Creature — Faerie Rogue



When Pestermite enters the battlefield, you may tap or untap target permanent.

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Set Rarity
Modern Masters (MMA) Common
Lorwyn (LRW) Common

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Format Legality
Tiny Leaders Legal
2019-10-04 Legal
Penny Dreadful Legal
Legacy Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Highlander Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Modern Legal
1v1 Commander Legal
Pauper Legal
Casual Legal
Noble Legal
Vintage Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Unformat Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Magic Duels Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Pauper EDH Legal
Leviathan Legal

Pestermite occurrence in decks from the last year

Commander / EDH:

All decks: 0.01%

Pestermite Discussion

SaberTech on Animar, Soul of Combos | Animar cEDH

1 week ago

Hi. Saw you asking for advice on the Animar Discord but didn't want to clog up the channel so I figured I'd leave some comments here. I'll try to focus on more budget friendly changes since you already know about the more expensive recommendations.

The first thing that stands out to me is that you've doubled down on a lot of redundancy of similar effects to make your combo options more consistent. Since you don't have Imperial Recruiter and Weird Harvest, I can see why you would do that for a more casual meta. What has happened though is that you have filled up slots that would normally go to the other cards that help Animar function faster. A number of cards could be trimmed out to put in important lower-curve cards.

To start with, you actually have too many combos in the deck that are clogging up cards slots. You already have Ancestral Statue + Walking Ballista, which is Animar's bread and butter. Competitive decks generally focus on assembling that as quickly as possible and protecting the combo.

The typical secondary combo line in cEDH Animar is the Kiri-Onna loop, but that requires you to put a lot of money into your mana base to make sure nearly all you lands produce blue mana for maximum efficiency, so lets skip that for now.

Another backup combo is Barrin, Master Wizard/Temur Sabertooth + Dockside Extortionist, which you already have. Barrin is generally favoured because of its versatility, but the Sabertooth works too and the combo can potentially produce infinite mana without Animar. The combo works well in the cEDH meta because of all the cheap mana rocks and enchantments that get played, but there's a chance it won't be as consistent in more casual metas.

In addition to the main combos, you often see Purphoros, God of the Forge as a backup kill condition. Since you have that too you are fairly well set for win-conditions.

On top of that though, you also currently have the Kiki/Twin combo package, Cloudstone Curio with a couple morph creatures and eldrazi, Deadeye Navigator + Peregrine Drake + Acidic Slime, and Oracle/Labman to win by decking off of "enchantress" effects like Beast Whisperer. You honestly don't need all of that. Some people may run Thassa's Oracle as an option for when damage might not win the game, but the rest could be heavily trimmed to make room for other important ramp and interaction.

So, cards to cut:

Deadeye Navigator is an easy cut. The higher cmc creatures clog up opening hands and force more mulligans. Cloudstone Curio can't be tutored for in your list, which makes it unreliable. Taking that out makes Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger unwanted. That leads to taking out Nettle Drone and Thought Harvester because they are just redundant effects that you already get with Ballista and Purphoros. Laboratory Maniac can come out because it will generally be a more fragile Thassa's Oracle. You could take the oracle out too because there are ways to just bounce and kill with Ballista, even when you are being forced to draw cards off of Glimpse of Nature or Beast Whisperer. I can see why you might want to leave that one in though.

The Kiki/twin package takes up a bunch of slots with cards that don't really do a whole lot on their own except for Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, which some people think is too unwieldy to cast consistently because of the RRR in its casting cost. Splinter Twin isn't tutorable in the deck, so it's unreliable. Bounding Krasis and Breaching Hippocamp are just redundant bodies that don't even have the same versatility in their effect that Pestermite and Deceiver Exarch, and even those can be a little lack-luster.

If you aren't looking to take all the unnecessary combos out, I can see leaving some of the Kiki stuff in as a 2-card combo that isn't reliant on Animar. Just Kiki, Pestermite, and Deceiver Exarch on their own is enough. If you want to double down on it a bit though, you can consider putting in Zealous Conscripts. With the Conscripts, you can open up a 1 turn combo line with Vannifar.

Other cards worth cutting are Guardian Project (can't be tutored or cost-reduced), Soul of the Harvest (expensive and Primordial Sage is better), Vigean Graftmage (don't have enough +1/+1 counter synergies for this to be worth the slot), Farhaven Elf (better off with a 1 CMC mana dork), Solemn Simulacrum (better off with a 1 CMC mana dork), Tidal Barracuda (it may protect you from counterspells on your turn, put there is just too much risk with letting your opponents cast all their stuff at instant speed on every other turn). There are other cards that could be cut, but those are the ones that really stand out.

To replace the cards you take out, you'll be wanting the 1 cmc mana dorks and mana acceleration that was recommended on Discord, some more card draw/cantrip creatures like Mulldrifter and Generous Patron, and some cheap/free counterspells.

Anyway, I know this is a long wall of text but I hope the feed back helps give you a place to start making tweaks to your deck. And, of course, the people on the Animar Discord are always happy to offer advice.

arcane_trouper on MagicalHacker - List of All Anti-Infinite Cards

1 month ago

Wow, great work MagicalHacker. Reformatted with card links and averages (rounded up) of the range of decks the combos are in. I figure a single number for each 2 card combo makes it easker to tally up and figure percentages later. So 120,411 two-card combos total.

7293 Deadeye Navigator + Peregrine Drake

6255 Exquisite Blood + Sanguine Bond

4652 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Zealous Conscripts

4545 The Gitrog Monster + Dakmor Salvage

3688 Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth

3073 Demonic Consultation + Thassa's Oracle

2990 Demonic Consultation + Jace, Wielder of Mysteries

2957 Niv-Mizzet, Parun + Curiosity

2658 Mikaeus, the Unhallowed+ Triskelion

2445 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind + Curiosity

2410 Grand Architect + Pili-Pala

2370 Demonic Consultation + Laboratory Maniac

2333 Mindcrank + Bloodchief Ascension

2315 Worldgorger Dragon + Animate Dead

2242 Umbral Mantle + Priest of Titania

2132 Niv-Mizzet, Parun + Ophidian Eye

2129 Mindcrank + Duskmantle Guildmage

2010 Godo, Bandit Warlord + Helm of the Host

1957 Aurelia, the Warleader + Helm of the Host

1852 Dualcaster Mage + Twinflame

1809 Deadeye Navigator + Palinchron

1673 Worldgorger Dragon + Dance of the Dead

1714 Traumatize + Fraying Sanity

1689 Necrotic Ooze + Buried Alive

1679 Exquisite Blood + Vizkopa Guildmage

1662 Umbral Mantle + Elvish Archdruid

1598 High Alert + Axebane Guardian

1558 Combat Celebrant + Helm of the Host

1532 Ad Nauseam + Angel's Grace

1523 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind + Ophidian Eye

1514 Traumatize + Keening Stone

1483 Mindcrank + Syr Konrad, the Grim

1466 Eldrazi Displacer + Peregrine Drake

1429 Staff of Domination + Priest of Titania

1388 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Felidar Guardian

1390 Fleet Swallower + Fraying Sanity

1358 Worldgorger Dragon + Necromancy

1311 Aggravated Assault + Sword of Feast and Famine

1302 Grim Monolith + Power Artifact

1304 Reiterate + Mana Geyser

1279 Umbral Mantle + Karametra's Acolyte

1263 Heliod, Sun-Crowned + Walking Ballista

1245 Sage of Hours + Ezuri, Claw of Progress

1251 Exquisite Blood + Cliffhaven Vampire

1239 Time Sieve + Thopter Assembly

1227 Fleet Swallower + Keening Stone

1231 Necrotic Ooze + Entomb

1223 Food Chain + Eternal Scourge

1218 Aggravated Assault + Savage Ventmaw

1225 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Combat Celebrant

1170 Najeela, the Blade-Blossom + Nature's Will

1167 Basalt Monolith + Power Artifact

1188 Aggravated Assault + Neheb, the Eternal

1155 Helm of Obedience + Rest in Peace

1153 Exquisite Blood + Defiant Bloodlord

1112 Niv-Mizzet, Parun + Tandem Lookout

1107 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Deceiver Exarch

1103 Devoted Druid + Vizier of Remedies

1087 Freed from the Real + Incubation Druid

1076 Umbral Mantle + Marwyn, the Nurturer

960 Najeela, the Blade-Blossom + Cryptolith Rite

1025 Splinter Twin + Zealous Conscripts

1011 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind + Tandem Lookout

1008 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Pestermite

GregariousG on Kalamax EDH

2 months ago






Instants and Sorceries





StopShot on Legendary Equipment - Custom Card ...

2 months ago

smackjack, yeah I want it to work just like the traditional infinite combo. I was just trying to limit unintentional combos like the ones I described.

Issue is the combo isn’t fragile enough to be fair I think. You could destroy the Pestermite with Splinter Twin on the stack for an easy 2-for-1. I tried to replicate that here where you could destroy the equipment with the copy ability on the stack and they lose the creature later due to the ability. Works great for artifact removal as its a 2-for-1.

But its not so for creature removal. If you use creature removal while the copy ability is on the stack they can just move the equipment onto the token and restart the combo again, so you’re better off doing it while the equip ability is on the stack instead, but by that point you’re making a 1-for-1 trade which I don’t think punishes the Twin player enough, but maybe I’m too harsh?

I like the idea of equipping the tokens you produce for cheap as you can spam ETB’s at the cost of losing the creature just for value reasons like in EDH if you’re not going the combo route. But I’m getting off point, do you think the use of creature removal should be just as much of a setback as it is for artifact removal? I’m afraid the fact it’s an equipment rather than an aura makes it too resilient, but then again the turn 5 kill could be enough of a drawback as it is, so I’d like a second opinion.

smackjack on Legendary Equipment - Custom Card ...

2 months ago

If you want to disable infinite combos you could give equipped creature Shroud. That way you can tap your Pestermite to create a new one, but you wont be able to target the original with the untap ability. Or maybe have it cost 3 rakdos hybrid and no tap to activate, giving you the option to fairly pay 6 for 2 copies, but no untap shenanigans. If you want it to go infinite i think its quite balanced. Its basically a more tutorable 5 mana + 2 life Splinter Twin..

hungry000 on Faerie Rogue Tribal

3 months ago

Sure thing! I'm going to be looking at this from the perspective of someone who wants to make the deck as "competitive" as possible; I won't talk about stuff like flavor and such because then all of my opinions would clash and you'd be confused. >.<

In the main deck:

I like Quickling, but I would change those Silkbind Faeries back to Pestermite, because even though Silkbind is reusable, it uses up mana and takes a turn to get the effect. Pestermite, while only a single-use creature, gives you an immediate effect and has a more flexible ability that can tap opposing lands, untap one of your own lands to play another creature or leave up counterspell mana, untap one of your creatures to block, etc. whereas Silkbind can only tap creatures. I can't tell you how many times I've saved myself from a turn 4 sweeper or other removal spell by flashing in Pestermite on an opponent's upkeep and tapping down one of their splash colors. Also, the difference between a spell that does something on turn 3 and a spell that sits around on turn 3 then takes mana to do something on turn 4 is huge in Modern (I realize your daughter will be playing against Standard Challengers, but there's still a big difference there).

Faerie Trickery: As an aggressive deck, you want to deal with threats for as little mana as possible, even if the effect is only temporary; that way, you can play your offensive spells on top of the removal and continue to push pressure onto your opponent. This is somewhat less of a deal when you have flash creatures (makes threat evaluation a bit easier), but I've found that it still works far better to keep the cmc of removal spells low. So, I suggest you replace Faerie Trickery with Mana Leak. Exile effects won't matter as much when the deck is as proactive as this one is, so it's better to take the lower cmc and easier-to-cast colors of Mana Leak.

As for Faerie Tauntings, I just don't think it's a very good card. Three mana is a lot for a card that doesn't do much the turn it comes into play. In my opinion, it would be better to just play a couple Vapor Snag in its spot, since this deck needs a few creature removal spells to keep up with other aggressive decks. A 4:2 or 3:3 split of Vapor Snag:Mana Leak would be preferable, actually.

In the sideboard:

Peppersmoke: Generally, when building sideboards you want every card to have as much of an affect on a specific matchup as possible. Peppersmoke is just not that type of card, haha. Fun fact: against Jund specifically, Peppersmoke is pretty bad since it counts as two card types in the graveyard for Tarmogoyf, which means the creature is literally unkillable (even if it's a 0/1) and gets a +2/+2 buff if you try to do so! If you want more creature removal, I suggest playing something more powerful, like Echoing Truth (deals with tokens well), Fatal Push if you can spare the money, Victim of Night, Dismember.

Hypnotic Sprite: This is, once again, not a great sideboard card. You do not want to counter Burn spells with a 3 mana counter (3 mana spent vs 1 mana spent = mana lost and a whole turn spent on your part), and the combo decks I know of will either kill before turn 3 (Neoform combo) or have a >3 cmc spell as their most important combo piece (Past in Flames in Storm, Ad Nauseam). These 3 card slots are much better used by Duress, Spell Pierce, Negate, or Dispel since they cover the same matchups and more for a lower cmc.

Thieving Sprite: They're okay, but I wouldn't play more than 2 of them. This is another example of a card whose function can be covered by a lower cmc card (Duress). Also, Earwig Squad is a really good card in the control matchups since you can search their deck to preemptively take out removal or win conditions, and it can't be hit by Fatal Push.

Notorious Throng: To answer your question, no, the card can definitely be worth it in single player formats. Especially if you're pitting this deck up against a Standard deck. In fact, I would totally play three of them in the main if I knew I was playing against a Standard deck. But putting that aside, the card is very good in midrange matchups, like Jund and them. It's very difficult for black-based midrange to deal with tokens because of their reliance on one-for-one removal; a card that makes a bunch of tokens that fly and occasionally force discards is crazy good against them. Not to mention the Prowl ability on it. shiver

As for the other cards in your list, I think Thieves' Fortune, Latchkey Faerie, and Faerie Macabre are the best of the bunch (that's why they're in the original deck, haha). Macabre is a great graveyard hate card, and Latchkey is very good if you want to take the deck along a more aggressive path; creatures that cantrip, like Silvergill Adept and Elvish Visionary, have always been a staple of their respective tribe archetypes. The only thing that makes me particularly hesitant about playing Faerie Seer, Thornwind Faeries, Sower of Temptation, or Faerie Formation is the fact that they don't have the Rogue creature type. Putting them in the deck can lead to inconsistencies, and when two of the three lords only work with Rogues, I would rather not risk it. Of those, I think Sower has the best chance of being a decent sideboard card (because it is one). Don't play Faerie Formation. Its cmc is too high and its ability uses too much mana.

But honestly, if you think any of those cards would be good includes for their competitive value or flavor or whatnot and you think your daughter might think so too, I say just buy them (if possible) so you and your daughter can play around with numbers yourselves. That's what I did when I bought the deck (I have a set of Latchkey and a set of Cloak and Dagger that have fallen to the wayside lol). When you're trying to decide how best to build a deck, a question which has no definitive answer imo, buying cards like that saves a lot of time; the process of optimizing/customizing a deck to be your own is also a fun activity in itself. But if you want to take my opinion one more time, I believe the best way to navigate the details is to ask your daughter which cards she wants to play with herself, since at the end of the day she's the one whose opinion really matters!

Anyways, I'm really glad your daughter's happy! Have fun with the deck!!!

Ziusdra on Card creation challenge

5 months ago

ZendikariWol I'm not sure you're reading all of the text involved in Fragile. Mox Iridium also triggers when targeted by creatures, planeswalkers, etc. Not just spells. i.e., you want to trigger it by making something more useful out of it--playing Animating Faerie, Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas, or Skilled Animator, or something cheaper so that you break even or actually gain mana out of the transaction. Use an Icy Manipulator or Unbender Tine to give yourself free mana, once per round (because if you do it more than once, you break it), on your opponents' turns or on your own turn.

Fragile also triggers this way. An opponent can kill it even without something that specifically targets artifacts--you're looking too specifically at cards that target only artifacts. A Brazen Borrower can kill it if it's played in response to you targeting it with a spell or creature. Or for that matter, a Pestermite can tap it, in response to its owner targeting it to try to get its use out of it, and before even that tapping resolves, it dies. Really, anything can kill it--even an opponent's Icy Manipulator, in response to whatever the first spell/ability that targeted it was. Your opponent doesn't need to cast two spells to kill it. They only need to target it with anything in response to you targeting it. BUT you want to target it in order to make use of its ability. Therein lies the risk/reward. Flickering it, as you pointed out, might be the best way to go infinite with it; you spend two mana, flicker it, generate two mana, and when it re-enters the battlefield, it forgets that it had been targeted before. You can use Venser, the Sojourner, Aminatou, the Fateshifter, Skybind, and Brago, King Eternal to cheat mana out of it this way, perhaps more cards than just that. Like I said, I'm sure one can find a way to go infinite off of it, which is why it's important that it's fragile.

Although, like I said, since it's a zero-mana artifact, it probably won't be used for what it's designed for--it'll probably just be one of the 99 in a storm deck or a cheerios deck, simply by virtue of being a zero-mana artifact spell.

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