Unravel – Edge of Eternities
Date Reviewed: August 12, 2025
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.37
Casual: 3.17
Limited: 3.69
Multiplayer: 3.00
Commander [EDH]: 3.00
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Many years ago, Future Sight brought us the card Nix, which was at the time one of the narrowest counterspells ever. Even so, it got some play against suspend in block constructed, and against pitch spells in Vintage. I thought of that card when I saw Unravel, which is intended to target similar types of things. It has decent prospects within its own set and in the context of recent sets, because there have been a number of cost-reducing mechanics of late. And while it’s at its best when you can hold it back to snipe a particular mechanic or a specific type of spell, don’t misread it: it’s not actually a narrow counterspell like Nix, but rather a generic counterspell with a niche upside. As such, we should remember that casual environments might use not only warp, suspend, and plot, but also things like delve, Phyrexian mana, and abilities like Etali, Primal Storm. In that light, it looks quite solid all around.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 3.5
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 3
“Cancel with upside” is a tried and tested bit of design space, since Cancel is in that awkward place of not being particularly good but the two-mana Counterspell being very good. Unravel tries to split the difference with an interesting bit of upside: if the spell was cast for less than its mana value, it draws a card. That’s actually an interesting bit of targeting at warp, which is going to be cheaper than the usual full-cost version, but there are plenty of other mechanics this can hit, like plotted spells and pitch spells. This is maybe a bit specific, but it is “Cancel with upside” and with quite a nice upside, and a cantripping counterspell is quite a nice bit of tempo.
Constructed: 3.5
Casual: 3
Limited: 3.75
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 3
Thijs
Every new set sees a few iterations of a counterspell – mainly for uses in Limited environments – and every now and then one sticks around. EoE saw a reprint of Annul, for obvious reasons, and Unravel adds some new flavor to the old denial spell.
It’s in many ways a more expensive Counterspell, with an added bonus. It was made for uses against warp cards, because when you counter a warped spell with this card, you get to draw a card.
Does that make it good? Hmm, no, not really. There have been over 300 different counterspells in Magic so far, so this one will probably not make its way into a top ten any time soon.
In draft and sealed, however, this card will probably shine. Very functional and, all things considered, it’s still a way to disrupt your opponent’s game.
Constructed: 3
Casual: 3
Limited: 3,7
Multiplayer: 3
Commander [EDH]: 3
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