Redirect LightningRedirect Lightning | Art by Toni Infante

Welcome to Too-Specific Top 10, where if there isn’t a category to rank our pet card at the top of, we’ll just make one up! (Did you know that Chef's KissChef's Kiss is the only instant that can have spells retarget themselves at random?)

Back at the beginning of the Pandemic, I put together one of my favorite lists I've ever done: non-blue counterspells. This month, however, I realized that in my probable COVID haze, I did it wrong.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is bringing us a new, non-blue CounterspellCounterspell. It doesn't say the word "counter" anywhere on it, but nonetheless, that's what it is, as anyone who's played against Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat can tell you.

Is Redirect LightningRedirect Lightning a situational counterspell that only does some things well? Yes, absolutely. It's also a spell that interacts with other spells on the stack with the result often being that said spells don't do anything. I dunno, sounds like a counterspell to me.

So today, let's revisit my list from the long long ago, and you can decide where you think Redirect LightningRedirect Lightning fits in that hierarchy.

Top 10 Non-Blue Instants That Interact With Other Spells (That Aren’t Just Copy Effects)

Criteria: Non-blue instants or permanents with flash that can target or affect other spells on the stack to do something besides just copy them. As is tradition, all results are ordered by EDHREC score.

10. Autumn's VeilAutumn's Veil

(41.2K Inclusions, 1.26% of 3.28M Decks)

Green is the color of huge, splashy creatures, which often means that said creatures get targeted, either on the stack or on the battlefield. The answer? Autumn's VeilAutumn's Veil, a single-mana "counterspell" that counteracts the effects of both blue's counterspells and black's targeted removal.

All in all, it's a good answer. It does feel awkward to find room in your deck for what's merely a protection spell, however, which is why I usually forgo this green option for one we'll find further up the list.

9. Wyll's ReversalWyll's Reversal

(49K Inclusions, 1.39% of 3.51M Decks)

There's a couple reasons that Wyll's ReversalWyll's Reversal isn't a slam dunk for every deck, either. Chief among those? It costs three mana. We're spoiled here in Commander-ville, with access to dozens of one- and two-mana counterspells. So when someone suggests we play a CancelCancel, the initial response is usually a laugh and a clarification that the asker is joking, right?

The second reason that Wyll's Reversal gives me pause is that it's not something you can plan around. Sure, you can always count on it to redirect, but there are better options if that's all you're trying to do.

No, you want the one-in-four shot that lets you both redirect the original spell and also lets you copy whatever it was. Except for when you don't, because putting an extra copy out there wouldn't be beneficial to you, in which case you know you're going to win that die roll.

8. Aven InterrupterAven Interrupter

(57.1K Inclusions, 1.97% of 2.89M Decks)

When I was thinking of redoing my old list of non-blue counterspells, Aven InterrupterAven Interrupter was what I was thinking of. It turns out, you can get me excited about CancelCancel if it comes stapled to a body that also puts some light stax out on the table at instant speed.

While it may not be a permanent counter, it does delay things a turn and make whatever it was they were casting more difficult to recast. In other words, this is a tempo win in every sense of the word, and I'm here for it.

7. Return the FavorReturn the Favor

(109K Inclusions, 3.56% of 3.08M Decks)

If you were looking for a third reason not to like Wyll's ReversalWyll's Reversal, we've found it. Return the FavorReturn the Favor lets you do both halves of Reversal for a single mana more, or lets you choose which one you want for three.

Either way, you're looking at an expensive option, but at least it's a card that does what you want it to do when you want it to do it.

6. Imp's MischiefImp's Mischief

(130K Inclusions, 3.63% of 3.59M Decks)

When folks think of black counterspells, they don't think of the Dash HopesDash Hopes and Withering BoonWithering Boons from my previous list. They think of Imp's MischiefImp's Mischief, despite it not technically being a counterspell.

Why? Well, put simply, because those other options don't do anything. Countering a creature for two mana is largely the same as killing one, which you can do with any number of other, more efficient black options. And Dash Hopes? That card says "a player of the table's choice loses 5 life."

Meanwhile, Imp's MischiefImp's Mischief counteracts targeted removal, and even turns it against your opponents, all for two mana and a measly few life you were going to spend anyhow. What's not to like?

5. Bolt BendBolt Bend

(142K Inclusions, 4.05% of 3.51M Decks)

Bolt BendBolt Bend gets constant comparisons to Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat, and for good reason. It's the exact same effect, and it's almost as efficient. That "almost" part is why it tends to lose out in that comparison, but folks do forget that you don't always have your commander around.

In other words, in addition to this being a backup Swat for your deck, it can also be option number one if you have an expensive commander.

4. ReprieveReprieve

(145K Inclusions, 4.39% of 3.29M Decks)

As a mono-white fanatic and a fan of white counterspells, it's hard to overstate how much I love ReprieveReprieve. Even with it existing for a few years now, still no one expects it, and it also being a cantrip is just the best gravy money can buy.

Now, can we talk about why Daenerys Targaryen is on this Lord of the Rings card? I'm not the only one that sees that, right?

3. Veil of SummerVeil of Summer

(173K Inclusions, 5.28% of 3.28M Decks)

If you're in green, Autumn's VeilAutumn's Veil will do in a pinch, although it's likely you'll drop it for one of the many "give a creature hexproof and also do a thingthing thatthat youryour deckdeck wantswants toto dodo" options that exist.

What you're really looking for, though? That's Veil of SummerVeil of Summer. Rather than running a protection piece that doesn't do anything proactive, you can run a card that's worst state is a cantrip, provided that there's a blue or black deck at the table. That's worth the spot in any green deck, and honestly, would be in a lot more of them if every Bracket was playing more interaction.

2. Untimely MalfunctionUntimely Malfunction

(194K Inclusions, 7.67% of 2.53M Decks)

Bolt BendBolt Bend is great and all, and will often be cheaper than this will. But more times than not, I'm going to just play this more flexible option instead.

Untimely MalfunctionUntimely Malfunction gives you the option to interact in three different ways for your extra mana investment, and they're all relevant in just about any game of Commander. There's always a relevant artifact to destroy in the late-game, which is also the time period where putting together an alpha strike to take someone out would be a lot easier with a couple fewer blockers sitting around.

Put those options together with the option to say no to someone's counterspell or targeted removal, and it's no wonder this one is seeing the play numbers it is.

1. Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat

(566K Inclusions, 16.1% of 3.51M Decks)

No amount of options will keep up with sheer efficiency, however. Recently removed from the Game Changers list, Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat wasn't removed because it wasn't a powerhouse, but because the lower brackets tend to not play enough interaction for it to be good, anyhow.

If people are flinging around Swan SongSwan Songs and Swords to PlowsharesSwords to Plowshares on the regular? Then it doesn't get a whole lot better than Deflecting SwatDeflecting Swat. In fact, it kind of only gets one better in the form of Fierce GuardianshipFierce Guardianship.

Even then, though, you'd play both if you had access to both, so what are we really talking about?

Honorable Mentions

As a mono-white aficionado, I can tell you that there's one subset of interaction that we missed with this week's criteria.

While SilenceSilence effects don't really interact with spells in the way that counterspells or the other interaction we've talked about today do, they arguably do a better job at stopping players from winning the game, not to mention protecting your own win attempts.

When you know someone is up to no good, it doesn't get a lot better than casting an Orim's ChantOrim's Chant on a player during their upkeep to head things off at the pass.

Another avenue we overlooked on purpose was copying spells. But as Flare of DuplicationFlare of Duplication can tell you, these work just as well at countering counterspells as redirects do, much as they can't redirect targeted on-board removal. Still, there's something to be said for punching back, right?

Nuts and Bolts

There always seems to be a bit of interest in how these lists are made (this seems like a good time to stress once again that they are based on EDHREC score, NOT my personal opinion…), and people are often surprised that I’m not using any special data or .json from EDHREC, but rather just muddling my way through with some Scryfall knowledge! For your enjoyment/research, here is this week’s Scryfall search.

What Do You Think?

No matter how much they're used as one, there's still a caveat I need to hit here at the end that none of these effects are actually counterspells. They can redirect things, copy things, and prevent future things, but they can't actually stop things like counterspells can. At least, other than other counterspells.

Still, that doesn't mean they're useless.

And finally, what's your favorite non-blue counterspell that isn't actually a counterspell? What decks do you play it in?

Let us know in the comments, and we'll see you at the table that's actually technically an ottoman.

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