Can You Counter Spells With Shroud? Understanding the Nuances of Magic: The Gathering
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The direct answer to the question “Can you counter spells with shroud?” is a resounding no. Shroud, a keyword ability in Magic: The Gathering (MTG), primarily protects permanents and players from being targeted. It does not prevent spells from being countered. To understand why, we need to delve into the mechanics of shroud and how it interacts with other game concepts like targeting and counterspells.
What is Shroud and How Does it Work?
Shroud is a static ability that states: “This permanent or player can’t be the target of spells or abilities.” This means that if a permanent (like a creature, artifact, or enchantment) has shroud, or if a player has shroud, they cannot be the subject of any spell or ability that uses the word “target.” This includes both your own spells and abilities, as well as your opponent’s.
Key Aspects of Shroud:
- Targeting Restriction: Shroud’s sole function is to prevent something from being targeted. It doesn’t interfere with actions that don’t involve targeting.
- Non-Combat Interactions: Shroud primarily affects spells and abilities, preventing you from enhancing a creature with auras, equipping it with artifacts, or using activated abilities that target it.
- Placement Matters: Shroud is only relevant while an object is a permanent on the battlefield or when it’s affecting a player. It has no impact on spells on the stack.
- Sacrificing is not Targeting: While you can’t target a creature with shroud to destroy it with a spell, you can sacrifice it, as sacrificing does not involve targeting.
- Not a Counter Spell: It’s crucial to understand that shroud doesn’t counter spells. It just prevents cards with shroud from being the subject of a spell or ability.
Why Shroud Doesn’t Stop Counterspells
Counterspells, like Counterspell itself, work by targeting a spell on the stack, not a permanent on the battlefield. Shroud only affects permanents. When you cast a spell and it goes on the stack, it becomes a target for counterspells, regardless of whether any permanents it might later affect have shroud.
Example: Suppose you cast a creature spell, say, “Grizzly Bears.” Your opponent then casts a counterspell, such as “Counterspell,” targeting your Grizzly Bears spell on the stack. The Grizzly Bears hasn’t become a permanent yet, and therefore, shroud is not relevant in this scenario.
Contrasting Shroud with Related Abilities
To further clarify the nuances of shroud, it’s helpful to compare it to similar abilities such as hexproof, protection, and ward.
Shroud vs. Hexproof
- Shroud: Prevents all players and effects from targeting a permanent. This means you can’t even target a creature with shroud using your own buffs and equipment.
- Hexproof: Only prevents opponents from targeting a permanent. You are still able to target your own creatures and permanents with hexproof.
Hexproof is generally considered superior to shroud because it allows for more flexibility, enabling you to enhance your own cards without hindrance.
Shroud vs. Protection
- Shroud: Prevents targeting.
- Protection: Offers a range of preventative effects; such as preventing damage, enchanting/equipping, blocking, and targeting by a specified source. Importantly, protection only works when on a permanent, having no effect while on the stack.
While protection can prevent targeting, it is tied to specific sources, such as “protection from red” and not a blanket prevention such as shroud.
Shroud vs. Ward
- Shroud: Makes the permanent an invalid target; no spell or ability can be targeted at a card with shroud.
- Ward: If targeted, ward will require the casting player to pay an additional cost for the target to work. Ward does not prevent targeting, but often functions as a cost of mana or other resources to be able to target a permanent.
Ward and shroud are both preventative, but in different ways. Ward does not prevent targeting, it just makes the act more difficult through additional cost.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Shroud
1. Does shroud protect against board wipes?
Yes, and no. Shroud protects a permanent from being targeted, but if a board wipe doesn’t target a specific permanent, shroud is irrelevant. For instance, Wrath of God, which destroys all creatures, bypasses shroud, as it doesn’t target any creatures individually.
2. Can deathtouch affect a creature with shroud?
Yes. Deathtouch applies when a creature deals damage, it doesn’t target. A creature with deathtouch will still destroy a creature with shroud if combat damage is dealt.
3. Can you attach Auras to a creature with shroud?
No, you cannot target a creature with shroud with auras. Auras target when they are a spell. Once on the battlefield, they are no longer targeting, and will remain on the creature if it gains shroud.
4. Can you equip a creature with shroud?
No, you cannot. The act of equipping an Equipment targets the creature. Shroud prevents targeting, thus you cannot equip a creature with shroud.
5. Can you mutate onto a creature with shroud?
No, you cannot. The act of mutating targets a creature on the battlefield. Shroud prevents targeting, thus you cannot mutate onto a creature with shroud.
6. Can you cipher onto a creature with shroud?
Yes, you can. Ciphering does not target. Thus, a creature with shroud can still be ciphered.
7. Does shroud stop activated abilities?
Yes, shroud prevents you from using an activated ability that targets a creature with shroud.
8. Does shroud stop abilities that don’t target?
No, shroud only stops targeting effects. It does not affect abilities that do not use the word “target” in their text.
9. Can you sacrifice a creature with shroud?
Yes, sacrificing is not considered targeting. Thus you can sacrifice a creature with shroud.
10. Does shroud work in the graveyard or library?
No, shroud only affects permanents on the battlefield and players. It does not affect cards in the graveyard, library, or hand.
11. How does shroud interact with indestructible?
Indestructible prevents creatures from being destroyed. Shroud only prevents targeting. Thus, a creature with both shroud and indestructible cannot be targeted or destroyed in most cases.
12. Does shroud affect combat damage?
No, shroud does not affect combat damage. Creatures with shroud can still be attacked and blocked.
13. Can you bounce a creature with shroud?
Yes, you can. Spells that “return target permanent to its owner’s hand” do not work on shroud creatures. Spells that do not use the word target like “return all permanents to their owner’s hand”, will.
14. Can you exile a creature with shroud?
Yes, if the exile effect does not target, such as a board wipe that exiles instead of destroys.
15. Is shroud better than hexproof?
Hexproof is generally considered better than shroud because it only prevents opponents from targeting the permanent, allowing you to buff your own cards.
Conclusion
While shroud provides excellent protection against targeted spells and abilities, it does not prevent your spells from being countered. Understanding the subtleties of shroud, its interactions with other abilities, and its distinction from hexproof, protection, and ward is crucial to mastering Magic: The Gathering. Shroud is a powerful ability that can protect permanents, but it is not a counterspell, and it does not protect spells on the stack.