Illumination

Instant

Counter target artifact or enchantment spell. Its controller gains life equal to its converted mana cost.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (34)

plakjekaas on Would a White Version of …

3 years ago

Almost all counterspells in white are colorshifted versions of blue spells: ( Mana Tithe -> white Force Spike , Rebuff the Wicked and Dawn Charm -> white variations of Turn Aside , Lapse of Certainty -> expensive white version of Memory Lapse ), originating from Conflux and Planar Chaos, which are exempt from following the rules of the color pie because of lore reasons. The one exception being Illumination , being specifically limited to the same targets as Disenchant , but answering them on the stack instead of in play, combined with a similar downside as Swords to Plowshares .

So in the next set where color functionality gets scrambled? Sure, print another white counterspell, maybe we can get a white Stifle , or maybe a white Spell Swindle this time, to fall in line with Smothering Tithe .

But my internal reasoning says: to counter a spell, you'd need a lot of knowledge about magic, be a wizard that has seen and done enough magic to recognize on the fly what spell is used against him, and prepare an according response before it's too late. That doesn't feel white at all, white is all about setting up and enforcing rules to prevent bad stuff from happening before it actually happens. And if that fails, White's way of preventing the bad stuff is by Gods Willing or a battalion of soldiers' Unbreakable Formation , just defending what you have, unable to offensively mess with your opponent's magic. Which Stifle very much does.

I'd say white can already counter plenty of triggered abilities though, mainly through Hushbringer , Tocatli Honor Guard and Hushwing Gryff . Again, enforcing rules before the bad stuff happens, instead of fighting it just before it's too late.

SynergyBuild on Non-Blue Counterspells

3 years ago

DemonDragonJ Imagine an opponent cast Ad Nauseam. What does white's color pie do to change it? Not even Angel of Jubilation changes that, nor does any removal it has, Spirit of the Labyrinth, etc.

Illumination is artifact and enchantment removal, something that cards like Disenchant, Fragmentize, Leonin Relic-Warder, etc. all do and white is known for.

Basically spells don't get hit by white, therefor the colorshifted cards Force Spike & Memory Lapse to Mana Tithe & Lapse of Certainty don't do the the same as the interesting adaptation of a Disenchant to Illumination!

That's why I don't think some of the counterspells break the color pie but some do.

Honestly though, I love those cards, and I love most color pie breaks, just sparingly xD

DemonDragonJ on Non-Blue Counterspells

3 years ago

Massacar, do not forget Dash Hopes, another excellent none-blue counterspell, although I do not understand why that card allows any player to pay life, rather than the controller of the targeted spell.

SynergyBuild, what makes Mana Tithe and Lapse of Certainty different from Illumination?

SynergyBuild on Non-Blue Counterspells

3 years ago

As long as they fit in the pie, I am okay with them. Withering Boon does nothing black couldn't deal with already, whereas Imp's Mischief can do things black otherwise couldn't necessarily deal with.

Illumination is a weird mix of Disenchant and Swords to Plowshares and it fits well in white's domain. Mana Tithe and Lapse of Certainty, not really.

I'd be fine with more Withering Boons and Illuminations, less so with the rest!

plakjekaas on How is Red Elemental Blast …

3 years ago

There's also Lapse of Certainty, Illumination, Rebuff the Wicked and Dawn Charm who didn't have the mana type switch to hide behind '^^

Arktaurous on Edgar Markov Vampires 2.0

4 years ago

Skeletal Scrying, Dregs of Sorrow, Damnable Pact, Necrologia are all viable options as long as your life gain is working well.

Patriarch's Bidding,Balthor the Defiled, Finale of Eternity, No Rest for the Wicked, Empty the Catacombs, Twilight's Call can all kinda undo certain board wipes.

White has some counter spells too like Rebuff the Wicked, Mana Tithe, Dawn Charm, Lapse of Certainty, Illumination that could help against removal sometimes.

Anti-sticky_keys on On your end step, I'll...

4 years ago

Hmmm... Ok deck I guess I think it could use a few more counterspells. You may want to add: Abjure , Admiral's Order , Aethersnatch , Annul , Arcane Denial , Commandeer , Commit , Confirm Suspicions , Counterlash , Counterspell , Cryptic Command , Daze , Delay , Deprive , Desertion , Disallow , Dismiss , Disrupt , Dream Fracture , Ertai's Meddling , Evasive Action , Exclude , Faerie Trickery , Familiar's Ruse , Flusterstorm , Foil , Force of Will , Force Spike , Hinder , Insidious Will , Last Word , Logic Knot , Mana Drain , Mana Leak , Memory Lapse , Mindbreak Trap , Muddle the Mixture , Mystic Confluence , Negate , Out of Bounds , Overwhelming Denial , Overwhelming Intellect , Pact of Negation , Remand , Sinister Sabotage , Spell Crumple , Spell Pierce , Spell Shrivel , Spell Swindle , Spelljack , Stubborn Denial , Summary Dismissal , Swan Song , Thwart , Unsubstantiate , Venser, Shaper Savant , Void Shatter , Illumination , Lapse of Certainty , Mana Tithe , Failure , Dovin's Veto Just to name a few.

Snickles@EDH_only on Pattern Recognition #117 - Blue …

4 years ago

had to stop to think about non-blue counters once you mentioned it. I remembered Avoid Fate , Dawn Charm , Rebuff the Wicked , Dash Hopes , and Mana Tithe . but after that I was stumped on any others.

then I checked the gatherer...

Artifact Blast , Burnout , Red Elemental Blast , Pyroblast , Guttural Response , Lapse of Certainty , Illumination , Mages' Contest , Molten Influence , Not of This World , Warping Wail , and Withering Boon .

and thats not counting Bind and Rust , which while counters, don't counter spells.