As darkness takes overMagic: The Gatheringfor another return to the plane of Innistrad, black mages can rejoice. The gothic horror-themed plane has always been the perfect place for dark and deadly spells to be slung in the name of demons, vampires, and the forces of evil.
Innistrad Remasteredbrings a selection of cards from every Magic expansion to take place in the terrible plane of Innistrad. If you play black, you’ll be spoiled for choice. There are so many good cards that it’s hard to just pick ten, but we’ve made a dark pact to bring you the ten best black cards in Innistrad Remastered.
10Killing Wave
Let none survive.
Killing Wave was a rare card in Avacyn Restored, but now it’s been bumped down to uncommon in Innistrad Remastered. That’s great for pauper Magic players asKilling Wave is one of the better black board wipes. The more mana you spend, the harder it is for players to keep anything alive. And with just one black mana required, it’s easy to splash into other colors, too.
It’s never great to give your enemies the option of losing life to save their creatures, butblack has plenty of ways to turn life loss to their advantage.
9Triskaidekaphobia
I got 99 problems, and 13 is one.
Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13, in case you didn’t gather that from the card text. With Triskaidekaphobia in the game,everyone with 13 life immediately loses the game, with the enchantment slowly bringing players ever closer to the deadly number.
This card is hilarious because it can surprise players in limited and Commander games. Just remember that Triskaidekaphobia also provides a consistent source of life gain or loss, depending on what your personal game plan is. And of course, avoid unlucky 13.
8Blood Artist
Paint it black.
Of all Magic’s colors, black mana has the easiest time killing things. Blood Artist pairs well with this tendency towards murder, providing you withconsistent life gain and your opponent’s with consistent life loss.
While Blood Artist is great on its own,combine it with other cards to turn it into an instant win. Warren Soultrade and Gravecrawler (another card you’ll find later in this list), for example, lets you bestow infinite life loss to every opponent.
7Gravecrawler
Back again.
You can’t keep a good Zombie down, and Gravecrawler is one of the best. For a single black mana, you get a 2/1 body that you cancast from your graveyard over and over again so long as you have the mana to do so(and you control another Zombie).
Gravecrawler works in multiple strategies. We’ve already talked about it beinga simple combo piecefor a sacrifice cost, but you can also use this walking corpse to gain infinite mana, damage, and more. Or you could just attack with him.One mana for two power is very efficient, and sometimes, efficiency is all you need.
6Griselbrand
Unlucky number seven.
Along with killing things, black mana is the color of forming unholy bargains with dark powers. Most often that’spaying life to draw cards—a trade that’s usually worth makinguntil it brings you to the brink of death.
What Griselbrand does is give you that dark bargain without the downside. Since Griselbrand has lifelink and deals seven damage, you technically lose nothing to draw those seven cards so long as he deals damage. Thisall-upside card is so good that it’s actually banned in Commander, which is probably all you need to know about how strong it is.
5Captivating Vampire
Charmed, I’m sure.
Along with Werewolves, Angels, and Zombies, Innistrad is just full of Vampires.Captivating Vampire is one of the best Vampires you can get, providing every other Vampire with a +1/+1 buff and—if you manage to play four other Vampires—the ability to steal your opponent’s creatures.
For three mana, Captivating Vampire is an extremely strong card, and especially so when paired with any of the myriad ways for you to gain multiple Vampire creature tokens. It’s no wonder thatCaptivating Vampire is found in so many Vampire-typal decks.
4Liliana of the Veil
Death’s majesty personified.
Perhapsone of the strongest Liliana’s ever printed, Liliana of the Veil costs but three mana to play and she demands immediate attention from opponents. Either she’ll cause you to sacrifice a creature, or she’ll start sucking cards out of everyone’s hands.
Liliana of the Veil isbest paired with a strategy to make use of all that discard, such as reanimationor delirium, but even if you don’t, getting Liliana of the Veil to six loyalty counters isn’t very hard to do, and it’s devastating to an opponent.
3Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord
All hail the Vampire king.
Our second planeswalker is built to facilitate Vampire-themed decks, which comes as no surprise as Sorin is a Vampire himself. Unlike most planeswalkers, however, Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord canuse his ‘ultimate’ ability the same turn he comes into play,bringing a Vampire from your hand directly to the battlefield.
There are a lot of big, scary vampires out there that cost way more than the three mana used to cast Sorin. And once that big Vampire is on the field, you can start buffing it with +1/+1 counters, deathtouch, lifelink, or sacrifice it to deal that last three damage you need to win the game.
2Bloodline Keeper
Less a family tree, more an ancestral river.
Speaking of big, scary Vampires, Bloodline Keeper arrives as a 3/3 flying body that keeps birthing 2/2 Vampire tokens and eventually becomes a 5/5 flying body that gives other Vampires +2/+2. Oh, and Lord of Lineage, as the other side of the card is called, alsokeeps pumping out 2/2 Vampire tokens. Why should a good thing end after flipping a card?
Along with Captivating Vampire, Bloodline Keeper isone of those must-have cards for any Vampire-themed deck. This card’s power cannot be overstated.
1The Meathook Massacre
Because chainsaws hadn’t been invented yet.
You’ll see The Meathook Massacre in many Magic formats, from casual to competitive, for one simple reason:this card is incredibly flexible. Play it for just two mana and you’ve got an enchantment that provides consistent life gain for you and life loss for your enemies. It’s like an investment in your future.
But where The Meathook Massacre really shines is later in the game when you can pay a bit of extra mana to destroy every creature on the board. This will net you life and cause your opponents to lose life—a potential game ender on its own, but even if it’s not, it leaves you with a combo piece that could end the game a turn later. That’s strong, and it’s a big reason why this card remains so expensive (in terms of dollars). Let’s hope Innistrad Remastered brings the price down a smidge.
