Vithian Stinger MTG Card
2008-10-03 - Number 120
2013-03-15 - Number 47
2017-03-17 - Number 115
| Card sets | Released in 3 setsSee all |
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 3 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Type | Creature — Human Shaman |
| Abilities | Unearth |
| Power | 0 |
| Toughness | 1 |
Text of card
: Vithian Stinger deals 1 damage to target creature or player. Unearth (: Return this card from your graveyard to play. It gains haste. Remove it from the game at end of turn or if it would leave play. Unearth only as a sorcery.)
Cards like Vithian Stinger
Vithian Stinger is a notable card within the panorama of pinger abilities in Magic: The Gathering. Its ability to deal one damage to any target mirrors effects found on cards like Prodigal Pyromancer. However, Vithian Stinger’s distinction shines through with its unearth ability, allowing it to return from the graveyard to the battlefield for a final shot.
Comparatively, Goblin Fireslinger is a simpler relative, also offering the ability to deal one damage but lacking any form of recursion. Thermopod, while not directly a pinger, shares a red-aligned, aggressive playstyle and provides mana acceleration instead of direct damage. And then there’s Cunning Sparkmage, a creature that pings while having the advantage of haste, enabling it to act speedily upon its arrival.
Each of these cards has its niche, combining direct damage with other varied benefits. Vithian Stinger stands out because of its ability to come back from the graveyard for one last impactful play. This extra versatility makes it quite a dynamic card in matches that encourage strategic graveyard use.
Cards similar to Vithian Stinger by color, type and mana cost
Card Pros
Card Advantage: The Vithian Stinger provides a repeatable source of damage that can wear down your opponent’s life total or strategically remove key creatures. During prolonged games, this can translate into considerable card advantage as it helps you control the board without expending additional cards from your hand.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly providing mana or other resources, Vithian Stinger synergizes well with cards that benefit from tapping and untapping creatures. In some decks, this might enable unexpected combos, effectively accelerating your game plan by unlocking new avenues for resource manipulation.
Instant Speed: As a creature with an activated ability that can be used at instant speed, Vithian Stinger offers flexibility in how you manage your resources. You can choose to deal damage during your opponent’s turn, keeping your options open and making it harder for them to predict and play around your actions, thus maintaining a subtle control over the pace and decisions within the game.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: Vithian Stinger’s unearth ability, while granting it a temporary return from the graveyard, necessitates a discard action upon the turn’s conclusion if it would otherwise remain on the battlefield. This can put players at a card disadvantage, especially if they have a smaller hand size.
Specific Mana Cost: The casting cost for Vithian Stinger requires one red mana, which makes it exclusive to red-inclusive decks. Players running multicolored decks might find it challenging to meet the mana requirements when they need to summon the card urgently.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: Despite its ability to consistently ping creatures or players for damage, the combined cost of three mana, including a red mana, can be deemed steep when considering other options in the same mana range. There are alternative cards that offer a more impactful presence or versatility for the same, or even lower, mana investment.
Reasons to Include Vithian Stinger in Your Collection
Versatility: Vithian Stinger offers a flexible approach to gameplay, effortlessly slotting into red-based control decks or any build looking to benefit from repeatable direct damage. As a creature, it serves as both a board presence and a utility piece.
Combo Potential: This card shines when combined with ways to untap creatures or with proliferate mechanics to capitalize on its unearth ability. Utilizing Vithian Stinger can lead to devastating turns where damage is dealt multiple times.
Meta-Relevance: With its ability to ping creatures or players, Vithian Stinger holds its ground in metas where small utility creatures are prevalent. It’s a useful tool against decks that rely on x/1 creatures, disrupting opponents’ early game momentum.
How to beat Vithian Stinger
Vithian Stinger presents a challenging puzzle in the vast universe of Magic: The Gathering, as it offers repeated damage with its tap ability. This card, much like a ticking time bomb, can whittle down life totals or eliminate key creatures turn after turn. Its potency is amplified once it gains the unearth ability, allowing it to come back for one last hurrah even after being dealt with.
To effectively neutralize the threat posed by Vithian Stinger, it’s essential to disrupt its presence on the battlefield swiftly. Utilizing instant removal spells such as Path to Exile can remove it permanently, avoiding the unearth trigger. Creature-based strategies can also include sacrificial elements, which serve the dual purpose of advancing your board state while negating the Stinger’s ability to deal damage. Countering the Stinger’s activations with cards that cancel activated abilities, also ensures that its impact is minimized.
Remember, the best strategy is to prevent the Stinger from establishing dominance on the field. Whether through removal, counters, or clever play, overcoming the obstacle of Vithian Stinger requires measured decisions and timely interventions, ensuring it doesn’t sting your chances of victory within the MTG realm.
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Vithian Stinger MTG card by a specific set like Shards of Alara and Duel Decks: Sorin vs. Tibalt, 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 Vithian Stinger and other MTG cards:
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- eBay
- 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
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Printings
The Vithian Stinger Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2008-10-03 and 2017-03-17. Illustrated by Dave Kendall.
| # | Released | Name | Code | Symbol | Number | Frame | Layout | Border | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2008-10-03 | Shards of Alara | ALA | 120 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Dave Kendall | |
| 2 | 2013-03-15 | Duel Decks: Sorin vs. Tibalt | DDK | 47 | 2003 | Normal | Black | Dave Kendall | |
| 3 | 2017-03-17 | Modern Masters 2017 | MM3 | 115 | 2015 | Normal | Black | Dave Kendall |
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Vithian Stinger has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Pauper | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Predh | Legal |
| Penny | Legal |
Rules and information
The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Vithian Stinger card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.
| Date | Text |
|---|---|
| 2008-10-01 | Activating a creature card’s unearth ability isn’t the same as casting the creature card. The unearth ability is put on the stack, but the creature card is not. Spells and abilities that interact with activated abilities (such as Stifle) will interact with unearth, but spells and abilities that interact with spells (such as Remove Soul) will not. |
| 2008-10-01 | At the beginning of the end step, a creature returned to the battlefield with unearth is exiled. This is a delayed triggered ability, and it can be countered by effects such as Stifle or Voidslime that counter triggered abilities. If the ability is countered, the creature will stay on the battlefield and the delayed trigger won’t trigger again. However, the replacement effect will still exile the creature when it eventually leaves the battlefield. |
| 2008-10-01 | If a creature returned to the battlefield with unearth would leave the battlefield for any reason, it’s exiled instead — unless the spell or ability that’s causing the creature to leave the battlefield is actually trying to exile it! In that case, it succeeds at exiling it. If it later returns the creature card to the battlefield (as Oblivion Ring or Flickerwisp might, for example), the creature card will return to the battlefield as a new object with no relation to its previous existence. The unearth effect will no longer apply to it. |
| 2008-10-01 | If you activate a card’s unearth ability but that card is removed from your graveyard before the ability resolves, that unearth ability will resolve and do nothing. |
| 2008-10-01 | Unearth grants haste to the creature that’s returned to the battlefield. However, neither of the “exile” abilities is granted to that creature. If that creature loses all its abilities, it will still be exiled at the beginning of the end step, and if it would leave the battlefield, it is still exiled instead. |