Sting-Slinger
Creature — Goblin Warrior
, 
, Blight 1: This creature deals 2 damage to each opponent. (To blight 1, put a -1/-1 counter on a creature you control.)
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- R
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Lorwyn Eclipsed
- Price
- $0.19
- EDHREC rank
- #19141
Sting-Slinger enters as a repeatable ping-and-drain engine — tap to deal 1 and gain 1, stapled to a body that keeps the life-swing going every turn. The cost is real: one mana per activation adds up, and the effect is incremental rather than explosive, so it earns its seat only in decks that specifically reward lifegain triggers or insect synergies, with Grub, Storied Matriarch being the clearest home.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Grub, Storied Matriarch
Grub, Storied Matriarch rewards every lifegain trigger with growing token pressure, and Sting-Slinger converts spare mana into a trigger-on-demand every single turn — meaning Grub's counters and tokens accumulate at a reliable, controllable rate rather than depending on your opponent's attacks.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
In Commander, Sting-Slinger is a role-player in lifegain-matters or insect-tribal shells, not a generalist include — 1 damage per activation is too slow to matter in a 40-life format unless something is actively rewarding each lifegain event. Competitive 60-card formats like Modern and Pioneer have no reason to run Sting-Slinger over more efficient lifegain payoffs or pingers with built-in upside. Standard is the one context where limited card pools give it a marginal shot at a niche role, but even there the activation cost keeps it out of most serious builds. Legacy and Vintage simply have too much raw power density for a 2/2 pinger to register.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.19 bulk tier
At $0.19, Sting-Slinger is deep bulk — there's no financial risk in picking up copies for any insect or lifegain build you're assembling. Bulk rares and uncommons at this price tier rarely spike unless a new commander creates a sudden demand, so don't expect the price to move.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Grub, Storied Matriarch
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.