COUNTER Timing Explained: the Counter Phase and Counter Step

Hero Rush gives the defending player two reactive windows: the counter phase of the opponent's turn and the counter step inside each battle. Cards with the COUNTER keyword — like 「Freedom Watcher」New Captain America — may be called from hand in either window, ambushing an attacker that expected an empty zone.

Beyond the keyword, plenty of cards carry COUNTER·ACTI effects: activated abilities that are also legal at counter timing. 「Covert Ops」Black Widow discards herself to sink an attacker's Power by 2000 mid-battle, and 「Flash Arrow」Hawkeye taxes attacks from the moment he hits the field.

The BLOCK ability (seen on 「Justice Descends」New Captain America) is a specialised counter play: it redirects an incoming attack to the blocker, protecting the character — or the weakness — your opponent actually wanted to hit.

Rule of thumb from our sample lists: reactive decks run 9-15 counter-timing cards, aggressive decks 3-6. Holding cards for counters costs tempo, so every counter you run should either win a fight or replace itself.