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Essence Backlash
Instant
common
Counter target creature spell. Essence Backlash deals damage equal to that spell's power to its controller.
Card Kingdom
CardmarketSemantic Tags
Prevents a spell or ability from resolving.
A keyword ability that allows a spell to affect either a single target or many objects. See rule 702.96, “Overload.”
Cares about power of creatures — Fling effects, power-based draw, Xenagos strategies.
Cares about power of creatures — Fling effects, power-based draw, Xenagos strategies.
Format Legality
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Printings (1)
| Set | Rarity | TCGplayer | Card Kingdom | Cardmarket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return to Ravnica#160 | common | · | · | · |
Related Rules
Overload
Overload is a keyword that represents two static abilities that function while the spell with overload is on the stack. Overload [cost] means “You may choose to pay [cost] rather than pay this spell’s mana cost” and “If you chose to pay this spell’s overload cost, change its text by replacing all instances of the word ‘target’ with the word ‘each.’” Casting a spell using its overload ability follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules 601.2b and 601.2f–h.
If a player chooses to pay the overload cost of a spell, that spell won’t require any targets. It may affect objects that couldn’t be chosen as legal targets if the spell were cast without its overload cost being paid.
Overload’s second ability creates a text-changing effect. See rule 612, “Text-Changing Effects.”
Rulings
Abilities that change the power of a creature (such as the one of Collective Blessing) affect only creatures on the battlefield. They won’t change a creature spell’s power on the stack.
Essence Backlash can target a creature spell that can’t be countered. If Essence Backlash resolves, it won’t counter the spell but it will still deal damage.
If the creature’s power is * and it has an ability defining its power, use that ability to determine its power.