Send in the Pest
Sorcery
Each opponent discards a card. You create a 1/1 black and green Pest creature token with "Whenever this token attacks, you gain 1 life."
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Secrets of Strixhaven
- Price
- $0.18
- EDHREC rank
- #15346
Send in the Pest creates a 1/1 flying Pest token and draws a card for two mana — that's a lot of function packed into a single instant. Blech, Loafing Pest decks want every Pest-maker they can find, and this one replaces itself, making it close to free in terms of card equity.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Blech, Loafing Pest
Blech, Loafing Pest cares deeply about Pest tokens entering the battlefield, and Send in the Pest makes one at instant speed while replacing itself — exactly the kind of efficient, low-friction fuel the engine wants.
Tinybones, Bauble Burglar
Tinybones, Bauble Burglar rewards you for casting cheap spells and generating small artifacts and tokens, so Send in the Pest fits as an efficient spell that produces a body and keeps the hand full.
Tinybones, Trinket Thief
Tinybones, Trinket Thief triggers whenever opponents discard, and Send in the Pest is a discard-adjacent shell staple — it slots in as cheap hand-refill in a deck that already wants to stay lean on mana.
Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal
Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal generates value from tokens and hand disruption, and Send in the Pest contributes a flying body alongside card draw at a cost low enough that it rarely feels like a real investment.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Send in the Pest is legal across every major format but is doing real work in exactly one of them: Commander, specifically in Blech, Loafing Pest shells. In Pauper it's a common, but token-plus-draw at two mana is slightly too slow to compete with the format's efficient threats and interaction. Modern, Pioneer, and Legacy have no interest — the rate doesn't clear the bar when your competition is cantrips and dedicated payoffs. Commander is the correct home, and even there Send in the Pest earns its slot only when the commander explicitly cares about Pests.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.18 bulk tier
At $0.18, Send in the Pest is bulk — pick it up without thinking if you're building Blech, Loafing Pest. Bulk rares and commons with narrow synergy homes tend to stay flat, so there's no reason to expect movement in either direction.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Blech, Loafing Pest
- Tinybones, Bauble Burglar
- Tinybones, Trinket Thief
- Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.