Pointed Discussion

This card is just awesome, none can compare!

Who would think that one of the most powerful anti-countermagic cards in the game would be... a goblin? =D

Awesome card, can be used to full effect in mono green or mono red makes it just that much better.

I bet this sees a lot of play in Legacy.

i love this card. it is an overpowered two drop

A rare from my first booster. It works great again blue decks.

Too bad it's so vulnerable to removal. You win some and you lose some, eh?

This card well defines the problem with blue. Blue has to control the other colors, but obviously you give something to much control and it just runs rampant. The only way to fight blue however, is with cards that specifically affect blue things or use your own blue spells. How do you get past a counter spell? You either play you're own or have an anti counter spell card.

Why is this an issue?

If you look at vexing shusher, if you're playing against red vexing shusher is the equivalent of a grizzly bear, as its special abilities are totally mute against any other color except blue. The other problem is blue is not limited to counter spells, there's nothing stopping them from simply bouncing your shusher back to hand, mind controlling it, or removing it. The best anti blue card would have to have protection blue and uncounterability at least, and then it would still only be useful against blue decks.

Having said all that, this is about as good as you're going to get in the anti blue war, aside from great sable stag, dosan the falling leaf, eyes of the wisent, and spellbreaker behemoth. Strangely all in green, considering green is the weakest color in the game at the moment, relying heavily on creatures where creature removal has become the easiest thing to do in the game with the most spells to choose from to get the job done.

in my gwu dovescape deck!

A blue hoser card made from both of blue's enemies. What else could you expect?

Donovan:

This is a hoser. Pure and simple. There isn't a problem with Kor Firewalker because it's not good against anything other than red. I understand that some creatures can be hosers AND efficient- like White Knight. And I understand that this only hoses a particular strategy of blue- though, to be fair, it hoses one of the most tactically relevant ones. But this was good enough for sideboards when Shadowmoor was in standard, and it's good enough for me.

And the argument that blue has some vice-grip over the other colours like some leather-clad dominatrix is certainly up for debate. Let's be realistic. You can't expect a hoser to single-handedly win the game for you agaisnt a particular colour or strategy. This isn't a big game of rock-paper-sissors. If this lets you sneak out the last 3-point Lightning Bolt at the blue mage's head, or get out a big troll-shroud wurm, it's done it's job. And really, a five mana Mind Control? Bounce? On a two mana two-two? Frankly, the Shusher player is still coming out ahead.

Look, Wizards seems to agree that counterspells deserve to be toned down, and they've even come right out and said that this is what they were doing. But it's much more for the psychological annoyance factor and frustration of having your spell countered than there being (as you have argued) no reliable answers for them. There are, they're simply in play style rather than direct hosing. Here's some tips on beating the open blue mana:
-Misdirection. No, not the Swerve-like spell (though they work too), but the tactic. Draw out the counterspells by playing something flashy- a Jace, a Wolly Thoctar, or some other mid-range yet threatening spell. Then your real threats can pull through- the big Martial Coups, and so on. There can only be so many counterspells.
-Outlast. Blue is shortchanged in a lot of areas. It can't deal with threats in a lasting way. It can bounce, but you can replay. It can steal creatures, but there are always ways to get them back. It's creatures are outmatched by most other colours, it's clock is slow. If you get a few threats to stick, there is very little mono-blue can do.
-Speed. There's a reason control only made a comeback when Rise of the Eldrazi slowed the game down, and even then it needed White alongside the blue to deal with creatures. But since we're talking about the pwoer of counterspells alone, almost any modern deck can kill a blue mage before he or she locks the game down. You can't tell me that any variation of Red Deck Wins is scared of counterspells in the least.

Not to mention direct hosers like this one, or the sizable number you just mentioned. The Shusher is an answer, because in Magic, there has to be an answer to every strategy. And frankly, it's GOOD at being an answer. But just because that's what it does, doesn't mean the problem is "rampant". I haven't seen decent mono-blue (excluding the fae, which are mostly aggro anyway) since pre-Onslaught.

Perfectly defines 's hatred for ; I love it.

Basically, sideboard card for any red or green player that might face permission deck.

Or I'd say, must have in sideboard if you're running goblin or shaman tribal deck.

...

That + goblin piledriver blue player now pray to not face goblins.

Declaration of Naught, meet Declaration of Yes.

Meet the one and only Goblin Librarian.
He's in the jungle because he lost his job. They found out he was eating mushrooms and now they pay Phyrexian Librarian to do his job

Donovan/ I do not know if you were commenting in perspective of standard/extended/or legacy . .
but I would say that Vexing Shusher is very very useful in legacy where a lot of decks carry
Force of wills and Daze. The biggest problem in the legacy was that blue can simply counter almost all spells and there weren't many effective 'cannot be countered' spells to play.
Even now, many tournament winning decks are mono blue or very heavy blue splashed with green for Tarmogoyf. For example in one legacy tournament in Amsterdam, the 3 out of the top 4 players used mono Blue fish decks. Vexing Shusher is very very useful if it is combined with multiple cards such as
Red Elemental Blast and Spell Bane Centaur. Yes, it is vulnerable to other colors such as Swords to Plowshares, and Lightning bolt but they are not the main problem if Blue has the capacity to win the tournament all by itself.
Availability of this card allows red/green decks to pressure such mono blue or heavy blue decks by blocking the majority of the deck's answer to everything.

A repeatable Guttural Response that can hose non-instant counters, and is on legs? for only 2cmc? I'll take four when playing against control.

Obviously useless against non-control decks, but this thing will shine against anyone who drops islands. Although it is vulnerable at a 2/2 body and could easily be unsummoned, if this stays on the field all you need to do is keep one mana open for all your spells, and render those counters worthless. While that is it's advantage over guttural response, guttural response IS an instant speed counter for counters, and is only 1 cmc and doesn't require something to be on the field. Plus, the target for guttural does not have to be a counter, it can be any blue instant.

Overall, it's a battle between consistent but vulnerable hosing (Shusher) or a one time but more versatile hose (Guttural).

If I understand correctly someone could cast a counterspell in response to vexing shusher's ability and it would resolve before the ability and still counter the spell... unless you use vexing shusher's ability again in response. Is this correct?

Mindbreak Trap

Garruk: "Go forth, Leatherback Baloth!"
Jace: "No. Go back from whence you ca-"
SHUSH.

Jace's eyes turned to the tiny little creature at Garruk's left knee. He eyed the goblin for a moment, and watched as the Leatherback behemoth appeared before him.

Garruk: "Attack!!"

A mighty rumble shook the earth as the massive creature rumbled towards the astonished Jace. A green glow appeared in Garruk's callused hand- Jace recognized this. It was a Giant Growth spell he was forming.

Jace: "Absolutely not! I-"
SHUSH!!

The little creature again interrupted the mage.
Jace: "Well how is that fair?!"
Garruk: "Life isn't fair. Just ask my father."

Really a nice design. My favorite counter-control hosers, and pretty likely the best one so far.
(If you need protection in a deck that's neither red nor green, you'll have to rely on Boseiju)
It doesn't even hurt having it in the maindeck.
In your Goblin Deck you can tutor it with Goblin Matron (or hope for the Ringleader),
and in any green Deck (which likely includes your Shaman Tribal) you can fetch it with Green Sun's Zenith.

Best "special chant" ever. Be sure to say it whenever you activate this guy's ability.

If goblins needed anything, it's anti-blue in a 2-drop that can also go into green stompy decks.

Sometimes I think Wizards forgot that hybrid requires either mana, not both.

Quiet, you!

Vexing Shusher: The Yes Man of MTG

for those red and green players that are tired of taking blues s**t.

Vexing Shusher: The best there is. When you absolutely, positively gotta resolve every spell at the table, accept no substitutes.

This card serves excellent political and deterrent purposes, too. In a multiplayer game, you can target other people's spells to make friends. The countermagic player probably won't even try to use his spells with this on the board and one mana open, so you probably won't have to spend that mana, either.

@StreamHopper: I assume this was before Jace discovered Mindbreak Trap? Or Time Stop? Or even Trickbind?

Don't try to beat us at our own game.

Is it weird that the first thing that jumped to mind when I discovered this was Doctor Evil repeatedly telling Scott to zip it?

...a two drop, uncounterable, anti counter card...wtf?! thats op blue hate. and you can play it in a red or green deck. sob. this just wrecked any counter deck.

Solos counter decks.

Counters counterspells. I think I love this.

What's really awesome about this card is that it *looks* like the activation ability has a cost... but really, it sort of doesn't. Because, the mere presence of this card on the battlefield says to the opponent "hey, if I have one G or R available, you're going to get card disadvantage if you try and counter the spell, so don't even bother".*

Just the kind of trickery you'd expect from a goblin shaman.



*Of course, there's always the chance that you'll only have one G or R open, and they'll be willing to give up 2 counters to hit your spell. So the cost is relevant. I'm just pointing out that having the ability itself is such a deterrent that you may never need to pay it.

It is 12/26/2012. Here's hoping this sees a reprint in Gatecrash!

There should be a card that is uncounterable, even by game rules.

Waiting just one turn to cast your stuff is much better than waiting three. Mana Leak.

I think the most savory thing about this card is that it shushes Last Word. :P

@Tiggurix: Guttural Response will take care of Mindbreak Trap and Time Stop. You'd best pray they're not playing Dryad Militant or not even Snapcaster Mage will get your Trickbind back. And if they have Dosan the Falling Leaf on the battlefield? Forget about instants altogether.

Don't try to beat RG players at their own game.

This boggart reminds me of Koume and Kotake from Zelda.

Dies to doom blade.

Perhaps it should be target creature spell can't be countered?

G/R player: I cast Primeval Titan
U player: I cast Mana L-
Vexing Shusher: Husshh

G/R player: I cast Inferno Titan
U player: I cast Canc-
Vexing Shusher: HUSH!

G/R player: I cast Balefire Dragon
U player: Screw it. Force of W-
Vexing Shusher: Shut up. Now.

@streamhopper

That was probably the best comment I have ever seen on this site. Congrats.

@streamhopper: Of course, if he were actually playing against Jace, he'd never even draw this in the first place. Stupid overpowered Jace.

"COUNTERSP-"
"Shhh..."
"I'M SO VEXED"

Question: If someone goes to counter your spell with Force Spike, how hard are you supposed to laugh?

HEY YOU

Yes, you!

BE QUIET, LADDY

I think that special chant, "Hushhh", is the Last Word in any conversation.

If this one would have had hexproof aswell. Or at least shroud.
4.5/5

By the way, you activate shusher's ability AFTER your opponent tries to use their counterspell; if you just immediately pay the mana and activate the ability after casting your game winning bolt, and assume it will be protected, you're in for a surprise...

In fact, this is part of what makes this card so interesting - it is NOT infallible protection from counter-spells. If you leave yourself only one mana to protect your big game ending creature, you will be boned if your opponent has TWO counter spells.

"I play Khalni Hydra." (While wisely leaving a land untapped).

"Okay, I counter it with Countermand."

*Taps for one* "I shush it."

*Feigns surprise* "Didn't see THAT coming... Force of Will."

"...!"

The force of will is on top of the stack, so it will counter the hydra before shusher can save it.

Anyway, LOVE THIS CARD. Just be careful how you use it. :)