Rurara_Rahura Deckling

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Caerwyn, after going over the rules we quoted and considering them carefully I realize what you've said makes a lot of sense. I hadn't considered that this tactic was actually a method for cheating. I'll fix the description in a few minutes when I get home.

Casting the spell still requires Mana in the player's Mana pool and it is not mandatory to activate Mana abilities in order to satisfy costs. This would probably be a better discussion in the forums though.

I do it if my opponent is impatient. I don't mete my opponent's reactions but if they try to counter a spell that doesn't exist yet then it's on them. It's simple enough (and courteous) to wait for your opponent to complete their spell before trying to counter it.

dark122, the method for casting spells in the core rules helps protect from counterspelling by virtue of the fact that you can't play a spell with targets unless there is a target the spell could affect (such as a counterspell requires a spell on the stack to target).

When you properly cast a spell you put the card on the stack first and you have to satisfy each condition before it becomes a spell. If my opponent tries to play a counterspell before I have completed casting then I stop the game and tell them they don't have a target. It is not mandatory to activate Mana abilities in order to satisfy costs and the only way for most spells to be completed is for the Mana to be in your Mana pool when you play the card (this is why activating Mana abilities is considered a special action and cannot be responded to). So after stopping an improper counterspell I simply don't activate any Mana abilities and my card has to be taken back.

This often causes stress in my opponent and I don't do it during casual games. In fact most players really don't like this but it is how spells should be cast in order to keep the game fair (definitely read the direct ruling for more information).