Forcing the Will: Countertop/Thopter

Welcome all to another edition of Forcing the Will! Today I will cover the Legacy Metagame as well as the Magic Online Championship Series we just had for Legacy. From there I will cover the deck known as Countertop/Thopter and be sure to check out the videos as they are some of the most intense games I have ever played! Be sure to also read to bottom of the article and choose which deck I will be covering in my upcoming content. Let’s start off with the MTGO Legacy Metagame.

Legacy Metagame
7/20/2010 (Event #1414834)
(4-0) Zoo
(3-1) Aluren
(3-1) Imperial Painter
(3-1) New Horizon
(3-1) Death and Taxes (DnT)
(3-1) Aluren
(3-1) UBgw Landstill
(3-1) Survival Bant
7/22/2010 (Event #1432343)
(4-0) Merfolk
(3-1) Red Deck Wins (RDW)
(3-1) Aluren
(3-1) Red Deck Wins (RDW)
(3-1) UBgw Landstill
7/23/2010 (Event #1432360)
(4-0) Countertop/Thopter
(4-0) Aluren
(3-1) Dredge
(3-1) Elves
(3-1) Elves
(3-1) Red Deck Wins (RDW)
(3-1) Red Deck Wins (RDW)
(3-1) Elves
7/24/2010 (Event #1432374)
(4-0) Red Deck Wins (RDW)
(4-0) Survival Bant
(3-1) UBgw Landstill
(3-1) Survival Bant
(3-1) Astral Slide
(3-1) Aluren
(3-1) Dredge
7/24/2010 (Event #1432868)
(4-0) Belcher (0 Lands)
(3-1) Zoo
(3-1) Zoo
(3-1) Zoo
(3-1) Zoo
(3-1) Zoo
(3-1) Merfolk
(3-1) UBgw Landstill
7/25/2010 (Event #1432392)
(4-0) Ad Nauseam Storm (ANT)
(3-1) Deadguy Ale
(3-1) Zoo
(3-1) UBG Control
(3-1) Aluren
7/25/2010 (Event #1432419)
(4-0) Survival Bant
(4-0) Countertop/Thopter
(3-1) New Horizon
(3-1) Zoo
(3-1) Ad Nauseam Storm (ANT)
(3-1) New Horizon
(3-1) Ad Nauseam Storm (ANT)
(3-1) Zoo
(3-1) Aluren
(3-1) Dredge
7/26/2010 (Event #1432426)
(4-0) Red Deck Wins (RDW)
(3-1) UWb Landstill
(3-1) Countertop/Thopter
(3-1) Aluren
(3-1) Dredge
(3-1) Ad Nauseam Storm (ANT)
(3-1) Mono Blue Control
(3-1) Ad Nauseam Storm (ANT)
(3-1) Rb Goblins
7/27/2010 (Event #1432449)
(4-0) Death and Taxes (DnT)
(3-1) UBgw Landstill
(3-1) Ad Nauseam Storm (ANT)
(3-1) Red Deck Wins (RDW)
(3-1) Ad Nauseam Storm (ANT)
(3-1) Astral Slide
(3-1) Zoo
(3-1) UBgw Landstill
(3-1) Zoo
7/29/2010 (Event #1448436)
(4-0) Survival/Natural Order Rock
(4-0) New Horizon
(3-1) Dragon Stompy
(3-1) Dredge
(3-1) Rb Goblins
(3-1) Show and Tell/StifleNoughtBridge
7/30/2010 (Event #1448446)
(4-0) Merfolk
(3-1) Death and Taxes (DnT)
(3-1) Death and Taxes (DnT)
(3-1) Bant
(3-1) Survival/Natural Order Rock
(3-1) Dredge
(3-1) Red Deck Wins (RDW)
(3-1) Countertop/Thopter
7/31/2010 (Event #1448453)
(4-0) New Horizon
(3-1) Deadguy Ale
(3-1) Countertop/Thopter
(3-1) Dredge
(3-1) Dragon Stompy
(3-1) Death and Taxes (DnT)
7/31/2010 (Event #1448478)
(4-0) Survival/Natural Order Bant
(3-1) Rock
(3-1) Countertop/Thopter
(3-1) Dredge
(3-1) Pox Loam
(3-1) Survival Welder
(3-1) Enchantress
8/1/2010 (Event #1448483)
(4-0) New Horizon/Countertop
(3-1) Dredge
(3-1) Hive Mind
(3-1) Painter
(3-1) Bant/Countertop

Top winning Legacy Decks

Thanks for making it an even 100 decks guys; it makes the percentages really easy for me :D. Zoo is in the number one spot for the 10th week in a row, and shows no signs of letting up its relentless attack on the MTGO Legacy Metagame. Dredge returns to the top of the Legacy list once more, and is expected as it’s been slightly under the radar for most players. You will need to start packing your graveyard hate once more if you have ventured away from that game plan. I expect Dredge to stick around for a while longer this time around. Coming in at #3 is every formats favorite red headed stepchild… or I mean Red Deck Wins (RDW) my bad! In this format taking a huge amount of life loss early game while laying down non basic lands just sets you up for the RDW’s favorite play ever. Play Price of Progress. Have a counter? No? Well good game. I attribute this to the lack of decks running hate against burn as well as players venturing into the format without dropping a lot of money it, especially players preparing for the MOCS. Be prepared to face off against Aggro, Dredge, Burn, Combo, and Control decks this week as they are all in the top spots.

Let’s now look at which decks performed well in the recent MOCS.

Magic Online Championship Series Season 5 (Legacy)
8/1/2010 (Event #1448403)
Top 8
1. Ad Nauseam Storm (ANT)
2. Survival Rock
3. UBgw Landstill
4. Enchantress
5. Show and Tell/Hypergenesis
6. Zoo
7. Faeries
8. New Horizon

What a diverse Top 8. That’s what I love about these Eternal Formats such as Legacy and Vintage is that the Metagame isn’t so much Rock/Paper/Scissors like most formats. Any deck is viable, and long lost forgotten favorites can always be revamped to come out of nowhere an overtake a tournament. With such a huge selection of cards the possibilities are endless.

In my previous article I suggest to play UBgw Landstill and I was pleased to see the Landstill deck in the number 1 spot before the Top 8. The deck wasn’t able to pull off the win in the end, but Top 4 is no small feat by any means. As of late there has been a huge boost in ANT and Survival decks, and it didn’t surprise me to see these two face off in the finals of the tournament. I didn’t get much time to watch the rounds in the MOCS, but from what I saw it was a very back and forth battle the whole way with most matches going to game 3. In the end Ad Nauseam prevailed victorious and it seems that the deck doesn’t need Mystical Tutor to still be insane. Congrats to Archer. who piloted the ANT deck for the spot on the Online Championship Series.

9th-32nd
9. Dredge
10. Dredge
11. Death and Taxes (DnT)
12. Show and Tell/Dream Halls
13. Countertop/Thopter
14. Countertop/Thopter
15. UWb Landstill
16. Dredge
17. Merfolk
18. Death and Taxes (DnT)
19. Rb Goblins
20. Death and Taxes (DnT)
21. Rb Goblins
22. Merfolk
23. Merfolk
24. Countertop Progenitus
25. Red Deck Wins (RDW)
26. Countertop Progenitus
27. Hive Mind
28. Aluren
29. Countertop
30. Bant
31. Countertop/Thopter
32. Merfolk

Going over the rest of the decks there are a ton of favorites with Dredge, Merfolk, Countertop, Goblins, and even the lone Hive Mind deck. If you notice there was only 1 Zoo deck that made Top 32. now I don’t have the complete stats on what all the players brought to the tournament, but this is a clear indication of 2 things. Either Zoo did very poorly in this tournament, or players were expecting to face off a ton of Zoo decks so they brought a deck to combat it. Hopefully next time WOTC won’t host the Legacy MOCS at 4am EST so that more players can participate in the event.

Countertop/Thopter

I will now go over the deck known as Countertop/Thopter. Most of the Countertop/Thopter decks have the same basic mainboad with a few exceptions. Players sideboards will vary depending on the current meta, but are usually very similar as well. The deck has 3 different main win conditions which makes the deck very lethal if the player can pull off a combo before the opponent overtakes them. The first combo is the classic Countertop combo which utilizes Counterbalance and Senseis Diving Top[card] to create an almost infinite counter ability in a format of low costing spells. [card]Counterbalance also gets some addition help with cards like Brainstorm and Enlightened Tutor. These cards can make any opponent to go crazy enough to throw in the towel.

The second combo of the deck is the Thopter/Sword combo that uses Thopter Foundry to produce an army of 1/1 Thopter tokens, and a lone copy of Sword of the Meek to enable an infinite artifact sacrificial outlet. The basic idea is to lay down the Foundry and to either get the Sword in play or in your graveyard. Once you have accomplished this you either sacrifice the Sword or another artifact to the Foundry to produce a 1/1 token. The Swords ability will bring it back from the graveyard and equip itself to the 1/1 token where you will then be able to continually sacrifice the Sword to produce an army of 1/1 fliers as well as gain life to keep you out of harm’s way.

The 3rd win option is Jace, the Mind Sculptor which can allow you to exile your opponents entire library from the game. Having all 3 of these abilities in a single deck makes the deck very tough to beat if you are not prepared to face it. I won’t spend time going over the rest of the deck since I provide information on the deck in my Deck Tech, but I will show you a few different variations of the deck.

Here we have our first variation of the Countertop/Thopter deck:

Leacy Countertop/Thopter by Whiffy Penguin (4-0) 
Creatures (1)
Other Spells (38)
4 Brainstorm
4 Counterbalance
3 Counterspell
1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Enlightened Tutor
1 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Force of Will
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Moat
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Pithing Needle
4 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sword of the Meek
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Thopter Foundry
Lands (22)
1 Academy Ruins
4 Flooded Strand
7 Island
2 Plains
4 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
2 Tundra
1 Underground Sea
Sideboard (15)
1 Back to Basics
1 Counterspell
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Humility
3 Meddling Mage
3 Path to Exile
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Warmth
Buy this Deck

Elspeth, Knight-Errant – One of the best Planeswalkers printed to date. Elspeth provides an additional way to win games producing an army of 1/1 Soldiers. Elspeth can help fend off Aggro decks as well as allow you to continually bombard a Landstill opponent. If I were going to play this deck again I would highly consider playing Elspeth is it provides an addition way to win as well and is an effective tool against most decks.

Ensnaring Bridge – This is an answer to any deck that runs creatures. It’s extremely effective against decks that try to run big creature spells such as Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or Phyrexian Dreadnought. It also helps fend off Merfolk with all its lord, and late game it becomes an all star against Aggro decks. Against the mirror this card can become useful if both players have the Thopter/Sword combo. You basically empty your hand pass your turn, and when it becomes your turn you can attack with your army of Thopters and then play the card in your hand. That way your opponent will have to keep up with you attacking every turn, or find a way to deal with your Bridge. This is great option against a field of Aggro and of course the big bad Eldrazi decks.

Path to Exile – No real need for an introduction here. Path has been rocking the tournament scene in every format since its release. Being an almost identical card to Swords to Plowshares it’s an auto side in against Aggro decks. Being able to remove a Phyrexian Dreadnought or a New Horizon players Terravore for one basic land is the best deal in town. Consider this option if you are expecting an Aggro field.

Warmth – A card specifically directed to hate out those decks that try to burn you to death. Against Red Deck Wins (RDW) this card becomes an auto win in most cases allowing you time to set up your board, and start gaining more life with your Thopter/Sword combo. Against Zoo it will give you a life boost which can help you weather the oncoming hoard of beaters. Goblins will also have a hard time coping with the life gain in combination with removal. Bring this in if you are facing any Red deck or a deck full of burn spells.

Let’s take a look at another variation of this deck:

Legacy Countertop/Thopter by PinkPowerPony (4-0) 
Creatures (1)
Other Spells (39)
4 Brainstorm
4 Counterbalance
4 Counterspell
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Enlightened Tutor
4 Force of Will
1 Humility
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Pithing Needle
1 Runed Halo
4 Senseis Divining Top
1 Sword of the Meek
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Thopter Foundry
1 Vedalken Shackles
Lands (21)
1 Academy Ruins
2 Arid Mesa
4 Flooded Strand
4 Island
2 Plains
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
Sideboard (15)
1 Blood Moon
1 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Firespout
1 Relic of Progenitus
4 Spell Pierce
1 Tormods Crypt
1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
Buy this Deck

Blood Moon – Does your opponent only play with non basic lands? Well if they’re not running Red they’re going to be hating you. Moon will enable you to effectively cut your opponent off of their much needed mana to cast their spells, and against decks that run exclusively on non basic lands if they don’t have a counter for your Moon they are pretty much dead. Board Moon in against a deck that run a pretty stack of non basic lands.

Ethersworn Canonist – A small 2/2 beater with a little extra kick. This card will allow you to stall a combo players game plan until they can find a way to deal with your Canonist or they die. Seems like a good situation to be in if you ask me. Bring in Canonist against those Combo decks.

Firespout – What’s better than a 2 damage Pyroclasm? A 3 damage Firespout[card] of course! This will help fight off those early rushes from the Aggro decks, and allow you to buy enough time to try to take the lead in the game. The only problem with this card is that it requires a Red mana to deal damage to creatures without flying, and a Green mana to deal damage to creatures with flying. I would consider putting a [card]Tropical Island in the deck with the ability to wipe away the mirror or Faerie players army off the face of the play mat. Bring this in against those Aggro decks with low toughness creatures specifically 3 or less.

Runed Halo – Having trouble with those Ad Nauseam, Brain Freeze combo decks, or that huge Phyrexian Dreadnought staring you down from across the table? Have no fear the Halo will protect you. Halo will allow you to combat spells that target you as an opponent. I can see Leyline of Sanctity being another great option, but Leyline won’t protect you from your opponent creatures. Take the new UG Madness deck for instance playing Halo naming Vengevine is an annoying play for that opponent. They will need to find their Trygon Predator in order to deal with the Halo. Board this in against Storm decks, or decks that use 4 of in the big creature department can you say Ha-ha Tarmogoyf in your grave loving face!? I thought so.

Spell Pierce – One of the best counter spells printed in a while. A boosted up version of Force Spike directed at non creature spells. Not being able to counter a creature spell is the cards only downfall, but in a format that is overflowing with counters and non creatures spells it becomes extremely effective in the early game. Board this in whenever you are facing a deck that uses combo pieces, or decks that run a ton of counters.

Vedalken Shackles – In a format full of low costing creatures with relatively low power, laying down a Shackles can be devastating for an opponent. Being able to permanently steal on of their creatures to use as a blocker or beater can sway the game in your favor in a big hurry. Board Shackles in against any Aggro deck with low costing cost creatures.

Volcanic Island – The dual land allows us to play Firespout with the ability to do damage to all non flying creatures. It also allows us to lay down our Blood Moon. That’s about all this land is used for besides providing mana of course!

Wheel of Sun and Moon – Another great option to fight those grave decks such as Dredge, Loam, and the Countertop/Thopter mirror. Playing wheel naming said opponent will give you some wiggle room until your opponent can find an answer for the wheel, and by then it’s usually too late. Wheel is also effective against Brain Freeze naming yourself so your opponent won’t be able to mill you for the win. Bring this in against any deck that will be abusing their graveyard as well as the Brain Freeze storm deck.

Last of all let’s take a look at the version of the deck that I decided to play:

Legacy Countertop/Thopter by KillerOwen

Creatures (1) Other Spells (38) 4 Brainstorm 4 Counterbalance 3 Counterspell 1 Crucible of Worlds 1 Engineered Explosives 4 Enlightened Tutor 4 Force of Will 2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 1 Moat 1 Oblivion Ring 1 Pithing Needle 4 Senseis Divining Top 1 Sword of the Meek 4 Swords to Plowshares 1 Tezzeret the Seeker 2 Thopter Foundry Lands (22) 1 Academy Ruins 4 Flooded Strand 6 Island 1 Misty Rainforest 2 Plains 3 Polluted Delta 1 Scalding Tarn 1 Seat of the Synod 2 Tundra 1 Underground Sea Sideboard (15) 1 Engineered Explosives 1 Extirpate 1 Circle of Protection: Red 2 Tormods Crypt 1 Aura of Silence 2 Hydroblast 1 Humility 1 Relic of Progenitus 1 Back to Basics 4 Meddling Mage

Buy this Deck

I will cover the Countertop/Thopter deck in the videos below as well as provide videos from a Legacy Daily Event. I don’t consider myself an expert at the Countertop/Thopter deck as I have little experience playing the deck. I also didn’t provide my play mistakes once again, and I won’t be planning on doing this for some time. As of late my schedule has become very busy and finding time to watch replays is out of the question for the time being.

COUNTERTOP/THOPTER DECK TECH

LEGACY DAILY EVENT ROUND 1

LEGACY DAILY EVENT ROUND 2

LEGACY DAILY EVENT ROUND 3

LEGACY DAILY EVENT ROUND 4

There you have it folks 2-2 in the Legacy Daily not good but not bad either. I hope you found the article and videos useful. I also hope that those of you who don’t play Legacy are starting to see the diversity of the format, and that I am sparking your interest in the format.

You Choose the Deck!

I know that I have had numerous requests for a number of decks and I want to give my readers the option to vote on the most requested decks. This week I am providing my readers the option to vote on the next deck. Make sure to get your votes in fast as I will only allow 2-3 days before choosing a deck to cover.

The choices are as follows:
#1. Baneslayer Control
#2. UG Survival Madness (Vengevine/Survival)
#3. Dredge
#4. New Horizon
#5. Death and Taxes (DnT)

Be sure to either post the number of the deck or the name of the deck. This is an experimental run so if I don’t get enough votes this time around I may not give my readers the option again for some time so get those votes in!

That’s all the time I have for his week. I hope you found this article insightful and useful in some way. As always please leave any comments, questions, or requests you have good or bad, and I will do my best to respond to them. Thanks for reading and watching my videos! Until next time may the Force of Will be with you!

Owen Robbins

I’ll leave you with a bonus little puzzle. I was in a draft when this came up in my round.

I am in a UZ/UZ/UZ draft. My deck consists of 40 cards. My opening hand consists of 7 White mana sources, and my deck has a total of 9 White mana sources. What is the probability that I get the hand I have in the picture above? Good Luck!