Dust Stalker MTG Card
2015-10-02 - Number 202
2015-10-02 - Number 202s
| Card sets | Released in 2 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 4 |
| Rarity | Rare |
| Type | Creature — Eldrazi |
| Abilities | Devoid,Haste |
| Power | 5 |
| Toughness | 3 |
Key Takeaways
- Dust Stalker provides card advantage through its demand for an opponent’s response each turn.
- Its hasty nature and the power to apply early pressure can disrupt opponent strategies significantly.
- While its mana cost and color requirements limit flexibility, it remains a powerful aggressive asset.
Text of card
Devoid (This card has no color.) Haste At the beginning of each end step, if you control no other colorless creatures, return Dust Stalker to its owner's hand.
The only traces it leaves are silent gusts and prodigious amounts of wreckage.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: It’s crucial in MTG to maintain a strong hand, and Dust Stalker can contribute to your card advantage by forcing opponents to deal with it every turn. Successfully defending it or recurring it from the graveyard can put you ahead.
Resource Acceleration: Deploying Dust Stalker onto the battlefield is a way to apply quick pressure. Although it doesn’t directly provide mana or resources, its early presence demands an answer, potentially diverting your opponent’s resources and accelerating your impact on the game state.
Instant Speed: While Dust Stalker doesn’t have an ability that works at instant speed, its hasty nature allows it to swing the momentum in your favor unexpectedly. This element of surprise can be almost as valuable, making it a card that can match the tempo of instant speed interactions.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Dust Stalker demands its return to your hand unless you control another colorless creature, which can restrict your hand and limit options during your next turns.
Specific Mana Cost: With a casting cost that requires both black and red mana, Dust Stalker can’t easily fit into decks that aren’t specifically tailored to support these colors, thus limiting its versatility.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: For a creature with haste, a four-mana cost is considerable, and while 5/3 stats are formidable, there are more cost-effective options in the MTG arsenal that can offer similar or better board presence.
Reasons to Include Dust Stalker in Your Collection
Versatility: Dust Stalker offers a swift and powerful presence on the battlefield that any aggressive deck covets. With haste and the ability to return to your hand, it allows for repeated tactical assaults.
Combo Potential: This creature synergizes well with decks utilizing sacrifice mechanics, granting you the opportunity to control when and how it leaves the battlefield, only to recast it for continued aggression.
Meta-Relevance: As the metagame shifts, Dust Stalker remains a valuable asset, particularly in formats where speed and resilience against sorcery-speed removal are key to outpacing your opponents.
How to Beat Dust Stalker
Dust Stalker presents an interesting challenge on the battleground, well-known among MTG players for its capacity to swiftly sweep into the battlefield and deliver quick damage with its haste ability. To effectively counter this formidable creature, it’s crucial to have strategies in place. Removal spells are your first line of defense. Efficient and time-tested spells like Path to Exile, offering a one-mana instant solution, can exile the creature before it can deal its damage. Similarly, Fatal Push provides a low-cost answer to neutralize early threats such as the Dust Stalker.
Another key strategy lies in playing control decks that build around countering creature-based tactics. Frost Breath, for instance, may not eliminate the creature, but can tap it to mitigate the immediate threat. In terms of board presence, deploying creatures that can block and survive an encounter with Dust Stalker is essential, like those with toughness greater than 5 or those that can regenerate or have indestructible.
Finally, attacking the resource base that sustains the Dust Stalker can give you an upper hand. Land destruction or mana disruption strategies can prevent your opponent from casting or maintaining it on the field, given that its return-to-hand clause can be a disadvantage if your opponent runs out of the right colored mana. Essentially, stay prepared with removal, tap, block strategically, and disrupt the enemy mana base to turn the tides against Dust Stalker.
Cards like Dust Stalker
Dust Stalker is an intriguing creature card in Magic the Gathering, noted for its presence in decks that favor speed and aggression. As a 5/3 creature with haste for four mana, it shares qualities with cards like Fleetwheel Cruiser, which similarly can have an immediate impact on the game. Both appeal to strategies that aim to close out games quickly by dealing damage fast.
Another card reminiscent of Dust Stalker is the Hellspark Elemental, which is famous for its unearth ability, allowing it to return to play for a burst of damage. While not as structurally stout as Dust Stalker, it can hit the battlefield multiple times under the right conditions, potentially yielding a higher damage output over the course of a game.
Lastly, Flamewake Phoenix may catch the eye of many deck builders due to its flying ability and recurability upon meeting certain conditions. Although it deals less damage compared to Dust Stalker, the phoenix offers consistent pressure and a more resilient threat in prolonged games.
While Dust Stalker stands out for its blend of power, haste, and a unique returning mechanic, players should weigh their options based on deck themes and strategies, as MTG is rich with diverse and potent cards for every player’s style.
Cards similar to Dust Stalker by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Dust Stalker MTG card by a specific set like Battle for Zendikar and Battle for Zendikar Promos, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.
For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.
Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.
Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Dust Stalker and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Printings
The Dust Stalker Magic the Gathering card was released in 2 different sets between 2015-10-02 and 2015-10-02. Illustrated by Clint Cearley.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015-10-02 | Battle for Zendikar | BFZ | 202 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Clint Cearley | |
| 2 | 2015-10-02 | Battle for Zendikar Promos | PBFZ | 202s | 2015 | Normal | Black | Clint Cearley |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Dust Stalker has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Dust Stalker card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2015-08-25 | A card with devoid is just colorless. It’s not colorless and the colors of mana in its mana cost. |
| 2015-08-25 | Cards with devoid use frames that are variations of the transparent frame traditionally used for Eldrazi. The top part of the card features some color over a background based on the texture of the hedrons that once imprisoned the Eldrazi. This coloration is intended to aid deckbuilding and game play. |
| 2015-08-25 | Devoid works in all zones, not just on the battlefield. |
| 2015-08-25 | Dust Stalker’s last ability checks to see if you control another colorless creature as the end step begins. If you do, the ability won’t trigger. If you don’t, the ability will check again as it tries to resolve. If you somehow control another colorless creature at that time, the ability won’t do anything. You won’t return Dust Stalker to its owner’s hand. |
| 2015-08-25 | Dust Stalker’s last ability doesn’t depend on Dust Stalker being colorless. If it gains one or more colors, the ability will still look for another creature you control that’s colorless. |
| 2015-08-25 | If a card loses devoid, it will still be colorless. This is because effects that change an object’s color (like the one created by devoid) are considered before the object loses devoid. |
| 2015-08-25 | Like most abilities, Dust Stalker’s last ability functions only while Dust Stalker is on the battlefield. |
| 2015-08-25 | Other cards and abilities can give a card with devoid color. If that happens, it’s just the new color, not that color and colorless. |
