My name is Bruno Stella, and I take offense when people trash my favorite multiplayer spell, the Counterspell - as has been done in a number of recent articles by Elske van der Vaart and John Liu.

I play quite a lot of multiplayer, generally against three or four opponents. Our card pool is fairly extensive, but not particularly strong, as Magic is pricey in South Africa thanks to the exchange rate and all; there are no players in my circle with four Nantuko Shades, for example. My metagame is pretty diverse, ranging from a Static Orb lockdown deck, creature rush theme decks like zombies and elves, Domain, as well as the odd"sit back and Drain Life" deck. And, I must say that counter-spells still rock!

The weaknesses that Elske pointed out are still valid. That Visara can be a potential killer, and the resolved Insurrection can still spell doom for you, even if only because the guy who played it now has a score to settle. Nevertheless, the problem is that people seem to view a counter-toting deck as an evolved mono blue duel deck.

Of course that won't work! It is often difficult to efficiently counter everything in a duel, and still keep enough life and cards to take control. If you try and counter everything in multiplayer, two things will happen: (1) you will fail, and (2) you will make the others mad, and before you know it, you'll be in the kitchen, making coffee again.

However, used properly, the mighty Counterspell is just as effective in chaos as in duel. The trick is just to surround counters with a core of cards that support them properly - and of course, this means permanents. There is no getting around that. There are several advantages to packing counterspells in chaos:

1) They Tell Your Opponents Not To Target You Or Your Stuff With Spells.
Sure, a Shock to your head or an Ice tapping one of your walls to draw a card will get through... But you can bet that the Blaze for fifteen won't be aimed at you if there are alternative targets. Thus, you effectively have caused your opponents to up the aggression levels on each other - which is often what you want, seeing that counter-equipped U/x based decks intend on winning in the late game anyway.

2) Psychological Deterrence.
This is not to be underestimated. If the zombie-toting mage keeps poking you with his Putrid Warrior, he must understand that his Zombie Master or Lord of the Undead will not resolve. If the guy playing Domain grills you with his Tribal Flames, he must realize that if you don't counter the Flames, then you will counter Cromat or Collective Restraint. So in that aspect, you make yourself less appetizing to attack, especially if you have enough defenses in place that will not crumble to a single big assault.

The aforementioned defenses are what make Counterspell shine. A counter deck in multiplayer must have overlapping and redundant defenses; the counters then become the guarantee that those defenses are not breached. Elske is correct in saying that Counterspell is useless as your only defense; what I say is that it is critical as a control measure to retain board presence of your other"real" defenses. In this role, it does something that no other spell can do. That's why the Remove Souls and Excludes that Elske referred to are next to useless in multiplayer; all you will do is antagonize somebody.

For example: Flood, Sand Squid, Propaganda, and Ring of Gix have great synergy, and make it much less attractive for people to attack you. If they try to launch an all-out attack, Propaganda forces them to tap out. If they think to launch a limited strike, then they're going to get tapped up by Flood or Sand Squid, or run into a kickered Jilt. It takes a collective effort to take down Counterspell-protected concentric defenses like these, and this usually never happens.

Why? Read on....

I tend to play few creatures, but those that I play are very defensive. Wall of Air, Glacial Wall, and sometimes Sand Squid don't do much attacking, which is why often I can dodge the worst of the tit-for-tats in chaos. Other dynamite creatures are things like Veiled Serpent, which are essentially 4/4 for three mana. Even the fact that they can't attack unless a player controls Islands is a bonus, as most people then don't worry about them, allowing them to"dodge" the removal directed at Thorn Elemental and other powerhouses.

Why? Well, everybody else is glancing over at the huge fatties, and ignoring your modest-seeming band of permanents. It is a well-known fact that keeping a low profile in a multiplayer game is a key to surviving to the late game... And the late game is where you want to be.

As a blue mage, there are many attractive options about the late game. Most of your opponents will be worn out, and often their hands are depleted. Your card drawing will ensure both hand quality and hand quantity. Your counterspells will halt the opponents' big mana plays, and will have kept your defenses intact through a grueling battle. Blue's big spells are also devastating, and Counterspell ensures that you can play them. How about Drain Power with Distorting Wake? Denying Wind on the guy who's just starting to recover? Dominate on Crosis the Purger? Blatant Thievery on everybody?

The other important thing is to be able to roll with the punches. If mass destruction is rampant, then make sure that your deck does not have a lot of creatures to destroy. The Wrath of God Elske mentioned can be turned to your advantage, because as a blue mage this will help you to a great extent by relieving the creature threats.

I find U/R to be highly effective in chaos, as then you can back up denial with brute force. Volcanic Wind, Earthquake, and Starstorm crush creature-heavy decks, and ensure that your opponents are kept on their back foot. Also, Volcanic Wind is not necessarily an automatic way of getting targeted: Read the atmosphere on the table. Sometimes it is better to completely annihilate one player who's getting aggressive with you, other times you can distribute the damage"democratically," eliminating really annoying creatures on all sides, yet still not get ganged up on. Remember - smile!

Another great reason to run U/R is for Blaze and Volcanic Eruption (and Ghitu Fires, if you have them!). These are often your finishers, and they also serve as a deterrent once people know you have them. The reasoning is simple: Attack me with your Mythic Proportioned Enormous Baloth, and if it doesn't get Jilted, or Dominated, then I'm gonna blowtorch you for twelve damage with Volcanic Eruption. With late game life being often low, this either wrecks the guy's game so that he can't win, or turns him into the coffee boy. It is the old Mutually Assured Destruction policy: You may be able to take me down, but I will so wreck your life total or board position that you will be finished, too. (And you play with a bunch of wimps - The Ferrett, always willing to play Global Thermonuclear War)

Herewith, I present my U/R multiplayer deck. Bear in mind that it is a continually evolving weapon that may not be as effective against particular metagames or opponents (read: very aggressive environments).

Stormwind
Lands
12 Mountain
13 Island

Spells
1 Deep Analysis
1 Treasure Trove
1 Opportunity
2 Jilt
1 Fade Away
1 Volcanic Wind
1 Confiscate
1 Foil
4 Counterspell
1 Earthquake
1 Turnabout
1 Flood
1 Drain Power
1 Hammer of Bogardan
1 Propaganda
1 Volcanic Geyser
2 Ghitu Fire

Artifacts
1 Crystal Rod
1 Ring of Gix

Creatures
4 Veiled Serpent
1 Anthroplasm
1 Scrivener
1 Anarchist
1 Glacial Wall
2 Wall of Air
1 Crimson Hellkite

Other cards that occasionally make guest appearances: Sand Squid, Capsize, Blaze, Relearn, Starstorm, Rushing River, Distorting Wake, Somnophore, more Propagandas, Jilt, Dominate.

Looks like a steaming pile, doesn't it? In fact, it works quite well, normally dropping a tough defensive creature early on, and backing this up with bounce, burn or tapping abilities to survive the early game. All I want to do is pile up the mana for the bombs and X- spells. Counterspells keep defenses in order, and at times have gone up to eight depending on how many instants/sorceries are being played in the general metagame.

Late game, I sweep the board with either Volcanic Wind/Earthquake or Fade Away/Drain Power/Turnabout. I know the Hellkite is a real touch of scrubdom, but it is very strong in the late game. I suppose another Propaganda or Jilt would be better.

Routes to victory are Ghitu Fire, the Anthroplasm, or the trusty Hellkite. Often, Dominated or Confiscated fatties beat their owner's head in. Otherwise, I have the option of sitting tight and Hammering the last guy to death. Usually, however, the rest of the players beat each other to a pulp for me - which feels very Blue. Why get one's hands dirty?

The only problem is if there is a player hell-bent on wiping me out, paying no attention to the fact that I can wreck his game for him too, he will succeed. This is why I don't play this deck after a win or after I've just antagonized somebody the previous game. It works better first game up, when everyone is looking for victory, and respects the threats and denial the deck poses.

Remember, whether you play my deck suggestion or not, Counterspell is still a key ingredient in Blue-based decks, even in multiplayer. They protect you, deflect direct damage elsewhere, and make the combo player cry. The best route to victory in multiplayer is to allow the rest of the table to beat itself up, and Counterspell is the way that allows you to survive the chaos.