4c Artifacts leans on a critical mass of artifact spells (Simulacrum Synthesizer, Candy Trail, The Mind Stone, Perilous Snare), making Annul a clean counter against their key artifact spells. Duress takes away a noncreature nonland card, such as a removal spell, from their hand before it can be cast. Spell Snare only catches a narrow slice of their curve (The Mind Stone, Cryogen Relic) so it's trimmed slightly, and Strategic Betrayal is low-impact since this opponent plays few creatures, making the edict effect unreliable.