Stabbing Pain
Instant
Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn. Tap that creature.
- CMC
- 1
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- B
- Rarity
- common
- Set
- Magic 2011
- Price
- $0.28
- EDHREC rank
- #28399
Stabbing Pain taps a creature and gives it -1/-1 until end of turn for two mana — it stops one blocker or kills a one-toughness utility creature, and that's the ceiling. At instant speed it has niche uses, but one mana per point of impact is a bad rate and Commander has strictly better options at every power level.
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 | legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Stabbing Pain is too narrow — tapping one creature for two mana doesn't move the needle in a four-player game where threats multiply faster than single-target spells can answer them. Pauper is the one format where Stabbing Pain might find a home, since the common-only card pool lowers the bar and tempo-based black decks can use the tap effect to push through the last points of damage. In Legacy and Vintage it's simply outclassed by removal that answers the threat permanently rather than slowing it for a turn. The honest read is that Stabbing Pain is a Limited card that occasionally wheels into a Pauper sideboard.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.28 bulk tier
At $0.28, Stabbing Pain sits firmly in bulk territory, and nothing about its playability suggests that changes. It's the kind of card you pick up in a bulk bin only if a specific Pauper list calls for it by name.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.