Fling is one of those cards players keep asking about. Here is, in plain words, what its official text says, the rulings published by Wizards of the Coast, and the combos players actually run.
Official card text
As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice a creature. Fling deals damage equal to the sacrificed creature's power to any target.
Complete guide
Fling is a classic red instant that turns your creatures into high-speed projectiles. By trading your own creature's life for direct damage, you can bypass enemy blockers to finish off an opponent or eliminate a dangerous threat.
How it Works
Fling requires two things to be cast: the mana cost and the sacrifice of exactly one creature. Because the sacrifice is an 'additional cost,' the creature is gone before anyone can react. The spell then looks at the power that creature had at the moment it left the battlefield to determine how much damage to deal to your chosen target.
Resolution Step-by-Step
First, you announce you are casting Fling and choose your target. Second, you pay the mana and sacrifice your chosen creature; this happens immediately and cannot be countered by removing the creature in response. Third, the spell goes on the stack. Finally, when it resolves, Fling checks the 'last known information' of the sacrificed creature's power and deals that much damage to the target.
Common Mistakes
A common error is trying to sacrifice multiple creatures to increase the damage; Fling only allows you to sacrifice exactly one. Additionally, since the sacrifice is a cost, if Fling is countered by an opponent, your creature remains in the graveyard and is not returned to the battlefield.
When to Play It
Fling is most effective when used in response to an opponent's removal spell. If your creature is going to die anyway, you might as well throw it at their face! It is also a powerful finisher if your creature has been temporarily buffed by spells or abilities, allowing you to deal massive damage in a single turn.
Interaction examples
If you control a Halfling equipped with Field-Tested Frying Pan and gain 5 life, the creature gets +5/+5. If you then cast Fling sacrificing that Halfling, Fling will use its boosted power to deal damage, even though the creature is no longer on the battlefield.
With Raphael, Fiendish Savior on the battlefield, sacrificing a creature to cast Fling will trigger Raphael's ability at the end of the turn. Because a creature card was put into your graveyard, you will create a 1/1 Devil token as a result of your tactical toss.
Deflecting SwatIf you cast Fling targeting your opponent, they can respond with Deflecting Swat to change the target to one of your own creatures or even back to you. Note that they cannot change the sacrificed creature, as that cost was already paid when Fling was cast.
You can activate Saradoc, Master of Buckland by tapping other Halflings to give him +2/0. If you then cast Fling sacrificing Saradoc, the spell will deal damage based on his increased power of 4 rather than his base power of 2.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Fling
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
Use the sacrificed creature's power as it last existed on the battlefield to determine how much damage Fling deals.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #2· Wizards of the Coast
You must sacrifice exactly one creature to cast this spell; you can't cast it without sacrificing a creature, and you can't sacrifice additional creatures.
No other card is named in this ruling.
- #3· Wizards of the Coast
Players can only respond once this spell has been cast and all its costs have been paid. No one can try to interfere with the creature you sacrificed to prevent you from casting this spell.
No other card is named in this ruling.
Popular combos
Real combos played by the community, sorted by popularity.
Fling + Serra Avatar
- 1Cast Fling by paying
and sacrificing Serra Avatar, dealing damage equal to Serra Avatar's power to target opponent with a life total equal to or less than your life total. - 2The opponent loses the game due to having 0 or less life.
Fling + Soul of Eternity
- 1Cast Fling by paying and sacrificing Soul of Eternity, dealing damage equal to Soul of Eternity's power to target opponent with a life total equal to or less than your life total.
- 2The opponent loses the game due to having 0 or less life.
Body of Research + Fling
- 1Cast Body of Reaserch by paying
, creating a 0/0 Fractal creature token with a number of +1/+1 counters equal to your library size. - 2Cast Fling by paying and sacrificing the Fractal, dealing damage equal to the Fractal's power to an opponent.
- 3The opponent loses the game due to having zero or less life.
Fling + Enduring Angel // Angelic Enforcer
- 1Cast Fling by paying and sacrificing Angelic Enforcer, dealing damage equal to Angelic Enforcer's power to target opponent with a life total equal to or less than your life total.
- 2The opponent loses the game due to having 0 or less life.
Hostility + Reiterate + Fling + Phyrexian Altar
- 1Cast Fling by paying and sacrificing a creature you control with power seven or greater.
- 2Holding priority, cast Reiterate with buyback by paying
, creating a copy of Fling and returning Reiterate to your hand. - 3Resolve the Fling copy, causing you to create at least seven 3/1 Elemental Shaman creature tokens with haste due to Hostility.
- 4Activate Phyrexian Altar seven times by sacrificing seven Elemental Shamans, adding
. - 5Repeat from step 2 an arbitrarily large number of times.
- 6Activate Phyrexian Altar by sacrificing Hostility, adding .
- 7Hostility dies, shuffling itself into your library from your graveyard.
- 8Cast Reiterate with buyback by paying , creating a copy of Fling and returning Reiterate to your hand.
Hostility + Reiterate + Fling + Thermopod
- 1Cast Fling by paying and sacrificing a creature you control with power seven or greater.
- 2Holding priority, cast Reiterate with buyback by paying , creating a copy of Fling and returning Reiterate to your hand.
- 3Resolve the Fling copy, causing you to create at least seven 3/1 Elemental Shaman creature tokens with haste due to Hostility.
- 4Activate Thermopod seven times by sacrificing seven Elemental Shamans, adding seven .
- 5Repeat from step 2 an arbitrarily large number of times.
- 6Activate Thermopod's second ability by sacrificing Hostility, adding .
- 7Hostility dies, shuffling itself into your library from your graveyard.
- 8Cast Reiterate with buyback by paying , creating a copy of Fling and returning Reiterate to your hand.
Interactions with other cards
These cards' text mentions Fling.
When this creature enters, create X 1/1 white Halfling creature tokens and X Food tokens. (They're artifacts with "{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: You gain 3 life.")
Trample, ward {2} When Treebeard enters, create two Food tokens. Whenever you gain life, put that many +1/+1 counters on target Halfling or Treefolk.
(As this Saga enters and after your draw step, add a lore counter. Sacrifice after III.) I — Put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target creature. Create a Food token. II — Draw a card. Create a Food token. III — Create a 1/1 white Halfling creature token for each Food you control.
During your turn, equipped creature has hexproof and can't be blocked. Whenever equipped creature attacks alone, you draw a card and you lose 1 life. Equip Halfling {1} ({1}: Attach to target Halfling you control. Equip only as a sorcery.) Equip {4} ({4}: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.)
Flying Other Demons, Devils, Imps, and Tieflings you control get +1/+1 and have lifelink. At the beginning of each end step, if a creature card was put into your graveyard from anywhere this turn, create a 1/1 red Devil creature token with "When this token dies, it deals 1 damage to any target."
Whenever one or more Halflings you control attack a player, create a Food token. (It's an artifact with "{2}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: You gain 3 life.")
{T}, Sacrifice this land: Search your library for a basic land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle. Halflingcycling {4} ({4}, Discard this card: Search your library for a Halfling card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle.)
When this Equipment enters, create a Food token, then create a 1/1 white Halfling creature token and attach this Equipment to it. Equipped creature has "Whenever you gain life, this creature gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the amount of life you gained." Equip {2}
{W/B}{W/B}: If Frodo is a Citizen, it becomes a Halfling Scout with base power and toughness 2/3 and lifelink. {B}{B}{B}: If Frodo is a Scout, it becomes a Halfling Rogue with "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, that player loses the game if the Ring has tempted you four or more times this game. Otherwise, the Ring tempts you."
When The Notary Hobbits enter, if they're not a token, create two tokens that are copies of them, except the tokens aren't legendary. {T}: Add {C} for each Halfling you control.
Whenever Saradoc or another nontoken creature you control with power 2 or less enters, create a 1/1 white Halfling creature token. Tap two other untapped Halflings you control: Saradoc gets +2/+0 and gains lifelink until end of turn.
Players play a subgame starting at 5 life and with up to three permanent cards with different names from their main-game library on the battlefield. As the subgame ends, the winner chooses one of the cards they put onto the battlefield as the subgame began and puts it onto the battlefield rather than shuffling it into their library.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Fling
No archived Top 8 deck with this card yet.