Pointed Discussion

Appears as that the art is a sort of remake of the original Alpha Counterspell

They printed it AGAIN? What's wrong with the good old Counterspell?

is it me, or does that mage look like a blond Urza?

why other then flavor did they reprint this?

Why reprint cancel?! Give us counterspell!

I like the Shards artwork a lot... but I like this even more! I can almost forgive them for the horrible timespiral art.

This looks nothing like Snape from the Shards artwork.

this is a good card. i get so sick of people trashing it and comparing to counterspell. is turn 2 lockdown really that great? who wastes a hard counter on turn 2? a very underrated card in my opinion. counterspell is broken and the fact this card is being reprinted so often reflects the progression of the game. bravo wizards. stale cards are boring.

Honestly, another reprint of this card? Ever since it's come out, it's been available in overlapping sets, and this is getting to be a little old. Are the developers so out of ideas for new and inventive counterspells that they must resort to printing the same thing over and over again? I mean, I can think of like 3 versions off the top of my head that could be seen as common, and they deviate only slightly from the original concept. It could have a clause like the requirement to destroy one of your own lands, or you discard and your opponent draws, or even something like sacrificing a creature you control. I could easily see something like these being done at common, and they hold much more uniqueness than the blah old Cancel that is being printed incessantly.

Its a staple card for control decks. They keep printing it in each block because blue needs access to it in block constructed or block limited. Sure its not the cheapest counter, but it counters any spell without limitations or pre-requisites and only needs 1 colour to cast.

Kinda hard to rate the basic counter-spell! I don't use Cancel though it only cos I prefer a more interesting card such as Dream Fracture. In terms of power I prefer the cheaper narrower counters i.e. Essence Scatter and Negate.

I believe Cancel is constantly reprinted to separate the original Counterspell into two segments: condition counters (the 1U and U spells) and hard counters, which cost 1UU or more. Counterspell is definitely a good, low-cost hard counter that probably sees more use in Legacy and Vintage.

at least the art isnt the gay one from tenth edition

Enough of this garbage already. Reprint Mana Leak, on the double!

Think, why reprint Counterspell if Cancel is still in standard? Two cards that do the same thing with the difference of . Can you see the problems that would cause? Would like to face a blue control deck with 4 Cancels and 4 Counterspells waiting to null your best cards? Really...

So, until Cancel leaves standard reprinting Counterspell isn't an option.

The reason why this keeps getting reprinted in each block is because of Limited play (sealed and draft). It's a simple design and easy to understand, and it does the job it's needed for. This is the same reason why Naturalize was printed in Alara block; they needed a good artifact destroyer for Limited, and Naturalize is the easiest card to slot into that zone.

KNOCK IT OFF WIZARDS!!!!! we get it you guys want cancel to be legal forever but omfg shards m10 and now zendikar. next they are going to print it in every set that gets released heck why not jam it in all the starter packs they can add a splash of blue for 2 cancels, why not add it to all the gimmik decks while were at it both decks in the garruk vs lil could use one why not.

This card it's STILL a disgrace to all blue players...
seriously just reprint good old Counterspell.

God bless Cancel, and may we never see Counterspell again!

This is here, instead of counterspell, for one very good reason: Counterspells aren't fun. No one likes playing against a counterspell deck. I play magic to play spells, not to watch them hit the graveyard every turn. They're just annoying. So they're nerfing counters: making the hard counters harder to play, and printing cheap soft counters like Negate and Essence Shatter, which are tougher to utilize. Counters are still there, but if you counter a spell in this format, you know you've earned it.

I don't really understand how this card gets as much bile as it does...it may not be the best card in blue, but it is a late game card... im not running it MB currently, but im really thinking about putting it back in; you leave open mana late in the game and this comes out as the most versatile counter out there. 1 more than Essence Scatter or Negate and applies to EITHER situation. You could run either of those to stand up early in the game and after that, you can be loaded and ready with Cancel to pay 3 and kill whatever 6-drop they think they'll win with.

Counterspell is not available even for extended... this sucks and it's very likely we won't see it in a long time....

STOP. REPRINTING. FVCKING. CANCEL. FFS.

Counterspell Tiers:


Absurd Counterspells

Remand
Memory Lapse
Daze
Force of Will

Excellent Counterspells

Cryptic Command
Counterspell
Hinder
Mana Leak
Dissipate

Decent Counterspells

Mindbreak Trap
Negate
Spell Pierce
Essence Scatter (and variants)

Flavorful Counterspells

Dream Fracture
Arcane Denial

Questionable Counterspells

Pact of Negation
Force Spike
Mana Tithe
Decree of Silence

Trashy Counterspells

Vex
Nix

Bottom of the Barrel

Cancel

'Cause even Nix costs less and Vex doesn't take UU.

Stop hating on Cancel and saying that CounterSpell is STRICKLY better.

Boseiju, Who Shelters All can't make counterspell uncounterable, but it will work on cancel.

@gosuns: Because Counterspell alows you to play more cards during your turn because it costs less mana

Amazing how one colorless mana is the difference between an automatic four-of in any deck running blue and a near unplayable card.

Uhh... Forbid?
We all know Counterspell is annoying and sometimes broken, but at least dont give us trash!

Yes, this is what all blue players wanted- a THIRD reprint of cancel in standard. No, not Counterspell, not Mana Leak, but THIS, and Jump too. Evidently WOTC is in touch with the players...

Hey Alphanumerical that's a good list. There ought to be an official classification system among countermages that ranks counters according to range, speed, hardness, etc. EX:

Speed: How soon the counter can be mustered from the start of the game. Not synonymous with mana cost, as both the legendary Force of Will and the control-or-counter Commandeer prove.

Range: The range of what can be targeted with the counter. Spells (counterspell), activated abilities, triggered abilities (stifle), or some combination of the three (voidslime) being qualitative range. The number of stacked magics it allows you to counter at once or over time (double negative, mindbreak trap, forbid) being quantitative range.

Hardness: The conditionality of the counter. "unless" clauses (mana leak) make the counter softer, "can't be countered" clauses (last word) make them harder, split-second (trick bind) making them hard as a diamond.

Evasiveness: Factors in the ability to evade "can't be countered" clauses, like Mindbreak Trap's exiling or Venser, Shaper Savant's bouncing.

Yes Counterspell is way better, but let us just face it, it's not coming back to standard. This card is just going to have to do it.

I refuse to play this card on principle. Zero Stars.

Given the other ridiculous instants that are in standard right now (doomblade, path to exile, and lightning bolt) I honestly don't think that counterspell would be overpowered in standard. But, for the sake of argument, lets assume that it is. Is mana leak also overpowered? How about condescend or spell burst or delay or familiar's ruse or logic knot or remand or rune snag or spell syphon??

I would honestly take ANY of those counters over cancel. Just... please... stop reprinting it every single set. The fact that I had to put 4 of this horrible, horrible card in my mono-blue standard deck makes me want to vomit.

Why not something like this?

Mindsculpt

Counter target spell. Target opponent may look at the top card of his or her deck. That player may put it on the bottom of his or her library.

"And you believe you are safe inside your thoughts?" Jace, Mind Scupltor

Its a close counterspell, but on some occasions it could save your opponent from a nasty draw. I know its not perfect, but it goes with the new Jace theme ;)

But anything, anything would be better than Cancel, Abjure, Foil, even Miscalculation ANYTHING!

I am going to stand in front of the oncoming hater traffic and just say that cancel is a perfectly playable counter spell. I am sure a good deal of people here are dedicated blue mages who are sad that they do not have the final say in every format any more, but you all need to stop looking to be handed simple solutions.

I am sure if everyone was used to using a spell that was "U, counter target spell," that a switch to counterspell proper would cause cries of nerfing blue. The simple truth is, many blue players have become accustomed to imbalanced countering power.

To those who complain about terminate and others existing in this format and needing a 2 cmc answer, just think of how much more powerful a counter is than a kill spell. Terminate takes care of a great deal of creatures, but it stops there. The counter stops nearly all of the same creatures from being cast (even more in fact, the number of uncounterable creatures is far less than those with shroud or protection). The counter also stops the kill spells. The counter also stops planeswalkers, artifacts, enchantments, other counters, etc. To put the hard counter and the kill spell at an equal cmc with an equally restrictive cost (BR and UU), there would be a significant advantage on the side of the counter.

Therefore, having cancel at 1UU seems perfectly reasonable, and is still a great trade against late game bombs, whatever form they take, creature or noncreature. It simply is less efficient against cheaper spells like kill spells, where the blue mage can easily branch out and specify his or her magic, with negate, etc.

I have no problems playing cancel, and in fact it currently occupies three spots in my t2 UW control deck. I think that once people stop comparing this card to others that aren't even in the format (t2) that they will see it is useful. It has gotten to the point that I see people putting copies of mindbreak trap MD as their hard counter, completely disregarding a fine counter spell for 1 less mana.

So go, my brethren! Cast cancels left, cast them right, and put your conductor's hat back on, for with practice, you will once again be in control of this train that is t2.

Nerfed counterspell; pretty much the most boring card i can imagine. I would rather deal with UU hard counter as i did for years than watch them try to replace it with jank. Art is fine, which is how i justify the 1/2 star.

Come on people, what's with all the hate? This actually isn't bad card at all. Sure, Counterspell is strictly better, but Counterspell was on the verge of broken. This is a reliable hard counter, something that we're not getting a lot of these days. It may not be great, but it gets the job done.
3.5/5

Oh, Counterspell, we weep for your passing.

I miss my counter spell...and alway will..till the day you return :(

This card is fine as it is. It's a 3 mana answer to just about everything, similar to oblivion ring except that it also answers instants and sorceries. For those who want a 2 mana counter to shield their creature, just use negate, if you only want to stop creature threats from hitting the board early on, use essence scatter. But to put an answer to every spell type at 2 mana is asking a bit much.

I'm actually glad when I see this getting reprinted, because when it isn't we get some 4 mana spell like put away, lay bare, discombobulate,etc with a mostly irrelevant ability tacked on. Whoever said that cancel was at the bottom of the barrel of counterspells wasn't digging deep enough, in fact I'd probably run cancel over some of those "decent" counterspells like spell pierce and mind break trap which are only better some of the time and worse at others.

Personally I prefer hinder but cancel is more elegant because it uses less text and is very easy to understand.

Alright, it's one colorless mana more than counterspell, but all of the internet's stores are sold out of counterspells. Yes, it was amazing. But one more mana to stop anything doesn't seem like that big deal. Of course, I play casually. No 5 turn wins ever, so that may be why I don't mind it. But honestly, it's one more mana. Is it so great a sacrifice when everyone goes off about mana acceleration and harrows to get mana sources out there?

Even in casual, mana is a big deal. Most people increase their mana capacity by 1 at most per turn. And after 4 turns or so, it's not even every turn.

A given game of magic is not necessarily a huge nebula of hundreds of turns. More like 10-20 turns on average (a duel that is). Also, even in casual, the more important events in the game usually take place within the first 6-8 turns. Basically, if you think of this during a game involving Cancel, you may notice that if Cancels were Counterspells, the game could've been very different.

Standard makes the world go 'round- whether we want to admit it or not. Counterspells are too powerful in a standard environment. Wizards don't allow cards in Standard that would turn games into "which player draws more copies of this card". And so everyone would have four copies of Counterspell, and hope to draw as many as possible. Just like with Mirrodin and the Disciple of the Vault.
Stop reading here.

As far as casual...... and level of fun....... well........ Having your creatures receive 3 damage and die immediately upon coming into play is pretty much the same as them going straight to the graveyard when you play them- and having your amazing play fail due to two mana is the same as dying in response to your amazing play due to two cards and.... also two mana. In casual play, burn decks are just as much hated as counter-control and land destruction decks.

@ClericNacho: I really like Mindsculpt.

Zendikar should have just reprinted Prohibit instead of reprinting Cancel for the 102041289312980th time. The only reason to possibly want to print it in Zendikar is if it's not in M11. Which, though, I suppose, would be a good thing. Still. This card has been reprinted too many times.

Screw Counterspell: Bring back Mana Leak!

This card wouldn't be getting such a bad rap if wizards didn't constantly reprint it. Really, it doesn't need to be in alara, m10, AND zendikar.

With that said, counterspell was overpowered and when it was in standard and extended, any deck running blue would at LEAST think about running counterspell (it's trickier in legacy/vintage because of cards like force of will). Even mana leak is pretty strong. Cancel, on the other hand, will not fit in every single blue deck. They may not like the 3 mana cost. It's still a strong card, it's just not overpowered.

It's like complaining that diabolic tutor sucks and wizards should make demonic tutor legal in standard. It's not gonna happen.

Oh, c'mon, guys! This isn't that bad! Thank you, Grim777! This is ridiculous. The only legal (counter) card better than this is Mindbreak Trap!

The dude in the art reminds me of History Channel Alien Guy.

counterspell.
stoic rebbutal.
dissipate.