In a surprise turn of events, Wizards went all-out with their May 18th ban announcement. No format was affected more than Modern, which saw two powerhouses unbanned in addition to two other bans. As is typical following major announcements, the secondary market has since experienced some big fluctuations. Vexing Bauble appears to be the most recent culprit, thanks to becoming a must-have in Modern.
MTG Vexing Bauble
Following its printing in Modern Horizons 3, it didn’t take players long to figure out that Vexing Bauble was a powerful card. After all, having access to such an efficient way to keep all free spells at bay is an incredible luxury. While this card is banned in Legacy and restricted in Vintage, it hasn’t been part of Modern for a while. Following the unbanning of Violent Outburst, however, this card is back with a vengeance.
Essentially, Vexing Bauble is the perfect counter for any Cascade deck using Violent Outburst to cast cards like Living End for free. Since this and other Suspend spells don’t have a mana cost, Vexing Bauble shuts them down outright. Unsurprisingly, with Living End decks putting up strong tournament results, this card has become a key piece of sideboard tech.
As if countering an entire archetype wasn’t good enough, Vexing Bauble naturally counters other free spells like Force of Negation and Force of Vigor. With all of this upside, it’s no wonder many tier one strategies like Boros Energy and Eldrazi Ramp are adopting this potent sideboard option.
Past its Modern appeal, Vexing Bauble does make a splash in Commander as well. The artifact is a cEDH mainstay, but even in more casual settings with fewer free spells, it still has value. The opportunity cost of playing this cantripping artifact is just so low. Yet, even with its consistent Commander play, there’s no doubt that its Modern resurgence is the cause of Vexing Bauble’s spike.
The Spike
Leading up to the May 18th ban announcement, Vexing Bauble saw steady demand, with over 20 near-mint copies selling daily. While this may sound like a lot of sales, it pales in comparison to the 374 copies that were purchased on May 18th alone. With players anticipating the rise in Violent Outburst Cascade decks, demand has remained high, causing Vexing Bauble’s price to spike significantly.
At the time of writing, this artifact’s lowest near-mint listing is $4.29 on TCGplayer. This represents a 333% price spike since May 13th, where the market value rested at only $0.99. Even at worse conditions, there are no copies selling for under $3.60. With no other variant besides the traditional Modern Horizons 3 printing to speak of, finding a great deal on this uncommon may prove difficult.
The Future
Ultimately, given that the Modern metagame is still in flux, it’s hard to guess exactly what will happen to Vexing Bauble’s price moving forward. Right now, Living End sits as the fifth most popular Modern deck according to MTGGoldfish. If this high level of representation continues or the deck becomes even more popular, seeing Vexing Bauble’s price tag climb higher wouldn’t be shocking.
On the flip side, though, Vexing Bauble’s demand has decreased since the initial post-unban wave, and this trend could continue if Living End falls out of favor. With the next round of Regional Championships starting September 11th being Modern, we should get a better sense of things soon enough.
Still, with demand tied to Commander and Vintage as well, it seems unlikely that Vexing Bauble’s value will tank below $1 anytime soon. As is the case with most spikes, it’s impossible to predict the future with any degree of certainty. We’ll just have to wait and see how things play out.
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