Countering Force of Will

[Aethan]

How does the alternate casting cost affect the ways in which you can counter Force of Will if any? For instance, is the alternate cost considered to be an activated ability of a card like cycling and, therefore, open to the use of Stifle? This seems unlikely, however, since common sense says you can Counterspell a pitchcast Force of Will - something you can't do with a Counterspell when an activated/triggered ability is involved.

[cdr]

No. A spell is a card (or a copy of a card) that's on the stack. It doesn't matter how that spell got there.

An ability is completely different than a spell.


Spell: A nonland card becomes a spell when it's put on the stack and remains a spell until it's countered, it resolves, or it otherwise leaves the stack. A copy of a spell is also a spell, even if it has no card associated with it. See rule 213, "Spells," and rule 401, "Spells on the Stack."

[Valtrix]

409.1a The player announces that he or she is playing the spell or activated ability. If a spell is being played, that card (or that copy of a card) physically moves from the zone it's in to the stack.

409.1f The player determines the total cost of the spell or ability. Some cards list additional or alternative costs in their text.

409.1h The player pays the total cost in any order. Partial payments are not allowed. Unpayable costs can't be paid.

409.1i Once the steps described in 409.1a?h are completed, the spell or ability becomes played. Any abilities that trigger on a spell or ability being played or put onto the stack trigger at this time. If the spell or ability's controller had priority before playing it, he or she gets priority.

The cost must be paid before force of will is even considered played, so your opponent goes through all these steps of payment before you get a chance to do anything.

[Tacosnape]

Simplified, there are no activated abilities in Force of Will. It's a spell. Period. Regardless of how it is played.

Simple learning of activated and triggered abilities:

Activated abilities always have a colon. They're in the form of Cost: Effect.

Triggered abilities start with When, Whenever, or At.

If neither of these are present, it's not an activated or triggered ability.

[Soldar]

How does the alternate casting cost affect the ways in which you can counter Force of Will if any?


The only spell it actually becomes susceptible to is Nix, but only if the alternate cost was paid, and there are no positive cost modifiers in play (Trinisphere, Sphere of Resistance, etc).

http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?printed=false&multiverseid=130564