Dies to Removal

So I know this is redmage's board, but just because you love steak doesn't mean you can't enjoy fish from time to time. This deck began back in rav/csp/tsp/10th standard when I was called out on being a 1 trick pony redmage (so much good burn in that time), and as a former bluemage I was mildly insulted and quickly put together the first version of this deck, and I actually got some fnm victories with it, since no one was prepared for counterspell deck, especially this one. Pieces have come and gone, but as a whole the core strategy remains the same, combine the advantages of MUC with the advantages of board presence. It's no rockstar, it's not really modern playable, but when I really feel the urge to make people ask permission in a casual game, I reach for this (i'm not cruel enough to bring out counterbalance/top anymore).
[Deck]
creatures
4 judge's familiar
4
looter il-kor
4 spike-tail drakeling
4 mystic snake
2 trygon predator
2 draining whelk

Instants
4 runesnage
4 think twice
4 hinder
4 psionic blast

Lands
4 terramorphic expanse
4 forest
16 island
[/deck]

Thanks to psionic blast I can feel a little more comfortable letting things slide. Hinder puts things on the bottom of the library (as good as exiled) or screws draws. Runesnag is simply the best counter or pay x spells (though miscalculation is a close second). Think twice is simple card advantage. Looter il-kor is my favorite looter, he trades instant speed activation and chump blocking for chip damage, and think twice plays very well with looters. Drakeling is way better than he ever gets credit for, he lets you drop a beater without dropping counter protection, and if he lives til your untap he's going to make them unable to tapout for a while (if you untap with him your opponent has made a bad mistake). Mystic snake is a hard counter and a dude, no frills, nothing terribly
fancy, just the exact thing this deck needs. Judge's familiar is a recent addition (replacing the non-evasive curse catcher) he misleads opponents who haven't seen the deck before, and stuffing someone's ponder or brainstorm can actually hurt other blue control decks, but usually he just sticks the chip damage or chumpblocks something stupid. Trygon predator is actually a recent addition(despite being in standard when the deck was), he blocks 2/2s and lives, and he eats artifacts and enchantments, which is a much bigger deal in casual than competitive formats. Finally draining whelk comes in as the obligatory big finisher, and a fun way to shove other finishers down their controller's throats.

Hey! This is NOT a redmage's board. We are just infested by them .



Nice deck you have going there, the mana curve looks great.

Since you're splashing green, have you considered replacing Think Twice with Elvish Visionary? It's a cantrip and it leaves a body for increased board presence. Also Vines of Vastwood is useful as a semi-counter and for that final blow.

Elvish visionary was a consideration, though he ended up losing to coiling oracle who lost out to cursecatcher, who was recently replaced by judge's familiar. A first turn play frequently wrong foots people (not expecting from counter control), and if i can make people play around my one drop's counter ability, even a little, i've got some serious value out of it on top of some chip damage/speed bump. Think twice is important because it flashes back, so I can pitch it to looter il-kor and still get CA out of it. Vines of vastwood is worthy of consideration, I wasn't in the market for a buff spell, but that might be just the one to change my mind, though i'm still a little shaky on it considering the double green cost for the kicked version. I was originally running kira, the great glassspinner in trygon predator's slot for a similar, defensive purpose,
but found that having counters open did 75% of it's job, and the greater flexibilities of counters is fantastic.