"Kicker [cost]" means "You may pay an additional [cost] as you cast this spell." If a spell's kicker cost was paid, the spell is "kicked." The kicker ability doesn't let you pay a kicker cost more than once
I was able to clean up the table after a few rounds with this final board state: Angel of Jubilation - just an anthem and would've shut down my fetches but I played it late game Linvala, Keeper of Silence - didn't stop anything on my opponent's board because they were all triggered abilities Starting hand was top heavy but decided to keep: Plains, Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx, Pearl Medallion, Sword of Hearth and Home, Well of Lost Dreams, Sword of the Animist, Archangel of Thune I figured with 2 ramp equipments and lifegain comboed with the well I'd be setup for mid-game pretty nicely
In the various three or more coloured versions of UG control decks I would always chose to play a Negate over an Actual Counterspell, those kinds of deck have an unrivalled ability to deal with permanents while coloured mana is more of an issue
I used to joke that every single sideboard I played had at least one Needle in it when I started playing Legacy