Do monsters count as spells in Magic: The Gathering?
Think of it this way, every spell is a card until it hits the field, then it’s classified as a permanent. Some spells, Remove Soul, specifically counter creature spells. Look at the wording of that last sentence, specifically the last 2 words “creature spells”, also may be called “Summon Spells” as they summon creatures. So the short answer to your question is yes you may counter the creature spell with a simple counterspell or cancel and send it straight to the graveyard or if some cards would be shuffled back into the library if it would go to the graveyard, use Faerie Trickery and remove the card from the game instead. Hope this helps.
All non-land cards (Planeswalkers, creatures, instants, enchantments, sorceries, and artifacts) count as spells when you play them and while they are on the stack. Once they resolve, they are no longer spells. That means you can’t use a Counterspell on a Grizzly Bears that is already in play. You can counter it when it is on the stack (the place where spells go before they resolve). To illustrate: 1. Joe taps a Forest and an Arcane Sanctum for a green and a blue. 2. Joe plays Grizzly Bears. 3. Joe has a Wurm’s Tooth (2; Artifact; You may gain 1 life whenever a player plays a green spell.) in play, and its trigger is activated. The ability (gain 1 life) is put on the stack. 3. Fred taps two Vivid Creeks and a Forest for two blue mana and one green mana. 4. Fred plays Voidslime (choosing to counter target spell), targeting the Grizzly Bears. 5. Wurm’s Tooth is activated again and its ability goes on the stack. 6. Fred gains 1 life. 7. Grizzly Bears is countered and sent to the graveyard.
