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Five Black Decks for Foundations Standard

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Hello everyone. We've reached the halfway point through my look at decks focused around a specific color of the Magic color wheel. This week we'll be looking at five different decks all featuring Black mana. Let's get started.

Mono-Black Midrange

I always begin with a mono-colored deck, so we'll start things off by looking at a Mono-Black deck that wants its opponent to draw cards. Let's take a look at the deck.


Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
Insatiable Avarice

I mentioned before the decklist that this deck wants its opponent to draw cards. Of course, that's really only true while you have Sheoldred, the Apocalypse in play. I've thought for a while now that Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is the best card in Standard, and this deck does nothing to convince me otherwise. You gain life when you draw a card, your opponent loses life when they draw a card, 4/5 stats, plus deathtouch. What's not to love?

Sheoldred has a partner in this deck that can help you end games quickly. That partner is Insatiable Avarice. For only three mana, you can force your opponent to draw three cards and lose three life. That's okay on its own, but if you have Sheoldred on the battlefield, suddenly your opponent will lose an extra six life. Nine points of damage to your opponent for only three mana is equivalent to targeting them with three Lightning Bolts, a spell that's supposedly too powerful for Standard.

Orzhov Vampires

Next, I have a Black/White deck that features a brood of powerful Vampires. Let's take a look at the deck.


Elenda, Saint of Dusk

Elenda, Saint of Dusk is a great addition to the Vampire kindred decks. While still being vulnerable to sorcery-speed removal, having hexproof from instants is a great ability. She also has lifelink and some decent stats, so whether she's attacking or blocking, you're sure to gain some life when doing it. As long as you have more than 20 life, she'll be a 5/5 and gain menace. If you manage to get your life total to 30 or above, she becomes a 10/10, making her a creature that must be dealt with at all costs.

It's very possible to get Elenda up to her maximum potential, as this deck has a number of ways to gain life. Nullpriest of Oblivion, Vampire Nighthawk, and Markov Baron all have lifelink. There's also Bloodthirsty Conqueror who pairs nicely with Bloodletter of Aclazotz, causing your opponent to lose twice as much life as they would normally lose which is returned to you as life that you gain.

Dimir Deck Steal

Next, we'll add Blue mana to look at a Dimir deck that wants to use your opponent's cards against them. Let's check it out.


Valgavoth, Terror Eater
Jace, the Perfected Mind

In order to defeat your opponent with their own cards, you'll need a couple of things. The first is a copy of Valgavoth, Terror Eater on the battlefield. Valgavoth places your opponent's cards into exile instead of their graveyard. He also allows you to play any cards exiled this way by paying life instead of mana to cast them. Obviously, you'll only want to cast your opponent's best spells, as you won't want to lower your life total too much.

Secondly, you'll need a way to ensure that cards get into your opponent's graveyard. This is done with the help of our friend, Jace. When you cast Jace, the Perfected Mind, you can immediately mill your opponent's deck of anywhere from 9 to 15 cards, depending on whether you paid for his Phyrexian mana with life. With a bit of luck, you'll mill something you can use to defeat your opponent, otherwise you might need to cast another Jace in the future.

Rakdos Dragons

The next deck I have for you is another typal deck. This one focuses on Dragons, a very popular creature type. Let's take a look at the deck.


Terror of the Peaks

Dragons typically have a high mana value, making it nearly impossible to have a deck that is truly focused on Dragons. However, this deck is a little different. While it is true that there are a pair of Overlord of the Balemurk that are not Dragons, the remaining 10 creatures in this deck are all Dragons, and all of them have a mana value of either 5 or 6. You'll want to use the removal spells in this deck to keep the battlefield as clear of threats as possible until you're able to bring some Dragons into play.

A great way of getting your huge Dragons into play is to discard them to your graveyard with the help of such spells as Bitter Triumph and Bitter Reunion. Once you have a suitable Dragon in your graveyard, you can then cast Zombify to move that Dragon from your graveyard onto the battlefield. Plus, if you haven't already used them to destroy your opponent's tapped creatures, there's a pair of Push // Pull in this deck. The Pull side can be used to return up to two creatures from either player's graveyard to the battlefield for the turn. If your opponent has some good creatures that you can take advantage of, don't hesitate to use their own cards against them.

Golgari Poison Deathtouch

The final deck I have for you pairs up a couple of keywords to create a deck that your opponent is likely to have trouble facing. Let's check out the deck.


Fynn, the Fangbearer

Fynn, the Fangbearer has been one of my favorite creatures for a few years now. While Fynn is on the battlefield, if a creature you control that has deathtouch deals damage to a player, that player gets two poison counters. This creates a problem for your opponent. Since most creatures with deathtouch don't have a high power value, your opponent can generally let those creatures go unblocked. But by adding in poison, they can't do this too often, otherwise the poison will consume them.

Once your opponent starts blocking your creatures in order to avoid gaining poison counters, you can begin targeting your creatures with spells such as Royal Treatment and Tyvar's Stand. Both of these spells will pump up your team, making them more viable threats when they attack, but more importantly, your opponent will gain a poison counter whenever a creature you control becomes the target of a spell while you have Venerated Rotpriest on the battlefield. This can be a great way of getting those remaining poison counters onto your opponent, finishing them off for good.

Wrapping Up

While Black is perhaps my least favorite color in Magic, there are certain things about it I have a fondness for. Sheoldred, the Apocalypse has some amazing abilities, making her one of my favorite creatures to play. I also love deathtouch and poison counters, so I'm looking forward to trying out the Golgari deck.

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

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