Artistic Refusal
Instant
Convoke (Your creatures can help cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for 
or one mana of that creature's color.)
Choose one or both —
• Counter target spell.
• Draw two cards, then discard a card.
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- March of the Machine
- Price
- $0.15
- EDHREC rank
- #7211
Artistic Refusal counters any spell and replaces itself with three cards — the back half is the reason you run it. The seven-mana ask is steep, but Kasla, the Broken Halo trivializes that cost by reducing it based on cards drawn, turning this into a cheap counter that also refills your hand.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Kasla, the Broken Halo
Kasla, the Broken Halo is the premier home for Artistic Refusal — Kasla's cost-reduction ability scales with cards drawn each turn, meaning this regularly costs two or three mana while still netting three cards and stopping a threat.
Ovika, Enigma Goliath
Ovika, Enigma Goliath wants high-mana noncreature spells to maximize the Goblin token flood, and Artistic Refusal delivers a seven-mana payoff that also draws three cards to keep the engine churning.
Riku of Many Paths
Riku of Many Paths rewards expensive instants and sorceries with copy triggers, so Artistic Refusal pulling double duty as hard interaction and card advantage fits cleanly into what that deck wants to do on a late turn.
The Watcher in the Water
The Watcher in the Water uses tentacle-generation synergies that reward casting expensive spells, and Artistic Refusal at seven mana contributes while protecting the board and keeping cards flowing.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Artistic Refusal is a role-player rather than a staple — the raw rate is too slow for tables that demand answers before turn five, but decks that reduce spell costs or reward expensive instants treat it as a premium two-for-one. In Modern and Pioneer it doesn't compete; hard counters in those formats cost two or three mana, and no shell there makes seven tolerable. Legacy and Vintage have enough broken acceleration that the cost floor is theoretically reachable, but better options exist at every point on the curve. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander read: niche but real in the right shell.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.15 bulk tier
At $0.15, Artistic Refusal sits firmly in bulk territory — you're paying for cardboard, not scarcity. Bulk rares with narrow homes rarely climb unless the commander driving demand spikes hard, so don't expect this to move.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.