Previews for Magic’s newest set, Dominaria United, are well underway. And one of the most exciting pieces of news we’ve gotten so far, is the inclusion of a brand new mechanic: Stun Counters.
Stun Counters are the newest way to deal with those pesky creatures your opponents keep so rudely playing. And in this article, I’ll go over everything you need to know about the new mechanic.
Stun Counters are a type of Counter first introduced in Dominaria United. If a creature with a Stun Counter would be untapped for any reason, the creature remains tapped, and you remove one Stun Counter instead.
Stun Counters are pretty straightforward. There are, however, a good deal of interactions and complications related to any MTG mechanic. Read on for a detailed guide to this new mechanic.
What Are Stun Counters?
Stun Counters are a brand new type of counter. The flavor here is pretty clear. If a creature has Stun Counters on it, it can’t really do much until some time passes and it’s had a chance to recover.
Stun Counters are looking like a great way to slow down your opponent and take control of the game’s momentum.
How Does It Work?
We only have one card to go off of so far, Impede Momentum. From that card, however, it’s pretty clear how the mechanic is going to work.
I’m assuming that most of the time Stun Counters are going to come from instants and sorceries that you’ll use to target your opponent’s creatures.
Then, once a creature has Stun Counters on it, it can’t untap for any reason until all of the Stun Counters are gone. Any time it would be untapped, like during the untap step, or due to an ability, it simply doesn’t untap, and one Stun Counter is removed instead.
RELATED: Dominaria United: Legends Cards Return
Rules
“If a permanent with a stun counter would be untapped, remove one from it instead.”
Official Reminder Text
- If a permanent has multiple Stun Counters on it, only one of those counters is removed each time the permanent would be untapped.
- Abilities that trigger whenever a permanent is untapped won’t trigger if a Stun Counter is removed instead of the permanent being untapped.
- If an ability requires a player to untap a permanent to pay a cost, such as Halo Fountain, players can choose to untap a permanent with Stun Counters on it. In that case, one Stun Counter is removed, the permanent still remains tapped, and the cost counts as being paid.
Can You Put Stun Counters on a Creature if It’s Already Tapped?
Yes, you can put Stun Counters on a creature, or other permanent, whether it’s already tapped or not. For example, if you cast Impede Momentum targeting a tapped creature, you still place three Stun Counters on the creature and you still get to Scry 1. Everything happens as usual, except the first effect of tapping the target creature.
Are Stun Counters Good?
This is a difficult question to answer, considering only one card has been spoiled so far. With that being said, however, I’m pretty confident that Stun Counters are going to be really useful.
Even the one card we have so far, Impede Momentum, is, in my estimation, pretty good for a common. For two mana, you get to tap your opponent’s best creature, it stays tapped for three entire turns, and you get to Scry 1.
Taking your opponents best creature out of the game for three whole turns is solid. Of course, it’s not quite as good as destroying it, but still. Three turns is long enough to swing the game into your favor. The Scry 1 is just icing on the cake.
Of course, Dominaria United – Everything We Know So Far
Spoilers
- [c]Impede Momentum">Impede Momentum[/c would be a lot better if it was an instant. But hey, we’re talking about a common here. If we’re lucky enough to get some rare Stun Counter cards, or even Uncommon ones, I’m fairly confident that Stun Counters could make a sizeable impact in Standard, and maybe even beyond.
These counters are sure to have a solid impact on Limited at the very least.
RELATED: Dominaria United – Everything We Know So Far
Spoilers
- [c]Impede Momentum
So far, only one card has been spoiled. New spoilers are coming out every day, though, so it shouldn’t be long before we get more exciting cards to talk about.
End Step
Stun Counters give players a cool new way to deal with their opponents creatures. I can’t wait to see what other cards we get . And I definitely can’t wait to see this mechanic in action once Domaria United releases on September 9th.
Until then, be sure to check back to Blue Monkey Gaming regularly for updates on new cards and more!
