Force Spike
Instant
Counter target spell unless its controller pays 
.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Fifth Edition
- Price
- $1.08
- EDHREC rank
- #13164
Force Spike is a hard counter for one mana — the catch is that it stops being hard the moment your opponent has two mana to spare. Run it in the early turns of a fast, tempo-driven blue deck and it punches well above its cost; run it in a slow Commander pod and it's a bluff that gets called every time.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Legacy and Vintage, Force Spike earns its slot in the early turns of tempo decks where opponents are stretching to cast spells on curve and paying the tax is genuinely painful. Pauper is its best home — the format is fast, commons rule, and one mana to counter anything before turn three is a real rate. Commander is where Force Spike gets complicated: as the game drags past turn four, opponents routinely have spare mana floating, turning a hard counter into a political speed bump. It still has a role in stax or taxing shells that keep opponents mana-starved, but in a typical pod it belongs in the sideboard of your thought process rather than the 99.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$1.08 cheap tier
At $1.08, Force Spike sits at the low end of the one-mana counterspell tier — cheap enough that budget is never the reason to leave it out. The price is stable; it sees enough casual and Pauper demand to keep it from bottoming out, but it's not a card anyone is chasing.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.