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CardName: Boggle the Mind Cost: {X}{U} Type: Instant Pow/Tgh: / Rules Text: Counter target creature spell unless its controller pays {1} for each color of mana spent to cast this spell. If a spell is countered this way, draw a card. Flavour Text: Some ancient curios have puzzling, yet dizzying, implications... Set/Rarity: Districts of Kestner Rare |
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for each color of mana spent to cast this spell. If a spell is countered this way, draw a card.
So Force Spike is a cantrip now and you can pump extra colors into it to draw a card? That indeed boggles the mind.
You get the extra card even if you don't pump. This is indeed somewhat good.
Force Spike is strong enough that WotC hasn't yet made in modern legal - though the exact reasons are arguable. Its contemporary, Mana Tithe is legal there though.
Regardless, this being strictly better variant of already considerable strong card is concerning to say the least. For now, we've been receiving
Force Spikes with minor bonuses in standard sets. From that perspective, 
counterspells would be part of that trend as well.
I think this would be a fine card if it just costed
. It would be akin to a mix of Frightful Delusion, Clash of Wills, and Painful Truths. Comparable to Complicate. With the current cost of 
this is just busted. While Runeboggle is quite bad, this being like four or so times better is lunacy.
Of course Force Spike is a thing. I uh, apparently wasn't thinking enough when I made this. The goal was to design a one mana counterspell. Perhaps changing it to "creature spell" would help.
It's still borderline crazy. I think you might be under valuing the "draw a card" effect. Making a thing cantrip in safe cases involved adding
to the mana cost. Instants with the cost 
tend to have very minor additional effects. There aren't any direct precedent for the card, but IMO it looks quite nuts when set next to Bone to Ash. Obviously conditional, but still, drawing a card for 
at instant speed isn't half bad, and add in an occasional (tbh, probably a 70% chance) Essence Scatter and you got some crazy powered card.
Cantrip counterspells are especially good since they are really feeding into one another - instant speed card draw and keeping mana open to answer a threat at instant speed in one package.
If you want a "one mana counterspell" the first thing I'd remove was the line "Draw a card." Not even Nix gets to be a cantrip.
There is actually one one mana counterspell cantrip: Disrupt. If you assume Negate and Remove Soul are about equal, then disrupt is a subest of "noncreature" version, aso maybe you want to get more specific than "creature". "Monocolored creature"?
@Tahazzar @SecretInfiltrator thanks for the comments!
removed cantrip
flavor and art