Circular Logic
Instant
Counter target spell unless its controller pays 
for each card in your graveyard.
Madness 
(If you discard this card, discard it into exile. When you do, cast it for its madness cost or put it into your graveyard.)
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Torment
- Price
- $8.48
- EDHREC rank
- #7376
Circular Logic counters any spell for a single blue mana when madness is live — the catch is that you need a discard outlet to trigger it. In decks built around emptying your hand or fueling the graveyard, like anything helmed by Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer, that condition is trivially met, making this one of the most efficient counterspells available.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer
Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer discards noncreature spells as a core engine mechanic, which means Circular Logic hits the table for one blue mana as a matter of course — you're not building around the madness cost, it just happens.
Rielle, the Everwise
Rielle, the Everwise rewards you for discarding as many cards as possible each turn, so Circular Logic slots in as both a payoff and a protection piece — discard it to any wheel effect and hold up a hard counter for one mana.
Captain Howler, Sea Scourge
Captain Howler, Sea Scourge generates consistent discard pressure throughout the game, giving Circular Logic a reliable trigger window on nearly every turn cycle.
Rona, Herald of Invasion
Rona, Herald of Invasion's untap-on-legendary mechanic pairs with looting effects to keep a hand in motion, and Circular Logic turns that steady discard churn into cheap interaction.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Circular Logic is a niche card with a high ceiling — in the right shell it's arguably the best one-mana counterspell in the format, but it's a dead card the moment your discard engine is offline. Pauper is where it has the broadest legitimate claim to a slot, since the format's common-only card pool is starved for efficient interaction and madness enablers like Aquamoeba are plentiful. Legacy and Vintage have access to better unconditional options, so Circular Logic only shows up there in dedicated madness or reanimator lists where the discard outlet is structural rather than optional.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Budget Alternatives
Cheaper options that do most of the same work
Counterspell itself is the cleanest replacement at under $1 — you lose the one-mana upside but gain a hard counter that requires zero setup. If you want to stay in the madness space on a tighter budget, Obsessive Search fills the discard-payoff role differently but doesn't protect your board the same way Circular Logic does.
Price Context
Current price
$8.48 mid tier
At $8.48, Circular Logic sits in mid-tier pricing for a card with a narrow but dedicated home — it's not a four-of staple in any format, so demand is driven almost entirely by Commander graveyard and madness builds. The price is defensible if you're building Oskar or a dedicated discard commander, but there's no reason to buy it speculatively for a deck that doesn't already want the madness payoff.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Oskar, Rubbish Reclaimer
- Rielle, the Everwise
- Captain Howler, Sea Scourge
- Rona, Herald of Invasion
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.