Hello everyone. As we get another week closer to the release of Lorwyn Eclipsed, I continue my series of bringing you decks you can play now and in the first few weeks of our new Standard environment that all feature a specific color. Last week I showed you some Blue decks, so it's time to move through the color wheel to Black decks. Let's get started.

Mono-Black Ugin

The first deck I have for you features one of the most powerful planeswalkers currently in Standard. Let's take a look at the deck.

Mono-Black Ugin | TLA Standard | MtgMalone, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (2)
• 2 The Walls of Ba Sing Se

• Planeswalkers (4)
• 4 Ugin, Eye of the Storms

• Instants (7)
• 3 Zuko's Exile
• 4 Bitter Triumph

• Sorceries (10)
• 3 Deadly Cover-Up
• 3 Duress
• 4 Aang's Journey

• Enchantments (2)
• 2 The Rise of Sozin

• Artifacts (11)
• 1 The Eternity Elevator
• 2 Bandit's Haul
• 2 Planetarium of Wan Shi Tong
• 2 The Irencrag
• 4 Hedron Archive

• Lands (24)
• 16 Swamp
• 2 Fomori Vault
• 2 Fountainport
• 4 Adventurer's Inn

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Ugin, Eye of the Storms does a great job of keeping your opponent's side of the battlefield clear of any major threats. When Ugin enters the battlefield and whenever you cast a colorless spell, you'll be able to exile a permanent that is one or more colors. There's a lot of artifacts in this deck, and with the help of Ugin's 0-loyalty ability, you'll be able to exile a whole lot of threats.

That extra mana can also be used to cast spells like The Rise of Sozin. When this Saga transforms into Fire Lord Sozin, you'll have access to a ton of extra mana thanks to his firebending 3 ability. That mana can be used when Fire Lord Sozin deals combat damage to your opponent to return creature cards from your opponent's graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. There's no sweeter feeling than beating your opponent with their own creatures.

Orzhov Skeleton Enchantments

Next, I have an Orzhov deck that mashes up Black Skeletons with White Enchantments to create a powerful deck. Let's take a look at the deck.

Orzhov Skeleton Enchantments | TLA Standard | JayVillain, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (8)
• 2 Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER // Sephiroth, One-Winged Angel
• 2 Spellbook Vendor
• 4 Forsaken Miner

• Instants (2)
• 2 Stab

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 United Battlefront

• Enchantments (23)
• 2 Feather of Flight
• 2 Origin of Spider-Man
• 2 Seam Rip
• 2 Sheltered by Ghosts
• 3 Ethereal Armor
• 4 Case of the Stashed Skeleton
• 4 Corpses of the Lost
• 4 Nowhere to Run

• Lands (23)
• 5 Plains
• 5 Swamp
• 1 Realm of Koh
• 4 Bleachbone Verge
• 4 Concealed Courtyard
• 4 Godless Shrine

• Sideboard (7)
• 1 Ketramose, the New Dawn
• 1 Heartless Act
• 1 Requisition Raid
• 1 Authority of the Consuls
• 1 Obsessive Pursuit
• 1 Shardmage's Rescue
• 1 Tolls of War

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For the Skeleton portion of this deck, the key cards are Forsaken Miner, Case of the Stashed Skeleton, and Corpses of the Lost. Forsaken Miner is a creature that can return to the battlefield after being destroyed. Case of the Stashed Skeleton creates a Skeleton creature token that has menace. Corpses of the Lost also creates a Skeleton creature token when it enters play, plus it has a method where it can be returned to your hand. It also provides a +1/+0 boost plus haste for Skeletons you control.

For the Enchantment portion of the deck, you'll want to play as many Enchantments as possible. Feather of Flight provides evasion for a creature you control, and Origin of Spider-Man can provide double strike for a turn. Ethereal Armor is the big Enchantment you'll want to get into play, though, for the stat boosting effects it provides based on the number of Enchantments you control.

Dimir Midrange

Next, I have a Dimir deck that uses Ninja tricks to win. Let's check it out.

Dimir Midrange | TLA Standard | MTGA-Assistant-Meta, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (17)
• 2 Cecil, Dark Knight // Cecil, Redeemed Paladin
• 3 Enduring Curiosity
• 4 Deep-Cavern Bat
• 4 Floodpits Drowner
• 4 Spyglass Siren

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares

• Instants (8)
• 2 Into the Flood Maw
• 2 Spell Pierce
• 4 Bitter Triumph

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Deadly Cover-Up

• Enchantments (3)
• 3 Virtue of Persistence

• Artifacts (3)
• 3 Ninja's Blades

• Lands (24)
• 7 Island
• 7 Swamp
• 2 Restless Reef
• 2 Soulstone Sanctuary
• 2 Undercity Sewers
• 4 Gloomlake Verge

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While Kaito, Bane of Nightmares is in play, during your turn he is a 3/4 Ninja creature with hexproof. As the game progresses, Kaito can get stronger and stronger by using his +1-loyalty ability to create emblems that give Ninjas you control +1/+1. Unfortunately, Kaito is the only Ninja in this deck...

However, by equipping Ninja's Blades to a creature, you are able to add the Ninja type to that creature, allowing it to benefit from Kaito's emblems. That creature will also gain an ability that triggers when it deals combat damage to a player. This ability allows you to draw a card and then causes your opponent to lose life based on the mana value of a card you choose to discard. You might only need a couple of attacks to defeat your opponent with this equipment.

Rakdos Lizards

The next deck I have for you has been a great Standard deck for a while. Let's take a look at it.

Rakdos Lizards | TLA Standard | ACCILLESS, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (29)
• 1 Laughing Jasper Flint
• 1 Valley Flamecaller
• 3 Viashino Pyromancer
• 4 Fireglass Mentor
• 4 Flamecache Gecko
• 4 Gastal Thrillseeker
• 4 Gev, Scaled Scorch
• 4 Hired Claw
• 4 Iridescent Vinelasher

• Instants (4)
• 2 Burst Lightning
• 2 Scales of Shale

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Strategic Betrayal

• Lands (23)
• 2 Swamp
• 3 Mountain
• 1 Mudflat Village
• 1 Rockface Village
• 4 Blazemire Verge
• 4 Fabled Passage
• 4 Multiversal Passage
• 4 Starting Town

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Gev, Scaled Scorch is a terrific creature to get things rolling with. He's tough to destroy thanks to having a ward ability that requires your opponent to pay 2 life in order to target him. Your opponent will surely want to destroy him because he will be pinging your opponent for 1 point of damage each time you cast a Lizard spell. Since all of the creatures in this deck are Lizards, that damage will certainly add up. He also provides an additional +1/+1 counter to each other creature when they enter the battlefield.

You can keep Gev safe from harm with Scales of Shale. While this spell normally costs 3 mana, you can often cast it for a single Black mana since you'll probably have a decent amount of Lizards in play. Not only does this spell provide indestructibility to a target creature, but it also gives a +2/+0 boost, which might be just enough to finish off your opponent.

Golgari Elves

The final deck I have for you is another typal deck, but instead of focusing on Lizards, this one is all about Elves. Let's take a look at the deck.

Golgari Elves | TLA Standard | JayVillain, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (32)
• 2 Druid of the Cowl
• 2 Lathril, Blade of the Elves
• 4 Badgermole Cub
• 4 Beifong's Bounty Hunters
• 4 Dwynen's Elite
• 4 Elvish Archdruid
• 4 Imperious Perfect
• 4 Llanowar Elves
• 4 Tyvar, the Pummeler

• Instants (3)
• 3 Heritage Reclamation

• Enchantments (3)
• 3 Nowhere to Run

• Lands (23)
• 2 Swamp
• 9 Forest
• 2 Ba Sing Se
• 2 Cavern of Souls
• 2 Secret Tunnel
• 3 Blooming Marsh
• 3 Wastewood Verge

• Sideboard (7)
• 1 Craterhoof Behemoth
• 1 Assassin's Trophy
• 1 Bitter Triumph
• 1 Overprotect
• 1 Day of Black Sun
• 1 Maelstrom Pulse
• 1 Overrun

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Elves are known for mana acceleration, and this deck is no exception to that. Llanowar Elves and Badgermole Cub do a lot of heavy lifting, providing you with a boost to the amount of mana you are able to produce each turn, which in turn allows you to cast more powerful spells than your opponent. This deck also leans into a little bit of Earthbending, which will turn your Lands into Creatures. That will allow Badgermole Cub to create even more mana for you each turn.

The goal of this deck is to go wide, attacking with more creatures than your opponent can hope to block. You can create additional creature tokens with the help of Dwynen's Elite, Imperious Perfect, and possibly Lathril, Blade of the Elves. Lathril also has an ability that can be used to drain 10 points of life from your opponent, giving it to you in the process. Another way to finish things off is with Tyvar, the Pummeler's activated ability giving a power boost to all of your creatures.

Wrapping Up

Black is typically known for being able to destroy an opponent's creatures. However, when paired with other colors, it can do so much more. By using its usual removal alongside abilities other colors have, you're able to handle almost anything your opponent can throw at you.

What do you think of these decks? Feel free to share this article with your friends anywhere on social media. And be sure to join me here again next week as I continue my search for innovative decks in Standard. I'll see you then!

- Mike Likes