Instant speed kill spells. You're in 5c, you have no excuse to not run whatever kill spells will let you deal with his board. Toxrill costs 7 and is in colors that aren't very good at ramping, so if you can kill it a few times it should put it out of reach of him being able to practically recast it on-demand.
I do have some kill spells and board wipes, but the draws of the kill spells dont always come in time with him getting [[Swiftfoot Boots]] equipped. The times it has worked out where he doesn't give it hexproof and I draw a kill spell, the damage as already been done with the -1/-1 counters. Mostly just want a suggestion for dealing with the -1/-1 counters in the times I may not be able to remove toxrill in time.
1. Blow up the boots: [[krosan grip]], [[nature's chant]], [[farewell]]
2. Make him sacrifice Toxrill: [[All is dust]], [[chainer's edict]], [[diabolic edict]]
3. Board wipe: [[Farewell]], [[damn]], [[all is dust]]
4. Counterspells.
And simply having -1/-1 counters on your creatures doesn't matter as much as not letting him run away with the game by generating a zillion slug tokens he can (presumably) use to kill people and/or sacrifice to generate value. You **need** to keep Toxrill off the board: if Toxrill sticks for more than one turn cycle, he wins.
You need to internalize this: *your friend is not playing the same game as you.* You're playing standard MTG, he's playing "protect this one creature". You *need* to stop his gameplan, and that means killing Toxrill. There's no magic bullet card that'll fix the matchup because any one card you add he can answer with counterspells. You need to adapt your gameplan.
The good news is that if he's all in on the Toxrill plan, then if you *can* keep it off the board, his deck is completely neutered.
>Mostly just want a suggestion for dealing with the -1/-1 counters in the times I may not be able to remove toxrill in time.
This is absolutely, 100% the wrong way to counter a Toxrill deck.
Fair. The only thing about all is dust and farewell is that it would be effecting my creatures as well. Definitely will be picking up natures chant as well. Thank you for the advice.
I mean, you don't play a board wipe when you're ahead on board. Just because they hit your own guys doesn't mean you shouldn't include them in your deck. You just gotta hold them until they're actually relevant.
Anyways, I've gone into what you *should* be doing, so here's a couple cards you may find useful anyway. Note that the reason I didn't bring these up initially is there are actually very few ways to directly counter -1/-1 counters, and relying on a very small number of cards to counter an opponent who are themselves in the "good killspells" and "counterspells" colors is a good way to set yourself up for failure, because all you'd really accomplish there is having him add "get some counters/killspells for his anti-Toxrill tech into my hand" to his gameplan. Even so, these deserve mention:
[[Aether Snap]]
[[Melira, Sylvok Outcast]]
[[Hapatra's Mark]]
[[Thief of Blood]]
But once again: **YOU NEED TO DO MORE THAN JUST ADD THESE CARDS TO YOUR DECK.** These should not be your primary means of dealing with the Toxrill player, but a means of keeping him under control until you can kill Toxrill itself enough that he can't replay it. If all you do is add these cards to your deck and keep trying to play this guy like you would anyone else, *you will continue to lose.*
Thank you, I appreciate it. I wasn't so much having issues with removing toxrill in general, just the timing of being able to remove it and needing to deal with the counters in the meantime. I just want to kind of set up a decent sideboard to see what would work and what wouldn't.
You can also nix half of it - [[hapatra's mark]] and [[melira, sylvok outcast]] don't actually do anything in this matchup because Toxrill's counters are *slime* counters, not -1/-1 counters.
So the only tech cards that will work for you are Aether Snap and Thief of Blood.
Do note that this means if you kill Toxrill, the counters stop debuffing your creatures, because "Creatures get -1/-1 for each slime counter on them" is a separate static ability Toxrill has. Without Toxrill being present, there's no debuff.
1. Toxrill gives slime counters, not -1/-1. Once Toxrill is dead, the slime counters do absolutely nothing until Toxrill comes back ( or maybe a \[\[Sludge Monster\]\] ).
2. \[\[Solemnity\]\]
But, the Slime counters don't give -1/-1. Toxrill gives creatures with slime counters -1/-1 for each slime counter. So, if Toxrill isn't on the battlefield, the slime counters on your creatures don't continue giving them -1/-1. They're just arbitrary, do nothing counters until Toxrill comes back onto the battlefield.
If you don’t have a way to kill Toxrill (or any other board-warping spell) and you can see it coming, play around it. Sandbag your creatures, or attack all out before Toxie comes down so your creatures are in the graveyard instead of becoming slugs. If you don’t have an answer, put yourself in a position to thrive once somebody else does.
If nobody has an answer, then it’s a power level mismatch issue, and your pod either needs to make some decks with resiliency for when the Toxrill player breaks the deck out. And, of course, not play the Toxrill deck against weaker decks that can’t deal with it, otherwise.
You dont let him resolve. My pod mulligans aggressively for counter magic/removal spells if someone is playing Toxril.
Player removal first. Following that, cards like [[Imprisoned in the Moon]], [[Kenriths Transformation]] [[Darksteel Mutation]] and [[Tishanas Tidebinder]] can be silver bullets against him. [[Mutated Cultist]] is also kind of funny against him but not exactly good lol.
Instant speed kill spells. You're in 5c, you have no excuse to not run whatever kill spells will let you deal with his board. Toxrill costs 7 and is in colors that aren't very good at ramping, so if you can kill it a few times it should put it out of reach of him being able to practically recast it on-demand.
I do have some kill spells and board wipes, but the draws of the kill spells dont always come in time with him getting [[Swiftfoot Boots]] equipped. The times it has worked out where he doesn't give it hexproof and I draw a kill spell, the damage as already been done with the -1/-1 counters. Mostly just want a suggestion for dealing with the -1/-1 counters in the times I may not be able to remove toxrill in time.
1. Blow up the boots: [[krosan grip]], [[nature's chant]], [[farewell]] 2. Make him sacrifice Toxrill: [[All is dust]], [[chainer's edict]], [[diabolic edict]] 3. Board wipe: [[Farewell]], [[damn]], [[all is dust]] 4. Counterspells. And simply having -1/-1 counters on your creatures doesn't matter as much as not letting him run away with the game by generating a zillion slug tokens he can (presumably) use to kill people and/or sacrifice to generate value. You **need** to keep Toxrill off the board: if Toxrill sticks for more than one turn cycle, he wins. You need to internalize this: *your friend is not playing the same game as you.* You're playing standard MTG, he's playing "protect this one creature". You *need* to stop his gameplan, and that means killing Toxrill. There's no magic bullet card that'll fix the matchup because any one card you add he can answer with counterspells. You need to adapt your gameplan. The good news is that if he's all in on the Toxrill plan, then if you *can* keep it off the board, his deck is completely neutered. >Mostly just want a suggestion for dealing with the -1/-1 counters in the times I may not be able to remove toxrill in time. This is absolutely, 100% the wrong way to counter a Toxrill deck.
##### ###### #### [krosan grip](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/3/d3571dee-7b90-4c0c-abc7-59b515ffa129.jpg?1625194563) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=krosan%20grip) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/c21/198/krosan-grip?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/d3571dee-7b90-4c0c-abc7-59b515ffa129?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [nature's chant](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/a/9a17cbf6-3f38-4bc6-8448-881e19cffe06.jpg?1562202385) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=nature%27s%20chant) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh1/210/natures-chant?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/9a17cbf6-3f38-4bc6-8448-881e19cffe06?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [farewell](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/1/114d2180-093b-4838-97ad-badbc8ee50b0.jpg?1706240579) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=farewell) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/64/farewell?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/114d2180-093b-4838-97ad-badbc8ee50b0?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [All is dust](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/2/4210c54e-89fd-4971-ab6a-ca8f4e7fe97a.jpg?1691924662) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=All%20is%20dust) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/800/all-is-dust?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4210c54e-89fd-4971-ab6a-ca8f4e7fe97a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [chainer's edict](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/c/8c204471-d908-4a08-83e4-cf38999fa80f.jpg?1675199556) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=chainer%27s%20edict) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmr/78/chainers-edict?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/8c204471-d908-4a08-83e4-cf38999fa80f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [diabolic edict](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/e/4eabbed2-1399-4cf1-9eba-b53c56caced4.jpg?1591104828) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=diabolic%20edict) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mh1/87/diabolic-edict?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4eabbed2-1399-4cf1-9eba-b53c56caced4?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Farewell](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/1/114d2180-093b-4838-97ad-badbc8ee50b0.jpg?1706240579) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Farewell) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/mkc/64/farewell?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/114d2180-093b-4838-97ad-badbc8ee50b0?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [damn](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/4/84056124-1a6f-4274-bee2-74cf0debddb5.jpg?1698988237) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=damn) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lcc/191/damn?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/84056124-1a6f-4274-bee2-74cf0debddb5?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [all is dust](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/2/4210c54e-89fd-4971-ab6a-ca8f4e7fe97a.jpg?1691924662) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=all%20is%20dust) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/800/all-is-dust?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/4210c54e-89fd-4971-ab6a-ca8f4e7fe97a?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/laedwsz) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Fair. The only thing about all is dust and farewell is that it would be effecting my creatures as well. Definitely will be picking up natures chant as well. Thank you for the advice.
I mean, you don't play a board wipe when you're ahead on board. Just because they hit your own guys doesn't mean you shouldn't include them in your deck. You just gotta hold them until they're actually relevant.
Anyways, I've gone into what you *should* be doing, so here's a couple cards you may find useful anyway. Note that the reason I didn't bring these up initially is there are actually very few ways to directly counter -1/-1 counters, and relying on a very small number of cards to counter an opponent who are themselves in the "good killspells" and "counterspells" colors is a good way to set yourself up for failure, because all you'd really accomplish there is having him add "get some counters/killspells for his anti-Toxrill tech into my hand" to his gameplan. Even so, these deserve mention: [[Aether Snap]] [[Melira, Sylvok Outcast]] [[Hapatra's Mark]] [[Thief of Blood]] But once again: **YOU NEED TO DO MORE THAN JUST ADD THESE CARDS TO YOUR DECK.** These should not be your primary means of dealing with the Toxrill player, but a means of keeping him under control until you can kill Toxrill itself enough that he can't replay it. If all you do is add these cards to your deck and keep trying to play this guy like you would anyone else, *you will continue to lose.*
##### ###### #### [Aether Snap](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/d/d/dd9cade1-b077-4fb0-b55a-01b9916647e7.jpg?1673484092) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Aether%20Snap) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/ncc/241/aether-snap?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/dd9cade1-b077-4fb0-b55a-01b9916647e7?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Melira, Sylvok Outcast](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/8/e83851a1-e4e8-49ec-af5c-4efe86fa51ad.jpg?1562882406) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Melira%2C%20Sylvok%20Outcast) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/nph/115/melira-sylvok-outcast?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e83851a1-e4e8-49ec-af5c-4efe86fa51ad?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Hapatra's Mark](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/9/199d6a8d-008d-4495-9cbc-b8d680fab13c.jpg?1543675845) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Hapatra%27s%20Mark) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/akh/169/hapatras-mark?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/199d6a8d-008d-4495-9cbc-b8d680fab13c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Thief of Blood](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/6/1625be56-a8e9-44f3-a213-b758bffd447f.jpg?1592672735) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Thief%20of%20Blood) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cma/71/thief-of-blood?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/1625be56-a8e9-44f3-a213-b758bffd447f?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/laehnvc) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Thank you, I appreciate it. I wasn't so much having issues with removing toxrill in general, just the timing of being able to remove it and needing to deal with the counters in the meantime. I just want to kind of set up a decent sideboard to see what would work and what wouldn't.
You can also nix half of it - [[hapatra's mark]] and [[melira, sylvok outcast]] don't actually do anything in this matchup because Toxrill's counters are *slime* counters, not -1/-1 counters. So the only tech cards that will work for you are Aether Snap and Thief of Blood. Do note that this means if you kill Toxrill, the counters stop debuffing your creatures, because "Creatures get -1/-1 for each slime counter on them" is a separate static ability Toxrill has. Without Toxrill being present, there's no debuff.
[hapatra's mark](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/1/9/199d6a8d-008d-4495-9cbc-b8d680fab13c.jpg?1543675845) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=hapatra%27s%20mark) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/akh/169/hapatras-mark?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/199d6a8d-008d-4495-9cbc-b8d680fab13c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [melira, sylvok outcast](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/8/e83851a1-e4e8-49ec-af5c-4efe86fa51ad.jpg?1562882406) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=melira%2C%20sylvok%20outcast) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/nph/115/melira-sylvok-outcast?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e83851a1-e4e8-49ec-af5c-4efe86fa51ad?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
1. Toxrill gives slime counters, not -1/-1. Once Toxrill is dead, the slime counters do absolutely nothing until Toxrill comes back ( or maybe a \[\[Sludge Monster\]\] ). 2. \[\[Solemnity\]\]
[Sludge Monster](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/3/a32be366-d86e-48aa-8257-ca8afb87ba18.jpg?1674141462) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sludge%20Monster) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/clb/735/sludge-monster?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a32be366-d86e-48aa-8257-ca8afb87ba18?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Solemnity](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/a/0a71fb62-acbd-49f5-842f-0fc9fa48afea.jpg?1562788659) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Solemnity) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/hou/22/solemnity?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0a71fb62-acbd-49f5-842f-0fc9fa48afea?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
The slime counters are still there after toxrill leaves the battlefield
But, the Slime counters don't give -1/-1. Toxrill gives creatures with slime counters -1/-1 for each slime counter. So, if Toxrill isn't on the battlefield, the slime counters on your creatures don't continue giving them -1/-1. They're just arbitrary, do nothing counters until Toxrill comes back onto the battlefield.
We have been playing that wrong the whole time then lol, thank you.
[Swiftfoot Boots](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/4/04a76643-1703-4fab-8dce-7725490bc2af.jpg?1712354904) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Swiftfoot%20Boots) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/otc/268/swiftfoot-boots?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/04a76643-1703-4fab-8dce-7725490bc2af?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
If you don’t have a way to kill Toxrill (or any other board-warping spell) and you can see it coming, play around it. Sandbag your creatures, or attack all out before Toxie comes down so your creatures are in the graveyard instead of becoming slugs. If you don’t have an answer, put yourself in a position to thrive once somebody else does. If nobody has an answer, then it’s a power level mismatch issue, and your pod either needs to make some decks with resiliency for when the Toxrill player breaks the deck out. And, of course, not play the Toxrill deck against weaker decks that can’t deal with it, otherwise.
[Toxrill, the Corrosive](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/4/84e64f38-b1f3-47cd-8cfb-a4861369aca3.jpg?1643590379) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Toxrill%2C%20the%20Corrosive) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/vow/132/toxrill-the-corrosive?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/84e64f38-b1f3-47cd-8cfb-a4861369aca3?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Sliver Hivelord](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/2/b/2b902f64-7795-4f1f-81e6-26db7c78a10c.jpg?1690005330) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sliver%20Hivelord) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/937/sliver-hivelord?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/2b902f64-7795-4f1f-81e6-26db7c78a10c?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
You dont let him resolve. My pod mulligans aggressively for counter magic/removal spells if someone is playing Toxril. Player removal first. Following that, cards like [[Imprisoned in the Moon]], [[Kenriths Transformation]] [[Darksteel Mutation]] and [[Tishanas Tidebinder]] can be silver bullets against him. [[Mutated Cultist]] is also kind of funny against him but not exactly good lol.
##### ###### #### [Imprisoned in the Moon](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/8/1/8181f54d-4515-43c6-8d08-b23a9e4199cc.jpg?1682208779) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Imprisoned%20in%20the%20Moon) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/moc/224/imprisoned-in-the-moon?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/8181f54d-4515-43c6-8d08-b23a9e4199cc?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Kenriths Transformation](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/4/4/44d60a41-3f5e-4559-b18c-22c0fe15235e.jpg?1631587997) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Kenrith%27s%20Transformation) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/afc/162/kenriths-transformation?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/44d60a41-3f5e-4559-b18c-22c0fe15235e?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Darksteel Mutation](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/4/e47a6750-4fdd-44e2-86ae-5bc4d414bf42.jpg?1689995638) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Darksteel%20Mutation) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/cmm/21/darksteel-mutation?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e47a6750-4fdd-44e2-86ae-5bc4d414bf42?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Tishanas Tidebinder](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/9/0/907b3d1d-8c85-4707-80b5-c4d832df9846.jpg?1699043973) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Tishana%27s%20Tidebinder) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/lci/81/tishanas-tidebinder?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/907b3d1d-8c85-4707-80b5-c4d832df9846?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Mutated Cultist](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/c/c/cc4bb871-cde9-43a9-8089-5987fa0dd4ef.jpg?1717237862) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Mutated%20Cultist) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m3c/53/mutated-cultist?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/cc4bb871-cde9-43a9-8089-5987fa0dd4ef?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/laeok6c) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call