1. Pyroblast
We have Pyroblast that costs one red mana as our first red counterspell. Note that this card is an Interrupt which means, for all intents and purposes, it is an Instant.
Although it is only legal in Legacy, Vintage, and Commander now, back in the day, this card, along with Red Elemental blast (which we will cover next), saw seventeen Top 8 Grand Prix finishes and a massive fifty-four Top 8 Pro Tour finishes.
Its ability reads “counter target spell if it is blue or destroy target permanent if it is blue.” As you can tell, its ability is limited to blue, but it allows you to counter or destroy for one mana cost, which is undeniably fantastic.
Also, perfectly suitable Commander, this card would be a great addition to your sideboard in any competitive event allowing you to have a battle plan against those pesky blue control decks.
2. Red Elemental Blast
Red Elemental Blast was released all the way back in 1994, while Pyroblast was in 1997. Although these two cards share different release dates, they are more similar than you think.
Besides both of them costing only one red mana, they both counter blue spells or destroy a blue permanent in play.
One thing to note about this card is that it was labeled Instant in the Limited Alpha Editions and some other sets, while more recent sets have it labeled as interrupts (the same as with Pyroblast).
Again only being legal in Legacy, Vintage, Commander, and Pauper, this card is a fantastic sideboard card that you can have four of a kind of in case you face up against an opponent that is playing blue.
If you are looking to play both Pyroblast or Red Elemental blast as either an Instant or an Interrupt, you will need to obtain them from the appropriate sets.
3. Tibalt’s Trickery
Compared to the two previous ones, this card is relatively new, being released in 2021 from the set of Kaldheim. You can see with this card how power creep has become apparent over the years in MTG with its additional ability.
Although it is legal in most formats, including Standard, Alchemy, Pioneer, Legacy, Vintage, Commander, and Brawl, it has yet to have seen any Top 8 finishes on the Pro Tour or in any Grand Prix. Nonetheless, this rare, two mana (one red and one colorless) has its pros.
Straight off the bat, being an instant, it has the ability to counter target spell in any turn, and unlike our previous cards that are only able to counter blue, Tibalt’s Trickery is not color bound.
Additionally, it has another ability that allows the controller to pick between 1 and 3, and they must mill that many cards from their library. Then they continue to exile cards until a non-land card with a different name than that spell is reached. Upon reaching a non-land card with another name, they may cast it without paying its mana cost.
As you can see, this card could be very effective, mainly because it is so cheap with regards to mana, and you would be able to play it early on in the game, giving you the upper hand early on.
4. Molten Influence
Perhaps a card that is not so well known but has the ability to cause serious havoc, Molten Influence was released in 2010 and came in the set named Odyssey. Once again, another red counterspell that has not seen any Top 8 Pro Tour or Grand Prix finishes one would think why that is?
Remember that when it comes to red decks and competitive play, most pro players are usually using some combination of red as an aggro deck, and cards such as Molten Influence or Tibalt’s Trickery may not gel well.
However, these cards are definitely influential in their own right and should not be overlooked. Being a rare Instant that costs two mana (one red and one colorless), this card has the ability to counter an instant or sorcery of any color.
Additionally, we can see the power creep again with the added “unless its controller has Molten Influence deal 4 damage to them.”
Take note that this card is only legal in Legacy, Vintage, and Commander.
5. Burnout
Released in 2010 in the Alliances set and again in the Master’s Edition II set, Burnout is another card with no Top 8 Pro Tour or Grand Prix finishes.
Take into consideration that that does not mean that this as well as the previous cards are not good. You would have to consider the red meta at the time, and they are typically aggro decks.
Similar to that of Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast, this card only counters blue spells. Additionally, it has a nifty ability that lets you draw a card at the beginning of the next turn’s upkeep. This means you would be able to draw a card on your opponent’s turn because Burnout is an interrupt and hence can only be played in your turn.
6. Artifact Blast
Released in 2010 in the Antiquities set and then again in the Master’s Edition and Masters Edition IV, Artifact Blast is a cheap red instant that can help you counter all artifact spells. Not seeing much play on the Pro Tour or the Grand Prix, this card is best kept in your sideboard, allowing you to compensate for decks your opponent is playing with that have many artifacts.
It costs only one red mana, and along with some removal and aggro spells, it could help you sneakily offset your opponent who has underestimated your red deck, which typically does not have many artifact counter or removal spells.
7. Chaos Warp
Chaos Warp is a card that is not your typical counter spell but could be used with a similar effect. Released in 2014 under the Commander 2014 set, this card has seen a number of professional placings. It was most notable in the winning decks of Jules Lestienne and Brugiere Yan being played in two Majors in France.
The ability reads, “the owner of target permanent shuffles it into their library, then reveals the top card of their library. If it’s a permanent card, they may put it onto the battlefield.”
Costing three mana (one red and two colorless), you could use this card to dismiss any card your opponent would want to put on the battlefield or already has on the battlefield.
The one element to consider is that if luck is on your opponent’s side, they may be able to place a free card on the battlefield if they draw a permanent.