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Counterpoint
Instant
rare
Counter target spell. You may cast a creature, instant, sorcery, or planeswalker spell from your graveyard with mana value less than or equal to that spell's mana value without paying its mana cost.
Semantic Tags
A keyword ability that reduces how much mana you need to spend to cast a spell. See rule 702.41, “Affinity.”
Prevents a spell or ability from resolving.
Cares about cards in the graveyard, puts cards into the graveyard, or benefits from things dying.
Answers an opponent's threat by destroying, exiling, bouncing, or otherwise removing a permanent or spell.
A triggered ability that can counter spells or abilities that target the permanent with ward. See rule 702.21, “Ward.”
Format Legality
Price history
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Printings (2)
| Set | Rarity | TCGplayer | Card Kingdom | Cardmarket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murders at Karlov Manor Commander#41 | rare | · | · | · |
| Murders at Karlov Manor Commander#351 | rare | · | · | · |
Related Rules
A Royal Role token is a colorless Aura Role enchantment token named Royal with enchant creature and “Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 and has ward {1}.”
One card (Golgothian Sylex) refers to permanents with a name originally printed in the Antiquities™ expansion. Those names are Amulet of Kroog, Argivian Archaeologist, Argivian Blacksmith, Argothian Pixies, Argothian Treefolk, Armageddon Clock, Artifact Blast, Artifact Possession, Artifact Ward, Ashnod’s Altar, Ashnod’s Battle Gear, Ashnod’s Transmogrant, Atog, Battering Ram, Bronze Tablet, Candelabra of Tawnos, Circle of Protection: Artifacts, Citanul Druid, Clay Statue, Clockwork Avian, Colossus of Sardia, Coral Helm, Crumble, Cursed Rack, Damping Field, Detonate, Drafna’s Restoration, Dragon Engine, Dwarven Weaponsmith, Energy Flux, Feldon’s Cane, Gaea’s Avenger, Gate to Phyrexia, Goblin Artisans, Golgothian Sylex, Grapeshot Catapult, Haunting Wind, Hurkyl’s Recall, Ivory Tower, Jalum Tome, Martyrs of Korlis, Mightstone, Millstone, Mishra’s Factory, Mishra’s War Machine, Mishra’s Workshop, Obelisk of Undoing, Onulet, Orcish Mechanics, Ornithopter, Phyrexian Gremlins, Power Artifact, Powerleech, Priest of Yawgmoth, Primal Clay, The Rack, Rakalite, Reconstruction, Reverse Polarity, Rocket Launcher, Sage of Lat-Nam, Shapeshifter, Shatterstorm, Staff of Zegon, Strip Mine, Su-Chi, Tablet of Epityr, Tawnos’s Coffin, Tawnos’s Wand, Tawnos’s Weaponry, Tetravus, Titania’s Song, Transmute Artifact, Triskelion, Urza’s Avenger, Urza’s Chalice, Urza’s Mine, Urza’s Miter, Urza’s Power Plant, Urza’s Tower, Wall of Spears, Weakstone, Xenic Poltergeist, Yawgmoth Demon, and Yotian Soldier.
If a spell has multiple instances of affinity, each of them applies.
To cloak a card, turn it face down. It becomes a 2/2 face-down creature card with ward {2}, no name, no subtypes, and no mana cost. Put that card onto the battlefield face down. That permanent is a cloaked permanent for as long as it remains face down. The effect defining its characteristics works while the card is face down and ends when it’s turned face up.
Ward
Ward is a triggered ability. Ward [cost] means “Whenever this permanent becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter that spell or ability unless that player pays [cost].”
Some ward abilities include an X in their cost and state what X is equal to. This value is determined at the time the ability resolves, not locked in as the ability triggers.
Affinity
Rulings
If the target spell is an illegal target as Counterpoint tries to resolve, it won’t resolve and none of its effects will happen.
Alternatively, if the target spell is still a legal target but can’t be countered, Counterpoint will still resolve and allow you to cast a spell from your graveyard with mana value less than or equal to the target spell’s mana value.
If you cast a spell “without paying its mana cost,” you can’t choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the card has any mandatory additional costs, those must be paid to cast the spell.
You cast the card from your graveyard as Counterpoint resolves. You can’t wait to cast it later in the turn. Timing restrictions based on the card’s types are ignored.
If a spell you cast has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.
If the target spell has {X} in its mana cost, use the value chosen for X when determining that spell’s mana value.