As a decades long MTG fan, one of the most useful bits of knowledge every player needs to have is a general awareness of when your opponent is most likely to ruin your carefully laid plans.
What is their preferred method of removing your creatures off the board?
How soon will it start happening?!
IS THERE EVEN ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP IT!?
I present to you ALL Magic Counter cards along with where along the mana curve you can expect to start experiencing their nasty effects!
NOTE: Some cards appear identical in effect but with different mana costs due to omitting additional effects unrelated to these lists. Please look up each card to see what other "surprises" they might have. (This is ESPECIALLY true for these lists, in particular)
| Creature Abbreviations | Keyword Abbreviations | |
|---|---|---|
| [c]reature | (Ab)ility | (R)oar |
| [r]elic | (S)tart (o)f (T)urn | (E)nd (o)f (T)urn |
| (STR)ength | (S)pell (B)oost |
("STR" and "SB" were added to deal with a space shortage on the last list)
Before we begin, if you missed the extra note in my disclaimer at the top: I've REMOVED lots of text from these card descriptions. Additionally, expect overlap, as Magic is another domain with multi-use cards.
This list truly speaks for itself: Magic gon' shoot e'erthang. E'erthang!
Single target damage ranges from 2-6+, multi-target damage ranges from 1-5+, and the "+" indicates a potential for higher damage output that is conditional (Form of Unity) or seldom used (Magnetic Blast). This means Creatures with Health 6-7+ are more likely to trade positively with damage cards unless Spell Boost is in play or conditionals are met.
Most efficient single target damage:
- [1] Ancient Texts (2 DMG)
- [2] Starshard Bolt (4 DMG)
- [3] Form of Unity (*1-4, 9 DMG) — *Requires 1-4, 5+ friendly Creatures
- [3] Chainflip (*10 DMG) — *Creature might return EoT
- [4] Wyrmbreath (5 DMG)
- [6] Epiphany (6 DMG)
- [7] Arcane Burst (*1-10 DMG) — *Requires 1-10 Spells with Cost <4 in your Void
Most efficient multi-target damage:
- [2] Tracking Bolt (1 DMG)
- [2] Magnetic Blast (*1+ DMG) — *Entirely based on targeted Armor
- [4] Faraday Cage (2 DMG)
- [5] Shaped Blast (*5 DMG) — *Only when targeting Frontline Creatures
- [7] Inferno (5 DMG)
Here's what can punch you in the face:
- [1] Form of Power (1 con. DMG)
- [1] Ancient Text (2 DMG)
- [3] Form of Unity (*1-4, 9 DMG) — *Requires 1-4, 5+ friendly Creatures
- [3] Vow of Learning (1 DMG)
- [4] Beam (3 DMG)
- [4] Wyrmbreath (5 DMG)
- [6] Astric Implosion (6 DMG)
- [6] Epiphany (6 DMG)
- [7] Arcane Burst (*1-10 DMG) — *Requires 1-10 Spells with Cost <4 in your Void
- [8] O Fortuna [4 DMG]
- [*10] Leyhoard Hatchling (4 DMG) — *Cost reduced by number of Cards in Hand
Yes, there are cards that can match damage output with some of the above, but I've prioritized Character damage (Ancient Texts) over Creature damage (Form of Power) and secondary utility (Epiphany card draw) over drawbacks (Astric Implosion friendly fire). This is why it's EXTREMELY important you take the time to look up these cards to see the additional effects I've omitted.
The auto-sizing of images would reduce these lists into gibberish if I included every detail.
Magic has considerable variety when it comes to how they influence the board. For this list, I've limited the scope to:
- Non-instant damage
- Transform
- Duplication
- Keyword counters (i.e. Levitate)
The most common themes include turning things into 1/1 Rats and copying Creatures/Spells. Unexpected power plays include:
- Demetrious, Playwright (Final Draw upgrades from Deal 1/Draw 1 to Deal 4/Draw 4)
- Erratic Summons (potential for significant discount, especially against Death milling)
- Metamorphosis (RNG can change a weakened herpderp Creature into an efficient Legendary)
- Pillar of Lightning/Archimedes Mirror (damage mirroring with a high limit)
- Recursion/Portal Wrangler (mirror your cards against you)
- Trial of the False Reflection (limitless Creature duplication if used on hard-to-remove target)
The point being: Magic likes to repeat things. Anything that has happened can happen again, sometimes immediately.
This list requires context, as many of these cards have nothing to do with mana. . . or do they? ;P
In addition to generic mana (unlock) ramp, I've included Cost reduction and Spell Boost. Magic has a strong theme of steadily improving their mana efficiency over time. In no particular order, they can ramp their mana (causing a Cost advantage of N vs. N+1 or better), optimize their mana (-N Card Cost), and amplify their mana (+N Spell damage).
An early Morgana's Grimoire could yield massive power turns down the road, for example. Consider the following turn order:
- Morgana's Grimoire (using a mana crystal)
- Warp Engineer (Tracking Bolt to Cost 0)
- Guardian of the Gates [or] Mana Toad
Cost reduction is ready to go, a costless flexible Spell is on deck, and mana ramp is threatening a runaway position. Obviously which cards are drawn is important, but there'll be three other cards on turn 4 to help Magic deal with whatever you've been preparing. This probably isn't the very best possible opening ever for a Magic deck, but it's one that opens doors.
All three themes take a card's base value and improve it. More expensive counters can be combined earlier and in different ways than expected; cheaper damage cards drawn later in a match can be enhanced to greater effect; and all of this can begin sooner with mana ramp. Additionally, cost reduction is based on total unlocked mana which is increased through mana ramp. Thus, Magic can get away with running cheaper removal because they've got Spell Boost to preserve their effectiveness later in a match while still affording the ability to trade cards with early aggro.
That's all for now, but do share in the comments below if you've discovered other strong combos or plays worth learning or being prepared for!
~ Ent
Counter Lists for Each God:
DEATH — Card Removal, Board Control
DECEPTION — Card Removal, Board Control, Card Advantage
LIGHT — Card Removal, Board Control
NATURE — Card Removal, Board Control, Card Advantage
WAR — Card Removal, Blitz, Creature Ramp