The “Money” and the “Rest” Counter

The “Money” counter and “Rest” counter respectively are counters that work to mitigate damage. Both usually carry large costs, but they both work to effectively shutdown a lane, potentially denying your opponent a swing with multiple damage instances.

The money counter, so aptly named for the visuals on the card, is a card that effectively denies damage dealt by a character. Keep in mind that the wording may differ, but the original money counter effectively gave one of your opponent’s the ability of being incapable of dealing damage for the turn. Keep in mind that this ability is persistent for the turn, meaning if they were to re-stand that character, they would still effectively deal no damage. The no damage clause also applies to any damage effects, however, abilities that place cards into your opponent’s clock get around the counter since they are not damage effects.

Generally speaking, the best part of money counters, in general, is the fact that they can be used as early as level 2. Although, certain newer profiles do only exist at level three, but they do come with the upside of other abilities. Money counters may also come with specific conditions, unlike the original. Occasionally, characters may have some sort of money counter-esque effect, although this is quite rare. Money counters are almost exclusively on events.

The rest counter, which carries its name from its effect rather, forces an opponent’s character to rest, effectively denying their ability to attack. Rest counters may be even more effective than money counters in specific situations as they will deny a specific character’s swing from going off entirely. They may still re-stand that character if the ability is available.

Unlike the money counter, rest counters can be found in both event and character backups. In general, most rest counter effects are effectively stacked at level 3 for a slightly cheaper cost. Rest counters on character backups generally have a much higher cost compared to that of the event backups. If the counter is available at level 2, there are usually some sort of condition or restriction on the card for the effect to activate.

Both backups are quite powerful effects given the opportunity. They can be used to give you a life saving turn or deny your opponent a large damage swing. Their costs are quite steep, but they are a way to deter your opponent’s swings. Note that these backups still use backup timings, meaning they do not affect abilities that proc before the trigger step. Make good use of these abilities to preserve and save your life!