Other Counterspells You Should Play in Commander
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Today we’ll be looking at counterspells in EDH, and some options you may have when compared to staple cards like
1. Counterspell
Just play Counterspell! I know I said go against the grain, but come on, it’s the permission spell that started it all. For two mana you can counter anything, and while you don’t get the added benefit of colorless mana on your upkeep like Mana Drain, it’s still incredibly powerful for a card with so many cheap reprints available. It’s no wonder why there are almost a million decks on EDHREC that have it included.
| Counterspell | ||
| Counterspell | ||
| Counterspell (Borderless) | ||
| Counterspell (Borderless) |
2. Spell Pierce
For just one mana you can counter a noncreature spell, or at the very least slow down your opponents by making their spell cost two more to cast. This card is perfect for when your opponent taps out and tries to play a game-ending spell, or early ramp spells that you can deny for only one tapped Island. While a similar counterspell like
| Spell Pierce | ||
| Spell Pierce (Borderless) | ||
| Spell Pierce | ||
| Spell Pierce |
3. Mana Leak
Just like Spell Pierce, Mana Leak looks to counter your opponents’ spells through taxes. However, for one more mana you can counter any spell, and your opponent must now pay three if they want to let it resolve. Mana Leak is better than Spell Pierce for having fewer restrictions, but it’s one mana higher cost could be enough to set your own plans back, and for two mana, you could just play Counterspell, or a similar common from
| Mana Leak | ||
| Mana Leak |
4. Spelljack
Has your opponent ever played a card, and you said “Man, I wish I could play that instead”? Well now you can, for six mana of course. While its mana value is one of the highest in this list, it may be beneficial to pass the turn and keep lands open, especially if your opponent is playing high cost cards like
If you want to incite a little more chaos into a game, and if your deck has access to red, you can instead play
| Spelljack | ||
| Invert Polarity |
5. Withering Boon
A color pie break? This spell from
| Withering Boon |
6. The Red Cards That Hate Blue
There are a few red counterspells that only counter blue spells, which can either go really great or horribly wrong depending on what your opponents are playing. It’s a real bummer when
While blue also has counterspells for red (and green) cards like
| Blue Elemental Blast | ||
| Blue Elemental Blast | ||
| Pyroblast | ||
| Pyroblast | ||
| Guttural Response | ||
| Burnout |
7. Artifact Blast
Looking for a cheap response to
| Artifact Blast | ||
| Annul |
8. Lapse of Certainty
| Lapse of Certainty |
9. Reinterpret
From my perspective, Reinterpret is one of the best counterspells Izzet decks can run, and its single printing in
| Reinterpret | ||
| Reinterpret (Extended Art) |
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Further Reading:
Hidden Gems for Valgavoth, Harrower of Souls
Kaspar Renken is a graduate of Western Connecticut State University, and has been playing Magic since War of the Spark. He began playing Standard for a short time before finding EDH and the friendships that come from multiplayer formats. When he’s not playing or building decks, he can probably be found working on his Mustang.
