Stenchskipper 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
Flying At the beginning of the end step, if you control no Goblins, sacrifice this creature.
Complete guide
Stenchskipper is a powerful black Elemental that offers high-flying offense for a relatively low mana cost. However, its presence on the battlefield is fleeting unless you have the right company to keep it around. Mastering this card requires careful management of your board state, specifically regarding the Goblin creature type.
The Goblin Requirement
Stenchskipper features a 'state-trigger' formatted as an 'intervening if' clause. This means the game checks if you control any Goblins at the exact moment the end step begins. If you do not control at least one Goblin, the ability triggers and goes on the stack. If you do control a Goblin at that moment, the ability never triggers at all, and Stenchskipper remains safe for another turn.
Resolution and Survival
If the sacrifice ability does trigger, it checks the condition again upon resolution. This double-check is crucial; if your last Goblin is destroyed in response to the trigger, you will have to sacrifice Stenchskipper. Conversely, if you manage to put a Goblin onto the battlefield while the ability is still on the stack, the 'if' condition becomes false, and you will not sacrifice the creature.
Strategic Timing
Because the check happens at the beginning of the end step, you cannot wait until the end step to play a Goblin. You must have the Goblin on the battlefield before the second main phase ends. If your Goblins are removed during combat, you have until the end of the post-combat main phase to find a replacement, or Stenchskipper will be lost.
Interaction examples
Roaming ThroneIf you play Roaming Throne and choose 'Goblin' as the creature type, it counts as a Goblin you control. At the beginning of your end step, the game sees you control a Goblin (the Throne), so Stenchskipper's sacrifice ability does not trigger. Note that even though the Throne doubles triggered abilities of the chosen type, Stenchskipper is an Elemental, not a Goblin, so its ability would not be doubled even if it did trigger.
Solemn SimulacrumIf you control Stenchskipper and Solemn Simulacrum but no Goblins, Stenchskipper's ability triggers at the start of the end step. If you have a way to sacrifice Solemn Simulacrum in response to that trigger, you can draw a card from the Simulacrum's death trigger before Stenchskipper is eventually sacrificed by its own ability. This helps you dig for a Goblin to play on your next turn.
If you cast Stenchskipper while your board is empty, it will enter the battlefield successfully. However, as soon as you reach the beginning of the end step, the game checks for Goblins. Finding none, the triggered ability goes on the stack and, upon resolution, forces you to sacrifice Stenchskipper. Without external help or a change in creature types, it cannot survive a single full turn cycle alone.
Guide written with AI from the official text and rulings. Official English text prevails.
How it works : Stenchskipper
Original English text — Wizards of the Coast / Scryfall
- #1· Wizards of the Coast
This ability checks whether you control any Goblins twice each turn: once when the ability would trigger, and once when it resolves. If you control any Goblins at either time, you won’t sacrifice Stenchskipper. (If you control any Goblins at the time the ability would trigger, it doesn’t trigger at all.)
No other card is named in this ruling.
Legal formats
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Meta decks with Stenchskipper
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