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Force of Will
Price$23.55 – $216.61
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Force of Will

{3}{U}{U}

Instant

LegalGame Changer Salt 2.01CounterspellEDHREC #190

You may pay 1 life and exile a blue card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.

Counter target spell.

Why is this card good?

Force of Will is the premier free counterspell — your insurance policy against losing on the spot. The whole point is the alternative cost: you can counter a game-ending spell on an opponent's turn while tapped out, or interact during your own combo turn without holding up mana. That "free interaction" is what makes it a Game Changer and a staple in high-power and cEDH blue decks. In those pods, protecting your own combo or stopping someone else's is worth the steep cost. That cost is real, though: you're spending two cards (FoW plus a pitched blue card) and a life to counter one spell. That's brutal card disadvantage in slower, grindy games. Play it in cEDH and competitive blue control/combo decks with high blue-card density. Skip it in casual or battlecruiser pods, where you'll rarely face turn-3 wins and the two-for-one tempo loss isn't justified. Decks light on blue cards also struggle to reliably pitch for it.

Related cards

Force of NegationU

Free counterspell exiling a blue card, similar pitch protection.

Pact of NegationU

Free counter now, pay mana later; protects combos.

Fierce GuardianshipU

Free counterspell with commander out; staple free interaction.

Mana DrainU

Premium hard counter with ramp upside.

CounterspellU

Classic efficient two-mana counter alternative.

Swan SongU

Cheap counter for noncreature spells, protection role.

Mental MisstepU

Pitch a blue card to counter low-cost spells freely.

DazeU

Free counter by returning Island; tempo protection.

Printings (16)

soaSecrets of Strixhaven Mystical Archive · #19M$67.68Buy
soaSecrets of Strixhaven Mystical Archive · #84M$195.78Buy
soaSecrets of Strixhaven Mystical Archive · #149M$1094.13Buy
olgcLegacy Championship · #2023EUS—Buy
dmrDominaria Remastered · #418M$66.50Buy
dmrDominaria Remastered · #284M$63.03Buy
dmrDominaria Remastered · #50M$70.13Buy
2xmDouble Masters · #51M$74.75Buy
Show all 16 printings
2xmDouble Masters · #340M$216.61Buy
mp2Amonkhet Invocations · #14S$355.71Buy
emaEternal Masters · #49M$72.74Buy
j14Judge Gift Cards 2014 · #4R$416.38Buy
olgcLegacy Championship · #2011R—Buy
wc97World Championship Decks 1997 · #pm28U$28.44Buy
wc97World Championship Decks 1997 · #jk28U$23.55Buy
allAlliances · #28U$80.69Buy

Rulings (1)

  • 2022-12-08

    To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you're paying (such as the alternative cost of Force of Will), add any cost increases, then apply any cost reductions. Force of Will's mana value is always 5, no matter what you paid to cast it.

Discussion (0)