Okay, can I commandeer an opponent's counterspell and change the target of the counterspell to itself? Because targets are chosen as spells are played, not as they resolve, right? Which means even though I couldn't cast a self-targeting counterspell into an empty stack, I could change the target of a counterspell already on the stack to itself with this... right?
PolskiSuzeren
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(4 votes)
No fictionarious, you can't do that. a spell on the stack is never a legal target for itself, no matter what.
Tommy9898
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(2 votes)
heh, oracle rules says you can use it to steal planeswalkers as well.
BrutalJim
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(11 votes)
I love it, just mainly for the secondary cost, it's always handy to have one ready in case your opponent plays a "game-winning" spell.
Opponent: "Oh, so you're tapped out are you?" You: "Yep." Opponent: "Nice." (Plays Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker) You: "Yeah, about that." (Removes two cards from hand and plays Commandeer) Opponent: "..."
statiefreez
★★★★☆ (4.2/5.0)(3 votes)
This card is incredibly powerful ("MY planeswalker") but it has such a large mana cost that most people will remove cards from their hand to cast it. Card advantage, however is critical for control decks, since you need an answer to almost every spell your opponent casts, so I'd say that unless the spell is a game winner, this card isn't worth it.
Tezz
★★★☆☆ (3.8/5.0)(2 votes)
banefire should just get swerved this is best for arts/enchs/walkers
Omenchild
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
I don't think that's a rule, you cannot target yourself ever. Because outside of this card and Grip of Chaos, that would never come up, but lemme look it up anyways.
Edit: Oh wow haha "113.4. A spell or ability on the stack is an illegal target for itself."
Touche Polskisuzeren, touche
Malnourished_Student
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I slammed someone for 13 with their own fireball the other day. That was satisfying. What was less fun though, was having to discard my 2nd Commandeer as part of the cost and taking a 2nd fireball next turn!
Was still damn funny though.
OpenSeasonNoobs
★☆☆☆☆ (1.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Not that amazing. Way over-hyped. Think about it, end game you're only going to have your other good blue cards in hand. You're not going to want to discard your 2 sphinxes for stealing a nicol bolas, you'd rather just have a counterspell. The other problem with the card is the discards in the alt cost must be blue, so it requires a mono blue or MAYBE a dual blue deck.
It really boils down to, you have to build a deck around this card the same way you do with, say, Warp World and it just doesn't match up. This card will not win you the game, so there's no reason to build a deck around it. 2.5/5 for being over-costed, incredibly specific, and worse than spelljack because it can't target creatures.
bagilis
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.9/5.0)(6 votes)
Dudes, the card says target non creature spell. So Nicol Bolas could'nt be targeted by this.
Doom_Lich
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(3 votes)
@ Bagilis:
He meant Nicol Bolas, as in the 'walker.
MrPink343
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(4 votes)
One of THE BEST blue spells in EDH. No card I'd rather have in hand when someone drops that entwined Tooth and Nail or Genesis Wave for 20.
Hibron
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Fictionarious (and everyone else)--you can't use Commandeer to make a counterspell counter itself, but you can use it to change the target of that counterspell to Commandeer--and then have Commandeer resolve before the counterspell has a chance to (since it is on the top of the stack) and leave the counterspell without any legal targets.
lorendorky
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Rather than try and make a counterpsell counter itself, I think you would be better off changing it's target to commandeer.
Bulhakas
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
@ lorendorky
Not possible. By the time you get to choose a new target, Commandeer will already have resolved.
DacenOctavio
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
You want me to sacrifice a creature, lose 5 life, and discard 3 cards? Well, I'll pitch 3 cards. . . Thanks for that Cruel Ultimatum!
Salient
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Perfect for EDH, now that EDH is called Commander.
Sadly, you cannot Commandeer someone's Commander.
Lithl
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
@Bulhakas:
Actually, yes you can. You don't remove a spell from the stack until it is completely finished resolving. Changing the target is part of the resolution, so Commandeer is still on the stack when the target is changed. Example: I play Brainstorm: -top of stack- Brainstorm -bottom of stack-
Opponent responds with Counterspell, targeting Brainstorm: -top of stack- Counterspell (targeting Brainstorm) Brainstorm -bottom of stack-
I respond with Commandeer, targeting Counterspell: -top of stack- Commandeer (targeting Counterspell) Counterspell (targeting Brainstorm) Brainstorm -bottom of stack-
During the resolution of Commandeer, I change the target of Counterspell to Commandeer: -top of stack- Commandeer (targeting Counterspell) Counterspell (targeting Commandeer) Brainstorm -bottom of stack-
Commandeer finishes resolving, and is removed from the stack: -top of stack- Counterspell (targeting Commandeer) Brainstorm -bottom of stack-
Counterspell tries to resolve, but is countered on resolution because it no longer has a legal target, and it's removed from the stack: -top of stack- Brainstorm -bottom of stack-
And so I get my Brainstorm. Admittedly, using Commandeer in this fashion is a rather expensive counterspell war (even using the alternate cost), but it works.
JaxsonBateman
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So fantastic. Yep, if you cast it for free - and you probably will a lot of the time - you're giving yourself -1 card advantage (you trade one card for theirs, they give up one card, you give up two cards = -1 to you), but of course, if that card is a bomb it's worth it, and even if it's as simple as "draw 2 cards" you neutralize card wise. Draw 3 cards or more, and you pull ahead.
It's probably a good thing it says "noncreature spell"; if you could take any spell with this it'd be broken as all heck.
Paladin85
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Another nasty blue card made to counter uncounterable/pro blue/shroud/hexproof type of cards
Probably inferior to Force of Will and Misdirection for tournaments, but *great* for causal games- especially multiplayer EDH, where you're almost guaranteed to find a spell worth grabbing.
tcollins
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Alternate casting costs are always a good thing. In a pinch it can also be used as a very overpriced counterspell, in a control mirror match for example:
You: I cast Baneslayer Angel Opponent: Hmm.. Well I'll cast Mana Leak. You: Alright, I'll exile two blue cards, cast Commandeer, targetting your Mana Leak..and change the target to Commandeer.
Granted, that's a pretty rare case, but nonetheless exhibits the versatility of the card. Just make sure you never ever EVER target Phage The Untouchable with it.
SirZapdos
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
We're going to steal a spell? That spell? Commandeer. We're going to commandeer that spell. Magical term.
adrian.malacoda
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@tcollins
You can't target phage with this. It only works on noncreature spells.
theoneandonlyjoseph
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Misthollow griffin. Steal a spell and play a 3/3 flyer for the cost of 4 mana and exiling a card from your hand? What if the second card is another misthollow griffin? You essentialy nick a card for free and put two of the cards in your hand out of harms way.
You would be right here, except for the fact that spells can't target spells higher or equal to it on the stack, so you couldn't change a Counterspell to target Commandeer
LordRandomness
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This has become far better ever since planeswalkers were released.
Heheheheheheheh.
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Protip: get a couple of Rhystic Study (use some copy enchantments to get more!)
"You sure you don't want to pay {2}..?"
Combine with Elixir of Immortality so you don't deck yourself, troll the game into oblivion.
Technetium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
It's interesting how they chose this set to try and do a new cycle of pitch-cards, like they did in Alliances with Force of Will and the other less-remembered cards that operated like it. Anyway, this card is pretty cool and could see limited use, but most of the time losing 2 blue cards from your hand is a price too high to pay.
Kariuko
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(4 votes)
DaJoshMaster
From Redirect's rullings,
15/8/2010 If you cast Redirect targeting a spell that targets a spell on the stack (like Cancel does, for example), you can't change that spell's target to itself. You can, however, change that spell's target to Redirect. If you do, that spell will be countered when it tries to resolve because Redirect will have left the stack by then.
Enelysios
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The issue here is that 3 cards is a hell of a price. I would only use this if my opponent had a game-winning (Non-creature)spell coming down. That limits it to only a few deck types. The card has certainly gotten better since planeswalkers happened.
This card is fun, but you are probably better off countering or destroying for a single card than commendeering for three. I mean, you cast this, then take their Elspeth, Knight Errant or whatever, then they Hero's Downfall (Or disenchant, or counterpell...) it and they still come out AHEAD in card advantage? How often do you even have 2 other non-land cards you can give up in hand? Even if you get their spell, you are left defenseless.
There is a time for this card, but its pretty rare. Too rare for me to use outside of EDH.
Comments (36)
Okay, can I commandeer an opponent's counterspell and change the target of the counterspell to itself?
Because targets are chosen as spells are played, not as they resolve, right? Which means even though I couldn't cast a self-targeting counterspell into an empty stack, I could change the target of a counterspell already on the stack to itself with this... right?
Opponent: "Oh, so you're tapped out are you?"
You: "Yep."
Opponent: "Nice." (Plays Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker)
You: "Yeah, about that." (Removes two cards from hand and plays Commandeer)
Opponent: "..."
this is best for arts/enchs/walkers
Edit: Oh wow haha
"113.4. A spell or ability on the stack is an illegal target for itself."
Touche Polskisuzeren, touche
Was still damn funny though.
It really boils down to, you have to build a deck around this card the same way you do with, say, Warp World and it just doesn't match up. This card will not win you the game, so there's no reason to build a deck around it. 2.5/5 for being over-costed, incredibly specific, and worse than spelljack because it can't target creatures.
He meant Nicol Bolas, as in the 'walker.
Not possible. By the time you get to choose a new target, Commandeer will already have resolved.
Sadly, you cannot Commandeer someone's Commander.
Actually, yes you can. You don't remove a spell from the stack until it is completely finished resolving. Changing the target is part of the resolution, so Commandeer is still on the stack when the target is changed. Example: I play Brainstorm:
-top of stack-
Brainstorm
-bottom of stack-
Opponent responds with Counterspell, targeting Brainstorm:
-top of stack-
Counterspell (targeting Brainstorm)
Brainstorm
-bottom of stack-
I respond with Commandeer, targeting Counterspell:
-top of stack-
Commandeer (targeting Counterspell)
Counterspell (targeting Brainstorm)
Brainstorm
-bottom of stack-
During the resolution of Commandeer, I change the target of Counterspell to Commandeer:
-top of stack-
Commandeer (targeting Counterspell)
Counterspell (targeting Commandeer)
Brainstorm
-bottom of stack-
Commandeer finishes resolving, and is removed from the stack:
-top of stack-
Counterspell (targeting Commandeer)
Brainstorm
-bottom of stack-
Counterspell tries to resolve, but is countered on resolution because it no longer has a legal target, and it's removed from the stack:
-top of stack-
Brainstorm
-bottom of stack-
And so I get my Brainstorm. Admittedly, using Commandeer in this fashion is a rather expensive counterspell war (even using the alternate cost), but it works.
It's probably a good thing it says "noncreature spell"; if you could take any spell with this it'd be broken as all heck.
The only thing it can't stop is Split Second
4.5/5
Probably inferior to Force of Will and Misdirection for tournaments,
but *great* for causal games- especially multiplayer EDH,
where you're almost guaranteed to find a spell worth grabbing.
You: I cast Baneslayer Angel
Opponent: Hmm.. Well I'll cast Mana Leak.
You: Alright, I'll exile two blue cards, cast Commandeer, targetting your Mana Leak..and change the target to Commandeer.
Granted, that's a pretty rare case, but nonetheless exhibits the versatility of the card. Just make sure you never ever EVER target Phage The Untouchable with it.
Commandeer. We're going to commandeer that spell. Magical term.
You can't target phage with this. It only works on noncreature spells.
Steal a spell and play a 3/3 flyer for the cost of 4 mana and exiling a card from your hand? What if the second card is another misthollow griffin? You essentialy nick a card for free and put two of the cards in your hand out of harms way.
You would be right here, except for the fact that spells can't target spells higher or equal to it on the stack, so you couldn't change a Counterspell to target Commandeer
Heheheheheheheh.
"You sure you don't want to pay {2}..?"
Combine with Elixir of Immortality so you don't deck yourself, troll the game into oblivion.
From Redirect's rullings,
15/8/2010 If you cast Redirect targeting a spell that targets a spell on the stack (like Cancel does, for example), you can't change that spell's target to itself. You can, however, change that spell's target to Redirect. If you do, that spell will be countered when it tries to resolve because Redirect will have left the stack by then.
This card is fun, but you are probably better off countering or destroying for a single card than commendeering for three. I mean, you cast this, then take their Elspeth, Knight Errant or whatever, then they Hero's Downfall (Or disenchant, or counterpell...) it and they still come out AHEAD in card advantage? How often do you even have 2 other non-land cards you can give up in hand? Even if you get their spell, you are left defenseless.
There is a time for this card, but its pretty rare. Too rare for me to use outside of EDH.