A counterspell hauls your opponent up short as you effectively trade it for whatever they have just put on the stack before you. It is typically an instant because you have to be able to play it in your opponent’s turn or your own. Most counterspells are blue because blue is usually more about control and disruption than other MTG colors.
There are many blue counterspells in MTG. Some of the best are Force of Will, Archmage’s Charm, Mana Drain, Force of Negation, Cryptic Command, Arcane Denial, Spell Snare, Spell Pierce, and Counterspell. Daze and Remand are also good. Some are rares, but commons and uncommons are also in there.
Counterspells can be found in other colors, e.g., Pyroblast is red, Mana Tithe is white, and Dash Hopes is black, but most are blue cards.
Not all counterspells are equally helpful because some only allow you to target creatures while others only let you counter artifacts and enchantments. Yet others can only be used against sorceries and instants.
1. Force Of Will
At a casting cost of three colorless and two blue, it’s a bit pricey, but you can also cast it by paying one life and exiling a blue card from your hand. Therefore, you can use it early on to prevent your opponent from assembling their combo or later to stop them from casting a big nasty creature that could win them the game.
It allows you to counter any type of spell. Force of Will isn’t legal in all formats, but it’s highly rated by the MTG community. You can play it in Commander, Legacy, and Vintage. It’s a mythic rare and can be used in combination with other cards to give even more advantage.
2. Archmage’s Charm
This rare instant costs three blue mana to cast. It’s an exceptional card because it gives you three options.
You can choose to counter target spell, have target player draw two cards, or you can take control of a non-land permanent with a converted mana cost of one or less.
Any card that allows a control deck to draw two cards is welcome. You can also disrupt your opponent’s early game by getting control of one of their strategic one mana creatures – common in white weenie decks. Versatile spells like these are often preferable to the simple ones with only a single function, but they do tend to cost slightly more to cast.
3. Mana Drain
Mana Drain is another versatile blue counterspell.
You can counter any target spell with it, and it has the added boon of allowing you to add X colorless mana to your mana pool at the beginning of your next main phase, where X is the countered spell’s mana cost.
That’s a lot of extra mana if the countered spell costs five, six, or seven to cast!
Mana Drain is a powerful mythic rare that only costs two blue to cast with no drawbacks. Unsurprisingly, it has a five-star rating within the MTG Community.
4. Force Of Negation
Force of Negation only allows you to counter target non-creature spell. It‘s a rare, costing one colorless and two blue to cast. If you don’t use it in your turn, you can exile a blue card from your hand rather than pay its mana cost. This is great since you will often be wanting to cast it in your opponent’s turn anyway.
You can thus potentially play it in your opponent’s second turn or present them with an unexpected counterspell when they think you are all tapped out. It’s a rare with a five-star rating from the MTG community.
5. Cryptic Command
Cryptic Command is prized for its versatility in many control decks and is a firm favorite of MTG players.
It lets you pick two out of four choices. The choices are counter target spell; return target permanent to its owner’s hand; tap all creatures your opponents control; draw a card. As a counterspell, it’s a bit expensive as it costs one and three blue to cast, but you would never use it only as a counterspell.
It can bounce your own permanent back to your hand to save it from an opponent’s spell or bounce one of their permanents, ruining a combo, for instance. A land is also a permanent, and all players know how important it is to get your land drops. It can also bounce planeswalkers, enchantments, and artifacts.
You can use it to tap all your opponent’s creatures at the beginning of their combat phase just before they attack. Since control depends on cards in hand, the ability to draw a card is seldom a drawback either. Knowing how best to use Cryptic Command is crucial because it can fizzle if you use it incorrectly.
6. Arcane Denial
This card also lets you counter a target spell of any type. You can even counter your own spell to draw three cards, but this isn’t how counterspells are commonly used. It costs one and a blue to cast. Although it’s a common, it’s rated five out of five by the MTG community.
Arcane Denial’s drawback when used against an opponent’s spell is that the controller of the countered spell may draw up to two cards at the beginning of the next turn’s upkeep. As a consolation, though, it also lets you draw a card at the beginning of the next turn’s upkeep.
7. Spell Snare
Spell Snare is brilliant for countering spells with a converted mana cost of two. It counters any spell type as long as that spell only costs two to cast. Spell Snare itself only costs one blue mana.
If your opponent starts play, you can cast it on their second turn. What a pleasure! It’s an uncommon with a five-star rating in the MTG Community.
8. Spell Pierce
Spell Pierce is a common that costs two blue mana to cast but don’t be deceived. It has a five-star rating in the MTG Community. You use it to counter target non-creature spell unless its controller pays two extra mana.
Your opponent may have been planning on playing a further one or two other spells that turn, and now they have to choose between only casting the countered spell or allowing Spell Pierce to resolve. It’s a good way of ruining their turn for just two blue mana.
9. Counterspell
Counterspell does just what it says in the title. For two blue mana, you can counter target spell – any spell. It’s the classic counterspell in MTG with no drawbacks and has a five-star rating in the Community.
10. Daze
Daze is one of those rare spells you can technically cast for zero mana. Instead of paying one and a blue, you may return an island you control to its owner’s hand. It is useful in the early game before your opponent has played a lot of lands because it says, “Counter target spell unless its controller pays one colorless mana.” It can take down any spell if your opponent can’t or won’t pay.
Of course, if your opponent has just tapped out all those carefully accumulated lands to play a spectacular creature, it can also be devastating. Daze has a five-star rating in the MTG Community.
11. Remand
For one and a blue Remand lets, you counter target spell. However, the countered spell goes back into its owner’s hand instead of their graveyard. Still, it has a five-star rating amongst the MTG Community.
Conclusion
The best blue counterspells in MTG are Force of Will, Archmage’s Charm, Mana Drain, Force of Negation, Cryptic Command, and Arcane Denial. Spell Snare Spell Pierce, Counterspell, Daze, and Remand are also right up there.
You need to check which formats you can play them in because they aren’t all legal in all formats.
