First printed in Modern Horizons 3 (2024)
Vexing Bauble 
Artifact
Whenever a player casts a spell, if no mana was spent to cast it, counter that spell., 
, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.
No one knew who invented it. No one knew its purpose. All anyone knew was they didn't like being anywhere near it.
- Illustrated by
- Tony Foti
Legality
- Legal in
- Modern, Historic, Timeless, Gladiator, Commander, Duel Commander, Tiny Leaders, Oathbreaker, Brawl, Competitive Brawl
- Restricted in
- Vintage
- Banned in
- Legacy
- Not legal in
- Standard, Pioneer, Pauper, Future Standard, Alchemy, Penny Dreadful, Premodern, Old School 93/94, Pauper Commander, PreDH, Standard Brawl
Rulings (2)
- If a spell is cast with an alternative cost that includes mana (such as flashback), Vexing Bauble's first ability won't trigger and won't counter that spell. Similarly, if a spell is cast without paying its mana cost, but the player did pay mana for additional costs such as from kicker or from Thorn of Amethyst, Vexing Bauble's first ability won't trigger and won't counter that spell.
- Players may cast spells that they know Vexing Bauble will counter. Any abilities that trigger when spells are cast will still trigger and resolve if appropriate, and any effects that count how many spells are cast will still count those spells if appropriate.
Prices
MTGO price: 1.76 TIX, the cheapest non-foil print (average sell price on GoatBots, 28 Oct 2026).
In Limited on MTG Arena
Win rates in Arena drafts and sealed, retrieved from 17Lands (CC BY 4.0).
| Set | GIH WR | vs set | IWD | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modern Horizons 3 (MH3), Premier Draft | 49.4% | -5.7 | -1.4 | 1827 |
- GIH WR
- win rate of the games in which the card was in the opening hand or drawn
- vs set
- points above or below the average win rate of all decks in the set
- IWD
- improvement when drawn: GIH WR minus the win rate when the card stayed in the library
- Games
- games in which the card was seen
Staple
-
Modern staples:
main deck, 13% of decks (#41); sideboard, 32% of decks (#3)
Colorless, Artifacts, Counterspells, Card draw -
Vintage staples:
main deck, 63% of decks (#10)
Colorless, Artifacts, Counterspells, Card draw -
Commander staples:
main deck, 24% of decks (#107)
Colorless, Artifacts, Counterspells, Card draw
Last 120 days of MTGO results and paper tournaments.
Combos
6 combos, the most popular first:
- Infinite damage, Infinite lifegain triggers…: Aetherflux Reservoir + Noctis, Prince of Lucis + Vexing Bauble (+ 1 other requirement)
- Counter all spells players cast from their hands, Lock: Knowledge Pool + Vexing Bauble
- Counter all spells players cast from their hands, Lock: Possibility Storm + Vexing Bauble
- Players can't draw cards, Players can't cast noncreature spells exiled by Omen Machine…: Omen Machine + Vexing Bauble
- Infinite magecraft triggers, Infinite storm count: Guile + Vexing Bauble
- Counter all copies cast from Eye of the Storm, Exile all instants and sorceries any player casts…: Eye of the Storm + Vexing Bauble
