Pithing Needle
1Artifact
Text
As this artifact enters, choose a card name. Activated abilities of sources with the chosen name can't be activated unless they're mana abilities.
Occasionally a skaab remembers too much of its former life. Luckily, there's an easy cure.
Market prices
updated on 06/17/2026| Source | Normal | Foil |
|---|---|---|
| Card Kingdom | — | $2.79 |
| Cardmarket | — | €1.60 |
| TCGplayer | — | $1.64 |
Trend · last 90 days · EUR · FOIL
€1.60Rulings (5)
Pithing Needle affects cards regardless of what zone they're in. This includes cards in hand, cards in the graveyard, and exiled cards. For example, a player can't cycle Eternal Dragon or return an Eternal Dragon from their graveyard to hand if Pithing Needle naming Eternal Dragon is on the battlefield.
06/01/2005You can name any card, even if that card doesn't normally have an activated ability. You can't name a token unless that token has the same name as a card.
06/01/2005If you name a card that has both a mana ability and another activated ability, the mana ability can be activated but the other ability can't be activated.
06/01/2005Once Pithing Needle has left the battlefield, activated abilities of sources with the chosen name can be activated again.
10/01/2009Activated abilities include a colon and are written in the form "[cost]: [effect]." Triggered abilities and static abilities of the named card work normally.
10/01/2012Legality by format
| Brawl | Banned |
| Commander | Legal |
| Duel Commander | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Old School | Not legal |
| Pauper | Not legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Premodern | Not legal |
| Standard | Not legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Block Constructed | Not legal |
| Extended | Not legal |
| Frontier | Not legal |
| Tiny Leaders | Not legal |