How much interest would there be in a counterspell-free format?

[Purple-Smart Heart]

As the title says.

Counters are and always have been terrible game design. Removal is one thing, but effectively controlling what your opponent gets to play is the opposite of fun gameplay. I've never even met a U-control player that had fun playing it, they just know it's overpowered so they play it. Blue already has bounce for its removal "niche" anyway, having counters on top is literal insanity.

I'm curious how many others feel the same and if there would be enough interest to make an official format that bans all counterspell cards.

[GoddessofEternity]

That sounds kinda pointless. They are part of the game. Idk I wouldn’t vibe with it cause counters can stop so much annoying ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ from happening lol. Regardless of what people think, that is the one truth.

[Berserkr]

Zero interest from WOTK so it'll never happen

[the.sightless.jayfeather]

Bounce spells only temporarily deal with the problem, they don't kill like red and black can nor do they exile like white loves to do. They send it back to the hand or top of the library. They can be cast again, you're still down a card if you bounced it while you bought a single turn. It's not bad removal in the slightest, it's just another tool in the toolbox. Counterspells are as well. They keep something from hitting the field but are only live for the brief moment before a spell can resolve, unlike kill or burn spells which stay useful in the hand so long as there's a viable target. Blue is the only color that can't directly kill something or destroy something once it hits the field, the other colors can kill/exile things pretty easy.

Also I genuinely enjoy playing counterspells. It's fun playing around them and trying to figure out how much I can risk extending my turn

[magnumaniac]

I despise counterspell decks that do nothing else for half an hour while waiting to draw their single win condition.
The problem isn't counterspells in general - it is the fact that there are too many of them. Multiple cards with different names but the same effect due to the continuous need to sell new packs. And this doesn't just affect counterspells.

I would much rather see a rule that limits the number of a type of spell in a deck, or even better spells cost more mana to cast when it is not your turn.

[PJ]

If you remove counters, then there will just be another form of removal people pack into their decks. What you want is a "no removal" format. Now comes the tough part, defining exactly what you mean by removal, and then figuring out if the format is even functional after you remove all those cards from it.

Or you could just have a "no blue" format. Most people don't play blue since it isn't a very good color, so people probably wouldn't even notice the difference really.

[Nanaki]

There is such a thing as too much control in the middle, ♥♥♥♥ off with the ultra meta ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ back to ranked and let people play the game.

Sorry I just woke up lol

[Julianne Stingray]

like this?
https://i.imgur.com/jVu08YN.jpg
u cant do anything
I counter any spell you cast every turn
but the game ain't over
This is why I like blue white control

[Octopuses]

Counterspell is literally worse removal. You have to save your mana and hope your opponent actually plays something. Also it's a card for a card trade.

[DoDonPachi]

Originally posted by Purple-Smart Heart:

As the title says.

Counters are and always have been terrible game design. Removal is one thing, but effectively controlling what your opponent gets to play is the opposite of fun gameplay. I've never even met a U-control player that had fun playing it, they just know it's overpowered so they play it. Blue already has bounce for its removal "niche" anyway, having counters on top is literal insanity.

I'm curious how many others feel the same and if there would be enough interest to make an official format that bans all counterspell cards.

Theres no interest whatsoever in a format that bans counterspells

Theres usually no interest in changing any game to cater to bad players

[Sonic Mirage 🎸]

NOT INTERESTED

[Minmataro]

none.

[PJ]

Originally posted by Octopuses:

Counterspell is literally worse removal. You have to save your mana and hope your opponent actually plays something. Also it's a card for a card trade.

It's weird when you look at how good certain types of removal actually are, vs how bad it makes people feel.

- counters: like you said, you have to leave all your mana open and figure out if the opponent is baiting you with trash.

- discard: makes it so you couldn't play the card, but also means you never spent mana on it.

- mill: doesn't actually matter until it removes all copies of your win conditions. it doesn't even nullify a draw the way discard does.

The above three are on the side of worst removal types, and yet people constantly hate on them because for some reason they feel ten times worse than they actually are. Meanwhile plain old Creature destroying is probably the best form of removal because 90% of threats are creatures.

And right now white can basically exile anything but I don't see much complaining about that.

[GoddessofEternity]

People hate to use cards that would let them win and then proceed to ♥♥♥♥ on people for playing cards that get them wins lol. Garbage gutter drain thinking.

[Miaou]

I just scoop to the first counterspell.

It's a digital card game, nothing to win or lose except time and fun.

[GoddessofEternity]

Originally posted by Miaou:

I just scoop to the first counterspell.

It's a digital card game, nothing to win or lose except time and fun.

Was wondering how I got all my free wins