Slithery Stalker MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Nightmare Horror
Abilities	Swampwalk
Released	2002-02-04
Set symbol
Set name	Torment
Set code	TOR
Power	1
Toughness	1
Number	84
Frame	1997
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	John Avon

Key Takeaways

Slithery Stalker can remove creatures, disrupt strategies and offer card advantage, particularly in Commander games.
At instant speed, it provides strategic flexibility and can surprise opponents, influencing the battlefield tempo.
The cost of discarding and specific mana demands may hinder its play, despite its tactical advantages.

Text of card

Swampwalk When Slithery Stalker comes into play, remove target green or white creature an opponent controls from the game. When Slithery Stalker leaves play, return the removed card to play under its owner's control.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Slithery Stalker offers the ability to potentially remove a creature from the game, which, beyond creating a one-for-one scenario, can tilt the balance of resources in your favor. It’s especially powerful if you are able to eliminate an opposing commander in a game of Commander, as this disrupts your opponent’s strategy and can lead to card advantage over time.

Resource Acceleration: One of the subtle benefits of Slithery Stalker is its capacity to act as a deterrent. Knowing it could be lurking in your hand may cause opponents to play more conservatively, effectively slowing them down and giving you breathing room to develop your board and resources.

Instant Speed: The speed at which Slithery Stalker can be deployed is a significant strategic advantage. It can be cast in response to enemy actions, allowing you to react to threats on the battlefield dynamically. This flexibility can keep opponents off-balance and provide you with the element of surprise, which is invaluable in tight matches where timing is everything.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Slithery Stalker demands that you discard a card as part of its casting cost, potentially depleting your hand and costing you valuable resources which could make maintaining card advantage throughout the game more challenging.

Specific Mana Cost: This creature card requires a precise combination of mana to cast, which includes both black and green. This requirement might restrict its inclusion to decks that are tailored to support this color pair, potentially limiting its flexibility and overall utility in a broader range of decks.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a casting cost that is on the higher end for its stat line and abilities, Slithery Stalker might not always represent the best use of mana resources when compared to other creatures in the same mana range. This can affect the pacing of your game, especially when faster, more efficient creatures are available.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Slithery Stalker adapts well to various deck archetypes, especially those in need of efficient creature removal or that thrive on surprise mid-game tempo shifts.

Combo Potential: Its ability to potentially untap lands when it deals combat damage can be leveraged in decks designed around landfall mechanics or intricate tap-untap combos.

Meta-Relevance: In environments where creature-based strategies dominate, having Slithery Stalker in your arsenal ensures you have the means to deal with key threats on your opponent’s board.

How to Beat Slithery Stalker

Slithery Stalker presents a unique challenge on the battlefield with its evasion abilities, making it a thorny issue for MTG players to handle. To effectively counter this elusive creature, one needs to consider its ability to slip past blockers and its penchant for preying on tapped creatures. Proper timing and choosing the right spells are essential.

Adept use of removal spells that don’t rely on targeting, such as board wipes like Wrath of God or Doomskar, can clear the board without needing to target the Stalker directly. Alternatively, one can employ spells that restrict casting or abilities, such as Damping Sphere or Cursed Totem. These can prevent the Stalker from exploiting its stealth and attack your creatures. In addition, having instant-speed removal at your disposal ensures that you can respond to the Stalker’s shenanigans even if it’s not your turn.

Remember, maintaining a game state where your creatures remain untapped will dissuade the Stalker from attacking. Vigilance enablers and creatures that don’t need to tap to be effective are, therefore, invaluable assets in your lineup. Overall, by combining strategic plays with well-chose interventions, Slithery Stalker can be rendered far less threatening to your game plan.

Cards like Slithery Stalker

Slithery Stalker brings a unique set of skills to the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. Its stealthy nature is mirrored in cards like Chittering Rats, which shares the ability to disrupt the opponent’s plans by manipulating their hand upon entry to the field. While the Rats force a single card to be put on top of the opponent’s library, Slithery Stalker necessitates a discard, a subtlety that can be more punishing by hindering an opponent’s draw.

Shadow Alley Denizen is another close relative in the realm of creatures that thrive in the shadows. While it lacks the hand disruption ability, it compensates with its capacity to grant other creatures evasion, making it invaluable in ensuring consistent damage to an opponent. Transparent Stalker also deserves a mention for its inherent hexproof and unblockability, highlighting a different approach towards undisturbed combat engagement, akin to the stealth-focus of Slithery Stalker.

Thus, amidst its peers, Slithery Stalker occupies a strategic position, meshing the advantages of evasion and opponent disruption. This makes it a candidate for inclusion in decks aiming for stealthy plays and tactical hand control.

Shadow Alley Denizen - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Slithery Stalker by color, type and mana cost

Mischievous Poltergeist - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Slithery Stalker MTG card by a specific set like Torment, 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 Slithery Stalker and other MTG cards: