Having now played at prerelease weekend, I have had a chance to use some of the great new cards from the MTG set Ixalan. This means that I have begun to get a feel for the cards that I really like and will most likely use in the coming weeks and months.
Last week I looked at white and blue, so today it is the turn of black.
Anointed Deacon
Bishop of the Bloodstained
Blight Keeper
Bloodcrazed Paladin
Initially I dismissed vampires as I was so desperate to plan pirates. This card however I really like. Creatures with flash are always nice as it means you can leave casting the creature til the last possible moment. It has the potential to be a good sized creature for a very low casting cost. I also like the idea of casting this off the back of a Yahenni's Expertise.
Boneyard Parley
Contract Killing
Costly Plunder
Dark Nourishment
Deadeye Tormentor
Deadeye Tracker
I am looking at building a pirate deck and this feels like a contender for the one drop. Its ability to explore is very usefully and also will enable the creature to get bigger. With a Shadowed Caraval on turn two there is the potential for two things getting bigger. The problem is potentially the amount of cards in the graveyard and against some decks there may be a limited amount of opportunity. My current attempts to build a standard mill deck now that startled awake has rotated out may lead me towards a pirate based strategy and I have been looking at this with Navigator's Ruin.
Deathless Ancient
Desperate Castaways
Dire Fleet Hoarder
Dire Fleet Interloper
Dire Fleet Ravager
Menace and Deathtouch on a 4/4 body seems very good. Each player losing a third of there life is also a very interesting prospect and feels ideal for a red/black very aggressive deck. My problem is that there are other 5 drops that I would prefer to play. It feels like something that I may come back to but currently is not going to make it to my pirate deck.
Duress
Fathom Fleet Captain
This seems very strong. It should be in a position to attack very quickly and start to build a pirate army. It obviously works well with other Raid cards.
Fathom Fleet Cutthroat
Grim Captain’s Call
Heartless Pillage
Kitesail Freebooter
This card I saw used a great deal and anything that can remove a card from a players hand is always good. The issue here is protecting the freebooter. It is a flyer and feels like it wants to attack, but will it just get removed very quickly to get the card that was lost back?
Lurking Chupacabra
March of the Drowned
Mark of the Vampire
Queen’s Agent
Queen’s Bay Soldier
Raiders’ Wake
Revel in Riches
Alternative win! I always love the idea of an alternative win especially it is going to be difficult to set up. I like this card and really want to make it work. If I get some then this feels like it is going to be my silly deck for this season.
Ruin Raider
Card advantage is great. I am just not sure if this is survivable. Its another one of those cards that I think I may return to. I really need to look at the other cards in the set. There is a lot of lifelink so maybe.
Ruthless Knave
Sanctum Seeker
This I love and at 4 mana seems very strong. Life drain plus attacking damage most likely on creatures that have lifelink anyway, what is not to like?
Seekers’ Squire
Skittering Heartstopper
Skulduggery
Skymarch Bloodletter
Spreading Rot
Sword-Point Diplomacy
I saw this card played a few times and in all occasions it gave 2 or three cards. It seems like a win/win and at 3 mana seems to have a lot of potential.
Vanquish the Weak
Vicious Conquistador
Another great vampire, effectively a 2/2 or 1 with a guaranteed 1 damage when it attacks.
Vraska’s Contempt
This card should get some play, at four mana it answers a lot of potentially big problems. Seems like a strong sideboard card in black.
Walk the Plank
I like Walk the Plank simply because of its name. It seems like a strong sideboard card in black and kills a lot of creatures for two mana.
Wanted Scoundrels
Let me know what you favourite black cards are and what ideas you have on your new standard deck.
