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Counterbalance, art by John Zeleznik
Art by John Zeleznik · ™ & © Wizards of the Coast · image via Scryfall
Selected printing · USD
$6.13
checked Jun 14, 2026 · Scryfall
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Counterbalance

{U}{U} · Enchantment

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.

Rulings (2)

Jul 15, 2006 · 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.

Apr 18, 2017 · 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.

LegacyLegal
VintageLegal
ModernLegal
PioneerNot legal
StandardNot legal
PauperNot legal
PremodernNot legal
cEDHLegal

Where it’s played now

Inclusion by archetype

% of archetype's lists running it · last 30 days · n=116 decks
ArchetypeFormatInclusionCopiesDecks (n)
Glarb, Calamity's AugurcEDH100%1
Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker / Jeska, Thrice ReborncEDH100%1
Jeskai ControlLegacy100%1
Jeskai StonebladeLegacy100%1
Nezahal, Primal TidecEDH100%1
StiflenoughtLegacy50%2
Izzet MidrangeLegacy10%10
Izzet DelverLegacy4%99
Data as of Jun 14, 2026 · MTGO + papercasthaven.com

Price

Counterbalance — price trend

Daily cheapest printing · USD · last 90 days · n=2 snapshots
Data as of Jun 14, 2026 · Scryfallcasthaven.com

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