1. Force of Will
2. Mana Drain
3. Mental Misstep
4. Spell Snare
5. Counterbalance
6. Counterspell
7. Red Elemental Blast/Pyroblast, although pyroblast is better (phantasmal image)
8. Mana Leak
9. Remand
10. Forbid
1. Force of Will - The standard to beat in all Eternal formats
2. Mental Misstep - Busted as hell in Legacy and banned almost immediately, seeing significant play in Vintage.
3. Mana Drain - Objectively one of the strongest effects ever. Probably would slip behind my #4 card now, but it was a house when Vintage was slower (and still is pretty damn good).
4. Spell Pierce - Most underrated counterspell in Legacy. Imperative in Vintage because the format is often too fast to wait for UU.
5. Counterspell - Classic
6. Mana Leak - Actually saw more play than Counterspell in Vintage, plus it's back in Standard again.
7. Flusterstorm - As good as it gets in Vintage, solid play in Legacy. Only reason I don't have this higher is because it doesn't have the longevity or the reach across different formats (since it isn't legal).
8. Cryptic Command - I didn't play Magic when it was Standard legal, but it was a bomb in a weaker format. Doesn't see any play in good formats though.
9. Forbid - Capable of flat out winning a game by itself in slower, less blue-oriented formats. There's no worse feeling in Cube than being Forbid-locked.
10. Spell Snare - This is more of a nod to its play in Legacy than anything else. I can't rank it above cards that are all-stars in multiple formats though.
Edit: I didn't include Counterbalance because I don't consider it a counterspell. I neglected Pyroblast/REB because I was thinking of blue counterspells, but technically, it would be on this list and above most of the cards I have included. Daze was an oversight; I'd probably put it somewhere between #5 and #8. It's annoying to play around, but miserable to hold in your grip in the late game.
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Due to real-life obligations, I am taking a long break from Magic which may include missing the local Legacy GP. Apologies for not being able to keep my threads updated.
1. Force of Will(absolutely the best counterspell)
2. Mana Drain(second best, counters the spell then gains mana advantage next turn)
3. Counterbalance(this is nuts with top...)
4. Counterspell(costs less and counters any spell instantly)
5. Daze(too good when you see your opponent dont have open mana)
6. Spell Snare(this costs only one mana and it can hit many powerful 2 drops)
7. Cryptic Command(does 2 things at once is pretty good)
8. Remind(you return their spell, draws a card for two is still big advantage)
9. Pact of Negation(this saves critical play)
10. Rune Snag(very powerful if you have some in the grave)
Only in a superfast Format full of Combo and Overpowered Cards Force of Will is better then Mana drain (Vintage). Else, Mana drain is way stronger. Thats why it is banned in Legacy and Force of Will is not.
1. Mana Drain
2. Mental Misstep
3. Force Of Will
4. Counterbalance
5. Spell Pierce
6. Counterspell
7. Spell Snare
8. Cryptic Command
9. Rune Snag
10. Forbid
I ranked Force Of Will at #3 because it is a fair card compared to the first two. Mental Misstep offers a stupid tempo advantage for a very low cost (in Legacy) and completely warped the meta, and Mana Drain is pretty much Counterspell on crack.
Only in a superfast Format full of Combo and Overpowered Cards Force of Will is better then Mana drain (Vintage). Else, Mana drain is way stronger. Thats why it is banned in Legacy and Force of Will is not.
Mana Drain is banned because it's a problem card that offers monstrous tempo advantage, while Force of Will is pretty bad unless you're using it to stop something broken or to protect a combo. That doesn't mean Force of Will is worse; it just means that it does something different. Force of Will cannot create a broken deck like Mana Drain can, but it can stop broken decks from winning, which Mana Drain isn't that great at.
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The wedding is over. Now it's time for the honeymoon.
Mana Drain, Force of Will, Counterspell. Sorry, conditional countermagic can suck it. Free or tap 2 islands and kindly say "no" is and always will be amazing.
The elemental blasts are very conditional but if your opponent is playing red or blue then you have a counterspell that can also act as removal. However FoW is just too powerful to take the # 2 spot or below,im a big fan of pact of negation and hinder(in edh) but my top ten would have to look like this;
1. Force of Will
2. Either of the elemental blasts
3. Mana Drain
4. Counterspell
5. Cryptic command
6. Pact of negation
7. Daze
8. Remand
9. Spell snare
10. Mana leak
Umm i noticed that no one even mention Counterflux its a really good card i mean UUR Counter target spell it can't be countered by spells or abilities. Also its overload cost to its pretty damn good. Yet no one mentions it its the best 3 mana counter spell in the game and with Caged Sun Sun its 2 mana. The thing is you have to have caged sun resolve and in most cases people wont let you unless you counterflux their counter.
Also why are people putting counterspell higher than Mana Drain. Counterspell is 100% worse than Mana Drain, thx to the rule changes Mana Drain is all gain no loss.
Oh yes its so much better than Counterspell. Counterspell is good enough. Its also not 100$ to 200$. So in my opinion its not for people with a budget. Also yes you get colorless mana for what countering something with 4 mana if your lucky maybe 12 if its a Blightsteel Collosus. Counterflux is much better yea 1 more mana but it cant be countered which pretty much says FU and its up there with Force of Will and Foil.
Heres my list and i dont know why none of you think of these because they are good.
1. Force of WillMana Drain Obviously its for free however exiling a blue card can be excessive in some cases unless its Torrent Elemental... Oh ***** never thought of that. Mana Drain because people will freak if i dont put it up there.
2. CounterspellFoil 2 mana counter spell come on thats good. Foil because its pretty much like Force of WIll 1 less mana and you can recur those things you discarded easily. I suggest 2 of them due to the fact you have to discard an island.
3. CounterfluxCounterbore Come on can't be ******* countered just think. That includes abilities and effects and Abilities so **** You Autumn's Veil. Counterbore is pretty good for 2 more mana basically you counter it and oh look i exile all of the ones you have boohoo.
4. Render SilentDissolveDissipate I chose these three because they are good. Dissolve gives you a small card advantage and Dissipate says oh look thats exile. It kinda bones reanimator decks. Lastly Render Silent combines that one white mana spell and Counterspell and basically says oh i counter that spell and umm yea you can't cast anything for the rest of the turn.
Now don't bother arguing with me on my list because i will not change it. These are my personal favorites and honestly i dont even like Force of Will or Mana Drain but if i don't put it up there then the rage will happen. Honestly nothing beats a Counter Spell that can't be countered.
Heres my list and i dont know why none of you think of these because they are good.
1. Force of WillMana Drain Obviously its for free however exiling a blue card can be excessive in some cases unless its Torrent Elemental... Oh ***** never thought of that. Mana Drain because people will freak if i dont put it up there.
2. CounterspellFoil 2 mana counter spell come on thats good. Foil because its pretty much like Force of WIll 1 less mana and you can recur those things you discarded easily. I suggest 2 of them due to the fact you have to discard an island.
3. CounterfluxCounterbore Come on can't be ******* countered just think. That includes abilities and effects and Abilities so **** You Autumn's Veil. Counterbore is pretty good for 2 more mana basically you counter it and oh look i exile all of the ones you have boohoo.
4. Render SilentDissolveDissipate I chose these three because they are good. Dissolve gives you a small card advantage and Dissipate says oh look thats exile. It kinda bones reanimator decks. Lastly Render Silent combines that one white mana spell and Counterspell and basically says oh i counter that spell and umm yea you can't cast anything for the rest of the turn.
Now don't bother arguing with me on my list because i will not change it. These are my personal favorites and honestly i dont even like Force of Will or Mana Drain but if i don't put it up there then the rage will happen. Honestly nothing beats a Counter Spell that can't be countered.
It's fine if this is if your personal opinion like you said. However in terms of raw power...yeah you have a lot to learn about the game mister.
Umm i noticed that no one even mention Counterflux its a really good card i mean UUR Counter target spell it can't be countered by spells or abilities. Also its overload cost to its pretty damn good. Yet no one mentions it its the best 3 mana counter spell in the game and with Caged Sun Sun its 2 mana. The thing is you have to have caged sun resolve and in most cases people wont let you unless you counterflux their counter.
That's probably because this thread was created a few YEARS before counterflux was printed...
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"[Lotleth Troll] is stupidly broken and will break Standard more so than Snapcaster Mage did last format." - ArchAvalon
That, and counterspells really don't get countered that often. An uncounterable counterspell just isn't that much in demand. It's a neat perk, but you'd play counterflux for the ability to counter multiple spells, not the uncounterability.
Mana Drain isn't good because it's a counterspell. It's good because it's Mana acceleration stapled to a counterspell. You mana drain their turn two play, and cast yourself a neat Jace, the Mind Sculptor on turn three, with mana left open. t's disgusting.
Force of Will is good because you don't have to pay mana for it. Having to exile a card actively sucks, but being able to tap out and know that you're safe is priceless.
The reason that three mana counterspells don't get much love, is because it's usually much better to just play a two mana counterspell. I'd rather play the likes of Mana Leak over chaff like dissolve. Remember, you're usually not planning to just sit behind a wall of counterspells all game. You've got your own game to play. It's much easier to leave up two mana than three. While there are some that are worth the extra mana, Cryptic Command doesn't have much company in that particular club.
Yea I ****ed up on Autumns Veil and yes I am new well not been playing for eight months but still Counterflux Manda Drain, and Force of Will is just Top Dog I just don't know why no one mentions Counterflux. And Counterbore is just for when you feel like being an ******** obviously there's Surgical Extraction Then there's that other one that is 1 black mana but it has split second etc. Torrent Elemental is good when using force of will because you can play it from exile.
countermand is actually good, counters the spell as it depletes their libary.
rewind is nice, the card says it all.
counterspell awesome only two blues. also an interrupt, is to say even faster than instance in the mtg world.
dissipate if you dont want them getting back into their graveyard,
as well as counterbore, alittle costy but.... it'll get rid of all their devastating spells.
well thats mostly what i use, and be sure to use extra turns if you can like lighthouse chronologist, he isn't a counter, but sure does more help than anything.
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memory lapse easily the funest and most fustrating especialy on an isochron scepter
Sig by Rivenor at miraculous recovery and Avatar by Ace5301 at five handed lizard
EDH
Ghave
Phelddagrif
Omnath
BUG Dredge BUG]
WUBRG Storm WUBRG
UBR FaerieStalker UBR
EDH
Sygg, River Cutthroat (1vs1)
Maga, Traitor to Mortals (multiplayer)
2. Force of Will
3. Mental Misstep
4. Counterspell
5. Spell Snare
6. Daze
7. Cryptic Command
8. Spell Pierce
9. Mana Leak
10. Remand
Bident Layers
B Devotion
RG Devotion
UW Control
Modern:
Jund
UW Control
Combo Pod
Legacy:
DeathBlade
RUG Delver
BUG Control
2. Mana Drain
3. Mental Misstep
4. Spell Snare
5. Counterbalance
6. Counterspell
7. Red Elemental Blast/Pyroblast, although pyroblast is better (phantasmal image)
8. Mana Leak
9. Remand
10. Forbid
Currently Playing:
Retired
2. Mental Misstep - Busted as hell in Legacy and banned almost immediately, seeing significant play in Vintage.
3. Mana Drain - Objectively one of the strongest effects ever. Probably would slip behind my #4 card now, but it was a house when Vintage was slower (and still is pretty damn good).
4. Spell Pierce - Most underrated counterspell in Legacy. Imperative in Vintage because the format is often too fast to wait for UU.
5. Counterspell - Classic
6. Mana Leak - Actually saw more play than Counterspell in Vintage, plus it's back in Standard again.
7. Flusterstorm - As good as it gets in Vintage, solid play in Legacy. Only reason I don't have this higher is because it doesn't have the longevity or the reach across different formats (since it isn't legal).
8. Cryptic Command - I didn't play Magic when it was Standard legal, but it was a bomb in a weaker format. Doesn't see any play in good formats though.
9. Forbid - Capable of flat out winning a game by itself in slower, less blue-oriented formats. There's no worse feeling in Cube than being Forbid-locked.
10. Spell Snare - This is more of a nod to its play in Legacy than anything else. I can't rank it above cards that are all-stars in multiple formats though.
Edit: I didn't include Counterbalance because I don't consider it a counterspell. I neglected Pyroblast/REB because I was thinking of blue counterspells, but technically, it would be on this list and above most of the cards I have included. Daze was an oversight; I'd probably put it somewhere between #5 and #8. It's annoying to play around, but miserable to hold in your grip in the late game.
Legacy
UWR Miracles UWR
GWB Maverick GWB
GB Elves GB
UBR ANT UBR
RG Combo Lands RG
Vintage
BUG BUG Fish BUG
Modern
GBW
Junk PodMagic: the BuylistingMages' Contest
Punishment Deck
2. Force of Will
3. Counterbalance
4. Cryptic Command
5. Counterspell
6. Spell Snare
7. Daze
8. Mana Leak
9. Arcane Denial
10. Mental Misstep
~W
No money for Magic at the moment. Still on here for the community.
2. Mana Drain
3. Mental Misstep
4. Daze
5. Spell Pierce
6. Pact of Negation
7. Spell Snare
8. Counterspell
9. Remand
10. Arcane Denial
EDITED
This list is based on my experiences throughout 15 years of game play, solid and dependable to the very core.
Sweet thread,
S.M.
2. Mana Drain(second best, counters the spell then gains mana advantage next turn)
3. Counterbalance(this is nuts with top...)
4. Counterspell(costs less and counters any spell instantly)
5. Daze(too good when you see your opponent dont have open mana)
6. Spell Snare(this costs only one mana and it can hit many powerful 2 drops)
7. Cryptic Command(does 2 things at once is pretty good)
8. Remind(you return their spell, draws a card for two is still big advantage)
9. Pact of Negation(this saves critical play)
10. Rune Snag(very powerful if you have some in the grave)
If Mental Misstep is legal then he is 2nd spot maybe
EDH: Xenagos, God of Revels.
1. force of will
2/3. mana drain or mental misstep
and then:
4. spell snare
5. daze
6. pact of negation
7. spell pierce
8. counterspell
9. remand
10. cryptic command
my 2 cents
2. Force of Will
Only in a superfast Format full of Combo and Overpowered Cards Force of Will is better then Mana drain (Vintage). Else, Mana drain is way stronger. Thats why it is banned in Legacy and Force of Will is not.
www.moi-rai.com
1. Mana Drain
2. Mental Misstep
3. Force Of Will
4. Counterbalance
5. Spell Pierce
6. Counterspell
7. Spell Snare
8. Cryptic Command
9. Rune Snag
10. Forbid
I ranked Force Of Will at #3 because it is a fair card compared to the first two. Mental Misstep offers a stupid tempo advantage for a very low cost (in Legacy) and completely warped the meta, and Mana Drain is pretty much Counterspell on crack.
Mana Drain
Force
Counterspell
Dissipate
Mental Misstep
Red Elemental Blast
Spell Snare
Stifle
Misdirection
Time Stop
The last two are basically counterspells if you do it right.
Mana Drain is banned because it's a problem card that offers monstrous tempo advantage, while Force of Will is pretty bad unless you're using it to stop something broken or to protect a combo. That doesn't mean Force of Will is worse; it just means that it does something different. Force of Will cannot create a broken deck like Mana Drain can, but it can stop broken decks from winning, which Mana Drain isn't that great at.
Thanks to Rivenor of Miraculous Recovery Signatures!
Yeah, Mental Misstep sure sucks it!
I haven't seen much love for Mindbreak Trap - arguably the best counter spell in Vintage!
New to MTG? Welcome to the game!
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RUGLegacy Lands.dec
RUGBLegacy Lands.dec
RGLegacy Lands.dec
WUBRG EDH Lands.dec
UBR EDH Artificer Prodigy
B EDH Relentless Rats
1. Force of Will
2. Either of the elemental blasts
3. Mana Drain
4. Counterspell
5. Cryptic command
6. Pact of negation
7. Daze
8. Remand
9. Spell snare
10. Mana leak
Oh yes its so much better than Counterspell. Counterspell is good enough. Its also not 100$ to 200$. So in my opinion its not for people with a budget. Also yes you get colorless mana for what countering something with 4 mana if your lucky maybe 12 if its a Blightsteel Collosus. Counterflux is much better yea 1 more mana but it cant be countered which pretty much says FU and its up there with Force of Will and Foil.
1. Force of Will Mana Drain Obviously its for free however exiling a blue card can be excessive in some cases unless its Torrent Elemental... Oh ***** never thought of that. Mana Drain because people will freak if i dont put it up there.
2. Counterspell Foil 2 mana counter spell come on thats good. Foil because its pretty much like Force of WIll 1 less mana and you can recur those things you discarded easily. I suggest 2 of them due to the fact you have to discard an island.
3. Counterflux Counterbore Come on can't be ******* countered just think. That includes abilities and effects and Abilities so **** You Autumn's Veil. Counterbore is pretty good for 2 more mana basically you counter it and oh look i exile all of the ones you have boohoo.
4. Render Silent Dissolve Dissipate I chose these three because they are good. Dissolve gives you a small card advantage and Dissipate says oh look thats exile. It kinda bones reanimator decks. Lastly Render Silent combines that one white mana spell and Counterspell and basically says oh i counter that spell and umm yea you can't cast anything for the rest of the turn.
Now don't bother arguing with me on my list because i will not change it. These are my personal favorites and honestly i dont even like Force of Will or Mana Drain but if i don't put it up there then the rage will happen. Honestly nothing beats a Counter Spell that can't be countered.
It's fine if this is if your personal opinion like you said. However in terms of raw power...yeah you have a lot to learn about the game mister.
Modern
UBR Grixis Control
U Merfolk
Pauper
U Mono U Delver
Ancestral Visions is freed
That's probably because this thread was created a few YEARS before counterflux was printed...
Mana Drain isn't good because it's a counterspell. It's good because it's Mana acceleration stapled to a counterspell. You mana drain their turn two play, and cast yourself a neat Jace, the Mind Sculptor on turn three, with mana left open. t's disgusting.
Force of Will is good because you don't have to pay mana for it. Having to exile a card actively sucks, but being able to tap out and know that you're safe is priceless.
The reason that three mana counterspells don't get much love, is because it's usually much better to just play a two mana counterspell. I'd rather play the likes of Mana Leak over chaff like dissolve. Remember, you're usually not planning to just sit behind a wall of counterspells all game. You've got your own game to play. It's much easier to leave up two mana than three. While there are some that are worth the extra mana, Cryptic Command doesn't have much company in that particular club.
rewind is nice, the card says it all.
counterspell awesome only two blues. also an interrupt, is to say even faster than instance in the mtg world.
dissipate if you dont want them getting back into their graveyard,
as well as counterbore, alittle costy but.... it'll get rid of all their devastating spells.
well thats mostly what i use, and be sure to use extra turns if you can like lighthouse chronologist, he isn't a counter, but sure does more help than anything.