The Top 8 Must Have Commander Cards In Black for your Magic: The Gathering Collection 

If you enjoyed this MTG listcicle, others for your key demographic can be found here: Must Have Green Commander Cards: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--yiK0jYOfVA.html Must Have White Commander Cards: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vnEL92Eiqec.html Must Have Red Commander Cards: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RsJ9tBLpiCc.html

I feel that all black decks should include a copy of the card “Swamp”. It allows you to tap it and add one black mana for absolutely no cost. An incredible include in any black deck, and one that should not be overlooked.

One of my favourite black cards of all time is Tragic Slip. I think its criminally underated. 1 black mana at instant speed to basically kill anything seeing as how morbid is NOT hard to trigger in a game.

Prof: "It is essentially a doomblade." Terror: "Am I a joke to you?"

If we're allowing combos, I would've included Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth + Cabal Coffers.

Love how you used a demon that would naturally die to a -5-5 deluge activation if you hadn't used its activated ability 😂

Ι've replaced all of my Hero's Downfalls with Murderous RIders since the extra body with lifelink almost always is worth the 2 life

(Demonic tutor) "It's hard to justify not running a copy" Justification: It's $26.

My pick is "exsanguinate" Casting it for 10 when you're at 1 life against 3 opponents is an incredible rush. Also it's still reasonably priced around $7 last I checked

Bolas' Citadel is one of the most powerful cards black has received in a long time. I feel like it deserves at least an honorable mention somewhere.

A black card I always play and recomend is read the bones. The fact it gets you 4 cards deep is so fantastic and the amount of times it gets overlooked is absurd

I feel read the bones should have gotten an honorable mention

"Ya know who i think of when it comes to being ambitious, ruthless, cuthroat, and possibly evil ready to do anything to achieve their goal? MY SPONSOR AUDUBLE of course" Way to sell the virtue of that sponsorship prof, lol

In one or two color decks, Gary is always welcome.

Hear that WOTC? Here is your Spell Book: Black primer

Honorable mention to Decree of Pain!

Bolas' Citadel, it's too good not to run in a black edh deck.

Some of my favorite black cards in commander: Victimize: Excellent reanimation value. Unearth: Reanimate's younger brother, with cycling when you don't need it. Black Market: Insane mana generation. Phyrexian Reclamation: WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THIS CARD? The amount of resilience this card grants your deck is staggering. Dismember: great targeted removal, even for pesky indestructibles. Dark Imposter: Repeatable unconditional exile effect? Yes, please.

ahhh yes, the routinely, and classically forgotten black card "demonic tutor"

About animate read and reanimate: try the card Necromancy! It's the same effect for 2B, basically you enchant a creature from any graveyard and it enters the battlefield under your control (but without the -1-0). Also, you can play it at instant speed if you sac the creature at the end of turn. Great surprise blocker.

0: Gary, merchant of asphodel

I love the way Prof says "again".

i really like how well the theme of the sponsorship part matches with the video, made it quite interesting

This channel is the only channel where I like to listen to the sponsorship shoutouts. The Professor just does it exquisitely.

I think Dark Ritual is a great card to run in any black commander deck. Gaining three mana for one is a great tempo swing that is overlooked. In the early rounds of the game it can put you very far ahead.

Sudden Spoiling, great versatility in attack or defense

I genuinely love your audible book recommendations. It’s an AD that I enjoy?! Crazy

Nice. I like these videos. They make me realize I'm missing a ton of must-have cards.

I feel urborg, tomb of yawgmoth or cabal coffers should have got a spot

Hero's Downfall: *joins the game* Me: *laughs in Bedevil*

TCC video on my Birthday! Day gets better and better!

Solid video! I'd always nice to see a new video from you. One thing I'd like to see maybe in the future would be a list of color combo commanders. Show what you think is the best per color combo and then show a few cards that would support the commander. Anyway, great job professor!

Some really great choices. Just wish Read the Bones, Night's Whisper, or Sign in Blood had made the list.

I’m gonna need 1 and a Black to bring me back from that joke.

Gratz on 500k prof, also please keep getting sponsors. I think most people understand how rough monetization is ATM.

I've been making a mono-black deck so this video was uploaded at the perfect time!

Honestly, Demonic Tutor needs to be reprinted in Commander Legends.

I own most of those cards and yes, black is my favorite colour. I feel great :3

This guy is my go to to know what I need know and build what to get or miss review and learn 👍

Great list and congrats on 500k subs!! I'd have tried to get Gary in there somewhere. I know he's really at his strongest in mono black but I think he still belongs on the list!

Crypt Ghast, Altar's Reap. I love these cards. Even if it's a deck of two or more colors, would Dark Ritual be considerable? Priest of Forgotten Gods, or whatever her name is, is also fantastic.

I see that copy of Ravnica: Inquisition on yo shelf👀

Grats on 500k professor. Keep teaching for a long time sir!

Bond/Blood was the combo that sold me on mtg, and combos in general. It still resides in my first commander deck, as it began in my first deck, a 60 card WB.

dark ritual and yawgmoth's will are pretty hard to beat

"What is you have a 6/6?" Chooses a 6/6 that enters the battlefield with two -1/-1 counters on it, and can put -1/-1 counters on opponents

That's a great list. I would throw force of despair in for removal too. I love it. Especially against green ramp decks.

Congrats on 500k subscribers!

All my black Commander's decks have Dark Ritual.

i like using "in garruk wake" in decks that can use black, a full 1 sided wipe if you got the mana

Bola's Citadel ! Such a strong card that nearly always has to be dealt with the moment it hits the board

I actually really liked your Audible plug.

I'm sure it's been said and everyone knows it but Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth and Cabal Coffers are immediate picks.

Isn't Murderous Rider almost strictly better version of Hero's Downfall in EDH? 2 life for "drawing" a mediocre creature seems like a good bargain.

you should update this video every year...great job!!

Great list! Thanks for sharing. I've always loved Animate Dead. :)

I always run Torment of Hailfire in any of my black edh decks

You know what they say. Once you go black.. you usually come back to a multi colored build.

Digging the new looks Prof.

Great video Prof! Black has been my favorite color for as long as I can remember - solid list :) I don't know about EVERY black deck, but I recently started running Black Market in my Yawgmoth deck and it can get insane really quickly... If you combo with Mikeaus and two other non-human creatures you can generate infinite black mana. Albeit, it does require you to have some board presence, but it's still really fun and effective - considering at that same time if one of those non-human creatures is say... Blood Artist, you can also draw your whole deck and drain your opponents out, and if you didn't win from that, you can cast every black card from your hand with the infinite mana you made from Black Market the following turn.

That music reminds me... I should go check up on the Kill Count series. Been a while; I'm sure I've missed some episodes.

"I am soooo ollllld". hahaha. me too prof, me too.

Congrats on 500K Subscribers!!!!!!

Everyone forgets pestilence great card for combo that was showed. Great video.

Hair is growing back quickly.. :)

Bolas' citadel 👀

Vampire Nighthawk. Two black and a colorless for flying, deathtouch, and lifelink.

When pondering the sacrificial possibilities at the breadth of black sorcery, Audible comes to mind.

"59 seconds ago" well hot damn

"It's hard to justify not running a copy". Well, say that to my wallet, Fancy Prof. :'v

Love the video, so interested to see the other colours.

Congrats on 500k Professor 😁👍

Congrats on 500K subs prof!

The lack of Living Death in this list is criminal

Idk why but that crowd sound bite for phx arena made me spazz. Good list.

500k subscribers!!! wooooow! congratulations!

Shout out to audible, the real OG funding all my favourite RU-vidrs!

Me: *Looks at my Imperial Seal.* Me: *Looks at the price on TCGPlayer.* Me: *Laughs maniacally in black.*

When no ASMR works (AKA, everytime) Professor's voice never lets me down ♥️

Cool, was thinking about swamp mana casting cost cards recently too.

love the content prof but i can’t in good conscience support amazon

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is the top of my list for cards belonging in any black commander deck. Demonic Tutor is a close second IF you are trying to build the strongest deck possible. There are decks I refuse to run Demonic Tutor in since they are already powerful enough (Gitrog, I'm looking at you) and I'd like to try and restrain the power level. I also don't have enough copies to run in all my black commander decks. Regarding Sanguine Bond and Exquisite Blood, I would never run those in a deck where life gain is not already a theme. I have tried them in a vampire tribal deck (they also had flavor points there), but it always felt awful drawing one of them. Individually, they were usually a dead draw as they are basically a do nothing enchantment. Unless your deck is built around tutoring this combo out or has other ways of generating value from one of the enchantments, there are better cards you could play. Urborg, Cabal Coffers, and Exsanguinate will often do just as good a job at killing all your opponents. The difference is that 2 of those 3 cards don't take up a spell slot and all of them can still do good things without the other two (Cabal Coffers is questionable outside two color decks). Of course, commander isn't always the place to run the "best" deck. If you want to run this combo, go for it. I just think it is far from a must-run.

*Sees sponsor* Awesome book, I’ve read it twice and it’s a wonderful read. I read a similar book called “The Watchmaker of Filigree Street” which is a delightful read even if the story doesn’t go anywhere

I love Vicious Rumors. Pretty good value for one B, love it in my Nath Commander deck.

10:16 "essentially a Doom Blade" Or a Terror.

For commander gotta say Price of Fame 2 mana. Destroy target commander. Surveil 2.

All of my black decks run Ancient Craving and Read the Bones, I love black card draw, and those two are my favorite.

I loved the Night Circus, wonderful book

why heroe's downfall and not murderous rider? rider can be a creature when needed

Oh sh*t the last time i saw the prof was at game knights and there he had long hair and now i am traumatised.

Love the list, Professor. I'd add Bolas' Citadel I do think Night Circus is a great recommendation for audible. It is a slow burn of a story, and not very action oriented but it is an enjoy able story.

Ophiomancer is a card I just love. It deters attacking and serves as an engine for all cards needing us to sacrifice things. I for one like to combine it with Contamination in my Pox EDH

0/10 didn't see a bolas citadel lol.

Def don’t use your credit on War of the Spark Forsaken....

Massacre Girl has quicky become a favorite of mine. It can work as a panic button and becomes a great board wipe leaving you with one creature on your side if done right. Depending on what your opponents have in play it can uickly kill everything or most everything instantly.

This is just me within my playgroup but I LOVE imp's mischief in any black deck.

Well, Ad Nauseam and Doomsday are definitely two Magic cards.

I am actually opposed to Demonic Tutor, but that's cause I want to popularize no-tutor commander. Tutors go against one of the core fundamentals of the format: varied game play. They make games play out the same way, especially when it comes to combo decks. Commander was designed with 100 card singleton decks so that games wouldn't be the same every time. So what I like to do is have commander games with the only things that can search libraries be things that can get basic lands only. That means green doesn't lose a big piece of it's color identity, and allows for decent fixing, and makes the games much more varied.

Phyrexian arena is fun to do with Villas on field Draw 3! And I think tomb of yawgmoth with the cabal lands should've been some honorable mentions

Dark ritual is just such good acceleration in a pinch and can help add a few more into the x for a torment of hailfire or something. Also tragic slip is pretty amazing targeted removal, 1 mana instant and it gets by indestructible. I run it a lot because eldrazi Titans like ulamog are pretty common in my play group