The card that launched a thousand spells
Features
squire1
27 September 2010
2973 views
27 September 2010
2973 views
What seems like a long time ago, there was a time when no one was safe. When 2 simple untapped lands made player tremble in fear as to whether or not they would get to do anything constructive on their turn. A time when blue players were feared and hated for their cunning tricks. A time that will live in infamy for its power antics and lockdowns. A time for which all of us from the beginning still question why new players consider new cards more powerful than our Alpha base.
Today, that time is long gone, and we few blue players stand in memory and in homage to the spell that made that time so fantastic.
Ah Counterspell, the card that will never be reprinted according to wizards. "Why?", you might ask. Some say it is too powerful, some say there will be 4 in nearly every blue deck and would quash the creativity of building decks (not that that thinking stopped them from reprinting Lightning Bolt). But regardless we will never see this wonderful card again. However in its place MTG has given us nearly every possible iteration of a Counterspell without giving us the actual card back. So let's take a walk down memory lane and look at some interesting facts about counterspells and take a stab at a top 10 counterspells of all time.
Before the release of of Scars of Mirrodin, there are by my count 215 unique cards that counter spells or abilities in every color you can think of. Players view of counterspell has had to change over the years. It was originally an interrupt, a card type long gone. Then Counterspells were all instants, but still monoblue fodder. In today's vintage, they come in every color you can think of. Of the over 200 cards with counter abilities 50 are creatures, 11 are enchantments, and 148 are instants. From mono-blue, they have spread out a bit too. Of the counters available there are 160 blue, 5 black, 12 white, 6 red, 6 green, 22 multicolored, and 4 colorless countering options. Of all of these cards only about half can counter any spell and 17 are counters for various abilities, not even for use against spells in some cases.
For a spell with a CMC of a meager 2 in the beginning, they now range from CMC 1 to CMC 8. The average CMC for a counterspell is 2.75, meaning that 2 untapped islands will not be as frightening as they once were. Below you can see the color/CMC distribution.
Number of spells by color and CMC
So now that we have taken a look at some information related to our spell of the hour. It is time to honor Counterspell by taking a look at the top 10 counters ever printed. These cards are cards that made control players happy. These are all cards that gave us a reason to continue on building and telling our opponents, "NO!" By the way, keep in mind that these are my opinions on the cards below and hence would be a likely different list if other people made it. Feel free to express disagreements in the comments.
10. Rune Snag
 |
Rune Snag is a card that I debated over with myself. I mean first use is not as good as Mana Leak and Power Sink has some cool shannanagins. Thing is that Rune Snag is efficient and gets better in late game when it needs to. I mean if you have 4 of a counter, this is not a bad one to have, especially in a self mill situation. I think that it takes the "counter target spell unless..." mechanic to a great place. |
9. Rewind
 |
When I saw this card for the first time, my reaction was "that should cost 3". I still think it should and untap 3 lands. That said, This card can be sick. It doubles the usefulness of special lands like cloud posts or the urza's lands. It leaves you in a good position to counter the next thing that happens. B |
8. Counterbalance
 |
Our only enchantment of the top 10 is Counterbalance. I have to admit when I first saw this card I thought it was stupid. I made a snap judgment without thinking about it. Now consider this card with Sensei's Divining Top another card I did not like at first. (Give me a break I had been out for a while when they came out). So as soon as I sam the combo, I had to admit that it was amazing. In a deck with a pretty even mana curve this could be epic. Counterspell price, Counterspell effect but for every time. Very nice indeed. |
7. Daring Apprentice
 |
Daring Apprentice has made a serious mark on Magic throughout the year. I mean a creature that is a ticking time bomb of a hard counter is pretty nice. He only cost 3 to boot. Now this is not a card that I play with a lot, but in a limited environment this guy is just mean. He sits, he stares, he waits. I could attack with him, I could block, I could counter your beast du jour. In general a nice utility counter card overall, and being a wizard too boot gives it tribal possabilities. |
6. Pact of Negation
 |
Love at first sight. i did not like the rest of the "pact" cycle but this is a gem. Zero CMC, I am loving that. You lose the game if you do not pay for it later. How blue id this card? Answer: It is so blue it says it on the card. Between the surprise aspect of this card, the thought and planning to using it properly, and the dire consequences to cornering yourself, It SCREAMS blue. Above and beyond that, it is a useful counter, when people see blue, they wait till you are tapped out to drop bombs. This stops that from happening, and there is not much they can do about it. A great sneaky trick that wins games. |
5. Voidslime
 |
Voidslime is the only counter abilities counter that I added to the top 10. They all have their place. Stifle, Trickbind, Bind etc. are all great and more efficient in CMC but Voidslime is better. It does what they do and then is a Counterspell on top. I have little to say here but really, you should all see how good this is and the versatility is unreal. |
4. Mystic Snake
 |
So this is our last creature of the top 10. I have to say that if I am playing legacy or vintage, and have U/G in my deck you will have to pry this from my dying hands to get it out of the deck. I love this guy so much. I get a counter and a 2/2 for 4 CMC, awesome! now some people may argue that Summoner's Bane gives you the same thing. True, but if I bounce this guy I get a new Counterspell if I bounce the token from Summoner's Bane it dies. Bounce/snake is so much fun it is silly. There are a million ways to bounce this guy and practically shut down an opponent's deck, which makes it my number 4. |
3. Force of Will
 |
So good, for so long. I remember recently a debate about 1 life being or not being worth paying for a sac land. Well that is a different story, but will you pay 1 life and ditch a blue card to counter anything you want. Hell yes, all day. I will mainboard 20 if you let me. This spell can be cast out right in mid to late game, or bust out for nothing in early game. It is the predecessor to Pact of Negation and all of the complete ambush counters and is arguably the best anyway. For this it gets the number 3 spot. |
2. Counterspell
 |
No, not in the number 1 spot but close. The alpha, and if there is ever a last set hopefully the omega. This card does what it does, no frills no nothing, just say "NO". It is cost effective and efficient, totally worth the deck space in control, but because it does lack an extra trick, it does stay at number 2. |
1. Mana Drain
 |
So you may ask why I picked a spell to be better than Counterspell in an article about Counterspell. Well because this is Counterspell but better. Mana Drain costs the same as Counterspell, does more, and now with no mana burn, has tons of possibilities. I mean when do you see blue ramp. And better, when do you see blue control/ramp cards. I mean you have 3 lands and play a 3 CMC spell, I counter. On my turn I drop a land tap out and get your 3 mana for a turn 3 Mahamoti Djinn. 'Nuff said. |
Thanks for joining me. Hope you enjoyed it, now track down all the counters you can and play any of your friends, untill they walk away saying "I hate you...stupid control, counter...(mutter, mutter)..."
good pickup on the gender never noticed that. I almost never pay attention to artwork unless it is Drew Tucker, then I cry.
@ blueclay - I loved Power Sink back in the day too. It almost made it on the top 10 here. Very overlooked ability that one
September 27, 2010 10:14 a.m.
Great article, though I would put Rune Snag as 7th and moved everything back.
September 27, 2010 7:42 p.m.
I...have to disagree with Daring Apprentice . I don't like her at all. I think Voidmage Prodigy is better. And Voidmage Prodigy is only really good in wizard decks. I like either Power Sink or Condescend for the 10 slot. Maybe even Remand .
September 28, 2010 9:43 p.m.
@sporkife - I totally get that. We all choose cards based on our style so I completely respect everyone's opinion here. I think though that Voidmage Prodigy is only better in wizard decks. The great thing about daring apprentice is not having to have the 2 U untapped for Counterspell .
Now Power Sink I agree with. I struggled with not putting it on there. It is/was a favorite of mine, but there a lot of good ones left off due to the number of spots. Condescend is OK. I hate Remand . I think it was overused when it was in standard and is not that great. I mean Rune Snag costs the same and it was my 10th place spot.
Thank you all for the feedback, keep it coming.
September 28, 2010 9:56 p.m.
KrazyCaley says... #6
All hail the Best Card in Magic.
Counterspell is strictly better than Mana Drain . I mean, what are you going to do with all that MANA? You're playing blue, it's not like you're going to use it. Stick with the clean, efficient, STRICTLY BETTER Counterspell .
Caley Anderson- Badly misusing the phrase "strictly better" since 1994.
September 28, 2010 9:57 p.m.
KrazyCaley says... #7
Incidentally, I think Cryptic Command perhaps deserved to make this list. Excellent list though.
September 28, 2010 9:58 p.m.
I was waiting for you to chime in KC as I know your love of the OG Counterspell .
Cryptic Command was another that I struggled with. It is such a good card, but alas, I pushed it aside
September 28, 2010 10 p.m.
Remand ...yeah, that was a nostalgia card (ironic that i'm nostalgic for the nostalgia set). Rav/TS standard <3.
no mana? Force of Will . Pact of Negation . :P Countertop lets you counter with 1 a lot of the time too.
Condescend is one of my more favourite early game counters because it combines counterability (often 1U: counter target spell) and that nice scry. Power Sink is obviously very fun, because it removes the drawback of x-spells.
I'm sure I could find a situation where Counterspell is better than Mana Drain .
Cryptic Command ... eh. I always felt like, despite it being a kingpin in 5cc, it was a better card in things like faeries, where it wasn't used as a counter a whole lot, and rather as a tap + cantrip or tap + bounce for an alpha strike or what have you, and is more versatile and better in a deck that can take advantage of the other options it provides (rather than 1UUU: counter target spell. draw a card.).
Incidentally, other than maybe a couple flips in order, I agree with most of the rest of the list. And it reminded me that I need to get my hands on some Voidslime . So +1 from me.
September 28, 2010 10:07 p.m.
I kinda liked Double Negative . It's like ha. I killed you AND your friend.
September 30, 2010 7:38 a.m.
Personally, I think Deprive deserves at least some recognition. With all of the special lands that have been popping up recently, it can actually be much more useful than your standard counterspell in many situations. You can use it to fuel landfall effects midgame, or to re-use abilities of lands like Halimar Depths.
October 2, 2010 6:35 a.m.
Really good quality article. I'm one of those old-school guys who always thought blue was annoying. I loved taking it on because I had such spite for it's nature, that I relished every chance I could get to beat the bejeezus out of it. 16 years later, I'm only just now starting to warm up to it. I've always had Naya in my blood. Still, no denying this is a terrific article.
October 5, 2010 6:28 a.m.
I love mono blue, and the top three seem right to me. Now that mana burn is gone, mana drain is strictly better than counter spell, but even with mana burn i played four of each in my old big blue deck.
But power sink should come in fourth because it diffuses the most common anti-counter strategy. People like to cast medium size threats to pull counters and then drop a win condition. Power sink counters the medium threat and prevents the casting of the WC, giving the blue player another turn to get the game under control.
October 5, 2010 9:18 a.m.
Personally Memory Lapse has always done me well. I mean counter their spell then put it on top of their library. It just cost them a draw and they will have to recast the countered spell. It helps Blue in my opinion with gaining CA.
October 11, 2010 10:50 a.m.
Playing alot of Green/Red based decks myself loved seeing Guttural Response , allowing us to break counters without having to splash Blue
October 19, 2010 3:34 a.m.
oldnorthstate says... #16
Mindbreak Trap also tells storm, cascade and 0 turn combo kills to take a hike. I agree with others that Rune Snag should be ranked seventh.
@Qysas: Memory Lapse does not actually provide CA. You lose a card and they get theirs back at the expense of losing their next draw whilst you proceed as normal. What it does provide (in many cases) is essentially an extra turn. Remand is similar and extremely effectual in the early game. I might've liked to see either or both at the 10 spot, below a Rune Snag more highly rated.
January 26, 2011 6:31 p.m.
oldnorthstate says... #17
Addendum: I like Voidmage Prodigy better than Daring Apprentice .
January 26, 2011 6:34 p.m.
imo you need to trade force and counter spell
sigh i miss the old days....
ilikeoldcardsbetter says... #1
my only complaint is that I think Daring Apprentice is a 'she', not a 'he'
good article tho
September 27, 2010 9:54 a.m.