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Continuing the upward trend in power, it might surprise a lot of people that I consider Black to be the second most powerful color in ME3. It does, after all, have the two best pieces of removal in the set (Ghostly Visitation and Demonic Torment) as well as very solid creatures. However, what Black lacks is consistency. Most of its cards require a heavy color commitment in order to function, and they also require substantial sacrifice. This would be acceptable if Black had good creatures and life gain to back up all that commitment, but in general it does not. All of its common level creatures are small and usually do not make much of an impact on the game, leaving it very dependent on pairing with Red or Blue in order to get large legends later on.
That being said, Black is undoubtedly the best of the support colors in this format. It offers excellent, splashable removal, good early drops and enables Blue and Red to gain access to some superb legends later on. Black is generally splashable as well outside a few key cards, enabling even enemy colors to get one or two Black removal spells in the mix. As such, they go very early, and they should. But that means that players who are leaning on Black as a primary color will need to learn how to make due with lesser removal, and rely heavily on Black's strengths.
For those of you who haven't read my evaluations before, I use a simple A-F rating system with A being first-picks and F being unplayables. S designates a card that belongs in the sideboard or requires a deck to be built around it in order to function.
All Hallow's Eve - The flavor, illustration and behavior of this card are awesome, but that's about all it has going for it in Draft. The fact that the card has parity means that not only do both you and your opponent get all of your creatures back, but they get to attack with them first, unless you give your guys Haste somehow. It's thus very hard to 创break创 this card in limited, because you're almost always going to get a bum deal. This card really begs to be in a Dredge deck in Constructed. - F
Ashes to Ashes - Five life is a lot to swallow. Five life is often the difference between victory and defeat, and it also means that this card is very difficult to cast late in the game when you want to cast it most. But don't sell it short. It's one of the few Black removal spells which can target Black creatures, and the immense size of the creatures in the format means you are almost always losing five life to take eight or more power off the board. the fact that it prevents reanimation is also very strong. Pick this highly if you can play it. - A
Banshee - This card is difficult to rate, honestly. Repeatable removal isn't bad, but life gain is at a premium in this set and you often need to kill very big creatures in order to win. But the set is so slow that often you can slap down the eight mana to kill a 4/4 without having to worry. I think every deck running a lot of black needs to have at least one Banshee because at the very least it's able to clear out small men efficiently and can often get in those last few points or even force a tie. - B
Carrion Ants - I honestly think the Ants are Black's best creature, and may possibly be the best creature in the format. The big creatures in this set are slow and very inefficiently costed, meaning that if you have six mana open, odds are the Ants can easily attack into and kill an opposing creature that costs six mana. Yes, the Ants tie up your mana when they attack or block, but often just the threat of their presence forces your opponent to overextend or otherwise make mistakes. The only real way to deal with the ants is to block with a large number of creatures at once, enough to swamp them, but that's hard to do when they're hitting for five or six a turn. The Ants' ability to take in any color mana when being pumped is very important since Black can't play alone, and that really goes a long way to letting it dominate in this format. I sometimes even pick the Ants over removal, they're that good. - A
Cosmic Horror - Being a 7/7 for six mana, this is actually the most efficiently costed giant in the format. His First Strike ability means that he's very difficult to block since no single creature can stand in his way, and often he's very hard to stop. The fact that he ties up the mana is not insignificant, though. He forces you to choose between him and the creatures you might otherwise cast, and even though he's very good he will definitely set you back if you are racing. That being said he can kill an Elder Dragon Legend without flinching, so if you are running a heavy Black deck you will want this guy very much. Just learn how to play around him, and be sure you have a good board before laying him on the table, because it will be quite some time before you can cast spells again. - A
Demonic Torment - I'm really torn as to whether this or Ghostly Visit is the best removal spell in the format. Ghostly Visit has fewer targets, but the removal is much more permanent. Demonic Torment also is of no use against utility creatures. But they are both very strong and very splashable, and the only removal that's of much use against the big Legends. - A
Desperate Charge - This card goes around late, and for good reason. In this format you are likely to only attack with one or two creatures, and a black Trumpet Blast is rarely worth the trouble (come to think of it, so is Trumpet Blast, even in a faster format with more creatures). It's not unplayable, especially in decks focusing on lots of small black creatures (like Black Speed) but it doesn't have a home anywhere else. - D
Evil Presence - This card doesn't affect the board and rarely manages to cancel out someone's splash. Even if it does, odds are they can get along fine without it or simply get another land/mana source to continue the splash. - F
Famine - When I first saw this card I dismissed it for the most part since ti doesn't hit that four damage threshold. But I was wrong to do so. Famine is, of course, most at home in a controlling deck which requires a nice clean early board. I've been really impressed at how Famine can set back Little Green Men, Minotaurs and Black Speed since it will kill all their creatures, leaving only large Legends unscathed. I'm not saying it's an ideal first pick, but it's a solid card which should not be discounted. - B
Fevered Strength - Ironically even though this can only target one creature, it's much better than Desperate Charge. Why? Because it replaces itself, and it's an instant, meaning that very often you can turn something into a trade out of the blue without the cost of a card. In such a slow format, that can mean the difference between winning and losing. It's not a card you want many of, but in a format so devoid of combat tricks it's a nice surprise, especially since it's in the 创wrong创 color. - C
Ghostly Visit - See my comments on Demonic Torment. It's removal, it's cheap, it's splashable, pick it highly. - A
Ghosts of the Damned - Overcosted and small, Ghosts requires heavy color commitment in a color that's rarely played, and is only worthwhile if you have three or four of them out so that they can shrink opposing creatures down to zero. And really, there are much better three drops out there. - F
Grim Tutor - At three mana this is a reasonably expensive tutor, but the format is often bomb dependent and so it's still a very strong card. It can get you your splash mana, it can get you your bomb, it can get you whatever you want but it'll cost you three life to do so. In such a slow, lumbering format it remains strong, even if in Classic it's much too expensive. - A
Hellfire - I was on the fence about this card until I saw the 创Nonblack Creatures创 part. Black's creatures are, on the whole, rather weak, and so they aren't played much. That means you can usually get them easily and late, especially Wei Infantry and Young Wei Recruits. Getting enough turns Hellfire into a one-sided Wrath of God, which is certainly worth losing a lot of life over. It's still a very awkward card and you have to play around it, but if you play it right it will almost always allow you to win, especially if it leaves your Legends unscathed. - A
Lesser Werewolf - Most people dismiss this guy out of hand. And don't get me wrong, he's not that great. But the thing is, he allows you to shrink down big men to a reasonable size, even when he's chump blocking. Don't forget that you can stack his ability before the combat damage step, often allowing you to kill even small First Strike creatures before they do combat. He's at his most strength in multiples, where two or three of them can work together and shrink down an opposing monster and kill it before it does any damage. Lesser Werewolf is a very strong defensive card, and you should pick up as many as you can if you're going for a Black-biased Control deck. - C
Mind Twist - This card is kind of awkward in that you have to wait for the right moment to play it such that it maximizes the discard, although the longer you wait, the smaller your opponent's hand will be. I generally find that this is best played on turn four or five, when you can hit for 3-4 cards and really crush them, especially since the Twist forces them to discard at random, meaning they almost always lose their best cards. It's very strong, just weigh your options and get the most of it. Often a Mind Twist on turn 4 can end the game before it's started. - A
Nether Void - All this does is slow things down, since most of the time players will only be playing one spell per turn, and the casting costs of those spells will be very high. I've tried using Nether Void in a black speed deck to lock down the board after I've thrown out some small men, but even then it wasn't very effective. It's still not unplayable, it just needs a deck built around it, along with possibly some way to destroy it so that you can begin casting spells again. - D
Spirit Shackle - If you're playing heavy or near-mono Black you will find that the Ghostly Visits and Demonic Torments you need are somewhere else, leaving you to rely on these. Spirit Shackle isn't terrible, but it's really only good at taking out small utility and offensive creatures. Its ability to shrink big men rarely results in an even trade, but often it's the only way to turn a chump into a trade. - C
Stolen Grain - I rank this closely behind Carrion Ants as Black's best spell. A ten point life swing in such a slow format is a very big deal, and more often than not Stolen Grain allows you to finish the game a turn early, or last an extra turn. It can't pull your bacon out of the fire, but it's a really, really good card, enabling you to return to the fight out of nowhere while seriously hurting your opponent. - A
Takklemaggot - There are some pieces of removal that are never worth having. Takklemaggot is one of them. It will take many turns before it destroys an opposing creature, and then it will leap on over to one of your own guys, or worse, onto you. Takklemaggot is completely unplayable, don't be deceived by the fact that it's 创removal.创 It's not. - F
The Abyss - In an episode of Drafting With Oliver on Starcitygames.com, Oliver Ruel early picked The Abyss and built a deck around it which revolved around strong spells backed up by Coal Golems and other expendable creatures. It did very well, as you might imagine. The Abyss is the ultimate control card, and while I think it ranks below the Ants and Grain as the best card in Black, it is certainly the best control card. It allows you to keep the board clean so you can focus on playing powerful spells, and since no one else will want Coal Golem (which is pretty bad, really) you may be able to have a board with nothing but a few 3/3s on it, all of which you control. - A
The Wretched - It's able to fight a 4/4 and not only live, but steal it for later. Its high toughness means it must be gang-blocked in order to be stopped, but its ability makes your opponent very hesitant to block it. Still it's not the greatest creature, because two damage can easily be shrugged off, and often it can still be blocked in a group big enough to kill it. It's a lot of fun in the late game, though, where your opponent will be forced to chose between taking damage and having to fight their own creatures later on. - B
Wei Elite Companions - Black's best Horsemanship creature, it's expensive but it can fight and trade with most of the other Horsemanship creatures, making it not the worst Horsemanship creature around. A solid creature made worthwhile only by its evasion ability. - B
Wei Infantry - A small man in a fast format, Wei Infantry goes around unwanted for a long time. Its only real home is in a Black Speed deck, since no one else will want it. It's not a bad creature, and if you are running black you will invariably run them for mass. - C
Wei Night Raiders - Though expensive and slow, the Night Raiders are great for forcing pressure on your opponent and preventing them from holding combat tricks and big Legends. One of Black's stronger creatures, it gets even better in the Control matchup, forcing your opponent's hand size down at the worst possible moment. Not super-strong, but definitely something you want to pick up if you're heavily in Black. - B
Wei Strike Force - The worst of the Horsemanship creatures, he is nonetheless playable purely because he is cheap and has evasion. He's not bad, but he dies to every other Horsemanship creature and trades with only a handful of them. You could want for a better three drop, but at least he goes around late so you can include him as a mass creature. - C
Xiahou Dun, the One-Eyed - Only marginally better than Wei Strike Force in my eyes. Yes, you get a bit more power and toughness, but that extra B in the casting cost makes him harder to splash, and as no Horsemanship creature has an attack power of 1, it means that every time he fights, he trades. His secondary ability is only marginally useful since it can't be used at instant speed, but at least he can return a bomb like Carrion Ants or Stolen Grain in the right situation. - C
Young Wei Recruits - A mass creature added when you are playing a control black or speed black deck where their inferiority doesn't matter much. They're just barely playable since they are so small and can't chump block. - D
Black has a lot of the strongest spells and enchantments in the set but all of its common-level creatures are pathetic, used only due to a lack of better alternatives and only in very specific decks. It's best used as a support color for removal and a few early game creatures, but it's best creatures and spells demand a heavy commitment to Black as a primary color, which weakens it overall. I find that Black is most best paired with Blue, which enhances its tendency towards Control while still opening up options in terms of big legends. When paired with Red it is often critically short on good creatures, and while it has a strong early game it lacks late-game impact.
Luke Collins
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