Card Spotlight
Bebop & Rocksteady
A 3-mana Golgari legend from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that demands a sacrifice or a discard every time it attacks or blocks. That cost is easy to pay in a deck already spending both resources.
Commander Spotlight
Bebop & Rocksteady ↗
A 3-mana Golgari legend from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that demands a sacrifice or a discard every time it attacks or blocks. That cost is easy to pay in a deck already spending both resources.
See Bebop & Rocksteady's full stats and printings →
Strategies it goes well with
- Aristocrats and sacrifice decks. A token or expendable creature is the ideal payment for the combat cost, turning what looks like a drawback into a free additional sacrifice trigger every combat.
- Discard and madness decks. A hand full of cards that want to be discarded anyway makes the cost close to free while still enabling combat.
- Value-body aggro. As a 3-mana body willing to attack or block every turn, it's a reasonable rate even setting the drawback aside, in a deck that can pay it comfortably.
How it does in Commander
As the commander
It's a workable commander for a dedicated Golgari Aristocrats deck, since plenty of sacrifice fodder in the 99 keeps the combat cost from becoming a real liability. It's just as playable as a support piece in a deck led by something else.
In the 99
A cheap, aggressive body that fits naturally into any Golgari sacrifice or discard shell, where the drawback is closer to an upside.
Formats it's strong in
- Aristocrats decks. Token generators and death-trigger creatures turn the sacrifice cost into a repeatable engine rather than a real loss.
- Madness and discard decks. Cards that want to be discarded make the alternative cost essentially free most turns.
Formats it's weak in
- Decks with no sacrifice fodder or discard fodder. Without either resource to spend, the combat cost eventually forces a real sacrifice of something the deck needs.
- Grindy games that outlast the fodder supply. A long game can eventually exhaust a deck's supply of expendable permanents or discardable cards, turning a free cost into a real one.
Synergistic cards
Bitterblossom ↗
A steady supply of expendable tokens that keeps the combat cost free indefinitely.
Zulaport Cutthroat ↗
Turns each sacrifice paid for combat into direct drain damage on top of the attack itself.
Night's Whisper ↗
Two cards for two mana keeps the hand stocked with cards you're willing to discard to the attack or block trigger.
Any death-trigger creature ↗
A creature that wants to die anyway is the ideal thing to feed the combat cost every turn.
Is it worth the price?
As a recent-set card, Bebop & Rocksteady is inexpensive and a reasonable pickup for a Golgari Aristocrats or discard deck, with little financial risk.
Frequently asked questions
What does Bebop & Rocksteady's combat trigger cost?
Whenever it attacks or blocks, you sacrifice a permanent unless you discard a card. That is a real cost for a deck that doesn't want to lose either resource, and close to free in a deck built to sacrifice permanents or discard cards for value anyway.
What decks want Bebop & Rocksteady?
A Golgari Aristocrats or discard-matters deck already running cards that want to be sacrificed or discarded. A token, a creature with a death trigger, or a madness or reanimator card in hand all pay the cost at no real loss.
Is Bebop & Rocksteady safe to attack with every turn?
Only if the deck has a steady supply of sacrifice fodder or discardable cards. Running out of both mid-game forces you to sacrifice something the deck needs, which is the card's main downside outside a dedicated shell.