Force of Will Mtg Art Force of Will Mtg Cheapest Version
Terminal updated on April 27, 2022
Cryptic Control | Illustration by Jason Rainville
Counterspells are pretty important in Magic. They make upwardly a lot of bluish's color identity and they're essentially a large erstwhile "no" to your opponent's spells. They may be weak in some formats, simply used past players who want to play a "permission" deck, but they're the backbone of others: something to be aware of whenever you confront a blue deck.
With that being said, it sounds similar it's time to practice some comparing and ranking when it comes to counterspells. So join me, your British friend (tea and crumpets included) on a journeying to discover what makes a good counterspell.
Welcome to the ultimate counterspell battle loonshit.
Counterspell Anatomy 101
So, what is a counterspell? To put information technology simply, it's a spell that says something like "counter target spell" or "exile target spell." You'll unremarkably encounter this on an instant, but sometimes it'll make its way onto a beast or enchantment. These cards seem very difficult to blueprint, every bit balancing ability level and efficiency is a huge feat.
Counterspells tin can likewise render the countered spells to their owner'southward hand (think Remand) or to the top of their library, like Retentivity Lapse.
There are unlike types of counterspells. Some of them are ameliorate than others, but they all still apply to our list.
Difficult, situational, and soft counterspells are the chief three. There are some fringe cases, apparently, merely they're the primary trio when information technology comes to types of counterspells. Here'due south a handy nautical chart to help you work out what's what:
I don't think a counterspell tin be both hard and soft. Maybe Stubborn Deprival? That's even so a stretch since it relies on exterior factors to count as a hard counterspell.
Hard Counterspells
Counterspell | Analogy by Zack Stella
Hard counterspells simply take text that says: "counter target spell." The all-time of these, of course, is Counterspell. Or, well, Mana Bleed, which is a strictly meliorate version, only you can't actually play it anywhere.
These are unremarkably bully in hard control decks. They straight up stop your opponent from doing any they're trying to exercise. They're as well normally very expensive and hard to utilise, though.
Well, usually.
Situational Counterspells
Negate | Illustration by Willian Murai
These are counterspells that only piece of work in certain situations. Negate or Essence Scatter are good examples. They simply work in specific circumstances nether certain weather condition. They're usually cheaper and more efficient than their catchall counterparts, though.
Soft Counterspells
Mana Leak | Illustration by Howard Lyon
Soft counterspells have a cost to negate their effect, similar Mana Leak. They're usually good for early game plays paired with some of the to a higher place as they tin be flexible and catch someone out.
All-time Standard Counterspells
As of right now, we're in the Throne of Eldraine/Zendikar Ascent Standard.
Standard doesn't have many corking counterspells, just let'due south rank through the best of the bunch anyway. I'll do top three for this one since virtually of the options are rotten.
Honorable Mentions
Colossal Dreadmaw
It is a counterspell.
Miscast
I love the card, it'southward just not great in the electric current meta.
Jwari Disruption
This is a really cool and efficient card to take in tempo-based command decks, but information technology's weaker compared to the other spells in this listing.
Aether Gust
I've had debates near this with multiple people. I recall the fact that it'south very situational and also not actually a counterspell (by tradition) means that it's retired out of the official rankings.
#3: Negate
Negates gets third because information technology's a stellar card, but just in your sideboard. It's situational only flexible and really piece of cake to slot into a blueish deck's toolbox. Information technology'due south keen, merely only then great. It's the easiest to bandage out of the elevation iii but merely isn't as powerful as the other two.
Negate has an interesting history. Originally printed in Morningtide, it has ever been a mainstay in Standard and a decent bill of fare in Extended and Modern. It was printed from Magic 2010 to Magic 2015 and has been reprinted in a set every twelvemonth since.
#ii: Drown in the Loch
Ane of the best removal spells in the format, Drown in the Loch is my second selection for Standard. The restrictive nature of beingness blue and black is the only thing that makes it less accessible in the format. Other than that, it's cooking with gas. Sure, it'due south not as stiff in a vacuum, just it does wonders in a deck full of mill effects and a format with cards like Fabled Passage with its ability to answer almost anything in the metagame.
The carte du jour was printed in Throne of Eldraine, and with Zendikar Ascension's rogue factory classic, information technology simply keeps getting better.
#ane: Mystical Dispute
Situational counterspells are normally more than efficient. But Mystical Dispute takes the cake, being both efficient and flexible. Its ability to counter any spell with some extra weight confronting blue makes it actually easy to include in blueish-heavy metagames and has taken the Magic world by storm.
Dispute was too printed in Eldraine, a very powerful set. It has minimal downside since the counter is on rate for a Standard set nowadays, so it's had a swell showing.
So, basically, Mystical Dispute is the counterspell champion of Standard! I'thousand contractually obliged to say this at the finish of every 1 of these, please save me.
Best Pioneer Counterspells
Pioneer is a format? All right, well I guess we tin can practice this.
Pioneer is similar to Standard, so at that place are a couple of echo mentions in this listing. I don't remember that control is very potent in the format at the moment, especially with the loss of Dimir Inverter, but, y'know, we'll try it anyhow.
Well, uh, here goes nothing.
Honorable Mentions
Stubborn Denial
I dear this card equally a huge fan of Strength Fasten, simply I recollect it just misses the marking because of its lack of application in the format.
Rewind
This 1 sees some play in Wilderness Reclamation decks, just non enough to warrant making the tiptop three.
Aether Gust
This is a very good card in Pioneer. It sees some play, but merely like Rewind, information technology just doesn't make the cutting.
Negate
This card merely makes it into some decks and sideboards this time, but information technology's even so a solid card.
#3: Sinister Sabotage
Ah, my first counterspell. This was the main counter in Standard when I started playing control, and, well, it's not a great one. But it works, it lets you filter your depict, and it's elegant. Information technology's probably the best Abolish variant out there.
Guilds of Ravnica was an crawly ready. This has nothing to do with my menu evaluation, but the ready itself was brilliant, so maybe I'm looking back on this carte with "guild-tinted spectacles." To be off-white, though, information technology's a four of in Wilderness Reclamation, so maybe information technology'south as great as the other two.
#ii: Censor
This is a ii-mana Strength Spike that cycles. It's a actually flexible bill of fare that sees lots of play considering it's basically a cantrip with a counter equally an upside. I feel like Jwari Disruption tried to mimic this, simply nosotros oasis't really seen enough of it to know whether it succeeds.
This card is also huge because it adds to delve for cards like Dig Through Time, which was office of what made Dimir Inverter so strong. Information technology's simple but very constructive.
#1: Spell Queller
This may seem weird, simply Spell Queller is astonishing. Seeing play in Spirits in Pioneer, this card is so skilful that information technology tin't not be the number i spot. Information technology'due south peachy with Teferi, Fourth dimension Raveler, information technology's a dainty, aggressive beater with evasion, and information technology has wink.
Spell Queller is often overlooked because it's more aggressive than most control decks want to be. Merely, pre-Shark Draft, this was the all-time aggressive threat for decks that wanted something like Squadron Hawk without going all out with a planeswalker.
That makes Spell Queller is the counterspell champion of Pioneer!
Best Modernistic Counterspells
At present nosotros're cooking with gas. Modernistic is another beast when it comes to its options for counter-magic. Unlike Pioneer, information technology has some of the best spells to offer.
Information technology may seem redundant, as a lot of the counterspells in Mod accept great uses within their specific decks, simply these rankings are meant to exist a catchall. However, the fact that all of Modernistic's blueish decks basically accept their own counterspells is a testament to how groovy and various the format is right at present.
#five: Veil of Summertime
If Aether Gust is a counterspell, and so is Veil of Summer. It's insane. Information technology'southward essentially Pyroblast meets Ambiguous Control against blue and blackness decks. What a carte.
Veil gets fifth because it is highly situational and only works for a sure type of spell. It won't counter Liliana of the Veil or Jace, the Listen Sculptor. But it's still a fantastic card that shouldn't be overlooked. It may fifty-fifty be too strong for the format. Maybe.
#iv: Stubborn Deprival
This menu is a house in Death's Shadow or RUG Delver of Secrets decks. If you run a animate being with ability 4 or greater (which both decks often do), Denial just becomes a tempo gain. And, unlike Pioneer, information technology's a lot easier to apply this card since Mod has a lot more non-creature spells you want to exist countering.
#three: Archmage's Amuse
Hailing from Modern Horizons, Amuse is substantially a counterspell with two other optional modes: impersonating Divination or doubling as a weird CMC one (or less) control effect on tiptop. This bill of fare is now an auto-include in every Modern UW control deck because of its versatility.
Charm also bears resemblance to another card, which may or may not be coming up soon…
#2: Force of Negation
A reference to the infamous Strength of Will, Force of Negation is a powerhouse in the Mod format. There'due south nothing else quite like it. It'due south a testament of the upshot of forcefulness cards; they're pretty good at what they practise. It only gets second considering the free spell effect is only during your opponent'southward turn, plus information technology only affects not-creature spells. But, honestly, that doesn't make it bad.
Second place is yet respectable. If it wasn't for the fact that the commencement-place card is the foam of the crop, Force of Negation would've been up there.
#1: Swan Song
The all-powerful, all-amazing, all-swan—
Wait, No, That's Not Correct. #1, Take two: Cryptic Command
Cryptic Control is a pillar of the Modern format. It's ane of the near flexible blue cards and, as seen recently with Mystic Sanctuary'south situation, the card is merely amazing. I don't think I can really adjure to how many times it'south come upwards in the format. Ever since its printing in Lorywn, Cryptic Command has been crawly in the decks that run it.
It'southward also got other relevant modes, so it becomes actually useful in a format equally tedious as Modernistic since information technology can work as a gate. The simply downside are the UUU pips in its cost, just that'south easily doable in a UW control deck.
Therefore, Cryptic Command is the—
No.
No more, I can't practise this.
Cryptic Command is the winner of this counterspell showdown.
(Sounds way ameliorate, correct?)
Best Legacy and Vintage Counterspells
So, Legacy and Vintage are pretty similar when it comes to their counterspells. Essentially, Vintage counterspells are the ones that are banned in Legacy plus the ones in Legacy, so it'southward fitting that we just squish them together. I as well feel like I can talk virtually them a lot more than if I talk nigh them in the context of both formats, having moved from Modern to Legacy and Vintage recently. I know, shocker!
I'm likewise forgoing actual rankings, since the counterspells in these formats are just the counterspells. There's less variation considering of the formats' card pools. These are the only counterspells that see play because they're just so skillful at their job.
Forcefulness of Will
Well… This is the bill of fare that basically simply ignites the format. There'southward nothing quite similar it, other than the aforementioned Force of Negation. And with Brainstorm, it makes upward a lot of the format. If you're running blue, then y'all're probably running Force of Will.
I think the fact that information technology's a two-for-ane is what makes information technology and then great. It's not besides overpowered only it even so makes up a lot of the format. It'due south a must play in Legacy, and you always have to play around it.
In Vintage, the bill of fare plays the same role; kind of a power valve for the format. Basically, every non-workshop deck plays Force considering it lets you tap out for your spells and proceed an answer in manus.
Stupor
Daze is the trivial sibling of Force of Will. Mainly used in Delver of Secrets, Doomsday, and Evidence and Tell in Legacy, the bill of fare is great at making certain early plays don't arrive past the stack.
This is the equivalent of Censor and Stubborn Denial in Legacy, but it does it and so much better. It's an eloquent card, and essentially Rishadan Ports your opponent if they know they have to play effectually it.
It plays a like role in Vintage. Seeing play in most of the blueish decks, it acts in the same way equally in Legacy.
Pyroblast
The all-time non-bluish counterspell, Pyroblast is the simply reason scarlet sees play in some Legacy and Vintage decks. It's blue permanent removal equally well, so it answers Oko, Thief of Crowns and Jace, the Listen Sculptor. It's a card that would never see print present, so you can only actually make utilise of it in these formats and Pauper.
There's besides a version of it that'southward slightly worse: Cerise Elemental Boom. Considering of Cabal Therapy, lots of people have a split of them in the sideboard.
In Vintage, the bill of fare is sometimes primary-deck-able. I accept a copy of it in my Jeskai Time Vault deck, and blue's position in the metagame means that it but works.
Flusterstorm
Certain, this carte du jour is legal in Modernistic now, but it'southward more basics in Legacy and Vintage. It does wonders confronting Ad Nauseam Tendrils, THE Ballsy Storm (I tin can never not put that in caps), and also does a bully chore of winning counter-wars. Information technology's a great menu and has won me lots of spell-resolution battles. It's main-deck-able in Vintage, peculiarly in Bug.
Mindbreak Trap
Mindbreak Trap fulfils a similar part to Flusterstorm, but it's a bit more than chance/reward. Sometimes it can blow out games, sometimes it's just a dead carte in your hand.
Mental Misstep
Banned in Legacy, restricted in Vintage, this carte du jour is a house in these formats. Information technology tin can counter any cantrip, including Ancestral Recall and things like Sol Ring and Deathrite Shaman.
Mana Drain
Strictly amend Counterspell, Mana Bleed merely kind of rocks. Information technology gives a huge advantage nowadays simply used to always be worse than Counterspell (in theory) because of mana burn. I'm as well really shocked that information technology's non on the reserved list.
The Ultimate Elevation Five
Honestly, the all-time five counterspells (to me) are:
Remand is nifty, maybe not so much anymore simply it holds a special place in my heart considering of its identify in Twin.
I had Forbid in my get-go ever control deck, for throwback Standard (Mirage Depict-Go). I dearest the carte, especially partnered with Whispers of the Muse!
Wrap Upward
Whew, that was a fun one!
I'm evil, I love midrange and control, and then counterspells are great in my mind. What do y'all retrieve? Practise you agree? Do y'all remember Swan Vocal deserves ameliorate? Exit a comment down below with your thoughts!
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