Death may be inevitable, but in Commander, Black makes it profitable.

In Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Black gets a potent arsenal of graveyard tricks, board wipes, value engines, and sac payoffs that'll have reanimator players grinning and aristocrats whispering, "yes, more blood." I've put together a list that includes slow-burn incremental damage to devastating mass recursion cards that offer both utility and blowout potential. Here are the top 5 wickedly mean cards that deserve a spot in your swamp-centric commander decks.

5. Within Range

We start off with Black's version of Hellrider: Within Range.

When you attack, each opponent loses life equal to the number of creatures attacking them. That's pseudo-evasion, passive damage, and group drain rolled into one. It stacks absurdly well in decks that go wide with tokens or repeatedly attack with fodder--think Marrow-Gnawer, Tymaret, or Isshin, Two Heavens as One.

It even gives you two red 1/1s to get the pain train a-chuggin'.

• Best in: Aristocrats, token decks, go-wide aggro
• Synergy: Ophiomancer, Endrek Sahr, Caesar, Legion's Emperor
• Why it's #6: Efficient and annoying, but not always explosive. A solid support card that helps close games subtly.

4. Tip the Scales

One of the nastiest new sac-based board wipes we've seen in a while. This is a Toxic Deluge variant that doesn't require you to pay life into it.

For just three mana, you sacrifice a creature and give all creatures -X/-X until end of turn, where X is the toughness of what you sacked. Unlike typical wipes, this scales with what you feed it--meaning you can nuke indestructible creatures, regenerating creatures, or massive boards if you happen to pitch a high-toughness defender or a beefy token.

It's perfect in aristocrats, tokens, and sac-outlet-heavy builds. And you get bonus points if you sac a creature with a death trigger on top.

• Best in: Aristocrats, Orzhov or Golgari grindy decks, reanimator strategies
• Combo: Pair with Tree of Redemption, Kokusho, the Evening Star
• Why it's #5: Low cost, high ceiling. Great in the right build but needs setup to shine.

3. Scavenger Regent

A 4-mana flying 4/4 with ward is already decent--but the real value lies in its built-in boardwipe.

The Exude Toxin Omen lets you cast it as a sorcery for X and 2 Black mana, sweeping the board by giving each non-Dragon creature -X/-X until end of turn. In decks that already run a few Dragons or just need flexible wipes that scale, this card is outstanding.

The ward--discard a card--also helps protect it in grindy metas where people love spot removal. And once you're ahead, you can cast it as a creature and start beating in the air.

• Best in: Dragon kindred, Dimir/Orzhov control, Rakdos midrange
• Why it's #4: Flexible design, creature + spell split, and scales into the late game.

2. Sidisi, Regent of the Mire

This Zombie Snake Warlock is part Birthing Pod (for the graveyard), part reanimator--and she doesn't just play well in combo builds, she asks to be broken.

Sidisi lets you tap, sac a creature with mana value X, and reanimate a creature with mana value X + 1 from your graveyard. That's a straightforward recursion engine with combo potential and synergies galore. In decks with recursion loops, token fodder, or ETB/LTB payoffs, Sidisi becomes a Black mana machine.

She's also cheap to cast at just two mana, meaning you can drop her early and begin your dark machinations.

• Best in: Mono-Black toolbox, Dimir graveyard decks, combo builds
• Why it's #3: Compact, powerful, and deeply synergistic. This is a new Black staple waiting to happen.

1. Afterlife from the Loam

A one-card necromantic power play, Afterlife from the Loam is the kind of spell that doesn't just swing games--it steals them.

For seven mana--or much less, thanks to delve--you grab a creature from each player's graveyard and put them all onto the battlefield under your control. Not only does this break parity, it turns your opponents' graveyard threats into your personal undead army. They become Zombies, too, which is extra gas in kindred decks like Wilhelt, Gisa and Geralf, or any deck running Lord of the Accursed or Liliana's Mastery.

But the real value is in how this scales with the game. The longer it goes, the better the graveyards get. In a grindy pod, this card becomes a one-spell highlight reel: Avenger of Zendikar, Sun Titan, and--oh no--Consecrated Sphinx? Thanks, everyone.

It's also political--targeting an opponent's dead combo piece or key beater can flip alliances, sow chaos, or just remove threats by owning them.

• Best in: Zombie kindred, reanimator, self-mill
• Deck fit: Gisa and Geralf, Muldrotha, the Gravetide, Meren of Clan Nel Toth
• Why it's #1: High impact, multi-deck utility, and dripping with flavor. It's a Black spell that feels dangerous--in the best way possible.

Grave Intentions

Black's new cards in Tarkir: Dragonstorm dig deep--into the grave, into your opponents' boards, and into nasty combo lines you can scheme up.

These cards offer something for every flavor of Black mage. Scalable sweepers that get around indestructibility? Check. Reanimation and recursion for maximum value? Yep. These are silver bullets that will help you tighten your grip and drag the table down with you into the abyss.