The newest Magic: the Gathering's expansion set, Kaldheim, currently has the spotlight with its Norse theme and dynamic draft archetypes. But experienced players can also look forward to the Time Spiral Remastered set, an expert-level draft set that's right around the corner. And the previews are promising.

This set is geared for advanced players, and the draft archetypes will be tricky but rewarding, with time itself being the theme of many of these cards. While the white cards often care about ETB effects and a Rebel tribe, this set's blue cards are centered around tempo and disrupting the opponent. Some serious counterspells are ready for deployment.

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Time Spiral Remastered And Its Nifty Counterspells

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Blue has always been the color of tricks, traps and countering spells, and the Time Spiral Remastered set boasts all kinds of countermagic to deny the opponent their best spells at the last second. One notable card is Disdainful stroke, costing {1}U to counter any spell with CMC (or mana value) of 4 and higher. This card won't do any good in counterspell wars, but it can easily shut down a game-smashing bomb card or any X spell with a lot of mana paid into X. This card was a notable counterspell from the Khans of Tarkir block, and it's popped up a few times ever since. Control-oriented decks are known for running both generic counterspells and more unique counterspells such as Disdainful Stroke to be prepared for anything the opponent can muster.

Delay is a cheap counterspell that plays right into the time-based theme of the original Time Spiral block. It will counter a spell, then exile it with three-time counters and grant it suspend if it didn't already have suspend. This way, the enemy spell can't take effect when the opponent wants it, but the spell may arrive after a three-turn delay, keeping Delay balanced (and justifying its cheap cost). Ideally, Delay's caster will use this spell when they're close to victory, so the opponent never gets a chance to re-cast their countered spell before the game ends. The same may be true for Remand, another heavy-hitting counterspell that returns the countered spell to its owner's hand.

Logic Knot was one of the first-ever cards to feature the Delve ability, allowing the caster to exile cards from their graveyard to pay for X. Self-mill can really fuel Delve, such as with Thought Scour, and fetchlands can also stock up the graveyard for Delver. Logic Knot can make X rather high even with a modest manabase, easily shutting down the opponent's spells. Then there's Spell burst, which also has X in its cost. Unlike Logic Knot, Spell Burst has the Buyback ability, meaning it returns to the hand upon resolution if the caster pays {3}, not counting mana spent on X. That way, Spell Burst can be cast again and again if the right mana is available.

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Blue's Tricky Support Spells In Time Spiral Remastered

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Counterspells are great fun, but they don't make up an entire deck. Time Spiral Remastered boasts all kinds of creatures and spells to fill out a blue-based draft deck, with Baral, Chief of Compliance being a great start. This popular blue creature hails from the Kaladesh block, and instead of focusing on artifacts, Baral cares about spells. All friendly instants and sorceries cost {1} less to cast, meaning Delay and Disdainful Stroke are ultra-cheap, at just U to cast. When the player counters an enemy spell, they may loot or draw a card and then discard a card to find some fresh material for their hand.

Draining Whelk is both a creature and a counterspell which has flash, allowing it to intercept enemy spells and absorb the mana. Draining Whelk is a tiny 1/1 flier, but when it counters a spell, it can get some +1/+1 counters, according to the enemy spell's CMC/mana value. This creature is costly, but in the late game, it can deny the opponent their game-winning bomb, then hit back as a huge flying beater.

Mystic Confluence is like Cryptic Command's little brother, featuring three powerful modes for {3}UU. Take note that a given mode can be chosen two or three times if desired, which sets Mystic Confluence apart from typical Charms and Commands. It can draw a card, bounce a creature to its owner's hand, or counter a spell unless the opponent pays {3}. If the opponent really can pay {3} to protect their spell, then Mystic Confluence's first mode can be chosen twice, forcing the opponent to pay {6}, which is asking a lot of them. In extreme cases, the first mode is chosen three times, meaning the opponent must pay a whopping {9} to resolve their spell. In games of booster draft Limited, having that kind of spare mana is incredibly unlikely.

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