10 Top Counter Spells of All Time

Hmm... Casting that big scary scare to wipe out my board or to take the upper hand?

Wait

Wait

Wait 

Lemme "Counter Spell" that!

Baboom!
Like a Sir




Ah! Counterspells those things that save our ass when were the one playing them.

And those pesky counterspells when were the one being pestered by them.

This week one of our House Wizards Miko Abrina shares his 10 top counter spells of all time. Enjoy!

10.    Counterspell 

 Plain and simple. A direct to the point counter spell. The card that defined what blue is all about. Just like Force of Will, its always included in a blue deck.

9. Muddle the Mixture 

 One of my favorite counterspells. It serves as a tutor most of the time for cards such as Stasis, Isochron Scepter or Snapcaster Mage. Its a gem in the Commander format.

8. Complicate 

 One word, Cycling. This card can be used as a hard counter or as a cantrip with an optional Force Spike. It’s not a dead card even if you just want to cycle the card.

7. Cryptic Command 

 Talking about flexibility, Cryptic Command does not fail when turning tides in your favor. It’s drawback though that you must have 3 blue mana and 1 colorless available is somewhat turn restrictive in multi-colored decks, you’ll play this in your usual late games that goes the distance

6. Stifle 

 A great card that I underestimated in the early years when I don’t understand the competitive scene yet. It’s flexibility to counter activated and triggered abilities conquered tournaments. Most of the cards including the fetch lands that are staple for most decks are usual targets for Stifle.

5. Arcane Denial

  Arcane Denial is a special counterspell that must be used with specific decks to abuse its cantrip and minimize its drawback. It’s strong when you’re using lock decks like Counterbalance and Stasis.

4. Remand 

 This is a tech card that you can play with.  It feels like a Time Walk when you played it in its best timing. You can even return a spell you played that was about to be countered by another player. What a cool way to play remand.

3. Mental Misstep

This card broke the tournament scene when it was introduced from the Scars of Mirrodin block. Not much of threat in Standard back then but the real format it broke was Legacy. Since its alternative cost to pay for life instead of blue mana, it can counter most cards in Legacy and its playable in any color. It was a disaster, every deck runs a mental misstep just to counter mental misstep of the opponent. Few months later, it was banned for that specific reason.

2.      Force of Will 

 Force of Will or FOW is a must counterspell that sees play almost all of the time when you play anything with blue in vintage, legacy or edh formats. Used in moments of game deciding turns, this card is a staple in tournaments.

And of course 10 is never enough :) Here are some of some counter spell cards that are so awesome we just have to mention them

Honorable mentions 

Trick Bind 

 The same as Stifle but with Split Second. You can delay Jace, the Mind Sculptor’s Ultimate without worrying that your spell will be countered. It’s a trick you can’t deny.

Memory Lapse 

When you need to delay a spell for 1 turn, Memory Lapse will fill that role. It even delays your opponent’s top draw. This spell usually paints frustration on your enemy’s face. It is also my favorite card partnered with Isochron Scepter.

And now for our top 1 Best Counter Spell Card of All Time

1.      Mana Drain 

 My favorite counterspell, though not legal in some formats, this card really gives you that momentum of an advantage. You can cast a 5 drop on your 2nd turn if played in the correct way. A monster that banned itself for its game breaking power.

So that's the list for the Top Counter Spells by Miko Abrina, brought to you by the House of MTG

Do tell us what you think about it on the comments, your comments, opinions, rants, additions XD