Grading Black Commander Staples of EDHREC | Which Black Staples are Worth Playing? 

11:18 But I can Dark Ritual into a turn 2 Diabolic Tutor, to guarantee that turn 3 Phyrexian Arena, to increase card velocity to grab an early Grave Titan

The price of Cabal Coffers and the good tutors is one of the reasons I haven’t kept a mono-black deck. It’s like 3 cards for the cost of a Nintendo Switch.

Imma say this again for the people in the back. Magic is a game that lets u express yourself. Play the cards u want to. Just have fun.

"Nothing synergizes with diabolic tutor!" -K'rrik, who wants tons of black pips in spells: Am I a joke to you?

Ah grave titan might be here, I play that in all my artifact/enchantment decks, super high synergy. It’s a real finisher almost every game

Blood artist is also a B+, because it triggers for each creature, not just yours.

Sometimes I watch your vids at 1.5 or 1.75 speed for that Quickpicking Nerds experience.

Dark Ritual is very good to power out Tergrid. If you're psychotic enough to run her as commander you want her out quickly as possible.

I love the way Joe looked at Beezy when he was explaining the grades. "Did you really just say Demonic Tutor was 'A' before we even started the video?" Priceless

Dark ritual is A+++ one of the best instants ever printed

If you look at the ceiling for Phyrexian Arena when comparing it to Read the Bones you have to do the same for Read the Bones, you technically get the reach of 4 cards since you can Scry the first 2 to the bottom. Read the Bones is much better imo than a F and much better than Phyrexian Arena in most cases.

NN: "There is not a cheaper boardwhipe". Meanwhile, Blasphemous acts cries silently in its corner because there are only 4 creatures in play.

Beezy was looking really intense talking about how they do daily content

I’m really surprised that they put Grave Titan as the only card in S tier! I thought they weren’t too fond of it, but it seems like they’ve changed their minds

I really disagree with Read the Bones. The fact that you get to Scry 2 before you draw is incredibly good because you can just put them on the bottom for another chance to draw something relevant. And it gives you two cards instantly. Love it

I'm a little confused at why Diabolic Intent having a sacrifice cost makes it debatably better than Demonic Tutor in the right decks but Village Rites having a sacrifice cost makes it bad.

Can't wait for all the tutors I don't have the money for to come up

This is the one I care about because Black has the only playable commander in the entire format: K'rrik. I love K'rrik.

I think price of fame is underrated in this format. Since you'll almost always have a legendary target in the opponents commanders it's a 2 mana instant speed kill with surveil on it. Great value.

Last time was counterspells NOW FOR TUTORS!

Red Elemental Blast in an auto include in mono-red decks. It counters counters. It kills 1/2 of the top commanders. It counters many of the biggest "if that resolves we lose" spells (as many/most of those seem to be blue). In CASUAL its great.

You've finally updated my favorite part, the flavor text at the start. 10/10 I love it

for diabolic tutor i think if you are in a budget this card can be a good tutor for like searching your pieces of your deck, me as a budget player i love that card tbh.

Mulldrifter = C+ Read the Bones = F Come on now... I don't think Read the Bones is the most amazing card ever but it certainly isn't an F in my book. Solid C for me. Can dig 4 deep and is great to set up your midgame turns (helps you avoid missing land drops and gives you gas). Really like these videos though and it's interesting to hear your views. EDIT: Also it doesn't suck drawing it late, it's pretty good tbh. Much better top deck than night's whisper/sign in blood. Ps. I also intensely dislike phyrexian arena Beezy :)

Great content, guys! As an avid black aficionado I have to something to add. Read the Bones - The scry on the card is very potent and for 1 mana more I'd rather be able to see 2 more cards from my library. This is the card that replaced Phyrexian Arena for me actually and never looked back. The only good thing going on with Arena is the devotion it adds. Obviously Read the Bones goes down if you include more tutors, but for straight up immediate draw it's very good. Viscera Seer - I'd argue that it's on par with Carrion Feeder. The latter brings the Zombie type which can combo with some cards, namely Gravecrawler.

Focus on Black = One of the best videos yet!.... I even stayed for the tidbit, and wow!... That list of patrons is growing!!! 😊👍🏼

Phyrexian arena is better in more casual games since those last longer but even still it takes 3 turns for phyrexian arena to do what read the bones does instantly without the extra benefit. Also read the bones is way cheaper (money wise) and is most of the time better since it’s better to get the boost you want when you play the card rather over the course of 3+ turns (usually). The reason why phyrexian arena is played so much is because it makes you “feel” like your drawing two cards a turn but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s gonna take three turns to be slightly worse than read the bones and half the time you can guarantee it will stay around for that long. Read the bones vs phyrexian arena is a really interesting conversation that could have been given more thought on during the video. A lot of the cards reviewed on the channel as a whole are usually just brushed over as “it’s bad don’t think about it” which makes people give people zero chance to consider cards that could be potentially good/better than the staples that make every game feel the same. I love the channel but some cards deserve more than to be written off without consideration/explanation.

It feels so good having entomb and reanimate in your opening hand

I like the C grade change from Cut to Cuttable. They seemed more natural in this video as well.

This moment when you see dark ritual which is probably one if the best black cards on d+ lol. It basicly speeds you up by 2 turns which is insanly strong in this format.

As a Meren player, I had a visceral reaction to Victimize being given a C

I depend a lot on draw that in mono black I run sign in blood, night's whisper, and even read the bones (besides syphon mind)... What should I use instead? (for me those are bad if you have access to other colors, but in orshov or mono black they are as good as it gets, or what am I missing?)

I disagree with read the bones or other draw spells like it, you gotta have some unconditional burst draw in your deck.

Dark ritual is an awesome card that helps to play Necropotence turn 1, or Ad Nauseum way faster. This is at least a B if not A. Most cEDH decks run it in the colour.

"when they get rid of cabal coffers" BAAM MH2 reprint

Where are all of these incredible black card draw spells that make “Read the Bones” and “Phyrexian Arena” obsolete?

enjoying your super cool 4k content so much! gives me good thoughts for decks in this horrible quarantine =D

I recently built Marrow-gnawer and this video is right up my alley!

Bought some cards for my Ruxa Vanilla Creature tribal deck using the TCGPLAYER link today. Keep it up guys!

Sudden substitutioning my opponent's torment for a million is probably in my top 10 ways I've killed the table

The five minute mighty ducks rant made my whole week, y'all are wild

First off been watching you guys awhile now and really enjoy the content. I find myself running a bunch of the draw cards in black that you say you shouldn't run. I would be interested to hear what you would be running instead in the episodes.

As a new player playing a dimir commander, this couldn't be any better timed.

All this time, I didn't realize Vampiric tutor was an instant

Zulaport, both tutors and dark ritual work perfect in k’rrik

I can’t imagine my life without Syr Konrad, hands down my favorite commander right now.

You knew it was coming...so here's the defense for Dark Ritual: If you're in mono or mostly black, it's an auto include. I'm happy to see it at "almost" any point in the game, almost never had it be a dead draw. Cast my 3cmc commander on T1 with just one swamp? Sound good. T1 Necropotence or Phyrexian Arena? Yes pls definitely. Cast Victimize for 1 instead of 3? Entomb & Reanimate it immediately with just one land (and still have a black floating)? I like those a lot. Pump 2 additional mana into that big X spell that wasn't quite worth it yet? Is good. **end rant** Edit: almost end of rent...forgot about the game I had one measly swamp held up, opponent didn't figure i could really do anything, so they went for the tutor. Dark Ritual into Opposition Agent, mwuahaha. Enjoyed the rest of the video though 😆👍

I run arena, bones, and blood in my vilis deck, turns these cards into great card draw. After all, it doesn't matter if your losing life, when losing life is the thing you want to do in the first place!

I love how after Beezy glared his way through his daily content thing, he had to reset his face before moving on.

One thing to remember about budget decks, is they often have one or two really good cards that have been splurged for. In that instance, tutors become more necessary. I do agree that diabolic is something you have to be desperate for a specific card to run it.

Do you like any draw spells for mono black that don't require synergy besides Necropotence?

I'm interested in seeing your multi color grading. The Blood Artist section reminds me of Poison Tip Archer

Love the series. Really interesting to see your thoughts on cards. I do think the colors you're playing can really influence if you wind up with some of these D/F cards in your decks. Mono-colored decks probably see a lot more of these I'd bet. I'm also a throw all the staples in a deck player and I couldn't be more bored with the format.

Entomb, Reanimate, Vilis Broker of Blood. Yes money!! My fav combo in my K’rrik deck. I never hear you guys mention it! Great vid, still advocating for Yawgmoth’s Will here... ;)

Hey guys. Been watching your ranking all commanders series (lmfao) and at one point you mention doing gameplay videos in the future. Is this still on the table? If so, when do you think you'll be trying to make it happen?

I play Bontu vs seer, seer gets killed quickly in my group, bontu sticks around for a bit, and is an optional hitter with menace.. but to each his own, pretty good list guys! Thanks for the tid bits!

Can you please tell me where those lands are from in your picture frame? And how you got that made? And is it for sale?!

Turn 1 dark ritual has won me a lot games. My rakdos reanimator thrives on it. Entomb and then exhume on turn 1 is guaranteed win.

Oh hey Pitiless Plunderer, I figured that card would be an absolute house. I managed to get one for Korvold at 0.62 cents ages ago.

I have dark ritual and cabal ritual in my commander deck should I cut both? It's mardu colours

@NitpickingNerds Exsanguinate is an all star in my Rakdos, Lord of Riots, deck. X = 4 = free Eldrazi, huge Walking Ballista, etc. It's straight gas in that deck.

Wait, so what card draw spells DOES Beezy like? He poo-pooed everything lol

You asked for examples of decks that liked exsanguinate. It's a very good finisher in Vito decks.

What do you guys recommend in place of phyrexian arena? I understand it's not optimal, but what 3 manan draw spell could replace it? Read the bones has the potential to see 4 cards deep in one go, but it's a one and sone AND was rated low

Imo Blood Artist is the B+ and cutthroat is the B just cause it can stop your opponent from going infinite and allows you to play destruction spells and not really care as much. Either way, if you're playing aristocrats their both auto includes.

Guys, what do you think about Black Market as a ramp for aristocrats compared to Pitiless Plunderer?

Care to tell us some good draw spell options that we should be running in Black then?

I never checked the list. I was curious about where Dead of Winter would land with the prevalence of snow lands in EDH

Great show! Now You have a new subscriber from Perú that needs USD to upgrade his deck XD. Thanks for the EDH Insights.

Thing is with Exsanguinate and not playing aristocrats, I need life gain so Kokusho, Gray Merchant and Exsang are pretty big deals. Also, I run Ravenous Chupacabra and Noxious Gearhulk and I don't play Shirekmaw because I don't like cards that have color restriction/conditions on them.

I would never cut out Victimize from my Meren deck in that specific deck it's just too good! But will definitely swap phyrexian arena with either Dark Prophecy or Liliana Dreadhorde General

red blast is amazing if you don't have access to blue early phyrexiam arema is unbeatable, if you draw it late game, as you say your deck is built in a way that it shouldn't need it, no different from a ramp spell

Pitiless Plunderer only being 6-7 dollars. Now that’s a good joke.

The only board wipe that beats out Toxin Deluge is Farewell. In my opinion, being able to get rid of whatever you want, and choosing any nonland permanent type is great, not to mention graveyards

I agree on the Phyrexian Arena that it is very cuttable. I had considered it for my deck centered around Beledros Witherbloom/Pests but realized that there was a better one in the shape of Dark Prophecy. Tying the draw to my sacrifices instead of just once a turn is better most of the time and it is also three mana. Also a cheaper card to buy which is always nice.

okay then how do i draw cards in decks without wide board and blue if all these draw 2 cards are trash?

I just started playing EDH and I'm trying to build an orzov themedxlifegain deck. If phyrexian arena and read the bones are F then what should I be using? Trying to figure out what to add for draw effects.

Exanguinate is a win con in my big-mana-spells, lifesaving Bekedros, Witherbloom deck (and Torment of Hailfire of course).

Emilio had scheduling issues when they filmed Might Ducks 3 and they had to rewrite it. Good list.

You need arena for solemnity lock

One great reason for dark ritual that I see time and time again in cEDH is SURPISE! opposition agents against turn one vampiric tutors and the likes. ;)

Your tidbit reminds me of a similar line from some dumb sitcom where the guy says "I'm a level 7 magic the gathering player" and the audience loses it. Hilarious

Salute for the read the bones out there. They did they’re best

Consensus dictates that to get consistency in commander you need 10 to 12 -ard draw so if your not playing sign n Blood cards what ten do you play ?

Can you name me a replacement for read the bones exept the one with 4 mana value that lets you draw 3. And buget pls. Like under 1 dollar.

what card draw would you guys use in mono black/orzhov?

New subscriber here! Great content!

For people who play in groups where $50 for one card is frowned upon, Diabolic Tutor is pretty damn nice.

dark ritual is also cheap mana fixing(+ramp) for multi colored decks that want to play bolas's citadel/necropotence. it also saves you sometimes when you don't get enough lands. it's not only good to cast commanders that make you draw but also for example in liesa, where you want her out asap while being able to recast her later for 5 mana when you have the lands, and 2 cmc mana rocks don't really help more than 3 cmc rocks. It's good even if your commander makes you draw AND you draw it after casting it, for example in brina, who's 3cmc and can draw into dark ritual and some high cmc cards. it's almost a black lotus that gives 2 mana, seeing all the craze for jeweled lotus I'd say it's worth more than a d+

You guys nailed this one. Great job

great serie do you think after this one can you do the same by archtype?

I will say this for diabolic tutor. You see it a lot of decks because people can afford it vs demonic tutor/vampiric tutor which can run you $50-60. I’m not arguing that’s it’s better, it’s not, in fact I’d say it’s objectively worse. I would say the $cost-to-card value ratio is better than an F.

what's a better replacement for victimize? Saccing a token to get back protean hulk and revilark sounds real good

Is Feed the Swarm a staple? How would you rate it?

lol time to cut a Dark Ritual for Necropotence in my Gix deck… I don’t know what it is about combat damage triggers to draw cards, but it makes my brain happy to do it. Backup Gix that’s harder to kill? Seems pretty good.

Can you make a list about the best defenses against blink decks? People keep blinking things and I can only Exile so.. many of them.

Phyrexian Arena is absolutely golden in a Villis deck. Draw 3 cards per turn for the cost of 1 life(including draw for turn)

Exsanguinate seems to be rated a little low considering it has pretty good synergy with lots of the other black cards that has opponents lose life when you gain it (or vice versa) so you can easily double up on either effect or go infinite e.g. Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose, Sanguine Bond, Exquisite Blood, Defiant Bloodlord, etc. Also considering its a lose/gain effect the actual swing is much higher than the damage done would indicate.

Dark ritual is good in a deck that can use that extra boost any turn to push out an extra engine piece that will compensate that one turn of value. I have no idea what kind of meta you guys play in... adding that for context would be useful. Also the best Mono black staple after Necropotence is Infernal Darkness.

So what would be good for budget black card draw ? I thought the 2 to 3 cmc (lose 2 life draw 2 cards ) are always relevant searching for land drops early and other cards later. I run : Necrologia , Skeletal Scrying , Succumb to temptation , Arguels Blood Fast , moonlight bargain and all the other 2 to 3 cmc ones