In this article I'd like to discuss several common misplays with Daze that cost people games every day. Some of these plays create huge gaps in tempo that may not be initially obvious. Some of these plays are just about sloppy oversights that shouldn't be happening in the first place. All of these are correctable, avoidable and should overall lead to a far better performance with any deck using these cards. I must however put a disclaimer here, for while these suggested plays may make overwhelming statistical and logical sense, there are going to be cases where the 'bad' play ends up working out for the best. These suggested lines of play are not going to help everyone, seasoned players will likely be familiar of this, but this is intended for those of you just starting to become involved in the format. Finally, these plays are not going to conform to every scenario, in many situations it will ultimately be left to the deck's pilot to make the play; I just hope that some of these tips help some pilots to make better, more conscious and more educated plays. May you learn from the failings of others.

The Culprit

Daze

Instant

You may return an Island you control to its owner's hand rather than pay Daze's mana cost.

Counter target spell unless its controller pays .

Who should be using Daze?

The first problem with Daze that a lot of people get hung up on is the concept of what sort of a deck should be playing Daze. Daze is a card best suited to non-storm combo decks with low curves, such as Reanimator, and tempo conscious aggro-control decks like New Horizons. When picking up a concept, a lot of new players in the format fall into the trap of assuming that because a card is good in one deck, that it is likely good in another deck that shares some cards but have different overall strategies. An excellent example is between Natural Order Counter-Top and Thopter Control. Thopter control, being a relatively new deck, has attracted a lot of attention from players looking to tweak the deck or build a rendition from scratch using knowledge from other decks that play a few of the same cards.

Take a look:

"Natural Order Counter-Top"

• Lands (19)
• 1 Plains
• 2 Tundra
• 2 Island
• 3 Tropical Island
• 4 Misty Rainforest
• 2 Flooded Strand
• 1 Dryad Arbor
• 3 Windswept Heath
• 1 Forest

• Creatures (14)
• 4 Rhox War Monk
• 1 Trygon Predator
• 1 Progenitus
• 4 Tarmogoyf
• 4 Noble Hierarch

• Spells (27)
• 3 Natural Order
• 4 Force of Will
• 4 Sensei's Divining Top
• 4 Counterbalance
• 4 Brainstorm
• 4 Swords to Plowshares
• 4 Daze

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"Thopter Control by CRET"

• Spells (39)
• 1 Moat
• 1 Vedalken Shackles
• 3 Engineered Explosives
• 1 Sword of the Meek
• 4 Swords to Plowshares
• 4 Enlightened Tutor
• 4 Force of Will
• 4 Sensei's Divining Top
• 1 Humility
• 4 Spell Snare
• 4 Brainstorm
• 2 Thopter Foundry
• 4 Counterbalance
• 2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

• Lands (21)
• 4 Flooded Strand
• 1 Tropical Island
• 1 Windswept Heath
• 2 Academy Ruins
• 1 Seat of the Synod
• 2 Polluted Delta
• 5 Island
• 4 Plains
• 1 Tundra

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On the surface these decks have about the same curve, both are packing three 4cc spells that they want to resolve, both are using Counterbalance to protect the respective win. Both decks are filtering through a lot of cards to find what they need to win. Why is it that Daze is so effective in one but entirely omitted from the second? The assumption that because it works so well in NO Bant that the success will splash over to a Thopter Foundry based deck is flawed because although both decks exist on the same curve, one of them is looking at ending the game a few turns sooner and has the alternate plan of just attacking with guys. In this line of play, Daze can be used to prevent a removal spell or clear a blocker, two things that the Thopter deck is far less concerned with. The other issue is that Natural Order must be dug for via Brainstorm, Ponder and Top if this is the route that one wishes [or needs] to take to win. The Natural Order deck also plays acceleration in the form of Noble Hirearch to speed out a potential turn three Natural Order, which would often allow it to use Daze as a free counter to protect the win. Also, the Natural Order win is much more difficult to set up compared to casting Enlightened Tutor for a win condition and recurring it through Academy Ruins, but the effort that goes in to finding Natural Order and then using it makes it much more valuable to protect that spell.

What it actually comes down to is that Thopter Control is a control deck and Natural Order Counter-Top is an aggro-control deck. Control decks are going to be far more vulnerable to the tempo loss incurred by Daze than a deck with a lot of creatures that is able to lean on them to stabilize. Where the Natural Order deck has Rhox War Monk, Thopter control has Engineered Explosives, a reactive spell, and where Natural Order has Tarmogoyf, Thopter control has Spell Snare or Counterspell, again a reactive spell. While using Daze can allow the Thopter deck to negate a threat, it will also put it in a far less controlling position for the next turn. This is an example of a Thopter Control deck using Daze that was able to do well in a small tournament:

"Thopter Control with Daze"

• Lands (20)
• 4 Tundra
• 4 Flooded Strand
• 1 Volcanic Island
• 7 Island
• 1 Snow-Covered Plains
• 2 Plains
• 1 Scalding Tarn

• Spells (38)
• 4 Sensei's Divining Top
• 4 Counterbalance
• 4 Force of Will
• 3 Daze
• 4 Brainstorm
• 3 Thopter Foundry
• 2 Sword of the Meek
• 4 Swords to Plowshares
• 1 Back to Basics
• 1 Oblivion Ring
• 1 Moat
• 4 Enlightened Tutor
• 1 Tormod's Crypt
• 1 Engineered Explosives
• 1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

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This pilot loses a lot of the late game bombs that the other control decks have access to in order to support the Dazes. He has even eschewed non-conditional counter magic in favor of it. An even more obvious example of this can be seen in how players are approaching the Baneslayer Angel Control deck.

"Baneslayer Control"

• Lands (22)
• 2 Polluted Delta
• 2 Marsh Flats
• 6 Island
• 3 Plains
• 1 Swamp
• 1 Underground Sea
• 1 Tundra
• 1 Scrubland
• 1 Karakas
• 4 Flooded Strand

• Spells (32)
• 3 Engineered Explosives
• 3 Relic of Progenitus
• 4 Esper Charm
• 2 Wrath of God
• 4 Swords to Plowshares
• 2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• 3 Ponder
• 4 Brainstorm
• 3 Counterspell
• 4 Force of Will

• Creatures (6)
• 4 Baneslayer Angel
• 2 Glen Elendra Archmage

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This is the first known iteration of the deck that placed well in a 178 person tournament; a nearly identical deck the placed well in the Bazaar of Moxen IV. Because this deck has had break-out success, just as with Thopter Foundry a number of players started to work on the deck to make improvements. Often times one of the cards that is perceived to improve this deck is Daze. It isn't possible to show a demonstrated list that had preformed well using Daze, simply because Daze murders this deck. For a Legacy deck, this curve is very high: a full set of Baneslayer Angel, two Wrath of God, two Glen Elendra Archmage, even three Engineered Explosives which on the low end is a three mana investment and is often a sink for four mana. The setback for a control deck that Daze inflicts is too great to be able to overcome as it keeps the control player a full turn away from a silver bullet such as Moat or Jace, the Mindsculptor.

On Using Daze

The second issue with Daze is that people really seem to be misreading the card. I remember when I started playing in tournaments, people were using Karoo and a lot of people were confused on how you could use Karoo. Everyone imagined that Kjeldoran Outpost was supposed to be worded the same way – as I said, there was a lot of confusion. But what no one paid attention to is that Karoo clearly says untapped land and Kjeldoran Outpost does not. That means you can tap your Plains for mana before you sacrifice it to Outpost, but you wouldn't be able to do that for Karoo. That is the case here, many people are reading Daze and forgetting that they can tap any land that they are going to return before actually returning it. This may be a hold over from mana burn, where taking the extra point of damage was not often worth the benefit of adding a mana you likely were unable to use, but in a post-mana burn world, there is just no excuse not to tap the land you intend to return before the spell is cast.

This principle really shines in a deck like Reanimator or the Show and Tell combo decks that are essentially using Daze as a literal, free Counterspell. However the concept shouldn't be limited to combo decks. There have been literally dozens of times that I've watched a Merfolk, Canadian Thresh or Counter-Top player have a Daze get Dazed because they did not float the mana from the land that was returned.

Floating the mana doesn't just make your Daze immune to another Daze, it allows you to play another spell off the rebound, floating a blue mana gives you access to Spell Pierce, Spell Snare, Stifle, and perhaps most importantly – Brainstorm. Even if you are not gripping any of the mentioned or an otherwise castable spells, floating this mana can at least give the appearance that you have access to one of these spells and can influence your opponent's play allowing them the opportunity to misplay.

This isn't even covering the decision of when to pay Daze's mana cost or alternate cost.

I won't get into how to identify a threat or pick the must-counter spell, those are issues for other articles. But I do want to address what the branches of play for a few common scenarios with Daze are.

Situation One - Two mana available, one Daze in hand, opponent is playing a spell on his turn and is tapping out to do so.

In this situation, there are about five scenarios to consider:

1. Do not attempt to counter the spell
2. The opponent is not playing blue and you pay to play Daze to counter the spell.
3. The opponent is not playing blue and you return an Island to pay Daze's alternate cost (floating one mana before the spell is cast.)
4. The opponent is playing blue and you pay to play Daze to counter the spell
5. The opponent is playing blue and you return an Island to pay Daze's alternate cost (floating one mana before the spell is cast.)

In scenario 1 the spell resolves, there is no need to discuss this further.

In scenarios 2 and 3 The opponent is not playing blue so there is little threat of the opponent countering your Daze (because Red Elemental Blast costs 1 anyway) and will only be able to negate it with a surprise mana source such as Simian Spirit Guide. Paying the mana cost for Daze is safe, and there is no way to be punished for it unless you've countered a spell that didn't actually matter. This is generally the correct play, of the two options.

When you return an Island to pay for Daze, rather than using mana, you are setting yourself back in tempo, generally by a full turn; this is a steep cost. When your opponent does not have the ability to Daze back, it will generally be safe to pay the full cost for Daze, as any onslaught after that spell is unlikely considering that the opponent tapped out for it. So setting yourself back unnecessarily in the face of an opponent who is presumably trying to win the game is only going to make his objective easier and your goal of winning the game a turn or so slower for really no gain. Returning an Island is probably the wrong choice.

Scenarios 3 and 4 require a bit more length to discuss: We are considering that a blue opponent is tapping out to play a spell that is looking like it should be countered. Generally, this early in a match it will not be obvious what nature of deck your opponent is playing, although this play and some of the land they are using should give hints about it.

If its unknown if the opponent is using Daze or if the opponent isn't using Daze, but it's unknown if they have it in hand, an important decision [or gamble] must be made. It is important to weigh the costs of the opponent losing tempo to Daze your Daze Vs. Losing tempo for the ability to counter this spell and having it be immune to an opposing Daze. (Meaning that even double Daze couldn't stop it and it requires them to have Force of Will.)

If this spell is a must-counter A.K.A. You will likely lose the game as a direct result of this spell resolving, it may be worth it to set yourself back a turn to narrow the gap on what spells can stop your Daze. Failure to do so opens up the possibility of your opponent holding Daze, and being able to Daze you out of the game for the cost you refused to pay. As stated before, this floating mana is also going to be able to feign another spell or simply straight-up allow access to another spell, most importantly in this scenario are Brainstorm, which you want to hold for later, and Stifle. If the spell must be countered it is highly worth considering taking the set-back to negate your opponent's potential Daze, and this works for up to two Dazes.

If the spell is a card that will not likely swing the game immediately, but it is something that would be better if it were not in play, paying for Daze means that if the opponent is going to counter it, it can be with Daze or Force of Will. In this situation, you are likely just laying a speed bump for your opponent to trip on so any further cards that he is willing to commit to a spell that is not make-or-break is going to work out favorably for you. This is not to say that you will be turning Daze into a two-for-one but rather that you've set your opponent back either through the tempo loss of Daze or the card loss of Force of Will (in which case you did turn Daze into a two-for-one) and that means those cards cannot be used to stop your future plays. There is also always the chance that the spell will just be countered.

Situation Two - The opponent has cast a spell targeting an Island, you hold Daze in hand.

Be it sinkhole, Vindicate or even Stone Rain, sometimes an opponent will attempt to destroy one of your lands. These scenarios will discuss how sometimes the "Drawback" of Daze can turn in your favor.

One land in play, opponent plays a spell targeting and Island and you allow that spell to resolve.

One land in play, opponent casts a spell that would destroy an Island, you need to save it from certain doom.

[At least] Two mana available, opponent casts a spell that would destroy an Island and you allow it to resole

[At least] Two mana available, opponent casts a spell that would destroy an Island and you need that Island in play.

In the first scenario the opponent has targeted an Island, you have enough mana available to keep going so you decide not to counter with Daze and instead hold it back for a more important spell. This is going to be a great play early in the game where you have an idea of how much mana is available and your opponent is blindly destroying lands.

Scenario two brings up the question of what is presumably the early game. Daze is a hard counter for this sort of spell and will turn the destruction of a land into a loss Daze and tempo instead. This is especially important if working with little land and the opponent is taking you off clutch mana. If you don't have access to ample mana, you will not be in this game so the loss of tempo and your Daze is going to be well spent to save that mana source and keep you in the game. If this is mid to late game and your are struggling on lands, even if your opponent has access to 50 mana, Daze is still going to pull that land out of there and require the opponent to produce another spell if he is still intent on destroying an Island. There is generally no real choice to be made here, but failure to see Daze's ability to bounce land has lost many people games, don't let it happen to you. Even if this land destruction spell is somehow bait, if this land isn't in play, Daze is going to be turned off anyway so the only option is to pull the trigger.

When we come to the third scenario we are in a position where extra lands are abundant and this land destruction spell doesn't hold much weight. This is likely in the mid-to-late game. An opponent who is flinging around sinkholes when you clearly have lands to spare is probably topdecking or baiting with pointless spells.

The final scenario we look at is where the decisions start to come in and everything must be taken in the context of the situation you find yourself in. Is this spell bait? Perhaps, but if you need the land to be in the game then you need it to be in the game. Is your opponent tapped out to play this spell? If so, its fairly unlikely that he is baiting you with this, so its probably safe to counter it by paying and not setting yourself back. If your opponent can pay and you need this land, looks like its time to float the mana [if possible] and send it back to your hand.

Situation Three - A combo opponent is attempting to generate mana via rituals.

This final situation was much more important a month ago but is still valuable to be able to think through as storm decks will certainly still exist. This concept is a lot more difficult to pinpoint how to best identify where to disrupt the mana development, but there are some good rules that can still be followed:

Against a Belcher player, the rule for a counterspell is generally to counter the last mana spell that the opponent is going to play. Generally against Belcher this will be Seething Song , but the overall goal is to prevent the deck from developing 4+ mana. Daze truly gets worse as the Belcher opponent starts to generate mana and unless you see their hand Via Land Grant, it is generally difficult to guess where to counter. Typically it would be wise to utilize Daze to attack the first two-mana rituals that the Belcher player attempts to play. The reason for this is that Desperate Ritual will only generate one mana and zero if Dazed and Manamorphose will not net any mana generally and will come at a steep loss of fixing and color if countered. Sometimes you'll be given the privilege of countering a Land Grant when the opponent has no rituals or Spirit Guides, but you can't depend on getting lucky, so its good to know what some of the best options are for when you're not.

Against a storm deck such as TES or Fetchland Tendrils, Daze should generally be used to counter a draw Brainstorm while the opponent is sculpting his hand or protect a stronger piece of disruption. Because these decks will often play much slower against a blue opponent, cards like Daze and Spell Pierce are going to be much less effective unless paired with a quick clock, or they appear together in multiples. There isn't going to be a catchall rule for playing against this deck, a player is really forced to gamble on how to fight the deck, but Daze can only ever be used to supplement an aggressive start and prevent them from developing.

Conclusion

The objective of this article was to get some newer players to think about Daze a bit more thoroughly, as it is one of the most misplayed cards in the format. These are not rules but rather principles that should be remembered, as they can help to maximize your chance of winning. While acting against the advice of this article may not always result in a loss or a deck that performs poorly, the ideas that these principles are based on are solid and have been proven with consistency. For more on the ideas behind this article, I would like to suggest a classic for those of you who may not have read it in the past, Who's the Beatdown? Like any of the articles that I suggest, while dated the concepts from this article certainly still resound to this day.

This last week has been super-mega-turbo-crunch time for testing for the Grand Prix. I didn't end up with the time I wanted to do an in depth Zoo analysis because so many of the people in my playgroup were woefully under prepared for Columbus. The conclusion from my testing is that despite a lot of decks gunning for Zoo, it's still an excellent deck to take into the metagame and I'm not certain how anyone playing Lands will be able to navigate that many rounds, especially considering that nearly everyone is taking aim at that deck as well. Some of the people in my playgroup were able to test Goblins with Patriarch's Bidding and they reported back to me that any game Bidding resolved in was won by the Goblins player. We were also finding Perish to be very underwhelming in the testing we did as there are so many problem creatures that are not Green. If you are trying that suggestion or anything like the list I proposed a couple weeks ago, I suggest now adding a Goblin King or two somewhere between the 75. As for myself, I have one final slot to decide on my my sideboard and am feeling very good about the metagame I'm going to be walking into. I hope that everyone is having success in the last days before the Grand Prix and wouldn't mind seeing any of you there.

~Christopher Walton

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