[Top 25] MTG Arena Most Powerful Black Cards

MTG Arena most powerful Black Cards
What are you doin in my swamp?!?


Gather round my necromancers and corpse churners. It has been a while since we have looked at some of the most powerful cards for black. Removal,life drain, and even token production are all possible in this color. Since the last look, new cards have been released that changed the arena. Let us take a look at twenty five of the most powerful cards in black. 

25. Duress

Are you afraid of needels? you will be

What is great about Duress?

  • Cost only one mana to cast
  • Provides insight into your opponent's resources
  • Weather played on turn one or turn ten this card is great for identifying and removing threats

24. Banehound

woof woof arf

What is great about Banehound?

  • It has haste allowing it to start dealing damage when it spawns 
  • Allows you to heal yourself 
  • Excellent turn one play

23. Urgoros, the Empty One

Discard down to zero and die 

What is great about Urgoros?

  • He has flying making him harder to block
  • Duress on a creature 
  • Can be fun as your commander in brawl

22. Cauldron Familiar

Cats and ovens are a dangerous combo 

What is great about Cauldron Familiar?

  • You gain life from your opponent’s pain
  • You can sacrifice a food token to have it respawn 
  • When played with Witches Oven this creates a powerful combo

21. Unbreakable Bond

Creatures need love too

What is great about Unbreakable Bond?

  • Allows a creature to respawn directly onto the board
  • The respawned creature gains lifelink
  • Can target any creature in your graveyard

20.Harvester of Souls

Death trigger on the demon draw a card 

What is great about Harvester of Souls?

  • It has deathtouch 
  • The power and toughness allow it to be a great blocker or attacker
  • You can draw cards if your creatures die

19. Ogre slumlord

Rats always feed on death

What is great about the slumlord?

  • Strong synergy with a rat tribal deck
  • All rats you control gain deathtouch 
  • Allows you to flood the board with tokens

18.Lich’s Caress

Pokes with malcious intent 

What is great about Lich’s Caress?

  • You can destroy any creature outright
  • You gain life for killing a threat
  • Can target your own creatures to allow more abilities to trigger

17. Epicure of Blood

no pain just gain 

What is great about Epicure of Blood?

  • Each opponent will lose life
  • The ability can trigger at any time
  • Can be a strong blocker if needed 

16.Bone Splinters

Those are some nasty toothpicks 

What is great about Bone Splinters?

  • Cost only one mana to cast
  • It allows you to sacrifice a creature which can generate values
  • Solid piece of removal 

15.Knight of the Ebon Legion

A knight and a vampire 

What is great about Knight of the Ebon Legion?

  • Cheap to play
  • Whenever a player loses life it gets a counter on it
  • The ability to give it deathtouch makes combot risky for your opponents

14.Scheming Symmetry

Tutor for two please 

What is great about Scheming Symmetry?

  • Can be a tool to gain allies in multiplayer duals
  • Allows you to get any card you may need 
  • This card is a one drop tutor 

13.Spark Harvest

Behold the power of the dragon god

What is great about Spark Harvest?

  • Can target planeswalkers
  • You can pay additional mana instead of having to get rid of a creature
  • Removes threats big and small 

12. Vampire of the Dire Moon

as aposed to vampire of the chill moon

What is great about Vampire of the Dire Moon?

  • Life gain early game
  • A great blocker or attacker with deathtouch
  • First turn play 

11.Murder

Homicide the card 

What is great about murder?

  • Does not deal damage which can be prevented it is an instant kill
  • An instant kill that is cast at instant speed
  • Three mana is a fair cost 

10. Death Baron

Skeletor?

What is great about Death Baron?

  • Makes your zombies and skeletons harder to kill
  • Death touch makes i your zombies and skeletons kill easier 
  • You can have multiple on your board because the creature is not legendary

9.Dreadhorde Invasion

Fetch me their souls 

What is great about Dreadhorde Invasion?

  • Only costs two mana 
  • Gives your zombie tokens lifelink
  • Allows you to create a zombie token every turn 

8.Liliana’s Mastery

Children of the grave march on!

What is great about Liliana’s Mastery?

  • Buffs your zombies 
  • Creates two zombies 
  • A fair cost for all it does 

7.Rankle, Master of Pranks

Impractial joker legendary rouge 

What is great about Rankle?

  • Flying makes it hard to block
  • Haste allows it to fly into the game and swing when summoned
  • You can trigger all three effects whenever it deals damage

6.Open the Graves

Something smells like death 

What is great about Opent the Graves?

  • You can sacrifice your own creatures to make zombies
  • Makes combat a chance to create more creatures
  • Because it is non legendary you can have more than one on the field

5.Liliana,Dreadhorde General

Turn the undead on the big scary dragon

What is great about Liliana?

  • Static ability that triggers anytime the condition is met
  • Versatile abilities to remove or add to the board 
  • If Liliana is allowed to perform her final ability it is an assured victory 

4.Exquisite Blood

Blood is lives 

What is great about Exquisite Blood?

  • In a multi dual this would trigger due to the amount of damage done to each opponent
  • Triggers at anytime the conditions are met
  • Is part of amazing combos that allow you to deal infinite damage

3.Bolas’s Citadel

You think he was compensating for something?

What is great about Bolas’s Citadel? 

  • Allows you to look at your top card whenever you want
  • Allows you to play the top card of your library with life instead of mana 
  • Just playing this card changes the pace of the game

2.Peer into the Abyss

Don't look drectly into the eyes while you cast it

What is great about peer into the abyss?

  • You can target yourself if you really want to
  • Takes away half of their library, limiting their resources 
  • Halves their life total, limiting their options and time left alive

1.Gray Merchant of Asphodel 

The devoted zombie Gary 

What is great about Gray Merchant of Asphodel?

  • Deals massive damage when played 
  • All it has to do is enter the board to deal massive damage
  • You gain the life your opponents lost 

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Avid gamer, casual planeswalker and occasional cunning linguist. James is an encyclopedia of comic book heroes,anime superpowers, video game trivia and grammar when it counts.
Gamer Since: 2002
Favorite Genre: RPG
Currently Playing: Kingdom Hearts
Top 3 Favorite Games:DOOM, Fallout: New Vegas, Prototype


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