This card has some great tension going in its design. Always one of my favourite counterspells.
Locohead
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(6 votes)
Not an absolute staple counter, but very close. First off, it's one of the only absolute unconditional counters for 1U, which does in fact make the spell go to the graveyard. Secondly, some decks don't particularly care much if they lose a bit of card advantage. Thirdly, the aforementioned decks may also greatly benefit from their own card advantage. And lastly, your opponent may legally forget to draw the cards -- it is a choice for them, not a forced draw.
LeoKula
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
Despite the card advantage thing, it's still a hard counter for 2... that alone is respectful! Arcane Denial FTW!
mythryn
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(5 votes)
This works wonders in certain decks. It helps a black discard deck apply the pain by ensuring your opponent has cards in his or her hand. Or, if, you prefer, discourage them with underworld dreams. Also, the draw component is useful as a nice bonus to lorescale coatl.
Dont
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(4 votes)
You can even counter your own spell if you need cards badly.
True_Smog
★★★☆☆ (3.2/5.0)(3 votes)
Pretty good counterspell, definitely better than Remand.
ClockworkSwordfish
★★★☆☆ (3.3/5.0)(3 votes)
This card is the ultimate counter in milling decks. Most opponents won't refuse a draw or two, even once they know that you plan to mill them to death, so this card basically lets you hard-counter anything (not wussily Remand it), mill your opponent for two, AND draw a card, all for . Genius.
OpenSeasonNoobs
★★★☆☆ (3.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Great for a psychic possession multiplayer deck. Turns that card advantage around. 4/5
Aun
★★★★☆ (4.3/5.0)(3 votes)
In case you have a one or zero - drop you could as well say:
2U: Draw three cards
markarmor
★★★☆☆ (3.6/5.0)(4 votes)
Doesn't get as much love as it deserves. It stops any spell for sure, for 2 mana and it doesn't need 2 blue. It's at least as good as Cancel Other than counterspell and memory lapse no other 2CMC spell guarantees that spell is countered. Memory Lapse lets them try again next turn. This doesn't.
Chrome_Coyote
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
When this first came out, I thought it was awful. It took years of playing Magic before I realized just how good a card it really is. Very good when playing blue in multicolored decks.
ROBRAM89
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I just realized that Alliances had this at common and Force of Will at uncommon. Holy crap.
Not only can you get an easy 2-card 3-mana draw-3 engine with this, but if you play it with the Sphinx, it's a splashable, hard-counter, draw-5 engine for 2. Sure, your opponent gets to draw two cards too, but that doesn't even begin to compare to what you get out of the bargain.
DarthParallax
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
this card is really amazing as far as how versatile it is and how it STILL manages to almost not be broken. Unfortunately, Consecrated Sphinx breaks this in so many ways, I'd be surprised if he doesnt show his ugly face in a Legacy or Vintage match soon.
I wonder if they could make an updated card 'counter target spell, its controller draws 1 card' ?
that would be less powerful, but still in keeping with the spell's purpose.
blugrn1989
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Why would anyone complain about a hard counter for 2? Play it in a deck that controls the tempo, and your opponent won't be able to cast the 2 cards you gave him.
Sleazebag
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Counterspell one of your own spells in order to draw 3 cards... and put a card from your hand into your graveyard. There are plenty of decks that benefit from having specific cards in their graveyard, and even more that can bypass it. (Like Bloodghast).
blurrymadness
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
@markarmor WHOA THERE. You managed to forget the best counterspell in the game? the strictly-better-than-counterspell counterspell: mana drain? Kids these days.. Also keep in mind that memory lapse is card neutral and delay's their forward progress. If that card you counter is something they would only need this turn or something then you've given them something equivalent to card disadvantage. (i.e. similar to "counter target spell, that player discards a card")
To the card, meh. It's ok.
-You lose card advantage -any serious format it could see play it's overshadowed by force of will, counterspell, mana drain, and other free counterspells. There's not a lot of places for this outside of casual.
Salient
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
This is my counter-counterspell spell.
Aun gets it right. Arcane Denial turns any spell in your hand into Ancestral Recall for the low low price of . Run four, and you'll feel more comfortable running a low-cc card in your deck that's only useful some of the time.
DacenOctavio
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
The look on your opponent's face when their Primeval Titan turns intp Divination. This spell is better than Mana Leak, and I'd play this over Cryptic Command any day of the week because of the mana cost and splashability.
This card works miracles in tempo decks.
Kryptnyt
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
Personally prefer Mana Leak, Remand, and Rune Snag for this particular cmc. I don't always like saying "sorry I countered your spell, brosef, here's some free cards from nowhere." I prefer trading 1-for-1. Still, not unserviceable in decks that use Ebony Owl Netsuke and Black Vise as win conditions.
Hovercraft
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Plays best in milling decks - period. Or, as a redundant Counterspell along with Memory Lapse. Although yes your opponent can draw two cards, -if they want to-, and you only draw 1 card, that one card you draw is cantrip that you will use to just counterspell them more if you're playing something like draw-go with Standstill
8Netherwind8
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Guile : noun - insidious cunning in attaining a goal; crafty or artful deception; duplicity. Yeah, the Sphinx is a good alternative... but what if you get to cast that ON TOP of paying 2 for Ancestral Recall !? 4/5
harryb23
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Hi all - does anybody know if this card can be used to counter when some tries to cast an artifact from their deck?
Oh. Did I say fun? I meant I wanted everyone in my playgroup to stab me.
voidweaver
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
This card is one of the rare gems of Magic. It is a card whose power is subtle, and most people miss it on first look. Even people I have wasted with this card don't understand how such a seemingly disadvantageous card can wreak so much havoc.
It is a hard counter for 1U. Think about that for a minute. Nearly any spell, poof, gone, and it is very splashable. Not only is it a hard counter, but it replaces itself. Dismiss costs twice the mana. And the disadvantage? You're running blue! Arcane laboratory, more counterspells, run it with black for discard and you have more food for your megrim or lilliana's caress. Run it with mill. Run it with weenie and they might never get the chance to use those cards.
Psychrates
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Splashable hard counter that cantrips or Ancestral Recalls w/ a lil help. I don't use any other counter-magic, and rightly so. 5/5, don't be silly.
Technetium
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(2 votes)
It's a cheap splashable hard counter, not bad despite losing some card advantage.
But there are so many other better counterspells that there really is no reason to put this in your deck.
Aquillion
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
This card combos well with any spell that can't be countered, or with effects that make your cards unable to be countered.
If you target one of your own uncounterable spells and this fails to counter it, you still draw three cards, making this a two-mana Ancestral Recall.
troll_berserker
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Pretty overrated card I'd say. Of course, there are some ways to utilize this card's downside to your favor with cards like Consecrated Sphinx and Notion Thief, but as a card in general, the slightly easier mana cost does not make up for the card disadvantage over using something like Counterspell or Mana Drain. And of course, if you really want to counter something regardless of losing card advantage, just use Force of Will, an infinitely better card.
Aremath
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I'm a fan. Splashable, unconditional counterspells are generally way too expensive to leave up, so even though you're giving your opponent some cards, (a) they're almost certainly going to get them on your upkeep, so you'll be able to hold up more countermagic in order to prevent them from getting board advantage out of their new cards, and (b) 2 cards isn't as bad as it sounds: most of the time it'll be a land and a live draw, rather than 2 cards they can really use.
Shines in certain decks, and works well against a lot of strategies that rely on high-mana-cost, high impact spells.
IMO: -great card for limited since it answers almost all bombs; should be reprinted in a draft set -would be an interesting card to have around for standard, with again many decks relying on ramping to or simply playing game-ending cards. -would be a fun card in modern as well. While most decks would play mana leak most of the time over this, against tron and combo decks, you don't really care if they draw the 2 cards; countering karn or scapeshift is much more important.
Comments (31)
2U: Draw three cards
Consecrated Sphinx. That will be all.
Not only can you get an easy 2-card 3-mana draw-3 engine with this, but if you play it with the Sphinx, it's a splashable, hard-counter, draw-5 engine for 2. Sure, your opponent gets to draw two cards too, but that doesn't even begin to compare to what you get out of the bargain.
I wonder if they could make an updated card 'counter target spell, its controller draws 1 card' ?
that would be less powerful, but still in keeping with the spell's purpose.
WHOA THERE. You managed to forget the best counterspell in the game? the strictly-better-than-counterspell counterspell: mana drain? Kids these days.. Also keep in mind that memory lapse is card neutral and delay's their forward progress. If that card you counter is something they would only need this turn or something then you've given them something equivalent to card disadvantage. (i.e. similar to "counter target spell, that player discards a card")
To the card, meh. It's ok.
-You lose card advantage
-any serious format it could see play it's overshadowed by force of will, counterspell, mana drain, and other free counterspells. There's not a lot of places for this outside of casual.
Aun gets it right. Arcane Denial turns any spell in your hand into Ancestral Recall for the low low price of
This card works miracles in tempo decks.
I don't always like saying "sorry I countered your spell, brosef, here's some free cards from nowhere." I prefer trading 1-for-1.
Still, not unserviceable in decks that use Ebony Owl Netsuke and Black Vise as win conditions.
insidious cunning in attaining a goal; crafty or artful deception; duplicity. Yeah, the Sphinx is a good alternative... but what if you get to cast that ON TOP of paying 2 for Ancestral Recall !? 4/5
Oh. Did I say fun? I meant I wanted everyone in my playgroup to stab me.
It is a hard counter for 1U. Think about that for a minute. Nearly any spell, poof, gone, and it is very splashable. Not only is it a hard counter, but it replaces itself. Dismiss costs twice the mana. And the disadvantage? You're running blue! Arcane laboratory, more counterspells, run it with black for discard and you have more food for your megrim or lilliana's caress. Run it with mill. Run it with weenie and they might never get the chance to use those cards.
But there are so many other better counterspells that there really is no reason to put this in your deck.
If you target one of your own uncounterable spells and this fails to counter it, you still draw three cards, making this a two-mana Ancestral Recall.
Shines in certain decks, and works well against a lot of strategies that rely on high-mana-cost, high impact spells.
IMO:
-great card for limited since it answers almost all bombs; should be reprinted in a draft set
-would be an interesting card to have around for standard, with again many decks relying on ramping to or simply playing game-ending cards.
-would be a fun card in modern as well. While most decks would play mana leak most of the time over this, against tron and combo decks, you don't really care if they draw the 2 cards; countering karn or scapeshift is much more important.