Force of Will — Magic: The Gathering card

Force of Will

{3}{U}{U}
Instant

You may pay 1 life and exile a blue card from your hand rather than pay this spell's mana cost.<br>Counter target spell.

Set Alliances
Rarity Uncommon
Artist Terese Nielsen

Why Play Force of Will

The ability to counter a spell for free makes this one of the most powerful reactive spells ever printed, allowing blue decks to protect their combos or disrupt opponents even when tapped out. Legacy combo decks like Storm and Reanimator rely heavily on Force of Will to stop opposing combo attempts during critical early turns. Control decks use it as essential protection for their win conditions, while tempo decks leverage the "free" counter to maintain pressure while still interacting with threats.

Format Notes

Legacy represents Force of Will's strongest showing, where it's a four-of staple in virtually every blue deck due to the format's explosive turn-one potential. Vintage also heavily features the card as protection against broken artifact combos and restricted spells. In Commander, it serves as premium protection in competitive pods, though its high price point and card disadvantage make it less appealing in casual multiplayer games where one-for-one trades are less impactful.

Combos & Synergies

Brainstorm creates perfect synergy by helping find blue cards to pitch while replacing the card disadvantage through card selection. Daze pairs excellently in tempo strategies, giving decks eight "free" counterspells to maintain early pressure. The card also works well with graveyard value engines like Snapcaster Mage, which can later flash back the exiled blue cards or provide additional threats after trading resources.

Learn More

Instant Exile Counterspell Commander Legacy Vintage