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Legality
| Format | Legality |
| 1v1 Commander | Legal |
| Alchemy | Legal |
| Arena | Legal |
| Block Constructed | Legal |
| Brawl | Legal |
| Canadian Highlander | Legal |
| Casual | Legal |
| Commander / EDH | Legal |
| Commander: Rule 0 | Legal |
| Custom | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Highlander | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Leviathan | Legal |
| Limited | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Pre-release | Legal |
| Standard | Legal |
| Tiny Leaders | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
Long Goodbye
Instant
This spell can't be countered. (This includes by the ward ability.)
Destroy target creature or planeswalker with converted mana cost/mana value 3 or less.
Gidgetimer on Why Was Ward Worded as …
1 month ago
It definitely isn't about having non mana payments, since they already have Terror of the Peaks which is formatted in the way you suggest.
The large difference made because of it being "counter unless you pay" instead of a static ability is that it allows other ways of getting around the ward besides paying the mana. I don't know if this was intended, but WotC is obviously aware of this because Long Goodbye was in the same set as Disguise. Benevolent Geist Flip, Boseiju, Who Shelters All, and Abrupt Decay also provide counter play to Ward. I can't provide you with a "why" since I have no inside information, but the most likely explanation IMO is that it was in fact intended that "can't be countered" can be used to counteract Ward.