A spell is a card that is on the stack, usually cast from the player’s hand. In Magic: The Gathering (MTG), spells are any type of card cast by a player, usually from the player’s hand. In special cases, spells can be cast from other areas of the battlefield, such as the library or graveyard. Land cards are the only type of card not considered a spell.
A spell is a discrete magical effect, shaping the magical energies that suffuse the multiverse into a specific, limited expression. Anything you pay mana for to play is considered a spell. Once it resolves and becomes a permanent, it is considered either a creature, artifact, or a card.
In MTG, a spell is either a card that has been cast and placed on the stack, or a copy of another spell. A card is only a spell when it is on the stack; in most cases, non-land cards are spells when first played.
When casting a spell, players must take a card from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs. Once the spell resolves and becomes a permanent, it is considered either a creature, artifact, or a card.
In summary, a spell is a card on the stack, typically cast from the player’s hand. It is a discrete magical effect that can be moved from the player’s hand to the battlefield after paying its costs. Counterspells may specify “counter creature spell” or “counter target spell” for countering a creature or sorcery/enchantment/instant targeting a creature. A spell remains on the stack until it resolves, is countered, or otherwise leaves the stack.
Strategic importance and timing of spellcasting are crucial in MTG, as spells can have various categories, including instants, sorceries, and permanents on the battlefield.
📹 MTG Mistakes 43 – Properly Using Spells With X in the Cost
It’s finally time for another MTG Mistakes video! This one is all about X on a card’s cost and how to deal with it in various different …
What is considered a spell magic?
A spell is a card on the stack that is cast as the first step of being cast in Magic: The Gathering. It has three meanings: technical, casual, and flavorful. Technically, a spell is an object on the stack that exists before the spell takes effect. Players turn cards into spells by casting them, usually from non-land cards in their hand. In casual terms, “spell” is often used to refer to non-permanent spell types, such as instants and sorceries. In the lore of the game, a spell can be any magical effect requiring effort and energy by a magic user, usually based on ritual or knowledge.
Technically, a spell is either a card that has been cast and placed on the stack or a copy of another spell. All card types, except lands, are types of spells, and even permanent cards are typically cast as spells before becoming permanents. Spells exist as game objects, and their rules determine interactions and effects between the casting of the spell and its taking effect.
Do abilities count as spells?
Activated and triggered abilities on the stack are not spells and cannot be countered by effects that specifically counter abilities. Static abilities, which don’t use the stack, cannot be countered at all. Ability categories include spell abilities, activated abilities, triggered abilities, and static abilities. Some activated or triggered abilities are also mana abilities, while some static abilities are evasion abilities or characteristic-defining abilities.
Some abilities may be indicated by a keyword, and certain card types grant intrinsic abilities. Each separate ability of a card is listed on a different line, functioning independently of each other. Removing abilities is not common, but removing creature abilities falls under White and Blue’s color pie.
What are the 7 types of spells?
Casting spells is a crucial skill for all witches and wizards, as it allows them to perform various magic tasks. In the Harry Potter universe, there are seven types of spells: charms, curses, transfigurations, healing spells, jinxes, hexes, and counter-spells. Each type has its own properties and purposes, all able to be cast with a single wand.
A charm, or enchantment, gives an object or organism new properties, such as levitate or affect appearance or emotions. When cast with the intent of lasting within a person or object, the receiver becomes bewitched. Dark charms, or curses, can cause immense pain or even death. Despite their potential, charms can be harmless and even helpful for wizards, making them essential for mastery of magic.
What counts as a spell you control in MTG?
A spell’s controller is the player who casts it, while a permanent’s controller is the player who casts it, unless another spell or ability changes who controls it. Cost is a necessary cost to take most actions, such as casting a spell or activating an activated ability. Sometimes, spells or abilities require additional costs, such as sacrificing a creature. Countering a spell or ability causes it to have no effect and removes it from the stack. Once a spell or ability starts to resolve, it’s too late to counter it. Lands aren’t spells and cannot be countered.
What counts as casting a spell?
The act of casting a spell entails the retrieval of a card from the hand, its placement upon the stack, and the fulfillment of its associated costs in order to successfully resolve the spell and achieve its intended effect. Previously, the action was referred to as “playing” that spell or card. In accordance with the Comprehensive Rules (September 20, 2024—Duskmourn: House of Horror), it is optimal to delay casting spells until the final possible moment.
Can a wizard know every spell?
It is not a requirement for a wizard to possess all of the spells listed in the wizard spell list; however, they are permitted to learn them.
What counts as magic?
Magic, also known as magick, is the application of beliefs, rituals, or actions to manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces. It is a category of beliefs and practices that are sometimes considered separate from religion and science. Throughout history, magic has been associated with ideas of the Other, foreignness, primitivism, and cultural difference in Western culture. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Western intellectuals perceived the practice of magic as a sign of a primitive mentality and often attributed it to marginalized groups of people.
Despite its varied meanings, magic remains a powerful marker of cultural difference and a non-modern phenomenon. It is a non-modern phenomenon that has been influenced by various beliefs and practices, often resulting in varying interpretations and interpretations.
How do you identify a spell being cast?
A character is able to discern the casting of a spell, whether in progress or already completed, through the utilisation of either their reaction or an action undertaken during their designated turn. A character may utilize their reaction to discern the casting of a spell or their turn action to identify the effects of a spell that has already been cast.
Is copying a spell a cast?
Copy effects are methods used to create or change one object into a copy of another, often targeting creatures. They are also known as “cloning” and were introduced in Alpha, specifically on the cards Clone and Vesuvan Doppelganger. The exact result of a copy effect is often unclear, as it ignores any temporary changes to the object and only creates the printed qualities of the original, which are called “copiable values”. This mechanic was introduced in Alpha and is often used to target creatures.
Do instants count as spells?
Instants are one-shot or short-term magical spells that do not appear on the battlefield. They take effect when their mana cost is paid and the spell resolves, and are immediately placed in the player’s graveyard. Instants are the only card type in Magic with no timing restrictions, allowing them to be played at any time, including during other player’s turns and while another spell or ability is waiting to resolve.
Do sorceries count as spells?
Sorceries and instants are one-shot or short-term magical spells that take effect when their mana cost is paid and the spell resolves, then are immediately placed in the owner’s graveyard. They share the same timing restrictions as all permanent spell types, only being used during the player’s main phase and when nothing else is on the stack. Instants differ only in when they can be cast, and are grouped as “spells” colloquially.
📹 The First Person to Ever Have a Spell Countered
The first person in Magic: the Gathering history to have a spell countered. For more Magic: The Gathering videos: Subscribe to …
I remember that feeling. Same feeling when I went back ygo during Dragonlink. Or tried to play 40k. “So, I’m supposed to invest more than $200 to have a chance?”. “Yeah, you need more than that. I mean, alot more than that. Here. Read these codex and… paint your units. Have some pride. You disappoint the God-Emporer with your heresy”.
True, I remember when I used to play MTG at the university and since I always was a fan of red and black it for sure hits differently when your creature spell was countered, specially when playing with a red deck whose spells are more aggressive in nature and whose deck is consumed quicker than other colors so you have to make your moves fast to win the game or suffer a terrible loss 🤷
I remember the day after the mirage set came out my best friend and I bought a couple boxes each and we traded the cards we needed to have a playset of each new cards we wanted to test. I build the Caddy Bloom/Prosperity deck and when we return to the game store the next day I was beating everyone by turn 4 or 5 and sometimes turn on turn 2. The deck was fun the first few times you pull off the combo but I played it until everyone refused to play me. That deck could win by milling the opponent or just dropping a giant fireball. That buddy I was deck building with that night passed away from Covid on Sept. 14, 2021. He introduced me to Magic back in 1994. He had over a million $$$ in magic cards when he passed. RIP Ken I’ll never forget you brother.
Every so often I remember the original cycle from Alpha. One mana for an effect relating to three. Giant Growth: +3/+3 Lightning Bolt: Deal Three Damage. Dark Ritual: Add 3 Black Mana. Healing Salve: Heal Three or Heal a Creature Three. Ancestral Recall: Draw 3 Cards Back when Magic used to be perfectly balanced, right?
Back when i played mtg irl with friends around 2014 we played on completly diffrent rules not knowing how the game is supposed to be played. Here are main diffrences: -Only instant and sorceries were spells so you couldnt counter a creature unless the card specifically said it could counter a creature. -Creatures entered the battelfield tapped unless they had haste. -There was no combat step; you could attack, if a creature was untapped and it was your turn. One creature at a time. -You could attack creatures. -Trample damage always went to the player instead of whatever you were attacking. -Attacking caused creatures with vigilance to tap. They untapped during enemy untap step tho. -Blocking caused creatures to tap. -Creatures didn’t heal between turns.
For some reason this reminded me of when my friend finally got me to try the game out of boredom back in mirrodin besieged block. I didn’t start buying product until inistrad released though. I bought and opened way too many boxes and had multiple players of Liliana and every other great card in the set, but for some reason I just wanted to make a deck with kindercatch. It’s a green 6 mana vanilla 6/6 and I thought it was gonna win me all the games since it was big. My friend was trying to talk me out of it and I wouldn’t listen until I tried my deck in a local tournament and no games were remotely close. I was taking L’s all day. That’s when I realized that “turn big dudes sideways” was a tiny aspect of the game rather than the entire game like I’d assumed.
Ancestral Recall is on par with your Healing Salve (in a sense). In the original game, every color has a spell that gives you 3 of something for 1 mana. Heal/prevent 3 damage, Deal 3 damage, Gain 3 black mana, +3/+3 to a creature… and draw 3 cards. Not sure how they thought that was even but you see where they were with game design then.
green for ramp/draw/offense blue for discard/counter/defense red for destroy/mana burn black for lifesteal/destroy/hex/ward,etc. and white for exile/healing/protection reason I play everything in my commander and straight green with two reds in standard. but boy. a blue deck would be OP if I had the correct cards to make one
This is why I build decks with plenty of spells able to be played through some gimmick so they aren’t cast, or straight up can’t be countered. Like return from the graveyard stuff, or cycle with benefits like Shark Typhoon and Yadaro the Ninja Turtle. Because I don’t mind losing a good game of magic, but I absolutely hate losing to counter magic.
Just on the topic of counter spells, it’s said that Richard Garfield said that the purest form of Magic is a control mirror, or something along those lines. I think Rosewater actually took the game in a different direction to what Garfield had in mind. Not that Rosewater’s vision is bad. Magic is still the best card game ever, and one of the best games ever. But I think in this context with the counterspells this is worth bringing up. I believe Garfield’s vision for MTG was much closer to a boxing match. You’re picking moments when to try and attack and then guarding otherwise, and knockouts come from quick and decisive actions. This isn’t to say the game would be fast paced. I think there would be no actual meta pacing. I think you’d just be playing a deck and then when you’re wide open you probably lose. How you attack and guard would have been up to you
(Disclaimer: The following is meant in a “it’s satire, laughing at yourself is priceless” way, not to be taken seriously*.) 1: “Okay, we’ve made new decks, and I’m ready for you this time! I cast this sorcery!” 2: “I will Counterspell.” 1: “…Great. Then I summon this creature!” 2: “Creatures are also spells. I Counterspell again.” 1: “Ffffine, then I play this artifact.” 2: “Them too. Counterspelled.” 1: “Then I play this, which specifically cannot be countered!” 2: “(plays something like Discontinuity) No. And, especially for Discontinuity, here is a rules lawyer-y explanation of why that is not countered but it is.” 1: “Yeah, awesome, this is fun. I get that TCGs are like golf: The specific goal of both is to play as little as possible, what a thrilling game. No wonder so many old people play it: They don’t have the time or athleticism to spare. But Blue takes that a step further by not ‘playing the game’ at all and preventing the other player from playing either, and yet, you’re still considered the winner. GG.” (* …Mostly.)
I tried to counter my sister’s creature with essence scatter and she threw the cards at me and called me mean names. We never played again, and she told everyone I cheated and made up rules. I’m actually pretty on the spectrum and am pretty physically incapable of not following the rules of a game. That sucked for a while.
Personally as someone who does play blue from time to time, save your counterspells for threats. So only counter big creatures that cant be removed later, removal spells, or board wipes. Doing it for draw spells, smaller creatures, tutors, and basically everything else is just a waste of that counterspell, even if you have more than 4 in a deck.
How did people know what Counterspell actually did when Magic first started by reading the text on the card? The words “Counter Target Spell” don’t actually explain it very clearly. And the word “counter” almost makes it sound like you can play your own spell afterwards. Like, my opponent throws a punch, and I “counter” with a duck and a left-hook. If it said “Destroy Target Spell” or “Put Target Spell in the Graveyard”, I would understand.
House rule – Only one copy of every type of counter spell in a deck. They all have different costs, some counter any kind of spell, some only counter creature spells, some only counter non creature spells.. and the some scale to the cost of target to be countered and some could be ignored by the opponent buy paying only slightly more mana. And as the match goes on, it gets more predictable what types of counter spells are left. But the blue player can just spend a couple mana to repeatedly counter big spells by having 4 copies of bs cheap counters.
as someone who literally played the game for the first time 2 years ago (my first time, no since release XD) and my first opponent was a legacy mono blue back to the basics counter deck. (meanwhile me with my starter dual lands and free deck I put together from the card shop). It was not fun…. and now I will never touch legacy ever
For my n00b feelings, Counterspell was the 2nd most unfair card I encountered after Fireball. Seriously, I felt that damaging your opponent felt without even needing creatures for it was cheap and unfun. Counterspell seemed heavily undercosted. For 2 blue you had the card that would stop ANYTHING. Counter magic had especially been overly powerful with Force of Will and the like. Blue was the strongest color.
I need to preface the following opinion by saying I understand and agree that counter magic absolutely has its place in MtG and is even required to maintain the balance in many instances. HOWEVER… I despise them and find them to be whole heartedly anti-fun and against the spirit of the game. My favorite part of magic is the interaction between my actions and how my opponent responds to them and vice versa. To simply say “Yea that just doesn’t happen at all” goes against that. The same goes for lock-down decks, if you didn’t want your opponent to play at all, why aren’t you just soloing your deck at home?
I once stabbed a table out of sheer anger because I couldn’t get mana on the field. I had to play a mana and then play a duel land that returns a land to my hand. After I played the duel land he boomeranged it back to my hand. Then proceeded to watch me do this whole thing again over 2 turns…then boomeranged again 😭 mind you this was a multiplayer game and I was definitely not the best target. Blue brings out the worst traits in humankind 🥲
The problem with counters spell is blue more or less has monopoly on interaction on the stack. Let red do the triggy stuff by redirecting and copy spells white should be able to counter permanents, let black counter spell by sacrificing or paying life, since WotC let green do everything the should naturally be allowed to have better counter spells than blue.
I know the game wouldn’t work without counters but to me it’s bad design just like having to play lands. In other words, being on the play is too much of an advantage because of lands and counters are plain boring. “I dont do anything, go” “I’d like to play this card” taps two islands “no you don’t”. We both didn’t play anything… Fun!
As a blue player who focuses on value in the form of card draw, “counterspell” blue players are a plague. A few are fine but when your number of counterspells starts to rival your creatures in the deck, you need to realize that there’s more to the game than stopping other people from playing the game.
It’s not that fun tbh. We bought one of those packs where there are two decks that should make for interesting games against each other. It’s always a one sided stomp. Either i don’t have lands, or I have too many lands, or my wife gets giant ass monsters and kills me before I can do anything. Or she has no lands to play anything or some other bs. Really feels like there’s no strategy and all just luck of the draw.
That’s what pisses me off about blue. Counter spell has ZERO punishment for just spamming it willy nilly and the cost remains the same no matter what it’s countering. It should have heavy restrictions like this spell is too powerful to counter for cards 3 cost above it and the effect should be uncanceled.
Counterspells and instant spells are a bad design in general. Such cards should have a limitation of 1 each round, like the Reaction mechanic in D&D. You could also say that the caster would need to prepay the mana cost in their turn in order to do so, meaning that they have to take the risk of casting less stuff on their turn even if the opponent decides to do nothing on their own. Then again, you could just say that countermagic counters only spells with mana value equal to the amount of mana you spent on the counterspell and then go on to create specialized counterspells that counter a specific type of card for less mana.
The thing that made me rage about counterspells is that you don’t even get some of your mana back. You pay 7 for something and your opponent pays 2 to destroy probably the most valuable play you had, prevent etb, and basically force you to end turn because you don’t have mana for a replacement spell. It’s almost like it says “Make your opponent discard their best thing, then take an extra turn”
As an Azorius, Dimir and Esper control player, this pleases me greatly. It’s no fun until someone cries. Also, people can absolutely have too much of a good thing. So, we here at the Esper fun police make sure players aren’t having too much fun when putting their expensive cardboard on the table. You’re welcome.
Decades later, the blue colour is still the reason I cannot have fun in this game. And when they gave green some cards that did nothing except against blue, they promptly banned them a little bit later, cause if blue could not ruin your day, it would not be Magic. The only way to counter blue, is to play even more blue deck – and that is the opposite of fun to me. Game is complex and everything, I give it that, but playing against blue felt like a chore a decade ago and it still does.
I remember my first game of Legacy after spending a year slowly trading away Standard cards to build up a Legacy Deck… First spell I played – countered by Mental Misstep. Second spell I played – countered by Force of Will. I immediately reconsidered my life choices… Thankfully, MM was banned the same month, and I eventually got my own play set of FoW 🤣
This is how I feel about Mill Decks. Like, hey do you know what would be a fun way to play Magic? Not playing Magic! I just hate having to use my own cards, or have my opponent have to overcome them through interaction. Okay, let me just take my deck on the left here and just place it over here in my gaveyard to the right! I lose! Yay, let’s play again! Fuck Mill Decks
The game design problem with counter spells is multifold. 1. If counter spells are too cheap then they invalidate too many printed cards. 2. They involve no risk or opportunity cost partially due to their relationship with instant speed draw. 3. Like land destruction & discard they are a mechanic that prevents play instead of outplaying. 4. Counter spells have an incredibly high floor & moderately low ceiling of difficulty. This lowers the strategic quality of the game. If you ever play multiplayer in a free for all MtG with friends, you will find counter spells are a welcome mechanic that people actually like. This is because in multiplayer problems 2, 3, & 4 go away for counter spells. In competitive 1v1 counter spells are just a mess of a mechanic.
What do you think about? Where does your mind wander when you are bored? Jesus said, “where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” There’s nothing wrong with a few Fantasy games but if they begin to take over your mind and your heart and eventually your life then you are in a trap. How do you get to hell? Very simple: claim that you’re innocent. How do you get to heaven? Very simple: Admit that you’re not Innocent, you’re guilty and ask for mercy. How to know if you’re guilty or not? Simply: Compare your life to the Ten Commandments God gave you in the Bible. Everyone agrees that if people followed the ten commandments there would be no need for governments or police. Do not lie. Do not steal. Do not commit adultery. Do not insult God by using his name as a cuss word. There are six more but let’s just leave it at that. How many lies have you told in your life? Have you ever taken anything that didn’t belong to you? Jesus said, if you look at a women lustfully you’ve already committed adultery in your heart with that woman. How many times a day do you do that? Do you use God’s name as a cuss word? Would you do that with your own mother’s name? If you answer these questions honestly you know that you’re guilty. God can justly punish you and send you to hell. Ask him for mercy. His name is Jesus. It’s as simple as this, The Ten Commandments are called the moral law. You and I broke God’s laws. Jesus paid the fine. The fine is death. Ezekiel 18:20 — “The soul who sins shall die.