The upside: a fearsome pack of Wolves, most of which tap for mana
By their nature, cuts will vary on what direction you take the deck, and who you are playing with, so these are just a few ideas of cards I think you can cut: Whirler Rogue Hornet Queen Search the Premises Selvala, Explorer Returned Innocuous Researcher Serene Sleuth Finale of Revelation Ransom Note Teferis Ageless Insight Knowledge is Power These aren't necessarily bad cards, but ones you might upgrade on with some of the other options, or may move from on if you take the deck in certain directions
However, in this cards case, the life being lost is that of the caster of this counterspell
The Stax elements are the thing that might be able to get it somewhere against three cEDH decks
As long as you dont waste time and your deck is sufficiently randomised, use whatever technique you want
For the combo to work, youd need Ultimecia and Soul Cauldron in play, you need Captive Weird or Blightreaper Thallid in your graveyard, and you need six open mana