Old Stickfingers MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityRare
TypeLegendary Creature — Horror
Power *
Toughness *

Key Takeaways

  1. Old Stickfingers is ideal for graveyard strategy, offering control over milling and accelerating gameplay.
  2. The card poses challenges due to specific mana costs and potential key card discards.
  3. It has strong ties with similar MTG cards, enhancing its utility and strategic value.

Text of card

When you cast this spell, reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal X creature cards. Put all creature cards revealed this way into your graveyard, then put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. Old Stickfingers's power and toughness are each equal to the number of creature cards in your graveyard.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Old Stickfingers excels at providing card advantage by selectively milling your deck and potentially putting numerous creatures into your hand or graveyard. Its unique ability ensures your deck thins and that you are more likely to draw into non-creature spells, giving you an edge as the game progresses.

Resource Acceleration: A key aspect of Old Stickfingers’ design is its synergy with graveyard-based strategies, often accelerating resource utilization. The creatures placed into your graveyard can be seen as resources that certain decks can exploit, from reanimation to utilizing delve and other graveyard mechanics, making Old Stickfingers a virtual ramp spell for these strategies.

Instant Speed: Although Old Stickfingers itself doesn’t operate at instant speed, it encourages a playstyle that capitalizes on instant-speed interactions. By filling your graveyard, you enable flash creatures or reanimation spells to be used more effectively during an opponent’s turn, thus integrating well with decks that operate heavily on instant speed tricks and responses.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: With Old Stickfingers, there is an intrinsic risk of losing essential creatures from your hand as you delve deep to summon specific creatures from your deck. This mandatory discard can put you at a disadvantage, particularly when you’re holding on to key pieces needed for the upcoming turns.

Specific Mana Cost: Old Stickfingers demands a dedicated mana cost involving both black and green sources, which may limit its integration outside of Golgari decks. This makes the card less flexible and can be a hurdle when deck building, especially in multicolored formats.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Although Old Stickfingers can be a powerful asset, its mana cost is significant for its initial impact on the game. There are alternatives in the MTG card pool that could provide immediate board presence or card advantage for the same or lesser investment, making it a costly choice for the effect it offers upon entering the battlefield.


Reasons to Include Old Stickfingers in Your Collection

Versatility: Old Stickfingers excels in decks that revolve around the graveyard. Its scalable X casting cost allows players to control the number of cards they mill, seeding the graveyard for future plays or reanimation tactics.

Combo Potential: This creature interacts well with strategies that take advantage of the graveyard, such as resurrecting powerful creatures or benefiting from having a variety of creature types in the graveyard to enhance delve or undergrowth abilities.

Meta-Relevance: In an environment where graveyard manipulation is prevalent, Old Stickfingers can be a key player. Its ability to selectively stock the graveyard lends itself effectively to outmaneuvering opponents who are unprepared for such tactics.


How to Beat Old Stickfingers

Old Stickfingers has carved a niche for itself within the Magic: The Gathering community, emerging as a commander that can rapidly assemble powerful creatures from the depths of a player’s library. Its strength lies in the ability to control the contents of the graveyard, potentially generating overwhelming board state advantages. Consider how Old Stickfingers can exploit synergy with graveyard interactions, revealing the underlying strategy that many players harness to harness potent creature-based combos.

To effectively counter this card, one must disrupt or prevent these graveyard shenanigans. Graveyard hate cards, such as Rest in Peace or Tormod’s Crypt, can neutralize the advantage that Old Stickfingers seeks to create. Strategic use of removal spells against key creatures, before they can be leveraged for combo plays, can reduce the effectiveness of an opponent’s deck centered around Old Stickfingers. Additionally, instant-speed interaction proves crucial, allowing one to react at the most advantageous moments, particularly when Old Stickfingers is cast or when its ability is on the stack.

Countering Old Stickfingers requires a blend of foresight, disruption, and timing. With the right sideboard tools and a keen sense for potential graveyard synergies, one can effectively keep this mighty card at bay and maintain control over the game state.


BurnMana Recommendations

Diving into the world of MTG, Old Stickfingers has emerged as a card that commands attention with its distinctive graveyard-centric abilities. Its resource acceleration and scalability make it a formidable addition to Golgari decks or those looking to exploit the graveyard. As you strategize and assemble your deck, consider the synergy Old Stickfingers has with other MTG staples that thrive on graveyard mechanics. Whether you’re a veteran player or new to the scene, integrating this card can open the door to a new realm of tactical play. Expand your collection, embrace the deep strategy, and let Old Stickfingers guide your path to victory. For insights and advanced tactics using this enigmatic card, come learn with us and dominate your next duel.


Cards like Old Stickfingers

Old Stickfingers is an intriguing creature card in Magic: The Gathering. With the ability to delve into your library for creature cards when cast, it shares a thematic kinship with other MTG graveyard-utilizing cards, such as Skaab Ruinator. Both have mechanics that capitalize on creatures in the graveyard, but Old Stickfingers does not require them to be exiled, unlike Skaab Ruinator. This grants it a less restrictive condition for deck-building strategies that revolve around the graveyard.

Analogous to this strategy is the card Underrealm Lich. While Old Stickfingers excels in pulling creatures directly from the deck, Underrealm Lich offers the choice to select from among the top three cards of your library, putting any number into the graveyard and the rest into your hand, effectively sculpting your graveyard and your next moves.

Boundless comparison can be drawn to Splinterfright, which also grows stronger with a plethora of creatures in the graveyard. Although Splinterfright has the built-in ability to self-mill each turn, Old Stickfingers allows for more tactical control over the exact cards chosen, customizing graveyard contents upon its casting.

Hence, Old Stickfingers stands out in the MTG roster of graveyard-centric cards, enabling precise manipulation of the library to strengthen its presence on the battlefield.

Skaab Ruinator - MTG Card versions
Underrealm Lich - MTG Card versions
Splinterfright - MTG Card versions
Skaab Ruinator - MTG Card versions
Underrealm Lich - MTG Card versions
Splinterfright - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Old Stickfingers by color, type and mana cost

Llanowar Dead - MTG Card versions
Chevill, Bane of Monsters - MTG Card versions
Belbe, Corrupted Observer - MTG Card versions
Grim Flayer - MTG Card versions
Golgari Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Thelon of Havenwood - MTG Card versions
Blightsoil Druid - MTG Card versions
Woodlurker Mimic - MTG Card versions
Putrid Leech - MTG Card versions
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave - MTG Card versions
Korozda Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Lotleth Troll - MTG Card versions
Rakshasa Deathdealer - MTG Card versions
Archers' Parapet - MTG Card versions
Deathcap Cultivator - MTG Card versions
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons - MTG Card versions
Swarm Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Winding Constrictor - MTG Card versions
Fiend Artisan - MTG Card versions
Skull Prophet - MTG Card versions
Llanowar Dead - MTG Card versions
Chevill, Bane of Monsters - MTG Card versions
Belbe, Corrupted Observer - MTG Card versions
Grim Flayer - MTG Card versions
Golgari Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Thelon of Havenwood - MTG Card versions
Blightsoil Druid - MTG Card versions
Woodlurker Mimic - MTG Card versions
Putrid Leech - MTG Card versions
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave - MTG Card versions
Korozda Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Lotleth Troll - MTG Card versions
Rakshasa Deathdealer - MTG Card versions
Archers' Parapet - MTG Card versions
Deathcap Cultivator - MTG Card versions
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons - MTG Card versions
Swarm Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Winding Constrictor - MTG Card versions
Fiend Artisan - MTG Card versions
Skull Prophet - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Old Stickfingers MTG card by a specific set like Innistrad: Midnight Hunt and Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, 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 Old Stickfingers and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See MTG Products

Printings

The Old Stickfingers Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2021-09-24 and 2022-01-28. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12021-09-24Innistrad: Midnight HuntMID 2342015NormalBlackJehan Choo
22021-09-24Innistrad: Midnight HuntMID 3212015NormalBlackDZO
32021-09-24Innistrad: Midnight Hunt PromosPMID 234s2015NormalBlackJehan Choo
42021-09-24Innistrad: Midnight Hunt PromosPMID 234p2015NormalBlackJehan Choo
52022-01-28Innistrad: Double FeatureDBL 2342015NormalBlackJehan Choo

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Old Stickfingers has restrictions

FormatLegality
StandardLegal
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
FutureLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
BrawlLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Old Stickfingers card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2021-09-24 The ability that defines the power and toughness of Old Stickfingers functions in all zones, not only while Old Stickfingers is on the battlefield. While Old Stickfingers is in a graveyard, the ability will count Old Stickfingers itself, presumably using a single, withered stickfinger.
2021-09-24 The triggered ability will resolve before Old Stickfingers does. If Old Stickfingers is countered in response to its own triggered ability, you will still follow all the instructions of the triggered ability, using the chosen value of X.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
See more decks