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AVR Set Review: Black

Overall Blue has a lot of reasons to be disappointed in Avacyn Restored. Traditionally Blue has turned to White for help in dealing with the permanents that resolved. However, that might already be too late, so Black is also a traditional counterpart to deal with threats before they are cast with the ability to also deal with creatures that have resolved. Of course, Black is a lot more than simply a foil for Blue. Let’s see what Black has to offer:

[card]Appetite for Brains[/card]:

The brother to [card]Inquisition of Kozilek[/card]. Inquisition is much better because it removes the cheap/efficient spells that most decks are built around. This is narrower, but will do a highly specific job, generally removing a Titan or other large threat. I don’t want to downgrade on [card]Appetite for Brains[/card]. It is a fairly narrow card that does a specific job. Nothing more. The real problem is that the discard has always had: It cannot stop spells off the top. We used to have countermagic to deal with such things, but, well…

[card]Barter in Blood[/card]:

Reprint. By each player I really mean everyone who isn’t me. Unfortunately cards like [card]Lingering Souls[/card] and [card]Gather the Townsfolk[/card] next level this pretty badly. It is a useful sideboard card against certain decks, but overall this is going to be highly inconsistent.

[card]Blood Artist[/card]:

A little cheeky in draft. Not relevant in constructed unless there is some kind of combo deck that creates and then sacrifices a slew of tokens, without otherwise winning the game.

Addendum: Holy crapspackle is this guy annoying. The only way he could be more annoying is if he were a zombie. When two creatures trade you gain 2 life and your opponent loses two life, all for a two drop. Trust me, it adds up.

[card]Bloodflow Connoisseur[/card]:

If this were meant for constructed play it wouldn’t be a 1/1 creature. In limited it has some uses, but won’t be an early pick. I liked it more when it cost one mana and couldn’t block.

[card]Bone Splinters[/card]:

Reprint. Ever get the sense that Wizards wanted to create an environment with a lot of cool creatures and no good ways of killing them?

[card]Butcher Ghoul[/card]:

This isn’t as awful as people have been saying. Sure, it is no [card]Young Wolf[/card], but it is still a decent two drop for Black in limited.

[card]Corpse Traders[/card]:

Some Hill Giants get major abilities. This gets… something. I’ll happily draft this, but it has no place in the realm of 60.

[card]Crypt Creeper[/card]:

Reprint. The Black answer to [card]Snapcaster Mage[/card]! How do ya like that Blue mage, outfoxed you this time! Oh, no blocks, I’ll take 2.

[card]Dark Impostor[/card]:

I’ll admit if this guy lives and you get to six mana you are in great shape, and the worst case scenario is that you spent three mana on a 2/2 creature. In a removal light environment that makes this a solid draft pick. Just make sure you don’t toss him away against White by attacking into [card]Righteous Blow[/card]. Oh, and if it wasn’t already immediately obvious, this has no place in constructed.

[card]Death Wind[/card]:

I suppose if you have enough mana, this can kill anything it can target, but it won’t be cheap or efficient.

[card]Demonic Rising[/card]:

Getting a 5/5 flying demon token for five mana is nothing special in a world of [card]Vapor Snag[/card]. The fact that it is conditional on me having exactly one creature makes this pretty awful. I know people have been talking about the return of Mono-Black control, but it is becoming increasingly clear that it is dead for a reason and this will do no part in bringing it back.

[card]Demonic Taskmaster[/card]:

The key here is that it doesn’t sacrifice [card]Demonic Taskmaster[/card]s, so it is a pretty cost efficient dude if it is the only creature you are planning on controlling during your upkeep. There are also some fringe benefits to controlling a demon. Note: this combos exceedingly poorly with [card]Demonic Rising[/card].

[card]Demonlord of Ashmouth[/card]:

[card]Vapor Snag[/card]. [card]Oblivion Ring[/card]. [card]Fiend Hunter[/card]. Yes, this is a pretty risky plan. The return on investment isn’t that bad, particularly if you can sacrifice a fellow undying creature. Having said that, the downside is just too large.

[card]Descent into Madness[/card]:

People have been referencing this with [card]Smokestack[/card], but I’m not sure the comparison is fair. Giving people the choice to use cards in hand means it is much harder to get a mana lock. Furthermore, the difference between four or five is pretty large. Finally, the cards are exiled, so certain potential combos are shut down. I’ll admit this combos very well with [card]Griselbrand[/card], but what doesn’t? [card]Descent into Madness[/card] seems pretty weak to me.

[card]Dread Slaver[/card]:

Five mana. Three power. Highly conditional ability. Fine, it blocks weenies. Weenies without evasion. That aren’t tokens. This guy would have been a decent uncommon. He’s a pretty crap rare.

[card]Driver of the Dead[/card]:

Returning a dead weenie to the battlefield is nice. Four mana for a 3/2 is mediocre. I guess he’s fine as a midpack draft pick.

[card]Essence Harvest[/card]:

A decent finisher if you have a large man, but why do you need this? If the large man is any good he should be the finisher de jour.

[card]Evernight Shade[/card]:

A bit slow, but he is very threatening and somewhat tricky to deal with. It will often be worth trying to go heavy Black if you get a couple of these. No relevance to constructed.

[card]Exquisite Blood[/card]:

Conditional lifegain for five mana. Utter trash rare.

[card]Ghoulflesh[/card]:

-1/-1 is fine for one mana. There might be some small upside with the synergy with [card]Slayer of the Wicked[/card]. I guess that is all you can ask for a one mana spell.

[card]Gloom Surgeon[/card]:

Sadly the cards are exiled ([card]Misthollow Griffin[/card]?). It is only combat damage, so he still dies to ping effects. Worst of all, he is a Spirit so you lose the synergy with Zombie decks.

[card]Grave Exchange[/card]:

[card]Raise Dead[/card] is a surprisingly weak effect. Perhaps it hasn’t been pushed. This doesn’t seem to push it either as at best you get a two-for-one, but if the creature in your graveyard was that good I’d much rather reanimate her. I’m ok with this in limited since card advantage is hard to come by.

[card]Griselbrand[/card]:

The best Black card in the set. By far. Obviously we don’t want to pay Eight for him, but thankfully we don’t have to. Between [card]Faithless Looting[/card] and Liliana, we’ll have plenty of ways to discard him. [card]Unburial Rites[/card] and [card]Defy Death[/card] means we can now be assured of getting him back. In older formats he’ll be one of the best reanimation targets as well. While he doesn’t technically have an ETB effect, you will generally pay seven life and draw seven cards. At that point, try not to lose the game. 🙂

[card]Harvester of Souls[/card]:

I like this guy. Yeah, he is only a 5/5 and doesn’t bring a couple of zombies with him. Yeah, you can’t count on drawing too many cards with him. Yeah I don’t want to reanimate him, or pay six for him. But he’s a nice guy. He always buys the first round and never tries to big time the wait staff. I mean, I’ll never put him in a 60 card deck, but there should be more to that when we judge creatures, shouldn’t there? He has feelings. It isn’t his fault he has deathtouch. Next time you see an absolutely awful large creature, try not to judge by looks alone and get to know him or her. Or it.

[card]Homicidal Seclusion[/card]:

Just out of curiosity, when this card was playtested, what creature were they using this with. Sure, getting +3/+1 and lifelink is nice, but the same problems remain: If I have one creature, and I planned on having exactly one creature, why isn’t it winning the game by itself? Paying five mana for this just isn’t going to happen.

[card]Human Frailty[/card]:

On the margin this might push White beatdown decks away from the four drop humans and into the Angels. Same with the three mana options.

[card]Hunted Ghoul[/card]:

Black has much better 1 drop zombies.

[card]Killing Wave[/card]:

I’m not sure what to make of this. It hurts me too, and it gives my opponent the ability to pick and choose. Keep the Angel, leave the spirits. On the other hand, it affects everybody, so it is a potential EDH card. Right now I don’t see this as too relevant to mono-Black, but it might have a place in an aggressive BR deck.

Addendum: This has already wrecked me multiple times and the set hasn’t been released yet.

[card]Maalfeld Twins[/card]:

No thank you. I don’t want to get involved with this family… dispute? Tryst? Honestly, I have no idea, and I don’t want to know.

[card]Marrow Bats[/card]:

Splashable four power flyers aren’t the worst in draft. I think I might splash this into some Green decks.

[card]Mental Agony[/card]:

Do you remember that [card]Blightning[/card] was a common? This costs one more and deals one less, but having said that it is much better than the dreck we’ve been given lately.

[card]Necrobite[/card]:

Don’t try to bluff me with this, I won’t believe you couldn’t find a better 23rd card. If you have it and get a great trade, more power to you.

[card]Polluted Dead[/card]:

Aaron, I know you hate land destruction, but you don’t have to be a wise guy. Ignoring that, he is a 3/3 for five with an occasional upside. I think I’d rather deal three when my dude died, but thems the breaks.

[card]Predator’s Gambit[/card]:

[card]Unholy Strength[/card] with some potential upside. Of course, [card]Unholy Strength[/card] is pretty awful (There was a time long ago when we didn’t assume any enchanted creature would immediately die or be bounced). I can live with this as a 23rd card, particularly in an aggressive BR draft deck.

[card]Renegade Demon[/card]:

Shouldn’t a renegade demon be non-Black? Imagine a G/W demon. That would be a renegade. They were very clear; there are no rules in the pits. What exactly makes a demon a renegade?

[card]Searchlight Geist[/card]:

This is where the decision not to give Black soulbond really shows. Thematically I understand why, as Black creatures rarely have souls. Still, this guy would be a lot better with soulbond: deathtouch, instead of pay four: deathtouch.

[card]Soulcage Fiend[/card]:

You know what? If you are the beatdown, 3/2 for three isn’t awful, and having everyone lose three life isn’t awful. Decent draft pick in the right deck. If you get a few of these the games will end fast.

[card]Treacherous Pit-Dweller[/card]:

Only [card]Griselbrand[/card] has earned more reflection from me. A 4/3 for two is exceptional, especially in a Black deck. Of course, there is a catch. There is always a catch. So, what are our options? [card]Grafdigger’s Cage[/card] works, and even hoses some other cards/decks. However, it is also often a mulligan, and those are bad, mmmkay? So, the next option is bounce. Bounce is versatile and will generally be efficient. Another option: Instant speed sacrifice effects with the trigger on the stack. Same thing with blink effects. Are these good ideas? I am going to start with a U/B zombies deck with bounce and Cage in the sideboard, and see how it plays. Oh, one other option: Give him a +1/+1 counter somehow.

Addendum: Bounce + instant speed sacrifice effects seems to be the best plan. Also, some decks simply don’t kill creatures, and he shines against them.

[card]Triumph of Cruelty[/card]:

If you want to have the highest power creature, you probably will. I need to wait at least two turns to get a fair return on investment. I don’t have that kind of patience/time.

[card]Undead Executioner[/card]:

Yeah, the removal in Avacyn Restored is bad.

[card]Unhallowed Pact[/card]:

When do I want this? Seriously? I generally put this on an opposing creature, and then kill it? I’d rather pay retail for a control magic effect. I suppose I can put this on my own dude for insurance. Even so, I’m still not playing this.

Even with absolutely nothing else, Black would have done exceedingly well just for getting [card]Griselbrand[/card]. Here are my Black top 5:

5. [card]Appetite for Brains[/card]
4. [card]Treacherous Pit-Dweller[/card] (on potential alone)
3. [card]Killing Wave[/card]
2. [card]Human Frailty[/card]
1. [card]Griselbrand[/card]

Really, only the #1 there is set in stone, and maybe [card]Demonic Taskmaster[/card] will find a home. Avacyn may have been the focus of the set, but [card]Griselbrand[/card] is the monster that matters.

Now, let’s take a moment to talk about the Helvault. I don’t know what is in it, but I know what I would have put in it had I been deciding for Wizards of the Coast. I would have put in [card]Griselbrand[/card] and Avacyn, either as cards, alternate art cards, or action figures. Thematically they are what is inside the Helvault. I am not judging Wotc for putting that or something else inside the Helvaults, and in general I think it is cool that they are adding value (fun!) to the prereleases.

Now, I’ll turn my attention to the forgotten color, Red.

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