Incapsula incident ID: 1848000720978469110-294993614029197863
Yes, there is counterplay but only for some decks and in some situations
If anything, Arena's lack of live chat encourages players to communicate even more when in person because they're denied that while online
With an Esper deck, you shouldnt be lacking in a library full of instants and sorceries to fuel your hate
There are two possible invitations players could obtain: a regular 'Day One' invite, and a 'Day Two' invite, which allowed players to acquire a 'Day One' bye and automatically enter the second Swiss tournament
Technically, it kills Walking Ballista in Standard and does hate on random energy cards that still show up in the format (like Glint-Sleeve Siphoner) while also doing weird, fringe things like taking explore counters off Jadelight Ranger or Verdurous Gearhulk counters off whatever creature they are dumped on, but this might not be enough to make most decks play a 1/4