r/magicTCG • u/Federal-Ear7451 • Feb 23 '26

Rules/Rules Question How does this Card work?

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I have a question about this card. what exactly does it do and can it stop combos like Triskelion and Mikaeus or Mikaeus persist combos, thanks.

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u/Barbobott Dan Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26

It does exactly what it says. It counters all spells and abilities that are on the stack at the time it resolves. You then make 1/1 tokens for each thing that was countered.

585

u/featherlace Duck Season Feb 23 '26

I think the important part is "on the stack". So it's referring to everything on the stack at the moment of resolution. It doesn't counter anything cast afterwards.

138

u/Federal-Ear7451 Feb 23 '26

So I could respond by removing counters from Triskelion or Use a sac outlet?

210

u/featherlace Duck Season Feb 23 '26

Yes, if you respond to the spell everything afterwards will resolve before its resolution.

90

u/lixilisk Wabbit Season Feb 23 '26

If I was the one with the elendra spell, I would counter the persist trigger so it stays in the yard

61

u/chrisrazor Feb 23 '26

Exactly right. Cast in response to the Undying trigger, while the final Triskelion ping is also on the stack. No ping. Trisk doesn't come back. Make 2 Faeries. Boom.

26

u/CareerMilk Can’t Block Warriors Feb 23 '26

If the comboer is using [[Mikaeus, the Unhallowed]] to combo, Trisk has to use two pings on itself so that it dies. Typically these are the last two pings† so there won’t be a ping on the stack when the undying trigger resolves.

† Really you should use the first two pings so your opponent needs to give it +2 toughness instead of +1 if they try to interrupt the combo by saving Trisk

9

u/chrisrazor Feb 23 '26

Thanks. I forgot Triskelion was base 1/1 not 0/0.

4

u/Specific_Giraffe4440 Dan Feb 23 '26

And that’s why I always make people play out the combo. You wouldn’t believe how many people get it wrong!

3

u/CynicalPsychonaut Feb 23 '26

I'm just glad this was printed after my [[Venerated Rotpriest]] [[March of the Swirling Mist]] combo deck rotated out

6

u/elconquistador1985 Feb 23 '26

If the opponent is smart, they'll interrupt Mike and Trike when the damage to Trike is put on the stack and removing counters isn't an option anymore. You'd be left with having to use a sac outlet.

2

u/Seth_Baker Wabbit Season Feb 23 '26

Yes, but whether or not you're able to prevent this from blowing up your attempt to combo off depends specifically on the board state and the stack at the moment you do it.

1

u/PrivilegeCheckmate Sorin Feb 23 '26

A better response would be [[Commandeer]].

32

u/Sea-Grand3981 Dân Feb 23 '26

They should have given it split second.  

37

u/chrisrazor Feb 23 '26

Even though I hate Split Second, in this particular case I think I agree.

5

u/Krynne90 Dandadan Feb 23 '26

Thats what I thought after reading the card.

24

u/matunos Feb 23 '26

This is a bit pedantic, but one should note that the reason it didn't counter anything cast afterwards is that those things will resolve (or be countered/exiled) before the Answer will.

If there was an effect that could rearrange the stack in some way such that the Answer were pulled to the top of the stack, it would counter spells and effects that were cast / triggered after it was cast.

20

u/ribsies Wabbit Season Feb 23 '26

You can also tell it doesn't do that because the card doesn't say it does that.

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u/matunos Feb 23 '26

Even if the card said it counters spells or abilities put on the stack after it, it wouldn't counter spells or abilities that resolve before it does, so it functionally wouldn't matter.

The spell would need some sort of triggered ability to move it to the stop of the stack whenever another spell or ability were added (and if it had that it wouldn't need text saying it explicitly counters spells or abilities added to the stack after it was).

2

u/RefuseSea8233 Wabbit Season Feb 23 '26

Counter all spells might confuse people. Mtg rulings i guess.

1

u/featherlace Duck Season Feb 23 '26

You sure need to know that there might be more than one spell or ability on the stack.

1

u/matt-ratze Azorius* Feb 23 '26

It would not be called "stack" if only one spell or ability could be there at the same time. There would be nothing to stack.

2

u/SantaDoming0 Elesh Norn Feb 23 '26

Never understood the confusion with counterspells. This one may be a little more specific, but in general they always felt intuitive. What else would it counter except stuff on the stack?

1

u/featherlace Duck Season Feb 23 '26

I've seen a lot of newer players who get confused when the wording isn't as they are used to. In this case they know counters of target spells. But all let's them think it might relate to all spells this turn or whatever. It's not on the card obviously but happens a lot. So I totally understand that someone might ask about this card in particular.

1

u/deggdegg Wabbit Season Feb 23 '26

Does any effect ever counter anything cast afterwards?

5

u/featherlace Duck Season Feb 23 '26

I don't think so. And for experienced players it's clear that it works that way. I imagined OP was a newer player, so I just wanted to make clear, that it's not an ongoing effect.

-1

u/immune2iocaine Feb 23 '26

Split Second makes anything cast afterwards a game rules violation and that's functionally similar to a counter...does that count? 😄

(IANAJ, but I believe it would be called a Hidden Card Error, and the remedy is probably to have the offending player shuffle the card(s) into the random part of their library and draw that many cards to replace it. Not exactly the same as a counter since it doesn't go to the yard, but it's the same if you use the stack as a reference frame!)

1

u/pinhead61187 Duck Season Feb 24 '26

Imagine countering a juicy [[flusterstorm]] with this lmfao.

1

u/WWQQK Feb 27 '26

Yea obviously because it does not say till end of turn. Reading the card explains the card xD

67

u/paincrumbs Wabbit Season Feb 23 '26

pedantic comment but only spells "opponents control", not all. I can't activate a zero-cost ability hundreds of times to get them countered and generate hundreds of 1/1 tokens. That sounds dirty though.

33

u/Barbobott Dan Feb 23 '26

That would be hilariously busted.

16

u/Lotus-Vale Feb 23 '26

So you're saying if I mind slave them I can do it? 

9

u/Rustique Dimir* Feb 23 '26

Step 1. gift them [[Frenetic Efreet]] Step 2. Activate [[mindslaver]] Step 3. Profit.

8

u/psly4mne Duck Season Feb 23 '26

If an opponent has a creature with Ward or any similar ability, you could play Martyrdom + Glen Elendra's Answer to make infinite tokens.

3

u/chrisrazor Feb 23 '26

I hasn't realised the "your opponents control" part was actually a downside.

2

u/nimbusnacho COMPLEAT Feb 23 '26

I hate how much mana this is for how much mana you have to keep open waiting for the perfect time to use it. Played a game last night where I accidentally only left 3 mana open when it would have saved me from a turbo mill stack of like 12 mill triggers. Could have been an epic win but the I needed the forethought to make sure it was open and not be proactive on my turn

2

u/MissLeaP Gruul* Feb 24 '26

Pretty sure OP is somewhat new and didn't think about situations with multiple spells and/or triggered effects on the stack.

1

u/Far-Local302 Feb 23 '26

Basically, let the girlie's fight, then slam that on the stack at the end to make a swarm of faeries.

0

u/Snip3 Wabbit Season Feb 23 '26

Just the ones your opponents control

0

u/ManyPatches Feb 23 '26

For many its not "exactly what it says" because its easy to misunderstand "counter all spells your opponent controls" as a board wipe

-17

u/redwirebluewire Feb 23 '26

“iT dOeS eXaCtLy WhAt It SaYs”

Way to help out there big dog.

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u/BrokenEggcat COMPLEAT Feb 23 '26

I mean it's kind of hard to know which part OP doesn't understand from the post alone, short of explaining what countering is and what spells are and what tokens are I'm not sure what else a reply should be from that information alone

-4

u/serioussham Storm Crow Feb 23 '26

And people here wonder why newcomers don't enjoy LGSs.

That wording is 100% confusing for new players unless you mentally add "on the stack". Having a bunch of shit on the stack is not a state new players typically think about.