Forgotten Red Counterspell Is The Funniest Anti-Turn 1 Sol Ring Tech Ever

Last updated on October 7, 2026

Blasphemous Act | Illustration by Andrea Piparo

Few things in Commander are more threatening than a turn 1 Sol Ring. Well, unless you’re playing cEDH and the Rog-Si player wins on turn 1. For most casual players, it’s that dreaded mana rock. But the answer has been in front of us the entire time: Hailing from Antiquities, we have Artifact Blast, one of the few red counterspells!

All you need to do to answer the Sol Ring is start the game with Artifact Blast in your hand and be at least one seat ahead in turn order. And this card’s totally great after the Sol Ring’s come down….right?

Jokes aside, Artifact Blast could be fun tech in an artifact-heavy meta. I wouldn’t run this if I only played randos at the local game store, but part of the fun of having an established play group is using tech like this because you just know Jeremy only runs artifact commanders. But this isn’t the only early answer to a Sol Ring (though I won’t promise Sol Ring is always the best target for the following cards.

Force Spike + Mana Tithe

Force Spike and Mana Tithe are also early answers to Sol Ring that definitely aren’t useless past those opening turns. Soft counterspells like these are pretty rough in Commander, if only because Commander encourages ramping, but it doesn’t get funnier than wrecking somebody’s plans with one of these.

Mental Misstep

Mental Misstep is a legitimate good counterspell—thanks to Phyrexian mana, you can even answer it when behind the Sol Ring player! The flaw here is that any bracket level where Mental Misstep is worth running probably has more important 1-mana spells to hit, like Mystic Remora or Demonic Consultation.

Pick Your Poison + Vandalblast

Just because the turn 1 Sol Ring resolved doesn’t mean you’re opponent has done something with it, so there’s a chance to kill it or answer it another way. Vandalblast is a classic artifact destruction spell in Commander, and Pick Your Poison isn’t that bad either. It can even scoop up multiple turn 1 Sol Rings if Lady Luck wants a laugh.

Stony Silence + Collector Ouphe

Building off the idea that you can answer a Sol Ring after resolving but before it does anything, 2-mana answers theoretically work for players ahead of the Sol Ring. Stony Silence and Collector Ouphe are super efficient answers to Sol Ring and other artifacts. Sort of like Artifact Blast, these stax effects are particularly useful if you expect ample artifact synergies to shut down.

Scheming Fence

Scheming Fence is a particularly fun answer to Sol Ring because it doesn’t just render it useless, it steals the ability to tap for . The only thing better than preventing your opponent from using their fast mana is having it yourself…though I suppose summoning sickness means the Fence is more like slow mana.

Thada Adel, Acquisitor

Of course, prevention is the best salve to any problem. Why bother answering the Sol Ring when you can ensure your opponent just doesn’t play it with Thada Adel, Acquisitor? This merfolk basically always has a good target since most players run Sol Ring and you never know what else you might fish up—The One Ring is always a possibility.