The Extort is a nice touch, and the tap ability can either bring something of yours into play quicker, or keep your opponent’s counter-centric combos from going off too soon.
Mess with your opponent’s upcoming cards…good ability on a 1-mana creature! This is like a walking Throne of Bone, but for life loss instead of gain. You can either pump up this Shade and use it as a killing blocker, or you can ditch all the cards out of your hand and start swinging with it. (My boyfriend uses Sleeper Agent to great effect with Pillory of the Sleepless…argh! LOL) Yay for options!Ī Black creature giving first strike (traditionally a White ability)? WOW! And the +1/+0 is nice, too ?Īh, yes, this little lady is lethal when combined with enchantments that keep her from attacking and blocking for your opponent. It’s as good as Plague Beetle if you don’t multi-kick it, and if you do multi-kick it, it’s a HUGE upgrade. Give it flying for a few turns and you should have threshold for extra fun! This is better than it sounds–drain a life from EVERY opponent, AND potentially do some combat damage, too? Woot! (See Zodiac Rat for another example)ġ/1 fear is pretty strong for Black–great for getting through hordes of creatures (unless they’re artifact or black). Like Drainpipe Vermin, but this says “ditch at random”–a small but possibly more dangerous change for your opponent!Įxiling cards when tapped, and being able to untap when a black spell is played…how is this guy just 1 mana again?īecause Black can always use a touch of Lifelink, given all the “pay X life to do something awesome” types of spells.ġ/1 swampwalk is great for its cost, since Black has plenty of ways to make an opponent get a Swamp. (For a newer, Black/Red option, see Manaforge Cinder.) GREAT way to get Black mana early-game, especially if all you have are colorless or non-black mana sources. Level this guy up, and you get a pretty powerful creature removal tool!
And late-game, you can Channel this little guy to make them ditch four instead!Įqual-opportunity disadvantage–great for a group game, and just fine for a one-on-one game. Though its tap ability are pretty expensive, making an opponent ditch two cards is pretty fun. Great for boosting up another creature and sticking around! (And if you happen to run a little Green in your Black deck, all the better)Ī quick and cheap way to make your opponent ditch a card.Įxalted is rare enough to find in Black, let alone Exalted and Regenerate. Getting rid of lands, instants, and sorceries from the graveyard? NICE. Though it’s hybrid, there’s still plenty to interest a mono-Black deck here. If your deck already deals with a lot of “Sack this creature” effects, this would be a great little addition. Great for re-balancing life totals, or for gaining an advantage. Messing with graveyards is traditional Black territory–and for a 1-mana investment up-front, not bad! (For a newer reprint, see Rag Dealer.)įor 1 mana you have a creature whose power and toughness can snowball over several turns. Keep an opponent’s creature down for a turn with this one. When you just REALLY NEED that 1 extra mana.
Great for multi-color decks to balance out your mana. Good way to both fill up your graveyard and put your opponent at a disadvantage–even first turn! Play it first turn and activate it second turn for an early-game life-drain jumpstart. But there are some little 1-mana gems hiding away in Black! Check out the list below! (And don’t forget to check out the other colors I’ve profiled so far: White, Blue, Green, and Red.)Īll of the card images came from if you know of a 1-mana black creature that ought to be on this list and isn’t, let me know (nicely) in the comments! In Magic: the Gathering, Black is not necessarily known for its creatures, and usually what creatures it gets are not cheap to play.