D&D 5E Counterspell vs Counterspell

[maritimo80]

A Wizard cast fireball and the enemy sorcerer uses his reaction to cast counterspell to prevent the fireball.


The Wizard can use your reaction to cast Counterspell vs Counterspell of sorcerer, and can finish cast your fireball?

 

[mellored]

Yes.

You end up burning a lot of slots that way though.

 

[Syntallah]

Yes.

You end up burning a lot of slots that way though.

Surely not the same wizard casting a Counterspell in the middle of his own Fireball?!?

 

[mellored]

Surely not the same wizard casting a Counterspell in the middle of his own Fireball?!?

You can.

Though you don't get another reaction until the start of your next turn.

 

[Tzarevitch]

You can.

Though you don't get another reaction until the start of your next turn.

No you cant. "A" casts a fireball. "B" casts counterspell. "A" can cast counterspell to counter "B's" counterspells but he loses the fireball if he does so. He cannot counter the counter "during" his own fireball. He cannot cast 2 spells at once. He has to stop the fireball and cast counterspell as his reaction. The fireball is then lost. To answer the OP's question, it CAN be done, but there is no reason to do it. You just burn a second 3rd level slot for no benefit.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Sorry, [MENTION=1792]Tzarevitch[/MENTION], but that's not correct. This was covered in Sage Advice, and in fact, fireball is the precise example they used.

The following is a direct quote:

Can you also cast a reaction spell on your turn? You
sure can! Here’s a common way for it to happen: Cornelius
the wizard is casting fireball on his turn, and his foe casts
counterspell on him. Cornelius has counterspell prepared,
so he uses his reaction to cast it and break his foe’s counterspell
before it can stop fireball.

 

[Sunseeker]

Yes. The last counterspell counters the previous counterspell, and since there's nothing left to cancel the fireball, the fireball goes off. Very simple rule from MTG: First one in, last one out.

 

[S'mon]

IMO Sage Advice is clearly wrong - for one thing this is letting the caster cast 2 spells on his own turn, which is supposed to be a no-no*. And he shouldn't be allowed to stop casting his fireball, cast a different spell, then restart & complete his original spell.

But you can do it the Sage Advice way if you want.

*Barring a specific exception in the text of Counterspell, which there isn't.

 

[Shadowdweller00]

IMO Sage Advice is clearly wrong - for one thing this is letting the caster cast 2 spells on his own turn, which is supposed to be a no-no*. And he shouldn't be allowed to stop casting his fireball, cast a different spell, then restart & complete his original spell.

But you can do it the Sage Advice way if you want.

*Barring a specific exception in the text of Counterspell, which there isn't.

The sage advice is clearly not the slightest bit wrong - as has been clarified SEVERAL times. The limitation is specifically about combining BONUS ACTION spells and any other non-cantrip during a turn.

 

[Mouseferatu]

IMO Sage Advice is clearly wrong - for one thing this is letting the caster cast 2 spells on his own turn, which is supposed to be a no-no*. And he shouldn't be allowed to stop casting his fireball, cast a different spell, then restart & complete his original spell.

But you can do it the Sage Advice way if you want.

*Barring a specific exception in the text of Counterspell, which there isn't.

The specific rule about casting two spells on your turn involves actions and bonus actions, not reactions. No broken rule there.

And he's not interrupting the casting of his fireball. He's completed it. Counterspell doesn't prevent you from completing the casting, it stops the magic from taking place. The fireball is completed, the first counterspell is completed, the second counterspell is completed and prevents the first from canceling the magic--not interrupting the casting, canceling the magic--of the fireball.

You can houserule as you like, of course, but the Sage Advice is entirely within both the letter and spirit of the RAW.