You get a little tingly feeling inside when you cast a spell with such a phrase. It’s as if you had your old security blanket when you were 3, 6, … or in some cases, 12 years old.

But like your security blanket, this phrase doesn’t mean that the spell will always resolve. There are some cases when the spell won’t resolve the way you like.

For example: Jason casts Abrupt Decay targeting Eddie’s Simic Keyrune. In response, Eddie activates Simic Keyrune to make it a creature. When both players pass priority, Simic Keyrune becomes a 2/3 creature with hexproof. Then after they both pass again, Abrupt Decay tries to resolve. When it does, it sees that it no longer has any legal targets, so the game rules counter Abrupt Decay and it is put into Jason’s graveyard without doing anything.

Simply enough, the phrase “Can’t be countered” means that the spell (or ability) on the stack that has that phrase cannot be countered by spells or abilities. A spell that has targets will use the phrase “Can’t be countered by spells or abilities,” while a spell that doesn’t target will simply say “Can’t be countered.”

This is because the game rules would never have a reason to counter a spell that doesn’t have targets, so the extra “reminder text” is there only on targeted spells. A spell checks for legal targets twice: when you cast it, and when it would resolve. If you can’t choose legal target upon casting, you can’t cast it. Easy. When a spell tries to resolve, if ALL of its targets have become illegal, then the game rules cause it to become countered.

One last note: An “Uncounterable” spell can still be targeted by spells or abilities that try to counter that spell. When the counterspell resolves (because it has a legal target), the uncounterable spell just says, “You try to counter me? Alright, I can’t be countered, therefore I stay on the stack. Anything else?” So why would anyone ever try to counter one of these spells? Well, sometimes, its because they forgot that it couldn’t be countered! Sorry, you just wasted that counterspell… But occasionally, there’s a valid reason.

For example, I can cast Remand on your Abrupt Decay. The Decay won’t be countered, but I’ll draw a card. Or I can cast Undermine on your Counterflux. Counterflux won’t be countered, but its controller will still lose 3 life. If that drops the controller’s life to 0, you found a way to stop it from resolving! If a player loses the game, all objects they own leave the game. This isn’t relevant in duels, but keep that in mind during your next multi-player game!

Today’s Rules Tip written by Eddie Cheung