The potential of a one-mana counterspell is absolutely incredible. Whether you’re countering a crucial spell in a Standard matchup or a massive eight mana haymaker in Commander, the massive trade-up in mana that cheap counterspells offer is difficult to compete with. That makes Final Fantasy’s new Louisoix’s Sacrifice a lot more enticing at first glance.
A one-mana counterspell that can take care of any activated ability, triggered ability or noncreature spell seems incredible. Such a card would even see unheard-of amounts of play in many formats for two mana. That would be the case, at least, if Louisoix’s Sacrifice didn’t come with a pretty hefty catch.
Louisoix’s Sacrifice
Louisoix’s Sacrifice’s extra cost requires either the sacrifice of a Legendary creature or an extra two mana. For three mana, Louisoix’s Sacrifice is a lot less exciting. Cancel may be the standard for countermagic, capable of countering any spell for three mana, but it’s not exactly strong. Three mana is just a bit too much to hold up on the off chance you need to counter something.
Thankfully, Louisoix’s Sacrifice does provide some additional utility over even Cancel, however, since most counterspells are incapable of countering abilities. On top of this added strength, the alternative cost seems like an interesting opinion, but it’s actually less powerful than it seems. While two-for-oneing yourself has created monsters in cards like Grief and Force of Will, Louisoix’s Sacrifice is worlds apart.
For starters, the alternative costs for Grief and Force of Will both cost no mana. Not only does Grief get to come into play for free itself, but the additional resource spent is a card from hand, which also doesn’t require mana. Louisoix’s Sacrifice, in comparison, costs mana and requires you to sacrifice another card that you need to spend mana on.
This cost shares some similarities with the recent Modern Horizons 3 ‘free spell’ cycle. The Flares were much less popular than their predecessors thanks to the cost of sacrificing a nontoken creature of the appropriate color. While some of them still see play outside Commander, namely Flare of Denial, the deckbuilding costs are much more restrictive.
This restrictive cost will also impact Louisoix’s Sacrifice more than it may seem. Considering the card is Standard legal, it’s not too shocking that this is the biggest restriction we’ve seen yet. While this card isn’t nearly as exciting as other alternate cost spells, there are still some places where it will see success.
A New cEDH Competitor?
Louisoix’s Sacrifice happens to flourish alongside a Commander that’s already very popular in cEDH: Rograkh, Son of Rogahh. This zero-mana Partner Commander satisfies Louisoix’s Sacrifice with as little cost as possible. Thanks to Rograkh always being available in the Command Zone, this is, really, the only way to completely bypass Louisoix’s Sacrifice cost without losing any additional resources.
Rograkh costs no mana, and you won’t be losing a card since the card doesn’t start in your hand. As a one-mana Stifle that can function as a Negate, Louisoix’s Sacrifice is unrivaled in this scenario. As a result, this seems like a natural inclusion in Rograkh decks that have the color identity to support it.
Outside of that, Louisoix’s Sacrifice could see some experimentation alongside cards like Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student in Commander, but there’s very little reason to play this card in constructed since Flare of Denial almost always exists as a superior alternative.
Outside of some corner cases, Luisiox’s Denial will likely enjoy a very niche role in Commander. The card will also be fine in casual Commander decks where its three mana cost isn’t too restrictive, and could have further versatility in strategies that can reliably pay both costs for the card, like Jodah, the Unifier.
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