Gecko85
Explorer
He is wrong.
Christopher Perkins is wrong? Possible...
He is wrong.
A spell must have a casting time of 1 action to be readied, and holding onto the spell’s magic until you release it with your reaction requires concentration (explained in chapter 10). For example, if you are concentrating on the web spell and ready magic missile, your web spell ends, and if you take damage before you release magic missile with your reaction, you might lose the spell as a result of your concentration being broken.
Ah, I see...Counterspell is a reaction.You are not readying a spell when you cast counterspell.
You can, in fact, counterspell an enemy counterspell. (Unlike 4E, 5E allows you to take reactions on your own turn.) The only down side is that doing so expends your reaction. So you force your own spell through, but at the cost of leaving yourself open to whatever the enemy mage does on her turn. It's still a winning tactic, though. When two glass cannons start blasting at each other, whoever gets in the first shot is likely to get in the last one, too.2) WHY NOT ???
You can, in fact, counterspell an enemy counterspell. (Unlike 4E, 5E allows you to take reactions on your own turn.) The only down side is that doing so expends your reaction. So you force your own spell through, but at the cost of leaving yourself open to whatever the enemy mage does on her turn. It's still a winning tactic, though. When two glass cannons start blasting at each other, whoever gets in the first shot is likely to get in the last one, too.
Two dueling wizards with counterspell can burn through spell slots at a ferocious rate. If you think you have more spell slots than your opponent, you want to counterspell every chance you get, waging a war of attrition. If you're on the receiving end of this tactic, you still have to respond in kind because you can't afford to be letting enemy spells through while your own are blocked.