Welcome to part 3 the black cards. Part 1 was red and part 2 was green.
A quick recap: this series is for rogue/casual players going to regionals. If you aren't netdecking or spending a ton of money getting new cards, this is a look at useful cards you might already have that aren't getting a lot of notice in Standard at the moment.
Or on the flip side, if you are netdecking, this might be the kind of cards you'll see from a rogue deck.
BLACK
Ascendant Evincar
3/3 Flying
Other black creatures get +1/+1.
Nonblack creatures get -1/-1.
Not seeing much use now because there's not many mono-black decks. But considering elves, merfolk, and the inevitable appearences of white weenies, it should be a consideration. Keep in mind that unlike Lorwyn block lords, the +1/+1 for black also affects your opponent's creatures.
Augur of Skulls
1/1 1B: Regenerate Augur of Skulls.
Sacrifice Augur of Skulls: Target player discards two cards. Play this ability only during your upkeep.
Regionals is usually all about agressive decks that empty their hands quickly anyway. But if you want an anti-control card or heavy discard theme, its what you want.
Avatar of Woe
6/5 Fear
If there are ten or more creature cards total in all graveyards, Avatar of Woe costs 6 less to play. (reduced from 6BB to BB)
T Destroy target creature. It can't be regenerated.
Play creatures yourself along with some board-sweepers whether Damnation, Pyroclasm, Wrath. You could even go the quick discard route with Augur of Skulls and Ravenous Rats. Its not that tough to get ten creatures in the graveyard and then you are dropping a cheap world-of-hurt on your opponent.
Beacon of Unrest
Put target artifact or creature card in a graveyard into play under your control. Shuffle Beacon of Unrest into its owner's library.
This is a ridiculously powerful sorcery which no one is playing. Play some creatures with decent come-into-play effects yourself. When they go to the graveyard, Beacon them back into play. Or snag your opponent's creature. There's a heck of a lot of decks which can't deal with their own creatures being used against them.
Boggart Loggers
2/1 Forestwalk
2B, Sacrifice Boggart Loggers: Destroy target Treefolk or Forest.
This is a variation of Boggart Arsonist so I'll repeat basically what I said before. This isn't a card for every black deck but can be considerd for every black sideboard. Do you have some land destruction or denial going on? This'll kill a Forest. Worried about getting blocked by a swarm of green creatures? Forestwalk through them. Having trouble with a pesky Scarecrows like Mirror Entity or activated Mutavaults? Destroy it at instant speed.
If you are needing versatile rather than powerful, Loggers could be your man...er, goblin.
Boggart Mob
5/5 Champion a Goblin
Whenever a Goblin you control deals combat damage to a player, you may put a 1/1 black Goblin Rogue creature token into play.
Talk about a card which has gotten no love. Goblins don't have a heck of a lot of evasion to insure getting through for damage but if you can manage it, Boggart Mob has a lot of upside. There's a couple of new landwalkers and tramplers plus Loxodon Warhammer and the ever-popular "I've got more goblins than he has blockers".
Circle of Affliction
As Circle of Affliction comes into play, choose a color.
Whenever a source of the chosen color deals damage to you, you may pay 1. If you do, target player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.
This takes a little work and a little mana to use but it could be worth it. If someone is hitting you with 1/1 tokens and other weenies, they could be losing life as fast or faster (Bitterblossom) than you are.
You could also set it up so that your own cards damage you. Say you have a Manabarbs and a Circle of Affliction set to red. Tap a land, take one damage from Manabarbs, use the one mana to activate the Circle to gain one life and make your opponent lose one life. You are breaking even on damage while your opponent is losing one life for each land you have and taking more damage whenever he taps his own land.
Or for something less dramatic, turn Plague Sliver's one damage to you upkeep into one damage to your opponent for one mana a turn.
Dauthi Slayer
2/2 Shadow
Dauthi Slayer attacks each turn if able.
For all practical purposes, this will never be blocked and with all the chump blockers you can expect to see that'll be relevant. Slap something like a Loxodon Warhammer on it or something else that'll pump up the power and you'll have a real clock. Being black, it'll not have to worry about Terror effects.
Faceless Butcher
2/3 When Faceless Butcher comes into play, remove target creature other than Faceless Butcher from the game.
When Faceless Butcher leaves play, return the removed card to play under its owner’s control.
Honestly Faceless Butcher isn't all that great when used on your opponent's creatures. But if you use creatures with good come-into-play abilities, your opponent isn't going to want to see them again: Nekrataal, Avalanche Riders, Shriekmaw, Kitchen Finks, Murderous Redcap, etc.
Make Faceless Butcher a threat with Loxodon Warhammer then make your opponent have two bad choices. Do they want to block and kill the Butcher or want to Wrath and leave you with the only creature on the board?
Fleshwrither
3/3 Transfigure 1BB(1BB, Sacrifice this creature: Search your library for a creature card with the same converted mana cost as this creature and put that card into play. Then shuffle your library. Play only as a sorcery.)
Note the ability can't be counterspelled. It gets any 4 casting cost creature and puts the freaking creature into play. Tutoring things directly into play is powerful. Some good examples for targets are Avalanche Riders, Chameleon Colossus, Clone, Faceless Butcher, Fledgling Mawcor, Gravedigger, Magus of the Disk, Magus of the Moat, Magus of the Tabernacle, Mistbinder Clique, Mortivore, Murderous Redcap, Nekrataal, Shimian Specter, Sower of Temptation, Undead Warchief, Windborn Muse....
Garza’s Assassin
2/2 Sacrifice Garza’s Assassin: Destroy target nonblack creature.
Recover - Pay half your life, rounded up.
A Seal of Doomish creature. Not bad for 3 mana.
Hypnotic Specter
2/2 Flying
Whenever Hypnotic Specter deals damage to an opponent, that player discards a card at random.
Its not a powerhouse like it would be with a Dark Ritual and cast on turn one. But the effect is still powerful and its a must-kill card.
Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
*/* Korlash, Heir to Blackblade's power and toughness are each equal to the number of Swamps you control.
1B: Regenerate Korlash.
Grandeur - Discard another card named Korlash, Heir to Blackblade: Search your library for up to two Swamp cards, put them into play tapped, then shuffle your library.
Strange this card went so quickly from powerhouse to forgotten but its still very good at what it does.
Lord of the Undead
2/2 Other Zombie creatures get +1/+1.
1B, T Return target Zombie card from your graveyard to your hand.
The words "good lord" are made for this card. It'll return any zombie or changeling card from the graveyard to hand. Even if you aren't playing other zombies, how about Nameless Inversion and Crib Swap?
As I mentioned before, there's a lot of decks that can't stand up to recurring a removal spell each turn.
Mirri the Cursed
3/2 Flying, first strike, haste
Whenever Mirri the Cursed deals combat damage to a creature, put a +1/+1 counter on Mirri the Cursed.
A nice solid combination of abilities.
Mortivore
*/* Mortivore’s power and toughness are each equal to the number of creature cards in all graveyards.B: Regenerate
Its likely to be the biggest creature in play from the middle game onward.
Nekrataal
2/1 First strike
When Nekrataal comes into play, destroy target nonartifact, nonblack creature. That creature can’t be regenerated.
I've mentioned several ways to abuse creatures with come-into-play abilities. If you are planning on abusing its ability (getting it into play as an instant, putting it into play several times, etc.), Nekrataal is a nice card. For planning on casting it once and that be it, Nekrataal is slightly overpriced. Its fine if that's the card you have but Shriekmaw is better.
Oona's Blackguard (Faerie Rogue)
1/1 Flying
Each other Rogue creature you control comes into play with an additional +1/+1 counter on it. Whenever a creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card.
The Rogue creature type decks never really took off because blue faeries was a stronger concept. But Blackguard is a strong card.
Plague Sliver
5/5 All Slivers have "At the beginning of your upkeep, this creature deals 1 damage to you."
A very cost efficient creature with a very minor drawback...unless you are playing a deck full of slivers and changelings. And it really nails your opponent if he has changelings and slivers.
Puppeteer Clique
3/2 Flying
When Puppeteer Clique comes into play, put target creature card in an opponent's graveyard into play under your control. It has haste. At the end of your turn, remove it from the game.
Persist
Somewhat similar to Beacon of Unrest. It can be a powerful effect but depends on your opponent's graveyard only. On the other hand, if they don't deal with your creature, they're screwed and if they do deal with it they are screwed.
Ravenous Rats
1/1 When Ravenous Rats comes into play, target opponent discards a card.
Not the best body but for heavy discard decks or against control...maybe. And of course, equipment makes any creature better.
Relentless Rats
2/2 Relentless Rats gets +1/+1 for each other creature in play named Relentless Rats. A deck can have any number of cards named Relentless Rats.
I hope I don't have to explain this deck concept to anybody. But just in case, I included a bonus deck at the bottom of the article.
Scarblade Elite (Elf Assassin)
2/2 Tap, Remove an Assassin card in your graveyard from the game: Destroy target creature.
Even without changelings, there's enough assassins in Standard to make a good theme deck. Whether that's a good idea or not is another matter.
In any case, Scarblade Elite is a 2 casting cost 2/2 creature without a drawback. Not many of those in black.
Stinkdrinker Bandit (Goblin Rogue)
2/1 Prowl 1B
Whenever a Rogue you control attacks and isn't blocked, it gets +2/+1 until end of turn.
Another great card for that Rogue type creature deck that hasn't quite come together yet.
Sudden Death
Split second. Target creature gets -4/-4 until end of turn.
Large creature killer that can't be counterspelled.
Sudden Spoiling
Split second. Creatures target player controls become 0/2 and lose all abilities until end of turn.
Mass creature kill assuming you can follow up by blocking his creatures. A nice solution to deal with faeries if they'll attack with their key creatures.
Twisted Abomination
5/3 B: Regenerate Twisted Abomination.
Swampcycling 2
In a dedicated zombie deck, a Lord of the Undead can repeatedly retrieve Twisted Abomination until you have enough mana to cast it. Otherwise, its mostly in a deck to insure you hit your land drops when you absolutely positively have to.
Note the swampcycling can also get Leechridden Swamp.
Undead Warchief
1/1 Zombie spells you play cost 1 less to play.
Zombies you control get +2/+1.
Unlike most "lords" Undead Warchief does affect itself so its usually at least a 3/2. And again note that all changelings are zombies. Another powerful card no one is playing.
Withered Wretch (Zombie Cleric)
2/2 1: Remove target card in a graveyard from the game.
There's flashback cards, reanimation cards, and graveyard combos to watch out for plus Tarmogoyf. Well worth considering.
As you perhaps can tell, I like the core cards for a zombie deck. I'd show you one but I already promised to show my Relentless Rats tech instead.
BLACK GOLD/HYBRID
Cemetery Puca (black/blue)
1/2 Whenever a creature is put into a graveyard from play, you may pay 1. If you do, Cemetery Puca becomes a copy of that creature and gains this ability.
Hey, you play black and you kill creatures. This creature copies a creature that's going to the graveyard. Its a match made in heaven. (Note: it won't activate come-into-play abilities.)
Ghastlord of Fugue
4/4 Ghastlord of Fugue is unblockable.
Whenever Ghastlord of Fugue deals combat damage to a player, that player reveals his or her hand. Choose a card from it. That player removes that card from the game.
Unblockable with a combat damage based ability? Not bad at all.
Inkfathom Infiltrator (blue/black Merfolk Rogue)
2/1 Inkfathom Infiltrator can't block and is unblockable.
Unblockable.
Merieke Ri Berit (w/u/b)
1/1 Merieke Ri Berit doesn’t untap during your untap step.
Tap: Gain control of target creature as long as you control Merieke Ri Berit. When Merieke Ri Berit leaves play or becomes untapped, destroy that creature. It can’t be regenerated.
Combine this with a creature-sacrificing outlet like Nantulo Husk.
Shadow Guildmage (black)
1/1
U, Tap: Put target creature you control on top of its owner’s library.
R, Tap: Shadow Guildmage deals 1 damage to target creature or player and 1 damage to you.
Not technically a gold card but you need blue or black to make it worth playing. Its gotten some play for its red ability to control 1/1's (faeries, Bird of Paradise, mana elves, etc.)
However, repeatedly evoking Shriekmaw (or casting Nekrataal for full price) then using the guildmage's blue ability to return it to the top of your deck will let you abuse the come into play effect. If you have or create an advantage on the board, you might ride your mini-combo to victory before your opponent draws something to break it up.
Shadowmage Infiltrator (black/blue)
1/3 Fear
Whenever Shadowmage Infiltrator deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card.
It never has quite lived up to its promise but its still a must-kill card if your opponent can't block it.
That's the look at black. Comments are very welcome as is you coming back to read the next installment. I'm hoping to post up more than one per day since I got such a late start. Three articles today which is a pretty fast start.
Here is the bonus deck for Standard (but not recommended for Regionals) which I promised:
32 Relentless Rats
4 Loxodon Warhammer
24 land
You might notice the manabase is a little vague. I'm considering a number of different lands. It can probably take four colorless land without any major problems.
Arena
Desert
Leechridden Swamp
Mutavault
Scrying Sheets
Spawning Pool
Swarmyard
Terramorphic Expanse
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Zoetic Cavern
Snow-Covered Swamp
As I mentioned in previous article in the series, I'm also doing deck clinics. So if you want me to write and take a look at your non-netdeck for regionals, pm me or post it in the comments if that's easier. If your deck isn't for regionals, note that along with anything special like whether its for a duel or multiplayer, whether you are on a budget, any cards you already own that you think maybe should be in the deck, etc.
Tags: Magic Standard Regionals Review Casual Clinic Tournament
Related to:
Magic: the Gathering
