Chalice of the Void + 3 sphere and stax pieces in general

[Sexy_Rector]

I am sorry if this has already been covered but how does CoTV interact with 3 sphere? If CoTV has 1 counter on it and there is a 3 sphere on the board, can they brainstorm?

How does Helm of Awakening/Sphere of Resistance interact with 3 sphere/chalice of the void?

[bigbear102]

If the card has a converted mana cost equal to the number of counters on Chalice then it's countered. It doesn't look at any additional costs added on after the fact. A Brainstorm that you pay 3 for will still be countered by a Chalice at 1. Additionally, a Chalice at 3 will NOT counter a Brainstorm when there is a 3sphere on the board.

[Ewokslayer]

Chalice only looks at the converted mana cost of the spell that is played.
It doesn't care what you actually paid for the spell.
3 sphere is always the last thing applied. So if you are paying less than 3 mana for a spell for any reason you instead have to pay three.

[Watcher487]

Here ya go:

http://mtgthesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3700

[Pinder]

Another question about 3sphere and Chalice:

How much does a Chalice at various numbers of counters cost under a 3sphere? I'm fairly sure that a Chalice for 1 would cost 3, since if you declare X to be 1 the CMC is 2, and thus increased by 3sphere. However, what happens when X=2? My thought on the subject is that 3sphere doesn't touch a Chalice for 2 because the CMC is 4, but friends of mine are saying that it actually costs 7, and that a Chalice for 1 costs 5. I think they're stupid.

Can we get a ruling?

[Locutus]

You're right, at least about the mana cost ;p
with X=1, the Chalice costs {1}{1}, which is {2}. {2} is less then three mana, so you have to pay {3}. Chalice with X=2 costs {2}{2}={4}, and {4} is more than three mana so 3Sphere doesn't care. 3Sphere is always the last and ultimate thing that is applied to the costs.

[quicksilver]

It's quite simply, you play chalice for whatever you want, then if you are paying less than three mana for it, you gotta pay some extra mana to make trinisphere happy. Paying extra mana for trinisphere doesn't change what X is. Absolutly no unusual interactions between these two cards.

[Meekrab]

Spell Snare, btw, works the same way as Chalice, to answer the question of the person who wants to know if he can Spell Snare a Brainstorm inside the Sphere of Resistance.