How often is counterspell used in your games?

Mercule · Apr 12, 2019

I don't remember ever seeing it used in the 3.5 decades I've played.

Istbor · Apr 12, 2019

Every so often.

Not always a caster among the enemies.

That caster is not always of high enough level to have the spell

That caster is not always of high enough level that my players feel they need to burn a counter

My players aren't perfect, and may not always remember they have counterspell

Maxperson · Apr 12, 2019

Counterspell is used in virtually every combat that has an enemy spell caster, unless the PC is out of them already.

cmad1977 · Apr 13, 2019

It’s not rare. Not every fight.

ParanoydStyle · Apr 13, 2019

I haven't seen it used ever actually but my actual play experience with 5E is woefully limited.

ParanoydStyle · Apr 13, 2019

Mercule said:
I don't remember ever seeing it used in the 3.5 decades I've played.

Well I don't think it was actually a thing until that last, most recent .5 of a decade. IIRC Dispel Magic has been around forever but Counterspell as a spell is new to 5E.

Morrus · Apr 13, 2019

Never.

Mort · Apr 13, 2019

ParanoydStyle said:
Well I don't think it was actually a thing until that last, most recent .5 of a decade. IIRC Dispel Magic has been around forever but Counterspell as a spell is new to 5E.

Right.

I don't think counterspelling existed until 3e, and there it's quite different and IMO more cumbersome (so used less).

Draegn · Apr 13, 2019

On occasion, depending on situation and the characters involved.

The Crimson Binome · Apr 13, 2019

Mort said:
Right.

I don't think counterspelling existed until 3e, and there it's quite different and IMO more cumbersome (so used less).

It wasn't just cumbersome in 3E; it was a horrible waste of the action economy. It was almost always preferable to just let them cast their spell, and then Dispel the effect (or cast the reversal spell) on your own turn, because trying to counter it during the cast required you to ready an action and successfully identify the spell being cast and have the exact same spell available to cast as the counter. If they ended up casting a spell that you didn't have available, then your turn was wasted. You also had the much, much more effective alternative of readying an action to attack someone if they tried to cast a spell, which had the benefit of working on any spell and also dealing damage.

The only reason why Counterspell matters in 5E is because it's a reaction to cast, so it doesn't disrupt your action economy. You can counter an incoming spell, and still cast your own spell on the same turn. The only real cost is the spell slot (which is trivial for enemy spellcasters, who don't need to budget their spells across six encounters).