Counterspell

Counterspell Color Pie

Now that Tibalt's Trickery is in-pie, is Molten Influence (red damage punisher counterspell) a color pie break?

Tibalt’s trickery isn’t a counterspell. It’s using the text “counter target spell” as a less wordy way to turn it into another spell.Molten Influence isn’t a color pie break because it’s a punisher spell which is primary in red. You the caster don’t control if it’s ever going to counter a spell.

Color Pie Counterspell Molten Influence Primary Red Tibalt's Trickery

Confusion over Tibalt’s Trickery

Seems like you're getting a bevy of white counterspell questions so I have one, but I have a recent example! Tibalts Trickery. I get it is flavorfully more like a chaos warp, but it literally says "counter target spell." That implies that red can fully counter any kind of spell (with potential upside) and white cannot. Even if that was a one-off, it sets an odd example for "who gets counterspells."

Tibalt’s Trickery shouldn’t have used the words “counter target spell” for the very confusion you bring up. It’s also why we moved permanent transformation, as done through creature tokens, out of blue as putting the words “destroy target creature” just threw people. Red can’t counter spells. It can transform them into a different random spell.

Blue Chaos Warp Counterspell Creatures Destroy Red Spells Tokens Transform White

Isochron Scepter Rules Clarification

Un-rules question time! If I imprint Counterspell onto Isochron Scepter with Richard Garfield, PhD. on the battlefield, when I activate the Isochron Scepter, can I cast the copy of Counterspell as another card that costs UU, assuming I haven't chosen that card previously?

No, the spell you get out of Isichron is a copy and not a card.

Activate Card Printing Cast Counterspell Imprint Isochron Scepter Richard Garfield Rules Un-sets

White Counterspell Limits

Hi Mark! Curious about the space for a white counterspell... Could white get an unconditional counter effect if the set up was very difficult? Like if it could only be cast during combat and/or required you to have a creature?

No. It can delay (Memory Lapse) or tax (Mana Leak), and at a lower power than blue. That’s it.

Blue Cast Counterspell Creatures Mana Mana Leak Memory Lapse White

Creature-Specific Counterspell

Do the rules allow for a counterspell which counters a spell that affects a creature you control?

The rules do allow that. Note that giving a creature hexproof is a very similar effect.

Counterspell Creatures Hexproof Rules

Exile Target Spell

Is a spell that read “Exile target spell” possible or is it too narrow/confusing for newer players? Would this ability still be blue, as it’s basically an upgraded counterspell?

It is possible. I think we’ve done it.

Blue Counterspell The Exile Zone

Future White Counterspells

Mark, can you tell us if there are any plans for a new White counterspell in Standard in the next years?

I can’t talk about the future. Well, except in very, vague terms. Um, maybe. : )

Counterspell Standard White

Green Counterspell Possibility

Could green get a counterspell as long as it was based on creatures then?

Having an overreliance on crearures doesn’t mean green can do anything just because it has a creature.

Counterspell Creatures Green

Red Spell Modification

One of the red playtest cards essentially reads "Change target instant or sorcery spell's text to "This spell deals 3 damage to any target". Its controller may choose new targets for it." Could red actually get this spell?

It can definitely change its own spells. Changing the opponent’s spells might be a little too counterspell-y for red.

Counterspell Instants Playtesting Red Sorceries Spells

Color Pie Abilities

Mark, how tied are the abilities in the color pie? I mean, if you start from scratch and say Black will be primary in counterspell and White will be primary in direct damage. Would it be inevitable for Black to be the primary draw and bounce color and White to be the primary artifact destruction and haste color?

Are we assuming that we’re keeping the core color philosophies?

Artifacts Black Color Pie Colors Counterspell Haste Primary Start from Scratch White

White's Counterspell Policy

Is an unconditional counterspell in white's colour pie?

No. White can get a taxing counterspell.

Colors Counterspell White

Planeswalker Character Flaws

re: Jace, I think its worth pointing out a lot of people misinterpret Jace, mostly because his dialogue on counterspells and like doesn't really represent how he actually acts a lot of the time.

His counterspell flavor text was never a good indication of his character. Players like the planeswalker trash talk, that started with Ertai. Jace eventually got used as he was the blue planeswalker, but it shouldn’t have been. It’s just not in Jace’s character.

Blue Counterspell Ertai Flavor Planeswalkers

Ambiguity Deck Fun

"I made an Ambiguity deck. It was pretty fun." You mean as fun as recurrent counterspells can be, right?

The deck combined a counterspell component with a lot of cards with counters.

Ambiguity Counterspell

Colorless Counterspell

Colorless gets removal, exile, every keyword ability, and pretty much every aspect of the color pie - could it get a (nonconditional, Warping Wail doesn’t count) counterspell?

We’ve chosen not to do that.

Color Pie Colorless Colors Counterspell Keyword Abilities Keywords The Exile Zone Warping Wail

Leadership Vacuum Query

Just because leadership vacuum is color pie compliant, doesn’t mean it should be printed. Counterspell is perfectly within pie, and yet still excluded from modern. Similarly, ,time walk and ancestral recall are both well within the color pie.

Okay, Commander players, is Leadership Vacuum too strong?

Ancestral Recall Card Printing Color Pie Colors Commander Counterspell Leadership Vacuum Modern Power Level Time Walk

Magic Courtroom Drama

Any chance of a set with some Magic-style courtroom drama? Jace Beleren: Ace Attorney?

The counterspell is called No, You’re Out of Order.

Counterspell Jace Beleren

Prophecy Cards Feedback

The cards from Prophecy were any player could play the ability, how were they received? I suspect commander and causal players liked them while more enfranchised players were less fond of them. I personally really liked the play counter play they represented better than the Rhystic effects.

The Rhystic ability was highly unliked. It was basically a mechanic that came with a built-in counterspell for your opponent.

Commander Counterspell Experienced / Enfranchised Players Mechanics Prophecy Suspect

Black's Creature Handling

"Black can kill creatures. It doesn’t need to bounce them." But it could also at a lower cost make a player discard a card AND bounce a creature, make a player lose life AND bounce a creature, etc... there are different strengths of counterspell effects, why not different strengths of Black dealing with creatures?

Because we like diversifying what colors can do. Black has plenty of answers for creatures.

Black Colors Counterspell Creatures Discard

Blue Elemental Blast

Could the effect of Blue Elemental Blast be printed on a WU card by current design sensibilities?

Not at a cost that would make anyone happy. In theory, white could get “destroy target red permanent”, but not cheaply, making it a poor counterspell for blue’s “counter target red spell” half.

Azorius (W/U) Blue Blue Elemental Blast Card Printing Counterspell Destroy Elemental Red White

Counterspell Modern Play

[Counterspell was passed over in Modern Horizons because of its strength in Modern. It’s clearly thus too strong for Standard.] That's not always true though, right? Treasure Cruise was too strong for Modern (and Legacy), but fine for Standard.

You’re correct, but usually only for cards that care about aspects that are easier to achieve in older formats. Having access to two blue mana is very achievable in Standard.

Blue Counterspell Legacy Mana Modern Modern Horizons Power Level Standard Treasure Treasure Cruise