Complicate
Instant
Counter target spell unless its controller pays 
.
Cycling 
(, Discard this card: Draw a card.)
When you cycle this card, you may counter target spell unless its controller pays 
.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Onslaught
- Price
- $0.40
- EDHREC rank
- #13002
Complicate counters a spell for three mana or cycles for two — the cycling clause is the whole point, turning a situational counterspell into a cantrip you never feel bad keeping. In Gavi, Nest Warden decks it's free to cycle, which makes it a zero-cost counterspell threat that replaces itself every time you don't need it.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Gavi, Nest Warden
Gavi, Nest Warden makes the first cycle each turn free, so Complicate either stops a spell for three mana or replaces itself for nothing — a counterspell that's never a dead card is exactly what a cycling engine wants.
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 | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Complicate earns its slot almost exclusively in cycling-matters decks, where the free-cycling clause from Gavi, Nest Warden or similar effects eliminates the usual opportunity cost of running a conditional counterspell. Outside that engine, three mana is too much for a hard counter with no rider, and you're better off with Counterspell or Arcane Denial. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant — those formats have access to Force of Will and Mental Misstep, and Complicate doesn't compete. Oathbreaker follows the same logic as Commander: playable only if your planeswalker or signature spell supports a cycling theme.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.40 bulk tier
At $0.40, Complicate sits firmly in bulk territory and has no realistic path out of it — it's a narrow role-player with a small target audience. Pick it up without hesitation if you're building Gavi, Nest Warden; just don't expect the price to move.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.