diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ArtistSupportLink.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ArtistSupportLink.test.tsx
index a5f4c83a2..6e68a113f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ArtistSupportLink.test.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ArtistSupportLink.test.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
 import React from "react";
 import { Provider } from "react-redux";
 
@@ -18,15 +18,28 @@ import { setupStore } from "@/store/store";
 
 import { ArtistSupportLink, buildArtistSupportURL } from "./ArtistSupportLink";
 
-function renderApplet(artistName: string, backend = localBackend) {
+function renderApplet(
+  artistName: string,
+  backend = localBackend,
+  defaultExpanded = false
+) {
   const store = setupStore({ backend });
   render(
     <Provider store={store}>
-      <ArtistSupportLink artistName={artistName} />
+      <ArtistSupportLink
+        artistName={artistName}
+        defaultExpanded={defaultExpanded}
+      />
     </Provider>
   );
 }
 
+// Issue #709 - the applet defaults to collapsed (a single line: the page-link + a disclosure
+// toggle); this expands it so tests can assert on the commerce links/badge/credit it reveals.
+function expandApplet() {
+  fireEvent.click(screen.getByTestId("artist-support-toggle"));
+}
+
 describe("buildArtistSupportURL", () => {
   it("URL-encodes the artist name into an MTG Artist Connection artist-page URL", () => {
     expect(buildArtistSupportURL("Harold McNeill")).toBe(
@@ -42,7 +55,7 @@ describe("buildArtistSupportURL", () => {
 });
 
 describe("ArtistSupportLink applet", () => {
-  it("never renders as an empty box: the MTGAC page link and the credit are present before any network response resolves", () => {
+  it("never renders as an empty box: the MTGAC page link is present before any network response resolves, collapsed to a single line by default", () => {
     // no server.use(...) at all - the request is in flight (or, with noBackend below, never
     // even fires) - the applet's base shape must already be there, not a spinner/empty state.
     renderApplet("Harold McNeill");
@@ -52,9 +65,10 @@ describe("ArtistSupportLink applet", () => {
       "href",
       buildArtistSupportURL("Harold McNeill")
     );
-    expect(screen.getByTestId("artist-support-credit")).toHaveTextContent(
-      "MTG Artist Connection"
-    );
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("artist-support-toggle")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(
+      screen.queryByTestId("artist-support-credit")
+    ).not.toBeInTheDocument();
     expect(
       screen.queryByTestId("artist-support-commerce-links")
     ).not.toBeInTheDocument();
@@ -63,7 +77,36 @@ describe("ArtistSupportLink applet", () => {
     ).not.toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
-  it("with no remote backend configured, still renders the fallback applet and makes no request at all", () => {
+  it("expanding the collapsed applet reveals the credit line, even with nothing else to show", () => {
+    renderApplet("Harold McNeill");
+
+    expandApplet();
+
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("artist-support-credit")).toHaveTextContent(
+      "MTG Artist Connection"
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("collapsing again after expanding hides the credit line without unmounting the applet", () => {
+    renderApplet("Harold McNeill");
+
+    expandApplet();
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("artist-support-credit")).toBeInTheDocument();
+
+    expandApplet();
+    expect(
+      screen.queryByTestId("artist-support-credit")
+    ).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("artist-support-applet")).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("defaultExpanded starts the applet open, with the credit line visible without any interaction (the /editor rail's usage)", () => {
+    renderApplet("Harold McNeill", localBackend, true);
+
+    expect(screen.getByTestId("artist-support-credit")).toBeInTheDocument();
+  });
+
+  it("with no remote backend configured, still renders the fallback link and makes no request at all", () => {
     // No server.use(...) either - if a request were made, MSW's onUnhandledRequest: "error"
     // config would fail this test, so a clean pass here IS the "no request" assertion.
     renderApplet("Harold McNeill", noBackend);
@@ -72,6 +115,8 @@ describe("ArtistSupportLink applet", () => {
       "href",
       buildArtistSupportURL("Harold McNeill")
     );
+
+    expandApplet();
     expect(screen.getByTestId("artist-support-credit")).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
@@ -85,6 +130,7 @@ describe("ArtistSupportLink applet", () => {
         buildArtistSupportURL("Harold McNeill")
       )
     );
+    expandApplet();
     expect(
       screen.queryByTestId("artist-support-commerce-links")
     ).not.toBeInTheDocument();
@@ -94,7 +140,7 @@ describe("ArtistSupportLink applet", () => {
     expect(screen.getByTestId("artist-support-credit")).toBeInTheDocument();
   });
 
-  it("zero commerce links (found: true): still renders the MTGAC page link and the credit, no commerce buttons, no empty box", async () => {
+  it("zero commerce links (found: true): still renders the MTGAC page link and (once expanded) the credit, no commerce buttons, no empty box", async () => {
     server.use(artistExternalLinksZeroLinks);
     renderApplet(ArtistExternalLinksTestArtists.zeroLinks);
 
@@ -106,6 +152,7 @@ describe("ArtistSupportLink applet", () => {
         )}`
       )
     );
+    expandApplet();
     expect(
       screen.queryByTestId("artist-support-commerce-links")
     ).not.toBeInTheDocument();
@@ -137,10 +184,15 @@ describe("ArtistSupportLink applet", () => {
     );
   });
 
-  it("exactly one commerce link renders one stretched button", async () => {
+  it("exactly one commerce link renders one stretched button, reachable via the expand toggle", async () => {
     server.use(artistExternalLinksOneLink);
     renderApplet(ArtistExternalLinksTestArtists.oneLink);
 
+    await waitFor(() =>
+      expect(screen.getByTestId("artist-support-toggle")).toBeInTheDocument()
+    );
+    expandApplet();
+
     const links = await screen.findAllByTestId("artist-support-commerce-link");
     expect(links).toHaveLength(1);
     expect(links[0]).toHaveAttribute(
@@ -153,6 +205,7 @@ describe("ArtistSupportLink applet", () => {
   it("full row (5 commerce links) renders in the fixed priority order, capped at 5", async () => {
     server.use(artistExternalLinksFullRow);
     renderApplet(ArtistExternalLinksTestArtists.fullRow);
+    expandApplet();
 
     const links = await screen.findAllByTestId("artist-support-commerce-link");
     expect(links).toHaveLength(5);
@@ -168,6 +221,7 @@ describe("ArtistSupportLink applet", () => {
   it("an artist whose only link is instagram surfaces it (the 157-artist rescue scenario)", async () => {
     server.use(artistExternalLinksInstagramOnly);
     renderApplet(ArtistExternalLinksTestArtists.instagramOnly);
+    expandApplet();
 
     const links = await screen.findAllByTestId("artist-support-commerce-link");
     expect(links).toHaveLength(1);
@@ -178,6 +232,7 @@ describe("ArtistSupportLink applet", () => {
   it("the Mark's Signature Service flag renders as a badge, never as a link", async () => {
     server.use(artistExternalLinksWithSignatureBadge);
     renderApplet(ArtistExternalLinksTestArtists.signatureService);
+    expandApplet();
 
     const badge = await screen.findByTestId("artist-support-signature-badge");
     expect(badge.tagName).toBe("SPAN");
@@ -193,9 +248,10 @@ describe("ArtistSupportLink applet", () => {
     }
   });
 
-  it("the MTG Artist Connection credit is always present and links to their homepage", async () => {
+  it("the MTG Artist Connection credit is always reachable and links to their homepage", async () => {
     server.use(artistExternalLinksOneLink);
     renderApplet(ArtistExternalLinksTestArtists.oneLink);
+    expandApplet();
 
     const credit = await screen.findByTestId("artist-support-credit");
     expect(credit).toHaveTextContent("MTG Artist Connection");
@@ -214,6 +270,7 @@ describe("ArtistSupportLink applet", () => {
     expect(primaryLink).toHaveAttribute("target", "_blank");
     expect(primaryLink).toHaveAttribute("rel", "noopener noreferrer");
 
+    expandApplet();
     const commerceLink = await screen.findByTestId(
       "artist-support-commerce-link"
     );
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/ArtistSupportLink.tsx b/frontend/src/components/ArtistSupportLink.tsx
index c0afff16c..5e9d8704f 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/ArtistSupportLink.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/ArtistSupportLink.tsx
@@ -13,33 +13,30 @@
  * still-loading request - are treated identically here: fall back to the deterministic
  * `buildArtistSupportURL` construction. **Never a broken or empty state.**
  *
+ * **Compact by default, expandable** (issue #709 - the applet used to always stack the page-link
+ * button, up to five commerce buttons, a badge, and a credit line, up to ~8 rows deep next to
+ * whatever the surface was actually about). The default render is ONE line: the artist page link
+ * plus a small disclosure toggle. Commerce links, the signature badge, and the MTGAC credit line
+ * move into a panel that only mounts once the user opts in - every link that existed before is
+ * still reachable, just not always paid for in vertical space.
+ *
  * **Design target: zero and one commerce links, not four or five.** Measured against the real
  * 2,389-artist export: 812 have zero commerce links, 818 have exactly one, only 13 have all five
  * (instagram - added later as a last-resort exception, not a commerce field - rescues 157 of
  * those 812 down to 655; ~598 have nothing but the MTGAC page link regardless of what's
- * allowlisted). This applet ALWAYS renders the MTGAC page link and the "Source: MTG Artist
- * Connection" credit (an obligation, not decoration - site credits were part of the MTGAC
- * partnership) - commerce buttons are purely additive on top of that stable base, so the ~69% of
- * artists with zero or one link see a small, correctly-proportioned applet, not an empty box or
- * a layout built for a row of five buttons that's usually mostly missing.
- *
- * **No layout shift while loading**: the loading state and the "found: false"/zero-commerce-link
- * state render IDENTICALLY (MTGAC page link + credit only, no commerce buttons, no badge).
- * Commerce buttons and the signature-service badge are added on top once data confirms they
- * exist - for a third of all artists that's not a shift at all, since the loaded state IS the
- * base shape; for the rest, buttons appear below the stable base rather than a spinner/skeleton
- * collapsing into a completely different-shaped final layout.
- *
- * **Buttons stretch to fill the applet** (owner instruction) - every rendered `<a>`/button here
- * is full-width within whatever container the caller gives it, so the applet reads consistently
- * whether that container is a narrow table cell or a full-width rail panel.
+ * allowlisted). The "Source: MTG Artist Connection" credit (an obligation, not decoration - site
+ * credits were part of the MTGAC partnership) is always reachable through the disclosure, whether
+ * or not this particular artist has any commerce links to go with it.
  *
  * Callers gate rendering on the artist being confirmed/known (the same precedence chain
  * `Card.serialise` exposes via `canonicalArtist`, or a vote just cast) - this component has no
  * opinion on that and never widens it; it only takes `artistName` (required, non-nullable) plus
- * an optional `className` for the caller's own layout/spacing.
+ * an optional `className` for the caller's own layout/spacing, and an optional `defaultExpanded`
+ * for the one surface (the /editor rail's Artist section) that has room to show the full applet
+ * up front.
  */
-import React from "react";
+import styled from "@emotion/styled";
+import React, { useId, useState } from "react";
 
 import {
   MTGArtistConnection,
@@ -69,16 +66,68 @@ const LINK_TYPE_LABELS: Record<string, string> = {
   instagram: "Instagram",
 };
 
+// The collapsed row - primary link + toggle - never wraps to a second line, regardless of how
+// narrow the caller's container is (the question feed's illustration credit caps it at 220px).
+const CompactLine = styled.div`
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 6px;
+  min-width: 0;
+`;
+
+const CompactLink = styled.a`
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 4px;
+  min-width: 0;
+  flex: 1 1 auto;
+`;
+
+// The artist name is the part that can be arbitrarily long, so ellipsis lives on this inner
+// span rather than the flex anchor itself (text-overflow needs a single-line inline box, not a
+// flex container with a sibling icon).
+const CompactLinkLabel = styled.span`
+  overflow: hidden;
+  text-overflow: ellipsis;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+  min-width: 0;
+`;
+
+const ExpandToggle = styled.button`
+  flex: 0 0 auto;
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  width: 28px;
+  height: 28px;
+  padding: 0;
+  background: transparent;
+  border: 1px solid var(--bs-border-color, currentColor);
+  border-radius: var(--r-btn, 4px);
+  color: inherit;
+  cursor: pointer;
+`;
+
 interface ArtistSupportLinkProps {
   artistName: string;
   className?: string;
+  /** The /editor rail's Artist section (ArtistSection.tsx) is a dedicated accordion pane with
+   * room for the full stacked applet, and its own Playwright coverage already asserts the credit
+   * line renders without any interaction - so that one caller opts into starting expanded. Every
+   * other caller (the question feed's inline credits, the card-detail modal's metadata table) is
+   * space-constrained next to whatever the surface is actually about, so `undefined`/`false`
+   * (the default) starts collapsed to a single line. */
+  defaultExpanded?: boolean;
 }
 
 export function ArtistSupportLink({
   artistName,
   className,
+  defaultExpanded = false,
 }: ArtistSupportLinkProps) {
   const { data } = useGetArtistExternalLinksQuery(artistName);
+  const [expanded, setExpanded] = useState(defaultExpanded);
+  const expandedPanelId = useId();
 
   // Prefer MTGAC's own authoritative pageUrl when we have it - this is the actual point of the
   // applet, not a nice-to-have: 197/2,389 (8.2%) of this project's deterministically-constructed
@@ -99,58 +148,77 @@ export function ArtistSupportLink({
       className={["artist-support-applet", className].filter(Boolean).join(" ")}
       data-testid="artist-support-applet"
     >
-      <a
-        href={pageHref}
-        target="_blank"
-        rel="noopener noreferrer"
-        title={`via ${MTGArtistConnection}`}
-        className="btn btn-primary btn-sm w-100 d-block"
-        data-testid="artist-support-link"
-      >
-        {artistName} <Icon bootstrapIconName="box-arrow-up-right" />
-      </a>
-      {commerceLinks.length > 0 && (
-        <div
-          className="d-grid gap-2 mt-2"
-          data-testid="artist-support-commerce-links"
+      <CompactLine>
+        <CompactLink
+          href={pageHref}
+          target="_blank"
+          rel="noopener noreferrer"
+          title={`via ${MTGArtistConnection}`}
+          className="btn btn-primary btn-sm"
+          data-testid="artist-support-link"
         >
-          {commerceLinks.map((link) => (
+          <CompactLinkLabel>{artistName}</CompactLinkLabel>
+          <Icon bootstrapIconName="box-arrow-up-right" />
+        </CompactLink>
+        <ExpandToggle
+          type="button"
+          onClick={() => setExpanded((previous) => !previous)}
+          aria-expanded={expanded}
+          aria-controls={expandedPanelId}
+          data-testid="artist-support-toggle"
+        >
+          <Icon bootstrapIconName={expanded ? "chevron-up" : "chevron-down"} />
+          <span className="visually-hidden">
+            {expanded ? "Hide artist links" : "Show more artist links"}
+          </span>
+        </ExpandToggle>
+      </CompactLine>
+      {expanded && (
+        <div id={expandedPanelId} data-testid="artist-support-expanded">
+          {commerceLinks.length > 0 && (
+            <div
+              className="d-grid gap-2 mt-2"
+              data-testid="artist-support-commerce-links"
+            >
+              {commerceLinks.map((link) => (
+                <a
+                  key={link.type}
+                  href={link.url}
+                  target="_blank"
+                  rel="noopener noreferrer"
+                  className="btn btn-outline-primary btn-sm w-100"
+                  data-testid="artist-support-commerce-link"
+                  data-link-type={link.type}
+                >
+                  {LINK_TYPE_LABELS[link.type] ?? link.type}{" "}
+                  <Icon bootstrapIconName="box-arrow-up-right" />
+                </a>
+              ))}
+            </div>
+          )}
+          {hasSignatureService && (
+            <span
+              className="badge text-bg-secondary mt-2"
+              data-testid="artist-support-signature-badge"
+            >
+              <Icon bootstrapIconName="pen" /> Mark&apos;s Signature Service
+            </span>
+          )}
+          <div
+            className="text-muted small mt-1"
+            data-testid="artist-support-credit"
+          >
+            Source:{" "}
             <a
-              key={link.type}
-              href={link.url}
+              href={MTGArtistConnectionHomepageURL}
               target="_blank"
               rel="noopener noreferrer"
-              className="btn btn-outline-primary btn-sm w-100"
-              data-testid="artist-support-commerce-link"
-              data-link-type={link.type}
             >
-              {LINK_TYPE_LABELS[link.type] ?? link.type}{" "}
-              <Icon bootstrapIconName="box-arrow-up-right" />
+              {MTGArtistConnection}
             </a>
-          ))}
+          </div>
         </div>
       )}
-      {hasSignatureService && (
-        <span
-          className="badge text-bg-secondary mt-2"
-          data-testid="artist-support-signature-badge"
-        >
-          <Icon bootstrapIconName="pen" /> Mark&apos;s Signature Service
-        </span>
-      )}
-      <div
-        className="text-muted small mt-1"
-        data-testid="artist-support-credit"
-      >
-        Source:{" "}
-        <a
-          href={MTGArtistConnectionHomepageURL}
-          target="_blank"
-          rel="noopener noreferrer"
-        >
-          {MTGArtistConnection}
-        </a>
-      </div>
     </div>
   );
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/features/display/ArtistSection.tsx b/frontend/src/features/display/ArtistSection.tsx
index c85324ab2..e6cdca362 100644
--- a/frontend/src/features/display/ArtistSection.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/features/display/ArtistSection.tsx
@@ -46,7 +46,10 @@ export function ArtistSection({ cardDocument }: ArtistSectionProps) {
               {cardDocument.canonicalArtist.name}
             </span>
           </div>
-          <ArtistSupportLink artistName={cardDocument.canonicalArtist.name} />
+          <ArtistSupportLink
+            artistName={cardDocument.canonicalArtist.name}
+            defaultExpanded
+          />
         </>
       ) : (
         <span className="text-muted">Unknown</span>
diff --git a/frontend/tests/QuestionFeed.spec.ts b/frontend/tests/QuestionFeed.spec.ts
index 2012da6cf..edf7b50f6 100644
--- a/frontend/tests/QuestionFeed.spec.ts
+++ b/frontend/tests/QuestionFeed.spec.ts
@@ -341,6 +341,62 @@ test.describe("question feed - Level 2 illustration grouping", () => {
     ).toHaveAttribute("src", illustrationGroupCandidateC.mediumThumbnailUrl);
   });
 
+  // Issue #709 - the illustration-credit ArtistSupportLink used to always stack the page-link
+  // button, up to five commerce buttons, a badge, and a credit line next to the question - up to
+  // ~8 rows. It now defaults to one collapsed line and expands on demand; the expansion must
+  // never cover the pinned reference image (SPEC-wtc-rebuild.md Amendment A2).
+  test("the illustration-credit Artist Support Link is compact by default and its expansion never overlaps the pinned reference image", async ({
+    page,
+    network,
+  }) => {
+    network.use(
+      questionFeedIdentifyPrintingGroupedByIllustration,
+      ...defaultHandlers
+    );
+    await loadPageWithDefaultBackend(page, "whatsthat");
+
+    const credit = page.getByTestId("question-feed-illustration-credit");
+    const applet = credit.getByTestId("artist-support-applet");
+    await expect(applet.getByTestId("artist-support-link")).toContainText(
+      "Some Artist"
+    );
+    await expect(applet.getByTestId("artist-support-credit")).toHaveCount(0);
+    await expect(
+      applet.getByTestId("artist-support-commerce-links")
+    ).toHaveCount(0);
+
+    // Collapsed: one line, well under the height a stacked applet (page link + credit, let
+    // alone commerce buttons) would need.
+    const collapsedBox = await applet.boundingBox();
+    expect(collapsedBox).not.toBeNull();
+    expect((collapsedBox as { height: number }).height).toBeLessThan(40);
+
+    await applet.getByTestId("artist-support-toggle").click();
+    await expect(applet.getByTestId("artist-support-credit")).toBeVisible();
+
+    const subjectBox = await page
+      .getByTestId("question-feed-subject-art")
+      .boundingBox();
+    const expandedBox = await applet.boundingBox();
+    expect(subjectBox).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(expandedBox).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(
+      boxesIntersect(
+        subjectBox as { x: number; y: number; width: number; height: number },
+        expandedBox as {
+          x: number;
+          y: number;
+          width: number;
+          height: number;
+        }
+      )
+    ).toBe(false);
+
+    // Collapsing again hides the credit without unmounting the applet.
+    await applet.getByTestId("artist-support-toggle").click();
+    await expect(applet.getByTestId("artist-support-credit")).toHaveCount(0);
+  });
+
   // Issue #503 (WTC phase C2) / #524 - supersedes this describe block's former "selecting a
   // grouped candidate submits the identical payload to the identical endpoint as an ungrouped
   // one" test (see .github/coverage-acks.txt for the rename ack). That title asserted phase