Welcome back to First Impressions, brought to you by the letter Q.

In this edition, we will take a look at the Black cards of Planar Chaos.

Thanks for taking the initiative and heading over to MDV for your Planar Chaos news.

Here we are, back together again. Last time we looked at the Multi-colored cards and the only land of Planar Chaos.  This time around, we are going to run through the Black cards of the set.

Upon initial assessment, I like what we have been presented with in Black this time around. Black was presented with some of the abilities of White, in life gain and damage prevention, some abilities of Blue, in counter spelling, and turn taking, and even the Red ability of target reassignment.

Now, onto the cards..

Big Game Hunter Uncommon 1/1 Creature — Human Rebel Assassin 1BB
When Big Game Hunter comes into play, destroy target creature with power 4 or greater. It can’t be regenerated.
Madness <B> (If you discard this card, you may play it for its madness cost instead of putting it into your graveyard.)"

This creature is Reprisal on legs. It comes into play and kills an Adarkar Valkyrie or even a Red Akroma. The nice part of this creature is the Madness ability, which makes this creature have limited Flash. If I can force a discard and send BGH towards the grave, I can pay the cheaper Madness cost, and redirect the creature into play, and kill that scary monster heading this way.

Grade: B+ Good creature, needs assistance from a discard engine.

Blightspeaker Common 1/1 Creature — Human Rebel Cleric 1B
<T>: Target player loses 1 life.
<4>, <T>: Search your library for a Rebel card with converted mana cost 3 or less and put it into play. Then shuffle your library.

As of right now, there is a short of really good rebels, so this creatures ability is usable, but not truly exploitable. Making a player lose one life means that this creature is technically unblockable, as it is normally only a 1 power creature. This card is barely usable in sealed.

Grade: D- Eh, fetch ability is good.

Brain Gorgers Common 4/2 Creature — Zombie 3B
When you play Brain Gorgers, any player may sacrifice a creature. If a player does, counter Brain Gorgers.
Madness <1><B> (If you discard this card, you may play it for its madness cost instead of putting it into your graveyard.)

A player may sacrifice a creature to counter a 4/2 creature for 4 mana. This part does not sound very appealing. However, a player may sacrifice a creature to counter a 4/2 for 2 that is cast at the end of their turn does sound more promising. However, in all reality, I can’t imagine the creature getting much playing time, unless Zombie decks or Madness decks pick up

Grade: C- Being high in power makes him decent in Limited.

Circle of Affliction Uncommon Enchantment 1B
As Circle of Affliction comes into play, choose a color.
Whenever a source of the chosen color deals damage to you, you may pay <1>. If you do, target player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.

When I first saw this card, I was excited. I proxied up the card and played it a few times in my current Black deck. However, this card ended up disappointing me. Why did they have to limit the card to only one life? Why not one life per point of mana I pump into it, or maybe even the amount of damage to be dealt. But with it left to only one point, it just does not save the day, and actually became more of a hassle than a savior. I have not read a ruling or even looked for one yet, but if you could activate this thing seven times towards the same source of damage, then this would be an excellent card. Yet, as it seems to work to me, where I can only activate it once per source, it doesn’t even make sense as a sideboard option.

Grade: D …for disappointment.

Cradle to Grave Common Instant 1B
Destroy target nonblack creature that came into play this turn.

I like it. Sure, it is limited, but how many times have you sat there with your Sudden Death or Last Gasp in hand and watch an opponent play a */5+ creature and all you can do is shake your head. With this card, instead, you shake your head, and then kill the creature at the end of their turn. Or when the guy decides to be cute and pop out a Teferi at the end of your turn, shrug and tap two Swamps and pop Teferi in the face and send him to the grave. This will work great during the rest of that game, as they will not want to tap down to play him again in Flash mode.

Grade: B+

Dash Hopes Common Instant BB
When you play Dash Hopes, any player may pay 5 life. If a player does, counter Dash Hopes.
Counter target spell.

When I first read the initial spoilers, the versions I saw of this read ‘3 life’. As we see now, it ended up actually being five life, which simple division tells us is 1/4 of our life total. While it is another poor excuse for a Counterspell, this card does offer Black something it rarely has had, and that is control over spells.

I do not look at this spell like Browbeat. Browbeat entitled me to gain three new spells, so paying five life is the obvious choice if I have nine or more life. In this case, Black is not going to Bolt you to death if you pay the life, so paying the life to counter Dash Hopes seems to be an easy choice. It truly depends on the spell at hand. A Dashed Wrath of God when you are in striking range of their next attack may not make much sense to counter, as five life from the Dashed Hope or five life from creature damage is the same end result, a defeat.

Grade: B Playable card, but I don’t know how much it will be played

Deadly Grub Common 3/1 Creature — Insect 2B
Vanishing 3 (This permanent comes into play with three time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter from it. When the last is removed, sacrifice it.)
When Deadly Grub is put into a graveyard from play, if it had no time counters on it, put a 6/1 green Insect creature token into play with “This creature can’t be the target of spells or abilities.”

Deadly Grub is an interesting card. I am quite impressed that Wizards made a creature like this. Typically they don’t show this kind of creativity, so when I see it, I am willing to give them their deserved props. Good job guys.

I like this card because of a few things. First, it has the potential of being two creatures for one card. Secondly, I have always loved Deadly Insect, so beings that this creature can become an Insect, I by default like it.

However, the problem lies in the fact that the Grub is VERY vulnerable. A 3/1 creature that dies if it gets bumped while tapping a Swamp is no way to go about establishing your board. Both Blue and Red have options for getting rid of the time counters more quickly, but realistically, why would you waste your time, effort, and mana on getting time counters off of the Deadly Grub?

Grade: D+ Good effort by Wizards gives it a boost. It would also be mildly amusing in limited.

Enslave Uncommon Enchantment — Aura 4BB
Enchant creature
You control enchanted creature.
At the beginning of your upkeep, enchanted creature deals 1 damage to its owner.

Here is our second example of Black getting a Blue ability. This is essentially Control Magic with a splash of Black’s life lose ability. Thankfully, the spell sends the life lose to the owner of the card, not it’s controller.

I always thought this wording to be funny in multiplayer games where you are borrowing a deck from your buddy. Really, Joe owns the card that you took from me after I cast it. So really, shouldn’t Joe be losing the life? I am the cards borrower…

Grade: B The card costs 1 too much in my opinion.

Extirpate Rare Instant B
Split second (As long as this spell is on the stack, players can’t play spells or activated abilities that aren’t mana abilities.)
Choose target card in a graveyard other than a basic land. Search its owner’s graveyard, hand, and library for all cards with the same name as that card and remove them from the game. Then that player shuffles his or her library.

Ever see those shows where someone hears or sees something so shocking that they spit whatever they are eating or drinking out in a spray of gross-ness? This is what they were looking at.

Wait… are you telling me that I can rip a card out of your graveyard, then get all the copies of it from your hand, grave, and library, and remove all of those copies from the game… AND you can’t stop me from doing it? AND it only costs B, AND it is an Instant?

Grade: A++ Elite, this card is absolutely amazing. Get your four copies before it rises to $10 a pop.

Imp's Mischief Rare Instant 1B
Change the target of target spell with a single target. You lose life equal to that spell’s converted mana cost.

Here is your Red ability I mentioned in the open. It allows you to change the target of a spell with another legal target. Then there comes the Black stipulation of anything, where you must pay life to make Black like you. This will be a decent sideboard card. It would be fairly funny to have an opponent target themselves with their own uncounterable, unpreventable Demonfire.

Grade: B Conditional spell.

Magus of the Coffers Rare 4/4 Creature — Human Wizard 4B
<2>, <T>: Add <B> to your mana pool for each Swamp you control.

This is the second part of your Tomb of Yawgmoth combo.

When reading the card for the first time, I was surprised with this Magus. A 4/4 body? Why? Why not make him killable by direct damage like the other Magus’? Instead, we have another confused creature. Should I be a beatstick, or should I be a producer of thousands of Black mana?

However, in this case, I’d just say screw it and be both.

Dump tons of Black mana into the pool, create your Avatar of Woe, then kill with your Magus while the Avatar clears the way.

Grade: A Solid Creature.

Midnight Charm Common Instant B
Choose one - Midnight Charm deals 1 damage to target creature and you gain 1 life, or target creature gains first strike until end of turn, or tap target creature.

The Charms have always intrigue me. Like I mentioned previously, I love versatile cards. There is no better way to be a versatile card than to have three different possible resolutions of a single spell, and all for a low cheap cost too!

In this Charms case, the most obvious good use is to pick off a Savannah Lion and gain a point of life for a single B. Or maybe a certain 6/1 Hasty Trampler is heading your way. If you were feeling particularly frisky, you could give your 1/1 creature first strike and kill the Ball of Hate with no damage to yourself. Lastly, if that same 6/1 creature were cast, and was destined to head your way, you could tap it before attackers are declared, and come the end of the turn, it would sacrifice itself.

Pretty good use of a single Black mana if you ask me.

Grade: B-

Mirri the Cursed Rare 3/2 Legendary Creature — Vampire C at 2BB
Flying, first strike, haste
Whenever Mirri the Cursed deals combat damage to a creature, put a +1/+1 counter on Mirri the Cursed.

Poor Mirri. She used to be a cute little kitty over in the Forest. Now she is an angry cat in the Swamp, kicking ass and Chewing bubble gum. The next person who tells me that Green compares to Black in power or even coolness will be the first person. Look what a little evil spirit does to a nice little kitty.

She transforms into a Flying, First Strike, Haste, better than Sengir Vampire vampire. Mirri doesn’t even have to kill the creature, just merely damage it, and she gets bigger. All of this for only four mana. Very nice.

Grade: A+

Muck Drubb Uncommon 3/3 Creature — Beast 3BB
Flash (You may play this spell any time you could play an instant.)
When Muck Drubb comes into play, change the target of target spell that targets only a single creature to Muck Drubb.
Madness <2><B> (If you discard this card, you may play it for its madness cost instead of putting it into your graveyard.)

What have we here? Muck Drubb is a Flagbearer! Sorta… When it comes into play, you change the target of a spell to Muck Drubb. Does this make this card good?

No, of course not. Flash does not make a 3/3 for 5 good, and neither does Madness for 3.

Grade: D Sure am glad it is an uncommon.

Phantasmagorian Uncommon 6/6 Creature — Horror 5BB
When you play Phantasmagorian, any player may discard three cards. If a player does, counter Phantasmagorian.
Discard three cards: Return Phantasmagorian from your graveyard to your hand."

This card would rule a limited game. Tough to kill in the first place, and once you do kill it, it can be brought right back.

In constructed… Madness is not really good enough to constitute discarding three cards do your 6/6 for 7 can be countered again. However, it does pose a question… if you are going to give the opponent an option of countering it, shouldn’t you have made the creature more deadly? Perhaps like knocking 2 off of the mana cost?

Grade: C+ Limited use.

Ridged Kusite Common 1/1 Creature — Horror Spellshaper B
<1><B>, <T>, Discard a card: Target creature gets +1/+0 and gains first strike until end of turn.

You might be thinking that I will strike this guy down too, as it seems fairly weak. However, it does do something important, and that use alone may break this card out of the never used commons box.

It is a discard engine. Granted, you can most likely find better engines out there, but for a single Black mana, he not only forces a discard, but he also inflates a creature and gives it first strike.

It is not a Wild Mongrel, nor is it a Merfolk Looter, but it is a Black creature with a moderate discard ability.

Grade: C+

Roiling Horror Rare */* Creature — Horror 3BB
Roiling Horror’s power and toughness are each equal to your life total minus the life total of an opponent with the most life.
Suspend X-<X><B><B><B>. X can’t be 0.
Whenever a time counter is removed from Roiling Horror while it’s removed from the game, target player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.

This is a really good card. While I don’t know that it will ever see the main board of some powerhouse deck, it does have some really good uses.

First, it pairs nicely with Phyrexian Arena. Instead of you paying the life for the extra card draw, you opponent begins paying for you. Next, the loss and gain of life is not a spell, so it is not counterable outside of a Trickbind type spell or ability.

Then finally, don’t forget that there is a creature at the end of the rainbow. How big that creature will be is variable, but there will be a body eventually.

Going back to the Arena for a moment. When you begin to get into the second and third Horror, you suspend them each for 5+ turns and you find yourself siphoning life at a rate of two or three life a turn. This creates an issue for an opponent. Not only does he have to be doing more than the two or three damage a turn to even move you closer to zero, but he has to realize that the damage he is doing is to his own life points. If he is not able to gain life or prevent your siphoning, suspended creature, he could find himself dieing to a creature that never came into play.

Grade: A+

Spitting Sliver Common 3/3 Creature — Sliver 4B
All Slivers have first strike.

Spitting Sliver takes first strike from White and gives it to his Sliver brood. Beyond that, this Sliver is a 3/3 Sliver body for 5 mana. Not too good, but not too… blah, its bad.

Grade: C

Temporal Extortion Rare Sorcery BBBB
When you play Temporal Extortion, any player may pay half his or her life, rounded up. If a player does, counter Temporal Extortion.
Take an extra turn after this one.

Just like Dashed Hopes, this card is very situational. It wants to be a Black Time Walk, it really does. However, someone can pay half of their life to prevent that from happening. 20/2 = 10. 12/2 = 6. 5/2 =3. So you see, depending on what life the person was at, and how aggressive your deck is will determine whether or not they want to pay the life to counter the spell.

NOTE: Having written my report about Black, and now having played this card, I wanted to report that even if they do counter this spell, it is normally a huge swing of life. Losing ten life for BBBB is pretty good I hear. Once a player is at ten, then find themselves really close to Consume Spirit range, which is never a happy place to be.

Grade: B- I wanted to say C, but it could turn out be a nasty pair with Mirari. Only time will tell. (Mirari will force them to pay 2/3 of their life to counter both turns.)

Treacherous Urge Uncommon Instant 4B
Target opponent reveals his or her hand. You may put a creature card from it into play under your control. That creature has haste. Sacrifice it at end of turn.

This time Black takes from Red again. Threaten on steroids is how I would describe this spell.

For an additional 2, this spell rips a creature from your opponents hand at instant speed, and then ends by throwing that creature into the graveyard after your done with it. It literally makes a creature in your opponents hand a Ball Lightning for one turn.

Grade: B+

Waning Wurm Uncommon 7/6 Creature — Zombie Wurm 3B
Vanishing 2 (This permanent comes into play with two time counters on it. At the beginning of your upkeep, remove a time counter from it. When the last is removed, sacrifice it.)

This creature has a few things going for it. First, it is cheap, a 7/6 body for 4 mana is not bad. Secondly, it is a Zombie, which means that the Zombie Warchief boosts him, and Lord of the Undead can retrieve him.

If you don’t have those cards, the thing he does is suck. He probably will draw out a creature removal spell, but he is not reliable enough to be truly usable. Especially since he has no evasion to speak of. A single Savannah Lion kills this creature (remove a counter during upkeep number one, it gets blocked, then the last counter is removed during upkeep number two.)

Grade: C- Thank God he is a Zombie.

Bog Serpent Common 5/5 Creature — Serpent 5B
Bog Serpent can’t attack unless defending player controls a Swamp.
When you control no Swamps, sacrifice Bog Serpent.

Didn’t Sea Serpent suck?

I thought so.

Grade: F No effort.

Damnation Rare Sorcery 2BB
Destroy all creatures. They can’t be regenerated.

MONEY! Buy yours now. Don’t walk, run and get your playset now before these reach $20 each.

A while back I was talking to a few playtest buddies in my clan, and a few from a rival clan, about what my Booby Trap deck needed. I needed Wrath of God, but I didn’t want to add White. Truth be told, I told them needed Mutilate.

Thanks for hearing me Wizards. The check is in the mail.

Grade: A-freaking ++ This is the best card in the entire set, none are even close.

Dunerider Outlaw Uncommon 1/1 Creature — Human Rebel Rogue BB
Protection from green
At end of turn, if Dunerider Outlaw dealt damage to an opponent this turn, put a +1/+1 counter on it.

Look! Dirty Whirling Dervish! I mentioned earlier with the Rebel fetch creature, that there are not enough good rebels to search for. This one is an exception. The best thing you can do is get your Blightspeaker out of summoning sickness, and at the end of your opponent’s turn, search for this guy, and attack while his creatures are tapped and out of the way. This can wrack up the damage very quickly, especially if Green picks up in strength of play, as I anticipate. Be sure to read the Green coverage in an upcoming weeks article.

Grade: B+ Always loved the Dervish, and this guy is no different.

Kor Dirge Uncommon Instant 2B
All damage that would be dealt this turn to target creature you control by a source of your choice is dealt to another target creature instead.

This spell takes the ability of the Kor creatures, and puts it on an instant. It is re-directing damage from a creature of your to a creature of an opponents. This card, I anticipate, will do very well in Limited, but most likely will not see much run in Constructed formats.

Grade: B Limited creature removal, at surprise speed.

Melancholy Common Enchantment — Aura 2B
Enchant creature
When Melancholy comes into play, tap enchanted creature.
Enchanted creature doesn’t untap during its controller’s untap step.
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Melancholy unless you pay <B>.

I don’t understand what they were trying to do with this card. It is a weak Paralyze. Why not just reprint Paralyze and not try to make a bad Dehydration?

Either way, it doesn’t seem like a very good Black card. Which is why we haven’t seen Paralyze since 5th Edition.

Grade: D+

Null Profusion Rare Enchantment 4BB
Skip your draw step.
Whenever you play a card, draw a card.
Your maximum hand size is two.

Did any of you young guys think this was a new card? Also, did any of you new guys think that this is a good card? Response?

It is not a new card. It is Recycle with Black spray paint. It is not a good card. It is a very good card.

Especially in Black. In Green, the problem was that it didn’t have the number of quick turn over cards that Black does. With the new paint job, Recycle makes a fierce comeback, and should seem a tremendous amount of tournament play.

Grade: A+

Rathi Trapper Common 1/2 Creature — Human Rebel Rogue 1B
<B>, <T>: Tap target creature.

Master DEEEE-COOOOY!!! Sorry had to.  Who else makes that outfit look so damn good?

Anyways, this is a really good Limited card, being a common, and being a cheap cost. If you were to get a Blightspeaker, you can search for this guy to help lock down a stubborn creature that you just can’t make go away.

Grade: C- Limited use only.

Shrouded Lore Uncommon Sorcery B
Target opponent chooses a card in your graveyard. You may pay <B>. If you do, repeat this process except that opponent can’t choose a card already chosen for Shrouded Lore. Then put the last chosen card into your hand.

Back in Ice Age, I had tremendous success using this spell in its Green body, Forgotten Lore. This card will work wonders with Null Profusion and Mirari. Mirari will copy the spell, allowing you to potentially get the Lore back plus another card, and each time you play the Lore again, the Null Profusion nets you a card draw.

I do predict that this card will not see much of a competitive look, no matter how much I talk it up.

Grade: B

Vampiric Link Common Enchantment — Aura B
Enchant creature
Whenever enchanted creature deals damage, you gain that much life.

Spirit Link rocked with White paint, and will rock on with Black paint.

I don’t think this card will see competitive play, but it doesn’t fit the aggressive tendencies of Black.

Grade: B-

Alright, now on to the grade reviews. (A = 4, F = 0)

A’s – 6 B’s – 12
C’s – 6 D’s – 5
F’s – 1

This would yield us with an average score of 2.56, or a C according to our scoring system.

After going through Black, I feel a return of MBC on the horizon. Looking over the existing Standard sets in memory, we know that Black has instant speed life gain in Soul Spike, it still has Consume Spirit, Phyrexian Arena, and to get back Mirari, Cabal Coffers (Magus of the Coffers), Visara the Dreadful (Avatar of Woe), and by adding awesome cards like Temporal Extortion, Dash Hopes, Damnation, and Null Profusion, Black is back as a powerhouse color.

Beware. MBC will be making its return to a store near you.

Thanks for joining me. Next week, we will look over the Blue cards and see what the Juggernaut I call Blue received in the newest Magic set, Planar Chaos.

Bye for now.

cpn

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