Its annoying to play against, and the fact that it has awful art does nothing to help that.
Ace8792
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(3 votes)
Way to proply make the best counterspell a uncommon wizards, next time can you make the best draw spell a common.
Goatllama
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(17 votes)
If you remove Storm Crow from your hand with this, it counters the player.
Lord_of_Tresserhorn
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
I have now discovered these sell at over 50$ a pop.
Then I discovered I have 5 of them! :D
@divine_exodus: No, the question which is the best counterspell can't be answered. It is situational, either FoW (using the alternate cost when you are tapped out) or Mana Drain - which is, now that mana burn has been done away with, strictly better than Counterspell (unless the "strictly better" wording also involves the "mana" in your wallet...).
Finally, I love the art. It fits the card perfectly despite looking like it belongs in red.
Hoonster
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(9 votes)
Force of will is probably the best counterspell in current legacy environment . . Since win condition can be met within 4~5 turns with most of the deck counterspell that does not require mana cost is great. Even though exiling a card from your hand and paying 1 life is not certainly not a low cost, it ultimately won't matter when you can win the game within a couple of turns.
landboysteve
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(3 votes)
You really have to wonder what the design team was thinking when they came up with this card. None of the other "similar" cards in the set come anywhere near this next to broken piece of genius. Pyrokinesis is good, and I use it in my red deck, but it still can't hold a candle to this. And green's Bounty Of The Hunt is a joke next to any of them.
Blightsteel Colossus and other insane cards like it are the only reason this thing isn't restricted or flat out banned.
VarteDod
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(9 votes)
Best part of this card? It's not in the reserved list!
dragonking987
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(10 votes)
dies to Force of Will 0.5/5
gasimakos1
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
i pulled like 3 of these in packs back in the day and traded them. so stupid... nowadays i just shy away from blue so that i won't have to shell out the cash for 3 more. great card.
i'd say this and mana drain are about equal because of how much cool shit you can do with mana drain. counterspell is a close second to these two... tied for the top spot. 5/5 because it's amazing in any type of deck.
tavaritz
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
First of all it's not amazing in every deck, Black Lotus is, but not this.
Secondly: Why isn't this reprinted?
The_USAgent
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
So WoTC is going to reprint this soon...... right...
Zacklar
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
uncommon....UNCOMMON?!?!?!?! are you fucking KIDDING ME?!
DarthParallax
★★☆☆☆ (2.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I think that Shadoflaam said it best. Please regard his statement on Reanimate. The Archenemy one. I think a similar sentiment certainly applies here as well. :)
Salient
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(19 votes)
"Mana Drain is why we distinguish Vintage from Legacy as separate tournament environments. Force of Will is why we still have tournaments at all."
I think back to that quote every three months or so, when a brand new shiny turn-three combo deck swarms the Top 8 lists... until control decks riding on the back of Force of Will re-emerge to bring that to a halt. In the past couple years alone, Force of Will saved Legacy at least seven times:
Painter's Servant + Grindstone. Check. (Forced to run artifact recovery.) Ad Nauseam + Tendrils of Agony. Check. (Forced to run Silence type spells or lots of Duress effects.) Vampire Hexmage + Dark Depths. Check. (Forced to run Duress effects.) Survival of the Fittest + Vengevine. Half-check; they still needed to ban Survival. NO RUG Natural Order + Progenitus. Check. (Forced to run Verdillion Clique and Red Elemental Blasts.) Hive Mind + Summoner's Pact. Check. (Forced to run a counter-control suite.) High Tide + a bunch of janky draw spells. Check. (Forced to run counter-control.)
The combos above emerged or re-emerged as dominant presences in the past two years. They're still powerful and a significant part of the scene, but without blue control leaning on Force of Will to "keep them honest," they'd all be janky unstoppable bombs that don't even bother to include any spells that even pay attention to what the opponent is doing.
One card, keeping the entire. Legacy. tournament. scene. alive. For over a decade, now.
That guy in the picture is making the rage face you would be making if you didn't have the Force of Will in hand to stop your opponent's crazy stupid combo. Instead you can let the Will do the talking for you -- Force their precious draw spell, lean back relaxed as they watch their storm fizzle, and inquire, "U MAD?"
Of course they're mad, dear blue mage. You just saved Legacy again.
pedrodyl
★★★☆☆ (3.7/5.0)(3 votes)
While they probably will never reprint this into Standard (obviously) we may see this in a box set like the next Duel Decks or Premium Deck Series or something.
Renegade_Punk
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Best part of this card? it was uncommon. UNCOMMON IN ALLIANCES!!! My loocal store has Aliances Booster Boxes!!!
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.7/5.0)(3 votes)
I know im going to catch hate for this, but I dont like it. I realize its power in stopping combos and whatnot, or even tapping out while being able to counter anything up your sleeve.
But if you dont cheat it out its a very overpriced cancel, and if you do you loose 2 cards for 1. Not my style the slightest.
Yeah it hoses combos, but not everyone plays combo type decks. I dont like it, I think its very overrated card.
Toquinha1977
★★★★☆ (4.9/5.0)(4 votes)
I still remember when Alliances first came out and I was new to the game. I cracked this and thought it was completely useless. But, me being a bit of a pack rat, I put it in a sleeve, then a box, then promptly forgot about it and even walked away from Magic during Tempest. Flashforward some 15-some odd years later, when I get back into the game and dig this up, and find out that it's worth more than my entire collection combined (and of course, my Grinning Totems and Celestial Dawns are worth a buck each, having hit $30 at the time).
KrosanSheep
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Uncommon!?!?
Trygon_Predator
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Now with Misthollow Griffin, you can exile a card and get it back for a 3/3 flier!
Suddsy12
★★★★☆ (4.4/5.0)(4 votes)
@ Zacklar
You have to remember, when this card came out it was a junk card. No one played it because it wasn't needed, it didn't serve a strong purpose. It was either a really expensive counterspell or it last you a card and a life! There was no need for turn zero counterspells back then. People literally threw these things away.
Mike-C
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Your Force of Will Vs. My Force of Jubilation. Don't worry guys, I got this.
Kragash
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(3 votes)
I can tell the guy who designed FoW was like:
"We'll make this difficult to hard cast, but we'll throw in an even worse alt cast option: exile a blue card and lose 1 life. Boy, they're really suckers if they go for the card disadvantage and loss of life option. Anyway, that sounds good and is in line with the other cards in this set that have alt costs."
I find it a bit silly when people say "But Force of Will keeps Legacy and Vintage in check. TROLOLOL. Without it people would combo out on T2."
Yeah, well if FoW is the glue to the Eternal format, something is SERIOUSLY wrong.
That said, 5/5 for being an awesome card. <3
Shadoflaam
★★★★☆ (4.1/5.0)(5 votes)
Pfft, this is stupid. Who would pay 5 mana for a counterspell?
How the freak is this UNCOMMON? In days like these, Goblin Flotilla was a RARE!
doombladez
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Mike-C In response, Force of Will your Angel.
patronofthesound
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Great card obvy but not worth its $70 price tag....it and Vendilion Clique both need to return to a reasonable range so blue becomes playable again.
themicronaut
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Suddsy12--people did not "literally" throw Force Of Will away, far be it. Anyone who had a sub***ion to Inquest, The Duelist, or played any kind of tournament was connected with "the scene." I doesn't sound like any of you who are being ahistorical and saying that players didn't appreciate the broken genius of Force Of Will actually played when Alliances came out. Some of us did, and we traded for a playset and plus some:D
Yeah, I was playing the game when this was new, and people did totally recognize how important it was. First turn Channel + Fireball was still very much a thing in people's minds back then, and everyone recognized the importance of a card that could save you from it even before you've taken a turn.
What, do people really think one-turn kills are new? Remember, Black Lotus and the moxes used to be actually available; and there was a time before the restricted list.
DeaTh-ShiNoBi
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(4 votes)
@Salient Saved Legacy? Hey man, don't forget Vintage. Combo decks are even more powerful in Vintage. Mana Drain is great and all, but it still costs 2 mana in the first place. That's QUITE an issue when the opponent goes first and plans to kill you on their FIRST TURN. There would be no Vintage nor Legacy without Force of Will.
jollyreddragon
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Force of Won't.
mdakw576
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
The funny thing is that despite how strong this card is, it has actual glaring weaknesses. FoW is actually very bad against "fair" decks, and are usually boarded out there. A maverick deck getting his mother of runes forced goes "okay, well he lost 2 cards to my 1 and the game still continues".
FoW is at its best battling combo decks, and while it also goes with combo decks too, combo decks tend to unload their hand quickly, meaning they have more problems keeping a blue card in hand to pitch to FoW, while control decks more often have extra cards in hand.
blurrymadness
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Force is basically the "you're about to win and I have one last-ditch-effort thing to do." This can be the fat that lands on the table to flip the game on it's head, this can be combo; this can be the Hymn to Tourach about to ruin your perfectly crafted hand.
It's always exaggerated to mythic power-levels (not the rarity mind you) because it's "free", but it's card disadvantage that's meant to keep the game in check; and it does so by eating something valuable from your hand.
Lifegainwithbite
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
@Kragash: ***. Force of Will was still recognised as an amazing card when it came out and combos were still very popular back then. Force of Will has always been valued as a card.
This one card is probably the most important card in Magic ever because it has held two formats together for years and years. No other card can say the same.
supafly13
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Just to clear things up, for those who have not been playing Magic:The Gathering since 1993... Force of Will had almost no value when Alliances dropped...they were literally not cared about. As in, they were not even thought about.
Pongdok
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
As boring as control makes games for players who prefer to see something happen, you still need to respect a good counter spell. This is a great counter spell; right up there with Counterspell. It is sad that a magnificent format devolved to the point that players needed to either run a full set of these or lose before getting to take a turn. Fortunately, that only appears to happen in big tournaments when 'players' want the prizes more than a decent game. Mono blue turn 1 (or turn 0) combo decks are a good place to store your P9 and any number of other antisocial nonsense cards. Nobody without the prerequisite number of Force of Wills will ever play against you. This card makes it so that all of those other great cards can see the light of day, instead of just gathering dust on your shelf (or in your safe, or vault, or whatever). Awesome art. Good flavour. Great effect. 5/5 Never reprint this.
Comments (48)
Then I discovered I have 5 of them! :D
@divine_exodus: No, the question which is the best counterspell can't be answered. It is situational, either FoW (using the alternate cost when you are tapped out) or Mana Drain - which is, now that mana burn has been done away with, strictly better than Counterspell (unless the "strictly better" wording also involves the "mana" in your wallet...).
Finally, I love the art. It fits the card perfectly despite looking like it belongs in red.
Since win condition can be met within 4~5 turns with most of the deck counterspell that does not require mana cost is great. Even though exiling a card from your hand and paying 1 life is not certainly not a low cost, it ultimately won't matter when you can win the game within a couple of turns.
Blightsteel Colossus and other insane cards like it are the only reason this thing isn't restricted or flat out banned.
i'd say this and mana drain are about equal because of how much cool shit you can do with mana drain. counterspell is a close second to these two... tied for the top spot. 5/5 because it's amazing in any type of deck.
Secondly: Why isn't this reprinted?
I think back to that quote every three months or so, when a brand new shiny turn-three combo deck swarms the Top 8 lists... until control decks riding on the back of Force of Will re-emerge to bring that to a halt. In the past couple years alone, Force of Will saved Legacy at least seven times:
Painter's Servant + Grindstone. Check. (Forced to run artifact recovery.)
Ad Nauseam + Tendrils of Agony. Check. (Forced to run Silence type spells or lots of Duress effects.)
Vampire Hexmage + Dark Depths. Check. (Forced to run Duress effects.)
Survival of the Fittest + Vengevine. Half-check; they still needed to ban Survival.
NO RUG Natural Order + Progenitus. Check. (Forced to run Verdillion Clique and Red Elemental Blasts.)
Hive Mind + Summoner's Pact. Check. (Forced to run a counter-control suite.)
High Tide + a bunch of janky draw spells. Check. (Forced to run counter-control.)
The combos above emerged or re-emerged as dominant presences in the past two years. They're still powerful and a significant part of the scene, but without blue control leaning on Force of Will to "keep them honest," they'd all be janky unstoppable bombs that don't even bother to include any spells that even pay attention to what the opponent is doing.
One card, keeping the entire. Legacy. tournament. scene. alive. For over a decade, now.
That guy in the picture is making the rage face you would be making if you didn't have the Force of Will in hand to stop your opponent's crazy stupid combo. Instead you can let the Will do the talking for you -- Force their precious draw spell, lean back relaxed as they watch their storm fizzle, and inquire, "U MAD?"
Of course they're mad, dear blue mage. You just saved Legacy again.
But if you dont cheat it out its a very overpriced cancel, and if you do you loose 2 cards for 1. Not my style the slightest.
Yeah it hoses combos, but not everyone plays combo type decks. I dont like it, I think its very overrated card.
You have to remember, when this card came out it was a junk card. No one played it because it wasn't needed, it didn't serve a strong purpose. It was either a really expensive counterspell or it last you a card and a life! There was no need for turn zero counterspells back then. People literally threw these things away.
"We'll make this difficult to hard cast, but we'll throw in an even worse alt cast option: exile a blue card and lose 1 life. Boy, they're really suckers if they go for the card disadvantage and loss of life option. Anyway, that sounds good and is in line with the other cards in this set that have alt costs."
I find it a bit silly when people say "But Force of Will keeps Legacy and Vintage in check. TROLOLOL. Without it people would combo out on T2."
Yeah, well if FoW is the glue to the Eternal format, something is SERIOUSLY wrong.
That said, 5/5 for being an awesome card. <3
Oh wait it has an extra ability.
...
80 please.
"Free" counterspell? Yes please.
What, do people really think one-turn kills are new? Remember, Black Lotus and the moxes used to be actually available; and there was a time before the restricted list.
Saved Legacy? Hey man, don't forget Vintage. Combo decks are even more powerful in Vintage. Mana Drain is great and all, but it still costs 2 mana in the first place. That's QUITE an issue when the opponent goes first and plans to kill you on their FIRST TURN. There would be no Vintage nor Legacy without Force of Will.
FoW is at its best battling combo decks, and while it also goes with combo decks too, combo decks tend to unload their hand quickly, meaning they have more problems keeping a blue card in hand to pitch to FoW, while control decks more often have extra cards in hand.
It's always exaggerated to mythic power-levels (not the rarity mind you) because it's "free", but it's card disadvantage that's meant to keep the game in check; and it does so by eating something valuable from your hand.
This one card is probably the most important card in Magic ever because it has held two formats together for years and years. No other card can say the same.
millions?
Nothing Can Stop Me Now