Magic the Gathering counter help?!

Question

hi I was wondering what would happen if my oppenent played soul snuffers and i countered it with rebuff the wicked. would soul snuffer's ability still activate? or will rebuff the wicked destroy it before activation?

Answer 1

Sorry man but you can't counter it because Rebuff the Wicked says "Counter target spell that targets a permanent you control."  Literally, you can only counter the Rebuff the Wicked if it said "target -------".  In theory it targets your creatures but it doesn't say so directly.  If it was like Volcanic Hammer, then yes, you could counter it because it says "Volcanic Hammer deals 3 damage to TARGET creature or player."

Now let's say you play Counterspell or Cancel: that will counter the card because they have no regulation against it in this situation.

Answer 2

I hate to disappoint you, but Rebuff the Wicked doesn't actually counter Soul Snuffers because Soul Snuffers' ability does not target. In this case, Soul Snuffers will come into play as normal, and every creature will get a -1/-1 counter.

However, if Soul Snuffer is countered with, say, Mana Tithe or Cancel, then it won't come into play and the ability won't activate.

Answer 3

Soul Snuffers ability doesn't target, so you can't counter it with Rebuff the Wicked.

And even the triggered ability did target, the creature spell does not target.

In short, you can't counter it with Rebuff the Wicked. But if you counter it with a legal counterspell it will never come into play and none of its effects will trigger.