A Dark and Winding Path

I've been "All in on Black" for a while now. Oh sure, I'll build something else from time to time, but it always comes back to black.

It's just such a sweet color! It draws cards. It has spot removal and mass removal. It has badass creatures. And with the right artifacts and good ol' Karn Liberated, you can cover most of the weaknesses.



Plus, focusing my collection on one color means that I can get some serious mileage out of my cards. Grave Titan is good in a lot of different types of decks, for example. He's a zombie. He makes tokens. He combos with stuff. And he's not too shabby to swing with either. What more could I want?



The best part of this is that even without going straight tribal (demons, zombies, vampires, etc), lots of other decks can be built in black. Control decks, combo decks, synergy decks built around creatures dying, reanimator decks, token decks, and big mana decks are all in black's wheelhouse.



A deck with Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder at the helm plays out very differently than a deck with Drana in the captain's chair. Endrek and Drana may share quite a few of the same cards, but by swapping out 30-40 of the "main" cards, we end up with a token/control deck or a token/combo deck.



Another pretty sweet build is the original Ob Nixilis, the Fallen. There are quite a few ways to get additional landfall triggers per turn in black by using fetchlands, panoramas, thawing glaciers, and a few others. Along with some equipment, Nix can get big, fast. Or, since he's draining away turn after turn, you can slow things down with oppressive artifacts and enchantments. Last Laugh, anyone?



I'm working on a mono-black mill deck with Geth right now. With token generators like Ogre Slumlord and Ophiomancer, Altar of the Brood is looking like a viable way to flip some libraries. Geth moves thing along quite nicely if you have mana to throw at him. Season with Illusionist's Bracers and Rings of Brighthearth for an even tastier treat.