Countering spells
Asked by Sinus 13 years ago
So let's say you are playing against someone and they play a spell that you want to counter but before you can announce that you are going to counter it, they play another one (or you didn't see the negate or counterlash in your hand). I noticed that the cards usually say counter TARGET spell, so can it work on any spell being played that turn before you cast the instant?
Players are supposed to give each other time to react to spells that are played. If they don't give you time to counter then you can back them up and counter it. However, if you just miss that you have an answer and don't play it, you can't back them up and play it if you were given an opportunity but you just missed it. Also, you can only counter a spell as it is on the stack. After it resolves it is no longer a spell.
AradonTemplar says... Accepted answer #1
Cards are only spells when they are on the stack. When a player casts a spell, it is moved to the stack. It only resolves if both players agree that they have no actions they want to take first (both pass priority). If you want to counter it, you can. There is no way your opponent can just play faster to nullify your opportunity to counter a spell. They can, however, cast another instant after casting the first spell, before giving you the opportunity to counter them. They are both on the stack at that point, which means you can choose which spell(s) you want to counter with Cancel or whatever you have.
If an opponent is simply playing too fast and you didn't have an opportunity to say you wanted to respond to their first spell, then you typically should call a judge, who will probably attempt to reverse the game to the point where you wanted to respond and ask the player to play more slowly or carefully. In a casual game, just tell your friend to back up because you wanted to counter the first spell.
The best simple answer to your question is, if a card says "Counter target spell," you can counter any spell on the stack. Once it has resolved, it is too late to be targeted because it is no longer a spell.
May 30, 2012 4:34 p.m.