Mainboard (60)
Creatures (12)
Instants (21)
Sorceries (5)
Planeswalkers (2)
This is a tempo mirror where Orcish Bowmasters is the primary danger — each Brainstorm or Ponder you cast can snowball their amass token, so time cantrips carefully and prioritize using Swords to Plowshares or Prismatic Ending to answer Bowmasters before it grows out of hand. Rest in Peace is transformative here: it completely neutralizes Nethergoyf and prevents Murktide Regent from ever becoming a meaningful threat, gutting two of their best win conditions. We trim Daze because Wasteland pressure from both sides makes returning a land unreliable and risks stranding the card, while Consign to Memory has few high-value targets in this matchup. Flusterstorm and the additional Force of Negation give us extra ammunition in counter wars over Quantum Riddler or Tamiyo, where resolving your threat first is often game-deciding. Stifle remains invaluable for punishing their fetches and blanking Bowmasters triggers on your cantrips when sequencing allows.
Oops! All Spells is a pure combo deck that wins by milling itself with Undercity Informer or Balustrade Spy and reanimating Thassa's Oracle, typically on turn one or two with Elvish Spirit Guide, Simian Spirit Guide, and ritual acceleration. Your plan is to counter their combo pieces — Force of Will and the additional Force of Negation are your primary interaction, while Flusterstorm is excellent against the ritual chains and Pact of Negation. Lavinia, Azorius Renegade is a house here, shutting off all the zero- and reduced-cost spells like Elvish Spirit Guide, Simian Spirit Guide, Lotus Petal, Pact of Negation, and the Agadeem's Awakening flip lands played for free, effectively making their combo nearly impossible to execute. Containment Priest stops Narcomoeba triggers and Dread Return reanimation. Wasteland and Teferi come out because the opponent plays no lands worth targeting and the game is decided before any planeswalker could matter.
Sneak and Show is a combo deck that wins by cheating Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or Atraxa, Grand Unifier into play via Sneak Attack or Show and Tell — your primary game plan is to counter their enablers and protect your own stack-based disruption. Lavinia, Azorius Renegade is excellent here, shutting off Lotus Petal and Simian Spirit Guide while also preventing Show and Tell from resolving via its unpaid-spell clause. Stifle loses significant value since their mana base is mostly basic-light Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors, and Wasteland is similarly weak when their threats come from spells rather than lands. Keep Force of Will, Daze, Consign to Memory, and Quantum Riddler active — countering Show and Tell or Sneak Attack before they untap is paramount, as a resolved Emrakul will almost certainly end the game. Post-board, expect them to bring in Mindbreak Trap and additional Flusterstorms to fight over the stack, so sequence your countermagic carefully and try to force them to tap out before you tap out.