Some Counterbalance questions

[AceofAllan]

So I've just worked counterbalance into my mono blue deck, and I've two questions.

1. My friend likes to play Exalted Angel morphed, then flip it up. I'm pretty sure a morph creature has no mana cost, so to counter the morph creature with CB, do I need a spell with 0 as its mana cost, or can a land do the job? Or do I need to top deck a 6cc spell?

2. I most likely won't run into this scenario, but can Tendrils' copies be countered with CB? Do they have no mana cost, the same mana cost as the original card, or can they just not be countered?

[freakish777]

1. Morphs have converted mana cost of zero, so Countering them with Spell Burst you'd pay zero mana, Counterbalance you'd reveal of Chorme Mox, Land, etc and Chalice of the Void if it has zero counters on it. Additionally, Repealing a morph creature, you'd pay zero for X.


2. The copies don't trigger Counterbalance. However the original spell itself does, so if you're at 20 and your opponent plays Tendrils and gets 9 copies (for the necessary 20 to kill you), it's worth trying to get a converted mana cost 4 spell on top with Brainstorm or Sensei's Divining Top to counter the original since it means the remaining 9 copies aren't enough to kill you.

[AceofAllan]

Thanks!

[mujadaddy]

1. Morphs have converted mana cost of zero, so Countering them with Spell Burst you'd pay zero mana, Counterbalance you'd reveal of Chorme Mox, Land, etc and Chalice of the Void if it has zero counters on it. Additionally, Repealing a morph creature, you'd pay zero for X.WRONG WRONG Ummm... isn't it :3: when they're being cast? It's :0: when they're on the board, just like a Chalice or an Engineered Explosives, but when it's being cast, I'm preeetty sure it's :3: ... WRONG WRONG

[Elficidium]

Ummm... isn't it :3: when they're being cast? It's :0: when they're on the board, just like a Chalice or an Engineered Explosives, but when it's being cast, I'm preeetty sure it's :3: ...
You're thinking of X spells, which are the value of X on the stack. A Morph spell, on the other hand, doesn't use an X value.

[mujadaddy]

You're correct, I'm wrong. It's a special mode for Morph spells that their CMC = :0: ... I suppose it's the wording "you may play face down for :3: " that makes it an ability of the card.

Good on ya. Editing post.

[Soto]

I might be wrong but the CMC is still 0.

This might not be the right ruling but:

502.26a Morph is a static ability that functions any time you could play the card it's on, and the morph effect works until you turn the card face up. The phrase "Morph [cost]" means "You may play this card as a 2/2 face-down creature, with no text, no name, no subtypes, no expansion symbol, and a mana cost of 0 Mana, by paying 3 Mana rather than its mana cost." Any time you could play an instant, you may show all players the morph cost of any face-down permanent you control, pay that cost, then turn the permanent face up. This action does not use the stack.

[TopGun]

This may be a stupid question...but...if you have a counterbalance out, and your opponent attempts to krosan grip it (split second)...can you still use the CB to see if there's a 3 on top (without using SDtop of course), or does krosan grip automatically just resolve?

Thanks,
-TG

[Nihil Credo]

Split Second only stops activated abilities and spells. Counterbalance's ability is triggered, so it will go on the stack and resolve normally.

[TopGun]

Ah, I see. Makes sense. Thank you.

[Cait_Sith]

A small note on CMC:

If something doesn't have a CMC (lands, Evermind, the 5 suspend "reprints") and the game asks for the CMC, it is treated as 0, although it is not actually 0.