Startle

About Startle

Startle, Action, designed by None first released in Jul, 2026 in the set Attack of the Vine!.

Startle would mainly benefit a tempo or control deck, especially Sapphire-based decks that want cheap interaction to win combat, protect key characters, or set up favorable challenges without spending too much ink; a -3 Strength debuff can help remove an opposing threat or let a small character survive a trade. That said, it is a fairly narrow card, and in many cases better removal or combat tricks exist depending on the color pair you’re playing: for direct board control, unconditional removal or stronger, more flexible bounce/discard-style effects are usually better than a temporary debuff, and if you want a similar effect in Sapphire, cards that outright remove or neutralize a character tend to be more reliable. As a result, Startle is playable only if your deck specifically wants a very cheap way to win one combat or push damage through, but it generally should not see broad competitive play unless the format is slower and small stat-based combat matters a lot.