The 29 Best Budget Counterspells in Magic Ranked

Last updated on April 3, 2026

Counterspell | Illustration by Mark Poole

Counterspells are one of the key types of spells in Magic. Unfortunately they can also be one of the most expensive MTG cards, including examples like Fierce Guardianship and Force of Will that are over many player’s budgets or at least that are cards that you need to save up for.

However, there are plenty of budget counterspells, and cheap counters that work almost as good as the expensive ones. Better in some instances, even! Let’s take a look at some of the best, shall we?

What Are Budget Counterspells in MTG?

Saw It Coming | Illustration by Randy Vargas

Counterspells are spells that stop your opponent from resolving a spell when it’s on the stack. This might seem like an easy-to-define spell, but there are some cases which aren’t as straightforward as you might expect. Most counterspells move the card from the stack to the graveyard or to exile, and they specifically say that the spell is countered. But what about cards that return a spell from the stack to hand? Or elsewhere? For the purposes of this list, we’ll take them all, thank you very much!

As for budget, there are plenty available for under a dollar, so I set my restriction there. If the counterspell is under a dollar, they’re generally not likely to creep up much more than that, but you never know! I list the lowest TCGplayer market price here on great counter spells for less than 1$.

Honorable Mention: Cancel – Please Don’t Pay Cash for This….

Cancel actually runs quite highly on a lot of lists, but there are so many strictly better versions of Cancel that it just can’t make it. It’s still worth mentioning, and they can be found pretty much everywhere for a nickel or less, if you want to run Cancel typal, for some reason!

#29. Didn’t Say Please – $0.36

Didn't Say Please is a great blue instant to rub a bit of salt into the wound of the opponent when you cast it. I’m sorry, you can’t cast that because you didn’t say please…. Sure, this has downside against any deck that cares about the graveyard, but I really can’t forget about how great this card was in Throne of Eldraine Limited.

#28. Jwari Disruption / Jwari Ruins – $0.39

The MDFC lands from Zendikar Rising were immediately popular, and Jwari Disruption was one of the more popular. This blue counterspell is a great early counter, and one that can simply become a land drop once its usefulness has passed. One for the 60-card formats, it comes in useful in “Oops all spells” decks and beyond.

#27. Fangkeeper's Familiar – $0.22

Fangkeeper's Familiar is a Mystic Snake variant with great alternate modes if you don't have a creature you need to save this counter for. The complex mana cost accounts for the great number of situations you're happy to have this in versus a card that is only a counter.

#26. Frontline Medic – $0.23

Of course, not all counters are blue, and Frontline Medic is one of those uncommon white cards that can counter a spell. Although it’s a pretty specific way to counter something, it’s unusual to see something that straight up counters a spell in white. Attached to an impressive body that makes attacking easy, this white creature is a pretty good inclusion in white decks that want to play to the board and have ways to protect themselves from wipes (even if the wipe needs X in its mana cost).

#25. Ertai Resurrected – $0.35

Ertai Resurrected is a blowout in the making. Getting a card back for their countered spell is certainly something your opponent won’t be complaining about too much, but disrupting their big play while getting a not-insubstantial body alongside is great. Also, suppose you draw this when their threat is already out? Well, we have a mode for that.

#24. Commit // Memory – $0.24

Although Commit // Memory isn’t technically a counter, in my definition it is. Four mana is a lot for the effect, but you get a wheel on the aftermath half, which isn’t insignificant. You can also tuck a permanent, which is useful and gives more flexibility. Not every deck wants this, but it’s a solid budget option.

#23. Lavinia, Azorius Renegade – $0.28

Lavinia, Azorius Renegade might be a bit of an edge case here, but I’m including it. Your opponent has to basically run into this card face-up for the counter to matter, though it can also randomly shut off free-casts from cascade, discover, and so on. More of a hate piece, though, but at least it counters your opponent’s strategies!

#22. Divert Disaster – $0.78

I really wanted to give some attention to It'll Quench Ya! which is a great budget counterspell if you care about lessons, but Divert Disaster has the chance of giving you a lander token which is at least some consolation on the soft counter template for Quench.

#21. Wash Away – $0.50

Cleave spells can be difficult to parse, but Wash Away is a 3-mana counterspell with an alt cost of a single blue mana to counter something that wasn’t cast from hand. This is a remarkably useful spell, as casting from exile or the graveyard is something that happens all the time. It can even counter spells from the command zone.

#20. Amazing Acrobatics – $0.22

Modal spells are cool and those that let you choose two or more modes even more so. Amazing Acrobatics is a strictly better Urza's Rebuff which came just two years before it.

#19. Warping Wail – $0.37

We have blue spells on this list. We also have white and multicolor spells dipping into other colors. What we only have one of, however, is a colorless spell! Warping Wail isn’t the only colorless counter out there, but it’s one of a select few. This colorless instant is another specific counter attached to a modal spell, but I love the weirdness of the modes and how it feels completely bizarre, just like an Eldrazi spell should. Great choice for a colorless counter.

#18. Mana Tithe – $0.69

The infamous Mana Tithe. You’re not a real Magic player until you’re caught out by a single open white mana. It’s simply a rite of passage, and it never doesn’t sting.

#17. Saw It Coming – $0.39

Saw It Coming is another counterspell with a great name. Foretelling this blue card gives you the perfect opportunity to make your opponent nice and salty when you pre-empt them. It’s also a Cancel at minimum, which isn’t the worst.

#16. Venser, Shaper Savant – $0.48

One of the first creature-counters, Venser, Shaper Savant was pretty powerful when it first showed its face! Less so these days, but still iconic. Your wizards deck might like it!

#15. Disdainful Stroke  – $0.10

Which dainful stroke? Disdainful Stroke. It’s an old one, but a good one. Generally, it’s the bigger spells you’re wanting to counter, and this certainly does that! Two mana with only one pip is a good rate, and this particularly shines in Limited. It sees good play elsewhere, too, and it occasionally shows up in a sideboard in Constructed formats.

#14. Memory Lapse – $0.35

Putting a spell on top of your opponent’s library with Memory Lapse might seem like a downside, but you can “lapse-lock” your opponent in certain situations (like if you can get this back from the ‘yard), and often the spell only mattered at that specific point anyway. Don’t think this is a strict downgrade from Counterspell, because messing up draws can be useful.

#13. Izzet Charm – $0.13

Izzet Charm is one of the less restricted counters attached to a modal spell. All modes are pretty on-rate here, but the only thing making this charm tricky is the 2-color requirement in the casting cost. This is one that shows its head every now and again, and it’s something that many people choose to run in their EDH decks.

#12. Mystic Confluence – $0.37

As we’ve mentioned already, 5 mana is a lot for a counterspell, but Mystic Confluence is a lot for 5 mana. Super versatile allowing you to choose modes multiple times, this is often a three-for-one, which is exactly what you want. It’ll never not be good when cast.

#11. Glen Elendra Guardian – $0.52

Sometimes WotC takes historically strong cards and revisits them, but drops their power level considerably. Glen Elendra Guardian almost falls into this nerfed category, but with blight putting the “drawback” -1/-1 counters on your creatures, this becomes a repeatable Negate. That card they drew, that's for the next counter spell to cover.

#10. Wild Unraveling – $0.16

I love the hard counter from Wild Unraveling. Sure it could be a Cancel at worst, but for decks that can use counters as a resource, is better than Counterspell.

#9. Mana Leak – $0.17

Mana Leak was one of the most on-rate counters ever when first printed, and all these years later it still kinda is. Having to pay is almost a hard counter, especially earlier in the game, and only a single pip of color in that cost makes it super versatile. This gets worse later in the game, but it’s still super solid and would be scary if ever printed into Standard.

#8. Rewind – $0.41

Rewind costs a lot for a counter up front, but getting four lands back is fantastic. Similar to Unwind, which was definitely a callback, you can do shenanigans with this if you have the right lands, or if you just want to cast a lot of spells. Even though it was reprinted into Standard relatively recently, it didn’t end up doing much, so you do need the right support to make it worthwhile.

#7. Siren Stormtamer – $0.33

Siren Stormtamer was a key part of the mono-blue tempo deck that Autumn Burchett took to the Pro Tour win way back when and became a bit of an icon for them. It’s an efficient little flier, and one that protects your other fliers. If your opponent plays this on turn 1 you need to be ready to respond quickly.

#6. Transcendent Dragon – $0.50

Transcendent Dragon cost a lot of mana at 6, and if successful literally turns that spell into your own. Plus, you still end up with a 4/3 out of it, so this is a counterspell wearing control magic clothing.

#5. Spell Pierce – $0.26

One mana for a counterspell is great, and Spell Pierce is probably best used as an anti-counter counter. It has use outside of that, though, and it’s a useful way to interrupt some big plays when no other spell really could!

#4. Dispel – $0.34

Dispel is a niche spell but an important one. Instants are possibly one of the most important types of spells to counter, and doing it without a get-out cost for your opponent puts it slightly over the edge of similar spells in this space. When you want this effect, you really want it.

#3. Louisoix's Sacrifice – $0.34

Louisoix's Sacrifice is premium on a number of levels, and thankfully price is not one of them. The single is only beat by a free spell which are usually expensive cards. OK, paying would balance it out and sacrificing a legendary is significant but the ability to stop activated or triggered abilities makes it far more versatile.

#2. Negate – $0.17

Negate is a sideboard all-star in lower powered Constructed formats, and a key card in many Limited formats. Often in Constructed the key card you want to counter is a non-creature, so this does the job as well as most counters. It’s still got that obvious restriction, but it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

#1. Counterspell – $0.25

It makes a lot of sense that Counterspell would hit the top of this list. There was a time when it would be tricky to find copies below a dollar, but a series of reprints over the last few years in all sorts of Magic sets mean that it likely won’t climb above that threshold ever again, which is pretty great. Of course it’s not the best counter ever, but it’s a solid one, and the absolute OG.

Wrap Up

Drown in the Loch | Illustration by John Stanko

That’s it for today, but to be honest it’s hardly even scratching the surface of some of the great counters out there. Counterspells are a real icon of Magic, and one that other game systems can’t really emulate. They do bring the salt from time to time, but they’re important for the game.

Do you have any favorite, obscure counterspells? Be sure to let us know down in the comments below or over on the Draftsim Discord.

Until next time, I hope your opponents never resolve that key spell!

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