Gollum's Bite
Instant
Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn.
, Exile this card from your graveyard: The Ring tempts you. Activate only as a sorcery.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
- Price
- $0.17
- EDHREC rank
- #10834
Gollum's Bite deals 2 damage to any target and puts a -1/-1 counter on a creature — two effects stapled onto one card for two mana. Outside of Frodo, Sauron's Bane decks that want every poison-adjacent trigger they can find, it's too unfocused to slot over purpose-built removal.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Frodo, Sauron's Bane
Frodo, Sauron's Bane advances the Ring temptation mechanic and chips toward the poison win condition simultaneously, making Gollum's Bite one of the cleanest double-dippers in the deck — it deals damage to trigger Ring effects while the -1/-1 counter taxes blockers.
Sméagol, Helpful Guide
Sméagol, Helpful Guide decks lean into the Gollum-and-Sméagol thematic package, and Gollum's Bite fits the flavor slot while still doing real work — the ping plus counter can pick off mana dorks or shrink a blocker that would otherwise wall the team.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Gollum's Bite earns its slot almost exclusively in Ring-temptation builds helmed by Frodo, Sauron's Bane, where every spell that advances the ring count matters. Outside that niche, two mana for 2 damage plus a -1/-1 counter doesn't clear the bar when the format is full of unconditional removal at similar cost. In Legacy and Vintage, the card is legal but irrelevant — those formats demand far more efficiency than Gollum's Bite offers. Modern has better options at every point on the curve, so it sees no competitive play there either.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.17 bulk tier
At $0.17, Gollum's Bite is deep bulk — you're paying for a functional piece of a themed deck, not a card with broader demand. It will stay at this price tier; the only buyers are Frodo and Sméagol brewers, and that ceiling is low.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.