Evolved from threshold during the days of goblins-solidarity-threshold, the traditional form cheats on land by using multiple cantrips that also help to find threats and answers. In addition to the evergreen 4 x Brainstorm, past incarnations have used Portent, Predict, Serum Visions, and most recently Ponder. Preordain is also a contender since its printing in M11, and it deserves some consideration.
Threats
Threats in the old threshold lists include Nimble Mongoose, Werebear, and Mystic Enforcer/Fledgling Dragon in the white/red splash. Today, 4 Tarmogoyf serve as the key threats, and is supported by 4 Noble Hierarch, 2-4 Rhox War Monk, 1-3 Vendilion Clique, 1-3 Stoneforge Mystic, 2-4 Qasali Pridemage, and 1-2 Trygon Predator in the predominant Bant version.In addition to creatures that just beat face, 3 Natural Order makes its way into several versions as it fetches out Progenitus, a 10/10 unblockable beast that laughs at cats and dogs, and Swandives onto a vintage motorbike in the middle of a hot-tub located at the foot of a waterfall. Having Natural Order resolved might just make it the best night of your life. Good men love hydras (smiley face emoticon).
The latest addition to the threat lite deck is 2-3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Now you wished you'd picked them up when they were still $50 a piece.
Control Elements
Speaking of combos, the soft lock of 3-4 Counterbalance and 4 Sensei's Divining Top can be constructed rapidly with the 8+ cantrips. Combine this with its low curve, it gives fits to opponents piloting almost all decks, unless they are Ancient Tomb decks. This, along with 4 Force of Will and 4 Daze, provides the control aspect of this aggro-control archetype. More controllish versions include other counterspells such as 2-3 Spell Pierce, 2-3 Spell Snare, and even Counterspell.On the creature control side, expect to see 4 Swords to Plowshares if you see a land that produces white mana. To supplement the bare minimum, 2-4 Path to Exile may be sideboarded in against aggro decks like Zoo and Merfolk. Supreme Blue, a variation of Counter-top Goyf, splashes red not for Lightning Bolt but for 3-4 Firespout, a semi-wrath against Zoo, Merfolk, and Goblins.
Although it lacks 4 Ponder, here is a close to standard build of Counter-top Goyf list:
Natural Order Bant – Jim Orr (2nd, Philadelphia SCG, 6th June 2010)
1 Forest
2 Island
1 Plains
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Tropical Island
3 Tundra
4 Windswept Heath
1 Dryad Arbor
Threats (19)
4 Noble Hierarch
2 Qasali Pridemage
4 Rhox War Monk
4 Tarmogoyf
1 Trygon Predator
3 Natural Order
1 Progenitus
Disruption (16)
3 Counterbalance
3 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Umezawa's Jitte
Others (7)
3 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Brainstorm
Sideboard (15)
3 Relic of Progenitus
2 Faerie Macabre
2 Sower of Temptation
1 Trygon Predator
1 Counterbalance
2 Krosan Grip
2 Path to Exile
2 Spell Pierce
And a controllish Supreme Blue version placed 2nd in recent Grand Prix Columbus:
Supreme Blue – Tom Martell (2nd, Grand Prix Columbus, 1st August 2010)
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Misty Rainforest
3 Tropical Island
3 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
2 Island
1 Mountain
1 Plains
1 Karakas
Threats (9)
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Vendilion Clique
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Disruption (21)
4 Counterbalance
3 Counterspell
2 Spell Snare
4 Force of Will
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Firespout
1 Oblivion Ring
Others (8)
4 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Brainstorm
Sideboard (15)
1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Firespout
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Hydroblast
3 Krosan Grip
1 Llawan, Cephalid Empress
1 Meddling Mage
1 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Spell Pierce
A variant of the Counter-top archetype, the Supreme Blue variant that splashed red for maindeck Firespout poses a better matchup against Zoo, Merfolk, and Goblins, the aggro decks that are expected to rise in popularity since the ban of Mystical Tutor. The higher concentration of 3-drops enable him to counter spells such as Trygon Predator, Krosan Grip that breaks the counter-top lock, and also other random threats like Knight of the Reliquary, Terravore, and Rhox war Monk. Daze that is usually present is replaced with a real Counterspell, and Jace seals the deck off as a real control deck.
How the deck works
As an aggro-control deck that has a manabase relatively weak to Wasteland, your gameplan should differ in each game depending on the starting hand and your opponent's deck choice. Although you cannot really autopilot this deck, there are some lines of play that are quite powerful:e.g., turn 1 Noble Hierarch, turn 2 Counterbalance + Sensei's Divining Top with FoW as backup.
Against most legacy decks, a fast Counter-top lock will land the opponent in a deep cesspool and you can construct the lock quickly with your 4-8 cantrips. A early Sensei's Divining Top is highly valued as it allows you to sieve through your draws, looking for removal against aggro, Counterbalance against combo, and Tarmogoyf for the win. A quick Natural Order via Noble Hierarch also often spells game over for your opponent.
However, if you do not get these plays, playing with this deck actually requires quite an expert knowledge of the established decks in legacy. You have to decide whether you are playing the aggro or control role early in the game and search for key cards against the opponent. Knowing how to stack the top of your deck with a Top/Ponder/Brainstorm and when to shuffle is the basics of this archetype and you're bound to make some mistakes from the start. However, those who enjoy playing puzzles are assured that they will have a good time piloting this archetype.
How to beat Counter-top Goyf
Most variations live on a low land count and few basics, thus mana denial through Wasteland and friends is rather efficient, although Noble Hierarch serves to offset this. The other glaring weakness of this archetype is the low number of threats in most variations. Since the counter-top package and its cantrips require up to 16 slots, counterspells and removals take up around 12 slots, there is only around 14 slots to work around. These are likely to be 4 Noble Hierarch, 4 Tarmogoyf, 3 Natural Order, 1 Progenitus, and 2 random. As long as you can prevent Natural Order from resolving, and have no problems with Tarmogoyf, you stand a big chance against this archetype. However, recent versions have dropped Ponder and some amounts of Daze for addition threats and removals, making up for the traditional weakness.Merfolk is also a good choice against the archetype with its islandwalking fishies and large enough size to race a Tarmogoyf. Decks that have access to black mana may find Perish to be so wonderful that even pro player Saito packed 3 of them in his Grand Prix winning Merfolk list. In addition to Submerge, a card often seen occupying sideboard space is Llawan, Cephalid Empress, as it is one of the few cards that can handle Progenitus on its own.
Krosan Grip is the unanimous choice to handling the Counter-top lock, so much so that all Counter-top Goyf pilots expect some amounts to be sideboarded in against them. Be wary that despite having Split-second, Grip can be countered by Counterbalance if there's a 3-cmc card on top of the deck. However, another wekaness is that many variations do not have sufficient numbers of 3-cmc cards to reliably do so. Therefore, Trygon Predator, Engineered Explosives, and Pernicious Deed are popular ways of handling this soft lock.
More reading
The Source thread on Counter-top
Stephen Menendian on Ubg Counter-top Goyf
Off topic cousin: New Horizons
Off topic cousin: Team America Tweet this!
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