Pointed Discussion

I think this should be able to counter instants as well; it only specifies sorcery because there's no such thing as Instants in Portal.

Then again, it is kind of funny to think of it as a card from another plane—a much slower plane—that wasn't prepared for this fast-paced world of instants and such.

Hmm...

Nevermind. I've decided I like it the way it is.

the hell? this is strictly worse than Cancell

Strictly worse than Cancel, yes. Portal is all about "strictly worse".

how do you respond with a sorcery?

@sethddickness: It's an instant, check the gatherer text.

I really wish Wizards hadn't changed the text of the card to "COUNTER target...". This spell would've at least had it uses if it were able to toss "uncounterable" creatures and sorceries into the graveyard. Unfortunately it's now just a horrible "Counterspell" and (as everyone else has been mentioning) a bad "Cancel". :(

I'll give it some points for being printed as a sorcery speed counterspell.

Well, as the saying goes, "It can always get worse."

The oracle text should keep it as a sorcery and give it Flash. Then you could get it with cards like Burning Wish! :D

Maybe one day all instants will just be errataed to be Sorceries with Flash. "Instant" is the one card type that really sounds like something a planeswalker wouldn't do, you can dabble in sorcery but not in instant.
Of course then things like Squeeze, envelop, and such would all have to be painfully reworded, enough so that it seems like it wouldn't be worth the change.

@ sethddickess: Use Quicken ;)

As for this card ... yeah, "Mystic" Denial is a pretty good name for it since it was originally printed as a sorcery, but if nothing else, I like the art.

I guess it was a sorcery because Portal was all about simplifying the game's rules.
Because that is what this does... Yeah, no. Not really.
There were no Instants, so when a card said what it did, well, that was what you had to do. This card here is bad, very bad, but this is during Magic's first years. They had already broken the game with über-like spells, so now they had to print this sad, strictly worse Counterspell. Don't blame them for trying to balance the game. (this doesn't stop me from giving the card a 1/5 though)

@Krypnyt
If I recall correctly, MaRo said in one of his numrous articles that if he could change the fundamental grounds of Magic, he would make the Instant type a supertype, such as Snow or Legendary.
This probably because (and if so, I totally agree) if he knew Flash would be such a big keyword it is today, it would be much cleaner to sum up the ability in a supertype rather than using up precious text box space for printing a keyword. Rather than a creature would have Flash, it would be an "Instant Creature — X Y". An instant would be, well, an "Instant Sorcery" I guess.

http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/mm/42
(the source, fifth question from the bottom)
Sorry about the rant, but I guess I had much to say about this card :)

I agree that this should nail instants. The only reason it can't is because they "didn't exist." Either this can counter instants, or by tarnation, it stays a sorcery, itself!

They should fix this card and either make it Cancel or return it to Sorcery with flash as there would be some benefit to having it immune to effects that only target instants.