Stingscourger MTG Card

Stingscourger’s bounce effect can give players a significant tempo edge and indirect card advantage. Its echo payment provides strategic choice for resource allocation, enhancing gameplay flexibility. While only at sorcery speed, its immediate board impact can be crucial during your turn.
Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Goblin Warrior
Abilities Echo
Power 2
Toughness 2

Text of card

Echo (At the beginning of your upkeep, if this came under your control since the beginning of your last upkeep, sacrifice it unless you pay its echo cost.) When Stingscourger comes into play, return target creature an opponent controls to its owner's hand.

Cards like Stingscourger

Stingscourger brings a unique dynamic to creature removal in MTG, offering a temporary bounce back to an opponent’s hand. This ability is similar in purpose to cards like Man-o’-War, though Stingscourger demands an echo cost to maintain its presence on the battlefield. Man-o’-War allows for a similar return to hand effect without the ongoing mana investment.

Another card worth mentioning in this context is the Aether Adept. Like Stingscourger, Aether Adept can also bounce creatures back to the opponent’s hand, but with the added benefit of not having an echo cost. However, Aether Adept does have a higher initial casting cost and doesn’t provide the goblin synergy that Stingscourger does.

Examining these comparable cards, Stingscourger holds its place as a strategic choice for players who benefit from its temporary but immediate impact on the board, as well as those building a deck with its goblin tribal synergies in mind.

Man-o'-War - MTG Card versions
Aether Adept - MTG Card versions
Man-o'-War - MTG Card versions
Aether Adept - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Stingscourger. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
GoblinsGoblins ModernGoblinsModern Preliminary 2024-03-12 (1)
RR LegacyLegacy League 2024-05-03
Jund GoblinsJund Goblins ModernGoblinsGrand Open Qualifier Prague 2024
Rakdos GoblinsRakdos Goblins LegacyGoblinsBerlin Double Up Legacy III im Brettspielplatz 07.03.24

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Stingscourger may not directly allow you to draw cards, its ability to return a creature to its owner’s hand can disrupt your opponent’s field, potentially undoing a play they’ve made and leveraging the game in your favor. This bounce effect can act as a form of indirect card advantage, giving you a tempo boost against your adversary by costing them more resources in the long run to redeploy their threats.

Resource Acceleration: Stingscourger’s ability itself does not accelerate resources. However, its relatively low casting cost combined with the echo cost presents a strategic choice: you can play it early to deal with an immediate threat or delay the echo payment to better allocate your mana resources in subsequent turns. This flexibility can indirectly influence how quickly you are able to access and deploy other resources throughout the game.

Instant Speed: Stingscourger operates at sorcery speed due to its nature as a creature. Nonetheless, its ability to target enemy creatures has an immediate impact on the board state. While you can’t surprise your opponent during their turn, you can meticulously plan the best moment during your turn to maximize the effectiveness of Stingscourger’s bounce effect, ensuring that you gain the upper hand at a pivotal point in your match.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The Stingscourger’s echo cost demands another round of payment on the subsequent turn, which can strain your mana resources and negatively affect your game tempo if you’re unable to meet the cost.

Specific Mana Cost: Stingscourger requires red mana not just for its casting cost but also for its echo cost, which makes it less flexible for multicolor decks that might not consistently produce the required red mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With its initial mana cost combined with the echo cost, Stingscourger in total can be relatively expensive for its temporary bounce effect, especially when compared to other creature removal or bounce options in MTG that may offer more permanent solutions.

Reasons to Include Stingscourger in Your Collection

Versatility: Stingscourger offers flexibility in deck building due to its capability to bounce creatures back to an opponent’s hand. It’s a useful choice for Mono-Red decks needing temporary solutions against formidable creatures.

Combo Potential: This card works well in tandem with permanent removal spells or effects that punish returned creatures, setting up powerful interactions that can disrupt your opponent’s board presence significantly.

Meta-Relevance: As decks evolve to include more resilient creatures, Stingscourger remains pertinent for its ability to provide an answer to otherwise challenging threats, keeping your strategic edge sharp in various matchups.

How to beat

Stingscourger is an intriguing inclusion in MTG, capable of temporarily removing an opponent’s creature from the battlefield. Its return-to-hand ability resembles that of cards like Unsummon, which also bounces creatures back to their owner’s hand. However, the Stingscourger brings its unique twist with the echo cost, ensuring it’s not a permanent fixture on the field unless further mana investment is made.

Comparable mechanics can be seen in the likes of Man-o’-War, offering similar creature bounce capabilities without the echo cost, lending to more sustained board presence. You can measure up against a versatile option like Aether Adept, which, although costs more mana, doesn’t demand a recurring cost and can repeatedly impact the board if recast or flickered.

Overcoming Stingscourger’s ability calls for strategic play. Having countermeasures like instant-speed removal or abilities that negate enter-the-battlefield effects can neutralize this goblin’s impact. Additionally, using creatures with beneficial enter-the-battlefield effects of your own can turn the tides, transforming the Stingscourger’s ability into an unintended advantage for you. So, with a carefully built deck and timely plays, you can effectively counter the disruptive nature of Stingscourger in the game.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Stingscourger MTG card by a specific set like Planar Chaos and Modern Masters, 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 Stingscourger and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Stingscourger Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2007-02-02 and 2021-03-19. Illustrated by Wayne Reynolds.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12007-02-02Planar ChaosPLC 1072003NormalBlackWayne Reynolds
22013-06-07Modern MastersMMA 1312003NormalBlackWayne Reynolds
32016-06-10Eternal MastersEMA 1492015NormalBlackWayne Reynolds
42021-03-19Time Spiral RemasteredTSR 1922015NormalBlackWayne Reynolds

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Stingscourger has restrictions

FormatLegality
CommanderLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal