<p>All abilities that begin with &quot;when&quot;, &quot;whenever&quot;, or &quot;at&quot; are triggered abilities:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>603.1. Triggered abilities have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written as “[When/Whenever/At] [trigger condition or event], [effect]. [Instructions (if any).]”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the case of abilities such as cascade, the reminder text on the card shows that it starts with &quot;when&quot;, but note that reminder text is not the actual rules, it's just a summary. To show for certain that Cascade is a triggered ability, you have to look at the rules entry for Cascade itself:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>702.85a Cascade is a triggered ability that functions only while the spell with cascade is on the stack.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Same for other abilities such as Ripple. But the reminder text isn't going to have &quot;when&quot; unless the real rules actually have &quot;when&quot;.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-17T14:56:27.360Z
2022-05-17T14:56:27.360Z
GendoIkari
<p>Yes, you can. An abilities that triggers when casting a spell is a triggered ability. Thus it can be countered by anything that counters triggered abilities such as Tale's End.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-16T19:30:44.540Z
2022-05-16T19:36:51.477Z
2022-05-16T19:36:51.477Z
fxm
<p>If an opponent casts a spell that has an &quot;when cast&quot; ability, e.g. the cascade from <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Bloodbraid%20Elf">Bloodbraid Elf</a>, can I counter that ability - I think it'd be a &quot;triggered&quot; ability - using a card like <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Tale%27s%20End">Tale&#39;s End</a>?</p>

<magic-the-gathering>
Countering a "When Cast" Ability
ElectricTeddy
# Countering a "When Cast" Ability

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-05-16)

If an opponent casts a spell that has an "when cast" ability, e.g. the cascade from [Bloodbraid Elf](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Bloodbraid%20Elf), can I counter that ability - I think it'd be a "triggered" ability - using a card like [Tale's End](https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Tale%27s%20End)?

**Tags:** magic-the-gathering


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-05-17. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

All abilities that begin with "when", "whenever", or "at" are triggered abilities:

> 603.1. Triggered abilities have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written as “[When/Whenever/At] [trigger condition or event], [effect]. [Instructions (if any).]”

In the case of abilities such as cascade, the reminder text on the card shows that it starts with "when", but note that reminder text is not the actual rules, it's just a summary. To show for certain that Cascade is a triggered ability, you have to look at the rules entry for Cascade itself:

> 702.85a Cascade is a triggered ability that functions only while the spell with cascade is on the stack.

Same for other abilities such as Ripple. But the reminder text isn't going to have "when" unless the real rules actually have "when".


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### Answer by username_2 on 2022-05-16. Score: 4

Yes, you can. An abilities that triggers when casting a spell is a triggered ability. Thus it can be countered by anything that counters triggered abilities such as Tale's End.


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