How useful is a white counterspell? One would
think it would be quite useful, since it gives
White a functionality it never had before. But
if the counterspell is Force Spike? Well, it'll
be good in the early game, where you're curving
out with Savannah Lions and Knight of the Holy
Nimbus and your opponent's four-drop could save
the game for him-- then you'd want to be sure he
doesn't get anything worth tapping out for. In
the later game, not so much really. It's
definitely a tempo card, and white weenie decks
can capitalize on tempo, so it'll find a deck.
Constructed- 3.8
Casual- 2.4
Limited- 1.6
KC MetroGnome
Mana Tithe
This is an exciting card. I wouldn't take it
highly in limited, where there is often mana to
spare and where it doesn't hurt the opponent so
much to have to wait an extra turn for a card.
It still changes the way you have to play in
limited, particularly if your opponent is
leaving white mana open. In constructed, this
will probably see a fair bit of play (if not
quite as much as its big brother). It's not
perfect in a weenie deck, as they want to be
doing other things early game (Savannah Lions,
for example), but comes in handy if you can
start leaving one white open on turns 3 and 4.
This can let you get a two-turn jump on a
control deck and then represent counter mana to
push that Wrath of God/Damnation back one turn.
With the reach of Boros' burn, this could
sometimes make the difference between a win and
a loss. It obviously has uses in a control deck
to counter the very quick-rush strategy we just
mentioned. I also expect this card to make a
splash in peasant magic.
Constructed - 4-
PEZ - 4
Casual - 3
Limited - 2+
Aethereal
Mana Tithe
Yay for the Colts winning the Super Bowl!
Now, onto the card. Originally it was planned to
give white a Memory Lapse, but that was found to
be too powerful, so they gave it Force Spike
instead. Force Spike is a good card and I expect
this to be good as well. Probably not as useful
as Force Spike, because it's white and not blue,
but still good in the control decks. Unlike
Memory Lapse, I would not use this in a white
weenie/aggro deck, because you want to be
playing guys early, and later this is useless.
In casual, just play Force Spike.
In limited, I don't like counters, and this is
no exception.
