Turn Structure
What Happens When a Spell or Ability Is Countered?
Countering stops a chain item from executing, but paid costs stay paid.
RiftPal explanation · Answer first
The short answer
When an effect Counter (Cancel)To stop a card or ability on the chain from executing. Paid costs remain paid; a countered card normally goes to its owner's Trash. A countered finalized card can still satisfy Legion.View in Glossary a spell or ability, that item does nothing and leaves the ChainAn off-board zone that holds cards and abilities during the process of playing them. Cards and abilities on it are public information.View in Glossary . A countered card normally goes to its owner's TrashA player's off-board zone for cards that are killed or discarded and spells that finish resolving, unless an effect changes their destination. Its cards are public information and their order does not matter.View in Glossary . Costs already paid, including additional costs, are not refunded.
RiftPal explanation
How it works
Card reference
Noxus Hopeful
A card that is countered does not count as played for abilities that trigger when a card is played. But a non-triggered condition such as LegionA dependent keyword whose following text is active after you finalized a different card during this turn. That card still counts if later countered.View in Glossary checks whether another card was finalized during the turn. The countered card can satisfy that condition because it reached finalization before being countered. A FlowA spell keyword that lets you play it from your Trash for its Flow cost at its normal timing. After finalization, it is banished when it leaves the chain unless its own execution instructed that departure.View in Glossary spell played from TrashA player's off-board zone for cards that are killed or discarded and spells that finish resolving, unless an effect changes their destination. Its cards are public information and their order does not matter.View in Glossary is a destination exception: after it was finalized, Flow banishes it when it leaves the ChainAn off-board zone that holds cards and abilities during the process of playing them. Cards and abilities on it are public information.View in Glossary , even if an effect would return the countered spell to hand.
Unit
Noxus Hopeful
[Legion] — I cost [Energy 2] less. (Get the effect if you've played another card this turn.)
In practice
Example
You finish playing a spell, then your opponent counters it. Its effect does not execute and the costs remain paid. A later card with Legion sees that spell as the other card finalized this turn, even though a 'when you play a spell' trigger did not occur for it.