One of the biggest advantages of running blue in Commander is access to counterspells. That and asking players if they pay the one. Thanks Rhystic Study.
Most Commander games these days finish off a few turns earlier than they used to, thanks to cards getting more and more powerful. If you want to hold off an opponent from casting those game-breaking combos, or ensure your own combo goes off, you better run as many counterspells as you can.
We’ve compiled a list of the very best counterspells in MTG. Since tempo and building your gameplay are critical in the Commander format, you rarely want to hold up open mana on your opponent’s turn. This means free counterspells and one mana counterspells are typically the most useful.
Our list focuses on the strongest power level interaction, which means they are generally geared toward cEDH-level environments, rather than casual play.
Here is our list of the 10 Best Counterspells in Commander & EDH:
#1 Force of Will
Force of Will is one of the most iconic cards in MTG. It’s also the best counterspell in the game. As a blue mage, you’re going to have plenty of card draw, and thus plenty of blue cards to pitch. The life loss is negligible in any format.
Force of Will is better than any other counterspell on this list because it can counter any spell. Most other free counterspells in the game can only counter a specific type of spell.
Fun fact, not long ago, the original artwork for Force of Will sold at auction for a massive $350,000 price tag. People love this card.
#2 Swan Song
Swan Song can counter almost any piece of interaction or noncreature-based combo. It can also protect your combo from any instant speed interaction, other than perhaps a Boseiju, Who Endures.
In a format like Commander, a 2/2 isn’t very relevant, especially when you’re trading winning or losing the game in exchange for one.
#3 Force of Negation
“Try, if you must”. Some salt-inducing words for when you counter your opponent’s combo for free.
A Force of Will that’s only free on an opponent’s turn, and only hits noncreature spells is still pretty amazing. So much so, it still nabs the #3 spot on our list.
Don’t forget this card exiles too!
#4 Strix Serenade
Fresh off the press from Modern Horizons 3 is Strix Serenade. It fills a major gap for efficient counterspells in Commander. Most of the free and one mana counters only stop noncreature spells.
An added benefit of being able to counter creatures is that virtually every Commander is a creature.
#5 An Offer You Can’t Refuse
This is certainly an offer I can’t refuse. One mana to counter a noncreature spell is almost always worth playing.
The downside of giving an opponent two Treasures is generally more helpful to an opponent than a 2/2 bird. For that reason, Swan Song is still the better choice in most situations. When you’re attempting to combo off or stop a combo, it’s still pretty irrelevant compared to the big picture.
#6 Fierce Guardianship
Fierce Guardianship is the best Negate in the game, assuming you have your Commander out. It’s a very synergistic way to protect your Commander after you play it.
Force of Negation ranks slightly higher on our list because you won’t always have your Commander in play.
#7 Pact of Negation
Live another day. And by another day, I mean until your next turn when you don’t have the mana to pay the upkeep cost.
That upkeep step is for chumps though. Pact of Negation is the card you want to protect your combo and win the game. It’s the best card for the job, as it doesn’t need a pitch and can counter any spell. If you’re playing this card on defense, you are probably going to be losing the game.
#8 Flusterstorm
Flusterstorm is the only soft counter on the list. The most powerful spells and game winning sequences in the game involve instant and sorceries, so this is likely to be a hit. It’s an amazing card in cEDH, but often ends up useless in casual gameplay.
If a player tries to combo off early, the soft counter usually works, and quite a few games involve chaining multiple cards in a row to get going, which means the Storm count will get the job done.
The best part about Flusterstorm is that it gets around most counterspells thanks to additional copies going on the stack with Storm.
#9 Mindbreak Trap
This Zendikar staple has shot up in price over the years to $50 thanks to how strong it is in formats like Commander. The added benefit of exiling spells, including a Storm chain, makes it one of the best defensive counterspells in the format.
#10 Mana Drain
We finish our list of the best counterspells in Commander with a card printed way back in 1994. Mana Drain is one of the most powerful cards ever printed. So much so, that it’s been banned in Legacy. It’s an easy way to ramp yourself in the early turns of the game and get ahead.
When it was originally released, Mana Drain actually wasn’t as good as it is today. Back then, there was something called mana burn. The rules of mana burn meant that any unused mana at the end of a turn dealt that much damage to yourself.
If you enjoyed this list, you may also like our article on the best board wipes in Commander.
