Is Black back from the dead?

[Gizmo]

Ill be using the novel ratings system of:
:'( - Its so bad it makes me cry
:-( - Its poor
:-| - Its servicable. Might see some play
- Its actually pretty good, should see extensive use.
- Wa-Hey! I like this guy.

and also

:-? - Dunno how good this will be.
- OMG! This looks like it could be a problem card.

All ratings are given for standard without paying more than 3 seconds thought to what the card does. Cards might be good in other formats and I might mention that, but mainly Im talking about standard.


Afflict :'(

Bloodcurdler :'(

Braids, Cabal Minion (rare) :-|

Buried Alive :-|

Cabal Inquisitor :-(

Cabal Patriarch :-|

Cabal Shrine :-(

Caustic Tar :-(

Childhood Horror :-|

Coffin Purge :-|

Crypt Creeper

Cursed Monstrosity :'(

Decaying Soil

Decompose :-(

Diabolic Tutor :-|

Dirty Wererat :-(

Dusk Imp :'(

Entomb :-(

Execute :-|

Face of Fear :-(

Famished Ghoul :-(

Filthy Cur

Fledgling Imp :'(

Frightcrawler :-(

Ghastly Demise :-|

Gravedigger :-(

Gravestorm (rare) :-?
BBB
Enchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, target opponent may remove a card in his or her graveyard from the game. If that player doesn't, you may draw a card.

In theory this is good played early. But also in theory if your opponent isnt recurring his graveyard and is continuing to play spells, then its not going to have much impact. I think it needs testing - its not a one-sided Howling Mine and the question will be how much you need to use it to make the investment worthwhile

Haunting Echoes (rare)
3BB
Sorcery
Remove all cards in target player's graveyard other than basic land cards from the game. Search that player's library for all cards with the same name as cards removed this way, and remove them the game. Then that player shuffles his or her library.

It costs 5. I always said that as soon as Dark Ritual got taken from T2 you`d see them start to print all the really powerful 4 and 5cc black cards that they couldnt print while you could cast them turn 2 and 3. Here is the first of them. And WOW. It does a hell of a lot. A HELL of a lot. Makes you wonder about a black-incorporated Millstone deck. Makes you wonder a lot of things. Its blatantly powerful but it doesnt affect the board, first task then is to put it in a deck that can keep you alive long enough for this to win the game for you.

Hint of Insanity :-(

Infected Vermin :-(

Innocent Blood (common)
B
Sorcery
Each player sacrifices a creature.

Edict. You lose a creature. They lose a creature. It costs less though, and if youve no creature to lose..... Its obviously based on what deck you put it into, but its a powerful card in the creatureless or Nether Spirit deck.

Last Rites (common)
B2
Sorcery
Discard any number of cards from your hand. Target player reveals his or her hand, then you choose a nonland card from it for each card discarded this way. That player discards those cards.

This feels powerful to me. Its built-in disadvantage (you discard X + Last Rites to make them discard X) but if you can draw even a few more cards this is devastating. I liked Abandon Hope when it cost more than this to cast, and now that it costs less, it targetted discard, and you dont lose cards if they counter it... I think its straight up great.

Malevolent Awakening :-(

Mindslicer (rare)
2BB
Creature - Horror
When Mind Slicer is put in a graveyard from play, each player discards his or her hand.
4/3

WOW! Another card they cant make with Ritual around. This guy says "wanna Wrath me? are you SURE you wanna Wrath me?". AMAZING!

Mind Burst :-|

Morbid Hunger :'(

Morgue Theft :-(

Mortivore :-|

Nefarious Lich (rare) :'( :-?
BBBB
Enchantment
If you would be dealt damage, remove that many cards in your graveyard from the game instead. If you can’t, you lose the game. If you would gain life, draw that many cards instead. When Nefarious Lich leaves play, you lose the game.

OK, Ive read this card a few times now. All it really seems to do is give you another three ways to lose the game. I understand that you play it when youve loads in your graveyard and not much in your deck, but it still will only keep you alive for a brief period more. And they can kill it to kill you. And if you gain loads of life you deck yourself!
On the other hand.
It could be used to draw cards abusably in a combo or other - surely you can make as much synergy between lifegain and card drawing here as you could with Yawgmoths Bargain? And it can be seen as something like 'gain 20 life' if you play it late against a deck that cant Disenchant it.
This is a card that needs a deck to be put into. If that deck exists it is powerful. I think the ideal way is to play it in a deck that rapidly casts spells (filling the GY to prevent damage) and also gains life to allow you to play it like a Necro. Potentially amazing if the deck exists to play it in.

Overeager Apprentice :'(

Painbringer :-(

Patriarch’s Desire :'(

Repentant Vampire :-(

Rotting Giant (uncommon)
1B
Creature - Zombie Giant
Whenever Rotting Giant attacks or blocks sacrifice it unless you remove a card in your graveyard from the game.
3/3

Reminiscent of Barrow Ghoul, except I think potentiall better. I like him more than Minotaur Explorer.

Sadistic Hypnotist

Screams of the Damned :-(

Skeletal Scrying (uncommon)
XB
Instant
As an addition cost to play Skeletal Scrying, remove X cards in your graveyard from the game.
You draw X cards and you lose X life.

Its an Instant. Thats good. Its uncommon. Thats also good. I think this card is very good so long as you can rapidly supply the cards for your graveyard

Skull Fracture :-(

Stalking Bloodsucker :-|

Tainted Pact (rare) :-?
1B
Instant
Remove the top card of your library from the game. You may put that card into your hand unless it has the same name as another card removed this way. Repeat this process until you put a card into your hand or you remove two cards with the same name, whichever comes first.

A bad Demonic Consultation. Its less useful as finding THE card you want, but should be ok so long as your deck doesnt have like 16 Swamps in.

Tombfire :'(

Traveling Plague :-(

Whispering Shade :-(

Zombie Assassin :-(

Zombie Cannibal :-(

Zombie Infestation (uncommon)
1B
Enchantment
Discard two cards from your hand: Put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token into play.

Know how I was saying, for the new Liche, that if you had some way of rapidly filling your GYard, and using loads of cards that you drew, it would be really good?

Zombify (uncommon) :-|
3B
Sorcery
Return target creature card from your graveyard to play.


WOW!
I hope all those people whinging that black without Ritual was terrible are feeling pretty sorry for themselves. I SAID like eighteen months ago that the biggest problem black had was Dark Ritual, cos it was hampering new powerful cards from being printed. This is the first set in an environment completely without Ritual, and you get AWESOME black cards.

 

[Zadok001]

I love Black as a color, and I think it's REALLY strong now. I'm not as sure about Haunting Echoes are you are - I see it as a card that isn't good until turn 8 or so, so I'd never play more than one. And even then, it's BAD against most agressive decks, costing you five mana to do nothing to the board or your opponent's hand. It DOES follow up a dying Mind Slicer remarkably well, however.

I'd also like to add that Sadistic Hypnotist seems AMAZING to me, right now. Black as an enormous number of cheap and powerful creatures, and the Hypotist makes a great addition in ones or twos to agressive and mid-range black decks. Dropping the Hypnotist while you have a board advantage against control can allow you to force a discarded Wrath or other big solution while leaving you your best creature choices. I LOVE that guy.

Also, I'm NOT impressed by Innocent Blood. One of the best parts of Edict was its Instant status, letting you respond to a creature being played by Edicting away one already in play. Innocent Blood can't do that. Dissapointing. And I don't see a future for creatureless or near-creatureless decks in Type 2, so Innocent Blood will probably be ignored to a large extent. It's just not powerful removal.

 

[Duel]

BLACK IS STRONG.
Now if only they'd reprint the mother-loving disk!

4 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Last Rites (Ensnaring Bridge with this?!?)
4 Mindslicer (Or this?!?)
4 Millstone
4 Haunting Echoes
4 Oppression
4 Corrupt
4 Soul Feast
And/Or splash white for Death Grasp.....
4 Diabolic Tutor

And Land.....

I feel evil, oh so evil. I feel evil, and nasty, and maaaad!

 

[Hetemti]

I wasn't impressed by Filthy Cur. It's no Jackal Pup. I think it's gonna just be another Flesh Reaver. A nice idea, but to much of a drawback.

Gravestorm will be used mostly around Ritual as a way to pester your opponent and pick up a few cards. Otherwise, it's just too little to warrant a spot.

Haunting Echoes is another U/B combo deck. I don't like U/B combo.

Innocent Blood is great. A good almost-an-edict in any deck that doesn't employ weenies.

Last Rites' has a big problem. You lose cards. Want them back? Sorry, Gravestorm's busy right now...if you'd like to leave a message...

Mindslicer
A solid creature.

Nefarious Lich
Lich sucked. So does this.

Rotting Giant
Not bad...but you need him early, and that's when you have the least to feed him.

Skeletal Scrying
Somthing to help you save the day. Not something you want more than two of.

Tainted Pact
Nothin' special.

Zombie Infestation
Instant speed blockers are very, very good. They won't want to trade their main attacker for a couple swamps.

Zombify
The Black Breath of AfterLife. Limited, but decent if you bury something worth putting back into play.

Verdict: Black is playable again. Hooray.

 

[Gizmo]

I think Nefarious Lich is MUCH better than Lich. Your life total is not reduced to 0, so you can still absorb lifeloss spells/effects, and most importantly Nefarious Lich doesnt make you destroy cards you are about to use, only cards that you have already finished using.
Nefarious Lich is far superior in all respects. The biggest limiting factor will be using the cards you draw rapidly without the mana boost of Ritual.

 

[NeuroDeus]

Tainted Pact - Is not that good simply for the reason basic lands exist... imagine drawing a swamp and drawing another swamp... might get rid of a number of lands in the end of the game but still... in a Highlander it's a Demonic Consultation... might be played... lets see...

Gravestorm - U/B Deck with Gravestorm + Haunting Echoes/Traumatize combo... Pscychatog (you might even end up traumatizing your own deck)+Shadowmage Infiltrator... and Mindslicer for more kill... add some Undermine and voila... demon deck...

 

[Cateran Emperor]

Okay, you've got me admitting that I was wrong this once, so savor the feeling

Had I known black was getting these insane beasts of spells, I would have burnt my Rituals and danced on the Ashes. Black sorely needed some of everything, and they go it. Oh did they get it.

Got Mindslicers? Send them to me, along with various assorted discard things!

 

[Duel]

I honestly like ritual better. Sorry. Nothing will EVER replace that. Not Haunting Echoes, not Mindslicer, nothing.

 

[Spiderman]

Can anything replace Lightning Bolt? Or Ancestral Recall?

 

[Duel]

yeah, shock. And no.

But they print a spell
B
instant
Add BB to your mana pool

And I'll play it.

 

[Zadok001]

Boy, I wouldn't...

 

[Chaos Turtle]

...that I will not miss Dark Ritual one teeny tiny bit.

I love Odyssey. Huge fun in draft and sealed, and set to redefine how we think about long-held concepts such as card advantage and resource management.

 

[Mikeymike]

Nice write-up Gizmo, I pretty much share your sentiments exactly. A few of my thoughts on black in standard.

Ghastly Demise - Personally I feel this card is under-rated. It is removal which is dependent on the status of your graveyard which is a hindrance. But black has the best graveyard fillers in the game along with quality discard spells which should start to pile up in the graveyard. And its an instant for B.
In limited, I played 3 of this card and it was absolutely amazing every time I played it (even early) without a deck strategy to fall into.
No it doesn't belong in every black deck, but its a very good cheap removal spell that's worth a closer look.

Gravestorm - I think Gravestorm will be a very good metagame card when Odyssey first rotates in b/c many people are going to try to go rogue and build threshold and/or flashback decks. At worst its a graveyard hoser that can kill certain decks single handedly, at best it will net you cards in the process.
I think once particular decks start to establishment themselves this will fade somewhat, but will continue to show up maindeck and sideboard. Quick note: the first time Gravestorm removes a flashback card from the graveyard it has already paid for itself.

Tainted Pact - Its bad in mono-black, its very interesting in splash black being that its an instant. I think it can find a home tri-color decks, I'll at least try it.

Rotting Giant - Unless you cast Duress or Entomb turn 1, you can't cast him turn 2. This is a very big hole in his armor. But he's still a 3/3 for 1B with a relatively controllable disadvantage. Be careful though, steamclaw can kick his arse.

Skeletal Scrying - Screaming to go into W/B decks. You are giving up a lot to draw cards, but you are drawing A LOT of cards. Also follows up Mindslicer rather nicely (assuming its not in your hand when you have to discard ). Kudos to WOTC for printing this card, although I think it does have the potential to be broken.

Filthy Cur - I don't like him one bit, especially compared to the green and white hounds. Sure he is a 2 for 2, but his drawback is huge for a 2 drop. In the late game you can't even chump block with him. I think he will go up in play value with the next 1 or 2 expansions and it becomes a little easier to build mono-color decks. Right now I don't see a strong enough suicide black deck for him to go into.

Innocent Blood - A good card strictly in that it will kill Iridescent Angel in control decks. Great in Multiplayer. Could have been an instant though.

Decaying Soil - The more I look at this card the more I like it. It could be the foundation of a new Standard toolbox deck.

Childhood Horror - A 'fixed' scathe zombie, I really like this guy as a good midgame threat. And I really like the artwork.

Cursed Monstrosity - Can't think of why I would want to play this card. Will immediately find a home in my junk rare box.

Mindslicer - This guy has so much potential in many different types of decks, he's got 'abusive combo' tattoed all over his ugly mug. And he's a 4 power for 4. Seems to work very well with Decaying Soil, Malevolent Awakening and Innocent Blood. My favorite black card in Odyssey.
Question: How would its timing work with Diabolic Intent?

Hint of Insanity - Power potential, punishes players who like to hoard particular effects. Works nicely with Seer's Vision and Telepathy.

Nefarious Lich - This card makes me nervous, It has broken stupid combo deck written all over it. Thankfully its casting cost will scare many people away.

Odyssey will be known for its combo-locks and solid beatdown/tempo decks. It reminds me of Tempest block in many many ways.

Thumbs up.

Oh yeah, Creamate has just been relegated to power uncommon status.

And I agree whole-heartedly with WOTC's decision to remove Dark Ritual in Standard. Mana acceleration belongs in green, not in colors that can abuse that mana much more easily.

 

[EricBess]

Originally posted by Mikeymike
Mindslicer - This guy has so much potential in many different types of decks, he's got 'abusive combo' tattoed all over his ugly mug. And he's a 4 power for 4. Seems to work very well with Decaying Soil, Malevolent Awakening and Innocent Blood. My favorite black card in Odyssey.
Question: How would its timing work with Diabolic Intent?

Diabolic Intent
1B
As an additional cost to play Diabolic Intent, sacrifice a creature...

The creature is sacrificed on announcment, so the Mindslicer's ability will be added to the stack and resolve before the Diabolic Intent resolves. You will get to keep the card you get from Diabolic Intent in your hand.

As far as the Lich goes, the hard part is protecting it, but Zombie Infestation seems go to go with it and if you are looking for the combo, try Confessor. Self-replacement of the cards you discard is pretty good, isn't it?

 

[Duel]

Cursed monstrosity will find a home with me for it's flavor text alone.....