Minor Misstep

Instant

Counter target spell with converted mana cost/mana value 1 or less.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Arena	Legal
Block Constructed	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
DanDan	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Historic	Legal
Judge Tower	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Modern	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Pre-release	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Standard	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (7)

Icbrgr on Minor Misstep

1 year ago

@SpammyV cascade is one of the "decks to beat" at my LGS and I think that's honestly what got me so pumped for Minor Misstep to begin with... but knowing that stupid deck they will just Violent Outburst on my end step with Force of Negation in hand anyway (I really really hate that deck lol)

@Gidgetimer no worries at all honestly just thanks a bunch for helping me look into/understand how the ruling works.

@wallisface I think I'm leaning that way too in thinking that if this kinda countermagic has a main deck "home" then I'd say that some sort of tempo build... and have always been a sucker for Monastery Mentor/Young Pyromancer builds.

Gidgetimer on Minor Misstep

1 year ago

wallisface, Icbrgr: Sorry, I misunderstood the question. The question I answered was "can Prismatic Ending and Engineered Explosives blow up a chalice" not "can Minor Misstep counter Prismatic Ending or Engineered Explosives"

wallisface on Minor Misstep

1 year ago

Yeah Gidgetimer, you're incorrect here. The MV of a spell with X in its value takes the value of X into account when they're on the stack, so the MV of Prismatic Ending, Engineered Explosives, and Chalice of the Void will always take the X into account while on the stack - and so often Minor Misstep will not be able to target them (just to add further, Prismatic Ending can NEVER have MV 0 because it has a required white-pip in its casting cost).

Icbrgr I think the problem is that the card is competing early-game with Spell Pierce, and then late game with Counterspell and Archmage's Charm... there's just such a narrow application for the spell that it feels iffy to be running mainboard. Saying that, I do think it could see some play in limited number mainboard (1-2 copies at most), and possibly some sideboard play also. I just feel there are too many other solid control cards that Minor Misstep might not have too narrow an application to be the optimal choice in almost all decks.

One thing that could be interesting is pairing Minor Misstep with Spell Snare. While neither are optimal in terms of countermagic, they might allow for some aggressive tempo-based control where mana is tight (i'm thinking the Monastery Mentor decks that a lot of people have been toying with since seeing AspiringSpike brewing in that vein, though something like Sultai-Shadow might also be interested in this approach).

Icbrgr on Minor Misstep

1 year ago

@Gidgetimer Im sorry im just a little confused... for Chalice of the Void its MV is {0} when in the deck/hand/battlfield/grave... but when you pay {1}{1} to cast it while it is on the stack it is recognized as a MV of {2} so Minor Misstep would not be able to counter it in this case.

Is that correct?.... if so why would Engineered Explosives or Prismatic Ending be any different?.... Would Leyline Binding be treated as a {1} MV spell if full Domain is active?

@wallisface that's actually a really good point in regards to answering something like W&6 when your on the draw... maybe your onto something with it being stronger in the late game than Spell Pierce and its more of a "keep your edge/grip/control" kinda card like to stave off a Fatal Push/Path to Exile/Lightning Bolt for a deck that is using somthing like Dragon's Rage Channeler/Delver of Secrets  ^Flip and something like Stubborn Denial doesn't quite fit?

wallisface on Minor Misstep

1 year ago

The big comparison here is Spell Pierce - and the one notable difference is that Spell Pierce can stop your opponent casting Wrenn and Six when you’re on the draw. This is a pretty important distinction, and W&6 can completely carry a game by itself if left uncontested.

I think Minor Misstep still has a place, and it’s certainly stronger than Spell Pierce late game. I’m just really skeptical of its broader use just due to it feeling significantly weaker than Spell Pierce in those early-game turns which matter most.

Icbrgr on Minor Misstep

1 year ago

I am wondering what you all think about Minor Misstep?

At first I just thought this was just Mental Misstep without the phyrexian mana cost... but then I noticed that it counters spells costing {1} or less... granted that's not paying life for cost/cant be included in literally any deck...but the flexibility to counter 0-1 mana value spells seems really strong. Almost to the point where if your in {U} why wouldn't you run a few copies?... it can hit Chalice of the Void/Crashing Footfalls... Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer/Aether Vial/Sigarda's Aid....lots of stuff.

Am I over glorifying this card?

Delphen7 on Venerated Rotpriest Combo Discussion

1 year ago

Having been competitively playing the list since its spoiling, I'll share some thoughts.

Discard

As nbarry223 noted discard is absurdly good against the deck. My LGS has a couple of 8Rack floating around, and I've discovered its a horrendous matchup. Smallpox is also awful.

Chalice

I run Cavern of Souls so I can cast Rotpriest through Chalice and Rotpriest doesn't care if the spells are countered. Most decks don't have Caverns though, so Chalice would be good, unless more people pick up on the tech.

Leyline of Sanctity

Leyline is good against it as plakjekaas mentioned, but no one really plays it. I'm personally running Glistener Elf which doesn't care about it, but most versions, especially the Breach variants, will probably just fold to it.

Speaking of Breach, it's the most popular iteration right now, and it's fairly weak to graveyard hate, as Breach is how it tries to build up storm. Some lists aren't on it though, so antigraveyard is not a catchall.

Removal

Bolt and Heat often can't kill Rotpriest (Gather Courage and Mutagenic Growth), but Fury usually does enough damage and Solitude just eats it. Prismatic Ending/Leyline Binding work as well, but it seems to not be as heavily played right now.

Countermagic

Eh. The only things I actually care if they resolve are Rotpriests, and most decks aren't countering that t1 (Unless Minor Misstep picks up play).

Combo

Combo has been one the better matchups thus far. Fire / Ice is usually not enough to kill the Rotpriest, and the deck tends to move faster than Rhinos, Creativity, Prime Time, and Hammertime. TBH I don't know if there's any deck that can win as fast as it can on a good hand, especially since stock Hammertime no longer plays Ornithopter.

Melira

I don't think the deck could function through either Melira, but I doubt it's worth the sideboard slots right now. I'd say if your local meta has a fair share of Rotpriest, the slots could be worth it, but just entering a tournament blind I wouldn't run them.

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TL;DR The MH2 elementals are the best ways to remove Rotpriest once its on the field. Preventive measures work best though. Chalice, Leyline, Discard etc.