will now be able to know, by observing available mana, when you are at risk for having a spell countered and when you are at low risk. This will add considerable strategy and fun back into playing alot of decks that are just not viable now. Following this chain of logic, someone playing a control style deck will need to diversify into permanent control instead of just top loading on counterspells, because at some point something is going to get through and hit the table. So now, you will have chances to at least PLAY something, sometimes!! Once Tempest comes in, if the counterspells that are on the pre-spoiler are correct, a blue player will still have a good selection of counterspells to choose from. The cantrip counterspell and buyback counterspell, while not as good as Counterspell, and Dissapate, are both solid and will see some use. However, now it is unlikely a smart control player will load up with 14-16 counterspells and have to diversify, either into other permanant control or actually play creatures (I imagine Winding Canyons may make their way into some counterdecks). What that hopefully means is that when you sit down across from said player, you will actually get to PLAY a game, instead of just watch as every spell you cast is countered. I think Force of Will leeched alot of fun from the game, and soon enough, the fun will be BACK! Let me hear a HALLELUJAH!!! C'mon November 1st!! -- --Bennie, Richmond Task Mages "It's all about the Withering Boon." ====>NOTE: To reply, remove NOSPAM from return