Counterbalance
Click the card to switch sides
Magic: The Gathering
Mana cost
Mystery Booster 2MB2 · #157
- Card type
- Enchantment
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Indicative price
- 3.03 € · ★ 23.22 € · 2.18 $ · ★ 24.11 $
- Mana value
- 2
- Colour
- Blue
Card text
Whenever an opponent casts a spell, you may reveal the top card of your library. If you do, counter that spell if it has the same mana value as the revealed card.
Format legality
- CommanderLegal
- DuelLegal
- LegacyLegal
- ModernLegal
- OathbreakerLegal
- PredhLegal
- VintageLegal
Legalities follow the imported catalogue; check format rules before a tournament.
Data imported on 2026-10-06 (UTC).
Indicative Scryfall prices, updated daily. ★: foil; ★ E: etched foil. EUR and USD represent different markets.
Printing information
- Illustrator
- John Zeleznik
- Card language
- English
- Release date
- 2024-08-02
Rulings
If an opponent casts a spell with X in its mana cost, the mana value of that spell takes the value of X into account. If you reveal a card with X in its mana cost, X is 0. For example, if your opponent casts Blaze with X=1, Counterbalance will counter that spell if you reveal a card with mana value 2, but it won't counter that spell if you reveal a Blaze of your own.
If an opponent casts half of a split card (for example, Hit), it won't be countered if you reveal that same split card. The mana value of a split card is determined by the combined mana cost of its two halves, but the mana value of Hit is determined using only that half's mana cost.
