Proposal: Counterspell ability

[DaveW]

Either for use by any Mage as an alternative to "normal" casting, or perhaps for a new Arcane school mage special ability (though I strongly advise the latter):

Counterspell would be an ability, rather than a spell. The ability would allow the possibility of cancelling a spell currently being cast by the opposing Mage. You would have to have the same spell available to cast (if it were your action), and then cast the spell (during the counterspell step) using your quickcast marker, and pay the same amount of mana that your opponent is using to cast his spell. If this is done, then the original spell fizzles.

So, if the enemy mage spends 12 mana to try to teleport your mage to a zone on the other side of the board where a bunch of creatures are waiting for him, you could reveal a Teleport spell in hand (or use one from a Mage wand), flip your quickcast marker, and spend 12 mana yourself to cancel the action.

If you want a little more flexibility at the expense of complication, you could alternately allow the use of a spell of the same type from the same school with a higher base spellbook cost instead. So, for example, to cancel a Minor Heal, you could use a Heal if you had no Minor Heal in hand... but you only would pay the cost for the Minor Heal.

For spells with more than one school listed, you could use a spell from either school... but the total base spellbook cost would have to be exceeded. For example, you might be able to cancel a Renewing Rain with a Lay Hands, but not with a Heal.

I would think that this could only be used on Attack and Incantation spells for flavor (if not logistical) reasons, and that you would have to be within range (using the range of the spell you are using to counter the original spell) of either the opposing mage, or the original spell's target in order to be able to do this.

I am suggesting that this would be an ability specific to a new mage, rather than for use by all. This seems as if it would particularly empower melee mages with added magical defenses... they could prepare teleports every round knowing that this can help them defend against being teleported away, all the while using melee attacks instead of (or in conjunction with) the teleport counterspell.

It seemed interesting... wondering what you all think about the concept.

[Wildhorn]

There is already stuff that does that for cheaper: Nullify and Block.

[lettucemode]

Cool thematic concept, but ultimately it promotes defensive play and could lead to game stagnation so I dislike it.

[Sailor Vulcan]

It would be cool if there were a nature/arcane mage that could counter more spells if they have more creatures...

[Zuberi]

I think the idea is a little rough, but some kind of innate counter spell ability could be cool. Perhaps something like once per round when this mage is targeted by an enchantment or incantation spell you may pay X mana. Counter that spell unless it's controller also pays X mana (in addition to the spell's normal cost of course).

This could be a very powerful ability if your opponent is spending all of their mana every round. However, if they learn to conserve a little, it becomes a bit more of a gamble. If your opponent spends 2 mana to cast an enchantment on you, do you really want to spend a lot of mana to counter it not knowing what it is? Then you're out more mana than he is even though he loses the card. But if you don't spend enough to discourage him, then he's still only spent 2 more mana than you have and gets to keep his enchantment.

Incantations are a little easier since you can tell what they are going to do before you decide how much mana to gamble, but it is still a gamble if your opponent has enough to possibly pay. And your opponent isn't the only one having to learn to conserve mana. You have to have mana saved away to use for this ability as well. So, it's not putting anyone at an unfair advantage there either.

Just a rough idea. Could probably use some more work. But the concept of a mage who specializes in counterspells is kind of cool. Would be annoying as can be to play against though.

[sIKE]

I think the idea is a little rough, but some kind of innate counter spell ability could be cool. Perhaps something like once per round when this mage is targeted by an enchantment or incantation spell you may pay X mana. Counter that spell unless it's controller also pays X mana (in addition to the spell's normal cost of course).

This could be a very powerful ability if your opponent is spending all of their mana every round. However, if they learn to conserve a little, it becomes a bit more of a gamble. If your opponent spends 2 mana to cast an enchantment on you, do you really want to spend a lot of mana to counter it not knowing what it is? Then you're out more mana than he is even though he loses the card. But if you don't spend enough to discourage him, then he's still only spent 2 more mana than you have and gets to keep his enchantment.

Incantations are a little easier since you can tell what they are going to do before you decide how much mana to gamble, but it is still a gamble if your opponent has enough to possibly pay. And your opponent isn't the only one having to learn to conserve mana. You have to have mana saved away to use for this ability as well. So, it's not putting anyone at an unfair advantage there either.

Just a rough idea. Could probably use some more work. But the concept of a mage who specializes in counterspells is kind of cool. Would be annoying as can be to play against though.

Wouldn't this ability trigger when the Enchantment is bound instead of when it is triggered?

[ringkichard]

I'd be concerned that this ability would take a lot of fun out of the planing phase, where you try to guess what your opponent is planning and then try to play around it. If you had a one-size-fits-most counterspell you'd just rely on that instead of trying to out-think your opponent.