Pointed Discussion

There is SO MUCH fantastic art in this set. Sure, the card isn't ultra stellar, but it'll be solid enough in limited.

Also: Dat flavortext - so good!

Throwing a rock...?

Okay!

Thank goodness that reminder text was there. I wouldn't have known what to do otherwise!

The art and flavor text are amazing. Unfortunately, this card's situation hasn't changed - it's still not that good. Syncopate trumps this in many cases. At least this is a hard counter if you do have the mana to cast it.

Well back in the day there were spells worth countering that costed very little like Lightning Bolt... Not so much today. If you have all the mana you might as well be playing Spell Burst which is just plain better really.
Still, you can use the old ones to intimidate standard players with NAKED MAN ASS.

Old-school reprints, ho!

I like ancient reprints. It lets me play those super old cards. Sadly, this counterspell is pretty crappy. Sure, if you encounter moxen each turn, it would be playable. But else... It's the useless brother of mana sink.

I once opened a revised edition booster and got 15 of these at the same time.

Honestly, I kind of want this card for the reminder text. I end out teaching a lot of people how to play, and CMC is actually a really hard concept for newer players. This effectively showcases what that is while also explaining X costs in an intuitive (though indirect) way. Gets an extra star for just being a really good core set printing.

This card is Bad in Magic....
Exactly Because....
It is Good in Science.
It takes Equal and Opposite (X) force to neutralize (counter) that same force. (X).
Alpha Design Team? you get +1 cookies B|
But the problem is, Magic doesn't want to be doing anything Science thinks is good. :/
Magic really, really wants to be doing UNfair things, and this card is way way too fair for its own good.


Let's say we applied Science Logic to Divination and Opportunity. We should be drawing four cards at Sorcery speed, not 4 at Instant speed.

Also take the Zombie Minotaurs in this set. Undead Minotaur and Minotaur Abomination. Look what Lestin the Necromancer has to say about 'fairness' in mana costs.

And don't get me started on Red!!
If Shock is fair for {R}, then {R}{R} should be worth 4 damage, and {R}{R}{R} should be worth 6 damage. With all the exact time targeting? Is Ball Lightning worse or better? I don't think anyone would pay 2 mana for 4 damage. It feels more like they'd want 3 damage plus something non-damage and good.

If Lightning Bolt is fair for {R}, then {R}{R} should be worth 6 damage and {R}{R}{R} is worth 9 damage! We KNOW that's completely out of line!

If Incinerate or Searing Spear is fair, then {2}{R}{R} should be worth 6 damage, and {4}{R}{R}{R}{R} worth 12 damage. We get much better deals for 8 mana though.

Shivan Meteor says Math is Whack when it comes to Burn. So does Blasphemous Act. Lightning Bolt we already knew was undercosted, but Math says Incinerate is overcosted....and actually Incinerate seems fair or better.


Conclusion: Definitely can't use Logic in Magic.

I've always considered counter spells as a means to get out ahead of your opponent. However, you'll always end up 1 behind them if you counter things with this.

Not only that, but it's significantly harder to keep mana open when you don't know what they're going to play.

I think this card is uncommon because it is a counterspell beyond your four baseline Cancel that is not specific to the type of spell cast. And to all those who complain about it: you have a valid point that it cannot be played for everything. But this is really a utility card of prediction if you are playing it right. Leaving enough mana open to counter a spell that costs 3GG is silly. But if you are predicting lightning bolts, doom blades, giant growths, etc, etc; then you can still ruin your opponent's plans. And isn't blue the color all about foresight and prediction anyway?

Well, it's a good counter if you're worried about Memnites, I suppose.

Don't worry, WotC, because of your ingenuity in the placement of reminder text, we now all know what a converted mana cost is.

The nice thing about this is that it works for several of the applications Nix was built for too (Hypergenesis, Pacts, etc), as well as being a reasonable counterspell by itself.

It's also a hard counter for only a single blue cost, which is very rare nowadays. However, quoting the flavor text at your opponent may result in them casting Pinpoint Avalanche

Blast from the past.

Oh, snap! Burned! YOWTCH.

I'm a new player, but I can still imagine the faces of older players who opened this in a booster.

"Counterspell! Counterspell, dammit!!! I WANT COUNTERSPELL!!!!!!"

Spell Blast at uncommon.

"FFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUU--"

If you're in a rampy green deck, this might just be okay. But the number of times that a Cancel isn't just straight better is low. And nobody looks at Cancel and goes "awesome"! "Solid", yes. But this isn't even solid.

Good if you are bouncing your opponent's cards, so you know how much mana to keep ready for when they cast it again.

And not too bad against the cheaper Bestow creatures.

Soft counterspells with X in the mana cost are bad enough, but this is even worse. 1/5 stars.

And at UNCOMMON? SMH

Even Cancel is better than this card.

Card should read, "Counter target spell with converted mana cost 2 or less; or spend way more than you should to counter target spell with converted mana cost 3 or greater; or just cast Cancel which is not a very good card either but can be obtained at the common rarity." As an aside, I'll give this 1.5 stars instead of 1 because it has a very limited application in Vintage for countering moxen and Black Lotus. I must say though that I myself have never had the occasion to counter any moxen or Black Lotus, sadly.