Counterbalance
Tracked across real Commander games played through TurnZero HQ.
What it does
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 official rulings, in the order Wizards published them.
- 2006-07-15
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.
- 2017-04-18
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.
Rulings are Wizards of the Coast's own, mirrored from Scryfall and refreshed nightly.
In the 99
Every deck whose current list includes Counterbalance, whatever its commander.
Most played under
| Commander | Decks | Games | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bjorna, Nightfall Alchemist | 1 | 0 | — |
| Wernog, Rider's Chaplain | 1 | 0 | — |
Colors it shows up in
- Four-Color (no Green) 1 deck
Counterbalance price history
The Coldsnap #31 printing, as Scryfall reports the TCGplayer market. Updated nightly. Click any version below to chart its price.
Every recorded price change
| Date | Non-foil | Foil |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 7, 2026 | $5.36 | $92.00 |
| Nov 2, 2026 | $5.36 | $92.00 |
| Oct 31, 2026 | $5.37 | $92.00 |
| Oct 30, 2026 | $5.27 | $92.00 |
| Oct 25, 2026 | $5.20 | $92.00 |
| Oct 23, 2026 | $5.13 | $92.00 |
| Oct 8, 2026 | $5.14 | $92.00 |
| Sep 29, 2026 | $5.18 | $92.00 |
| Sep 28, 2026 | $5.20 | $92.00 |
A row is recorded only on nights the price moved, so each price held until the row above it.
Every version of Counterbalance
6 printings, newest first. Prices are the market figures Scryfall publishes, refreshed nightly. A printing with no figure shows a dash rather than a zero, because Scryfall publishes none for some of them. Click a card's art to chart that version's price above.
Inverted
Secret Lair Drop
- Normal
- $4.82
- Foil
- $13.26
- Normal
- $1.55
- Foil
- $23.82
- Normal
- $4.94
Borderless
Secret Lair Drop
- Normal
- $15.52
- Foil
- $19.91
Borderless
- Foil
- $58.37
- Normal
- $5.36
- Foil
- $92.00
Prices from Scryfall, which tracks the TCGplayer and Cardmarket markets. They move daily and are a guide rather than a quote. Search TCGplayer for Counterbalance. It runs a name search across every version, which covers the printings TCGplayer publishes no direct link to.
Aggregated from Commander games tracked in TurnZero HQ. Every figure counts decks and games only. No individual deck list, player or playgroup is identified. Win rates are withheld below 5 completed games, where the sample is too small to mean anything.
