Gale's Redirection Five mana instant, and then you can exile target spell, which is better than a normal counterspell like...Counterspell...that will let you answer things that aren't normally counterable like Urza's Rage
For starters, the Weakness and Retreat Cost are directly above and below each other
Ralts evolves into Kirlia at level 20, and from there it can evolve into either Gardevoir or Gallade, depending on specific conditions
War Room War Rooms activated ability is a bit too costly (and painful!) for frequent use, but the option of sinking some extra mana into a card draw effect at instant speed is never a bad idea
By far the best early game plays for this deck are Fred, Mascot By Day and Institute of Technology, Prestigious University
With the Valeyard, potentially dealing ten burn damage is nothing to scoff at, as that's a quarter of an opponent's life