Boas.
Q: If a spell or activated ability gets countered, does it count as having been "played"?
A: Yes. The act of playing something is the act of putting it onto the stack, choosing targets, paying costs, and so on, and that all happens long before anyone or anything gets a chance to even attempt to counter it. The spell was played just fine--it just never got a chance to resolve.
Balefire Liege conta spells jogados. Mesmo que um spell seja anulado, nao quer dizer que nao tenha sido jogado, apenas nao resolveu.
Cumps