<p>Rule 117.5 states:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>117.5. Some costs are represented by {0}, or are reduced to {0}. The action necessary for a player to pay such a cost is the player’s acknowledgment that they are paying it. Even though such a cost requires no resources, it’s not automatically paid.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So, it is possible to refuse to pay an optional payment with a cost of 0 mana, and a person can counter their own spell by refusing to pay the cost of 0 mana.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-20T03:00:00.667Z
2018-07-20T07:05:28.040Z
2018-07-20T07:05:28.040Z
Sophie Swett
<p>For example, there's a <a class="mtg-autocard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" href="http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bCephalid%20Shrine%5d">Cephalid Shrine</a> on the field and someone casts a spell with no copies in any graveyards.  Can someone choose to counter their own spell by not paying 0 mana?</p>

<p>I don't think there's anything in the rules preventing this, but I do know that things like 0 power attacks can't interact with combat damage triggers.  Is there a similar case for costs of 0 being automatically paid?</p>

<magic-the-gathering>
Is it possible to not pay a conditional counter with the cost set at 0?
Teleka
# Is it possible to not pay a conditional counter with the cost set at 0?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-20)

For example, there's a [Cephalid Shrine](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?name=%2b%5bCephalid%20Shrine%5d) on the field and someone casts a spell with no copies in any graveyards. Can someone choose to counter their own spell by not paying 0 mana?

I don't think there's anything in the rules preventing this, but I do know that things like 0 power attacks can't interact with combat damage triggers. Is there a similar case for costs of 0 being automatically paid?

**Tags:** magic-the-gathering


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-07-20. Score: 7 | Accepted answer

Rule 117.5 states:

> 117.5. Some costs are represented by {0}, or are reduced to {0}. The action necessary for a player to pay such a cost is the player’s acknowledgment that they are paying it. Even though such a cost requires no resources, it’s not automatically paid.

So, it is possible to refuse to pay an optional payment with a cost of 0 mana, and a person can counter their own spell by refusing to pay the cost of 0 mana.


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