In any MTG format where free mana spells are an option, they are generally some of the most powerful things you can do. Sure, you need to spend other resources in order to enable them, but being able to use them right at the start of the game makes it more than worth it. Being able to counter powerful spells as early as turn one in Legacy and Commander is paramount.
Generally, free spells are used in decks trying to do unfair things. Whether you’re playing fast mana like Lotus Petal, or trying to Cascade into Living End, a lot of the most broken things you can do in Magic starts with something free. Vexing Bauble was created to level the playing field a bit.
Costing just one mana to cast and offering a draw when it’s no longer useful, as long as there are free spells being cast in your MTG format, there’s little reason not to play Vexing Bauble. This can help protect your powerful threats and slow down combo players trying to win the game quickly. At least, that’s what it was supposed to do.
In an ironic twist, Vexing Bauble is now promoting the exact type of play that it seemed to be created to stop. Force of Will can no longer stop Legacy combo players, and players are now calling for its ban in the Legacy format.
The Perplexing Case of Vexing Bauble
Mystic Forge Combo completely dominated the North American Eternal Weekend Legacy Championship. The deck utilizes Mystic Forge combined with Karn, the Great Creator, Glaring Fleshraker, The One Ring, and a multitude of fast mana to churn through their deck and win the game quickly, this is as combo-y as combo comes.
One aspect of this particular combo deck is that, in addition to the fact that no cards cost colored mana, very few cards cost zero mana, either. The cards that do are somewhat insignificant to the deck’s overall function, and can easily be used before deploying a Vexing Bauble in your opening hand.
So, while Vexing Bauble’s apparent purpose was to stop combo-esque free mana shenanigans, its real purpose in the Legacy format is now to protect combo decks from free counterspells. The card is seeing play in Mystic Forge Combo, Painter, Sneak and Show, and Red Stompy decks, all for the same purpose. As a result, people are starting to call for Vexing Bauble to be banned.
Becoming the Villain
The catalyst for many Legacy personalities suddenly lobbying for the ban of Vexing Bauble was the results of the recent North American Eternal Weekend. Despite there being 11 Null Rods in the top eight, three Mystic Forge decks made it there anyway. One even took down the event. Force of Will is no longer a reliable way to keep degenerate decks in check thanks to Vexing Bauble, and it might be tipping the scales of Legacy’s precarious balance.
Notably, Kelvin Wallace, the winner of the Legacy Championship at the North American Eternal Weekend, tweeted this after winning the main event:
Kelvin Wallace
“My goal going into EW was to get vexing bauble banned. I have given that my best effort with my play, now it’s time to make my case. I am happy to appear on any eternal magic focused podcast as long I get to lay out my case for a ban.”
The players at the top of the Legacy format want to see this card gone, but some players do think that this kind of effect is needed in Legacy. Vexing Bauble appears to have gotten something wrong, according to how things have gone. Some players suggest that the ability to turn this into a card is part of the problem:
“the buyout clause on vexing bauble is just such a cowardly design. I don’t really play but just ideologically I would like to see the card banned and for them to try again with a similar card.”
aceanddeucemtg
Decks that have free cards themselves can run Vexing Bauble at an even smaller cost. If Mystic Forge Combo, for example, has a Vexing Bauble in play and finds another one mid-combo, they can sacrifice the Bauble, play some zero mana cards, and re-cast another one. You’re not even out a card by doing this. Sneak and Show employs a similar strategy using Force of Will and Omniscience alongside Vexing Bauble.
Vexing Bauble is a Problem, but Not the Only One
Ban talks are reverberating across the Legacy community, and Vexing Bauble is a common name mentioned among them. Many players also agree that something out of the Dimir Reanimator deck needs to go, and Psychic Frog or Entomb are the most commonly mentioned cards among them. Players also believe that Eldrazi need to be cut down a notch, but the suggested card to go from that category is all over the place. The only commonality is that many MTG players agree that something from the deck needs to be removed.
December does have a ban announcement scheduled. Many players are anticipating a One Ring ban in Modern as the most likely action taken, but considering all of the ban talk in Legacy following the North American Eternal Weekend, there may be a case to make a move in that format, as well.
