Vex
Instant
Counter target spell. That spell's controller may draw a card.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Darksteel
- Price
- $0.09
- EDHREC rank
- #23850
Vex counters a spell and replaces itself — the cantrip is the whole justification for running it over a blank counterspell. It's a strictly worse Mana Leak in most contexts, but the draw clause keeps it from being dead weight in the late game when the tax is irrelevant.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Vex earns its slot only in decks that want redundancy past their first eight or nine counterspells and value never drawing a blank — the cantrip matters most in a 99-card singleton format where consistency is hard to come by. In Pauper, where the common counterspell pool is actually competitive, Vex sits well below Counterspell and Prohibit and rarely sees play. Legacy and Vintage have access to free interaction and hard counters that make Vex unplayable in any serious list. Oathbreaker mirrors the Commander read: fine as deep redundancy, never a priority inclusion.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.09 bulk tier
At $0.09, Vex is bulk — buy a playset without thinking about it. Bulk cantrip-counters don't appreciate; this is a card you grab out of a dollar box, not one you track.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.