That and they can't give us the cream of the crop all the time either, else why play paper except to dodge rarity restrictions?

Even the slightest glimpse into my mind is a gift. Anything more would be like staring at the Ark of the Covenant.

Fashionably late White review (AKA kill whitey)!

Anointed Procession - 2 - I'm giving it a 2 because I like it and will be testing it in a bunch of token decks. That said, its prob not as good as I want it to be and rarity restrictions will make sure that's the case. But hey, 2 is down from the 3 I want it to be and the 4 my wishful thinking would try to call it, so that's fair.

Anointer Priest - 1 - a 1/3 for 2 mana isn't completely terrible, and embalm makes it a little bit better. Outside of token decks, I don't think it'll see any play at all - but I do think it'll pop up in the occasional token go-wide deck - and it'll get played in embalm.decks. Yes those will suck, but they'll happen. I still come across processor decks for Christ's sake.

Binding Mummy - 1 - I see this as a pretty decent 2 mana option for zombie decks that include white. Not giving it more than a 1 because those are the only decks that would consider it. If aggressive tempo zombies is as good as some hope, this card will be a big reason why (and it's importance to them should bring up its rating a bit). If they're not, then this card will mostly be relegated to fringe play at the end of seasons when peeps get tired of playing spikey decks and want to goof off with bad tribal decks.

Cartouche of Solidarity - 1 - one of the better cartouches, being that it's cheap to cast and gives you a token body, so it still gives some value even if opp kills the creature - so long as it's not in response to casting it... Similar to the blue one, I think if Trials end up being things that see a lot of play, then it's value will increase. Helps that it's in white, which both likes weenie/token decks and is a staple of enchantment decks.

Cast Out - 5 - every control deck and their mother will run this card if they run white. Some will prob even ditch one color in favor of running white instead, just because of this card. This is what people want to have when they try Suppression Bonds in a deck, but it packs instant speed and cycles on top of that. Not just for control.decks tho, it'll see play in midrange decks that run white, and everyone who tries to build an enchantment.deck will run it. 5/5, would play again.

Compulsory Rest - 0 - and this is cast out's ugly redheaded stepbrother. Revoke Privileges is better than this and it costs more. It's prob fine in Limited where you're picking through scraps for answers, but not ok for anything with a card pool greater than a handful of boosters. Even enchantment.decks don't want this - or they shouldn't, because there are same cost options in blue that dont have 'give your opponent an out to gain life while partially nutralizing this threat'.

Devoted Crop-Mate - 2 - maybe I'm overvaluing this a bit, but I can see it being a pain in human decks with Always Watching. The big question is whether it can beat out other options for a spot to begin with - but if so it has the potential to do The Lord's Work. Not as versatile as Renegade Rallier, but you don't have to worry about getting Revolt or splashing green either.

Djeru's Resolve - 1 - cycling is the only thing keeping it from being a 0. Otherwise it's basically Enshrouding Mist that trades +1 p/t and conditional untap for +0 and guaranteed untap. That doesn't see much play outside fringe (read: worse) WW builds and this prob won't either.

Dusk // Dawn - 4 - I'm pretty geeked about this card. WW has a new best friend. I'll even run it in some token builds. I'm giving it a 4 because I think we'll see it a lot soon, but it is pretty limited in the types of decks that can use it to good effect so maybe not quite at the 4 level.

Fan Bearer - 0.5 - a wild 1/2 rating has appeared! I didn't want to give this the same rating as Binding Mummy, because it won't have the same value to those decks as BM. But it will get played in some of the same decks so I didn't want to give it a zero either. I've been trying to avoid 1/2 ratings here, but making an exception in this case.

Gideon of the Trials - 4 - I think this guy is pretty solid and that he will see play in both aggressive and control builds. That said, I didn't want to dilute the 5 rating with a bunch of cards and I think Cast Out is more important to more decks. Also CO answers Gideon, so he gets a 4.

Glory-Bound Initiate - 3 - this card will be a staple in Always Watching decks going forward. If you're playing AW and not running this, you're doing it wrong. He'll make it into other aggressive decks too.

Gust Walker - 1 - not the worst card you could spend 2 mana on. Evasion exert makes it worth considering at least - especially if you're running Always Watching and can have him be a 4/4 flyer every turn. As a human that can receive tribal synergies, that's pretty solid indeed (and maybe deserves a 2) - but unlike G-BI, I don't think he'll see play outside AW decks.

In Oketra's Name - 1 - I want to give this a 2 based on how powerful it could be in a zombie deck combined with menace, but it's not going to see play in any other decks.

Oketra's Attendant - 0 - cycling AND embalm sounds sexy until you see the costs and think about whether you REALLY want to pay 5 mana for a 3/3 flyer, and move on to better options.

Oketra the True - 3 - giving this the "God Bonus" on its rating, like the blue one. This one doesn't seem much easier to turn on and doesn't have evasion once it is - but it's an indestructable pilot that can **** out additional pilots at worst, so I think it'll make it into more decks.

Regal Caracal - 2 - 7/7 over 3 bodies with lifelink on 4 of it is pretty good. Cat tribal is a JFF deck (if it's even "fun" at all), but this dood has value in token/go wide decks for sure. I think it'll even see some play outside of token decks.

Renewed Faith - 1 - spells that don't provide any other effect than to gain you some life are a trap. Cycling is the only thing that keeps this from 0, but I still don't think this sees much play in the end. I'd be a little more attractive if we had gotten Felidor Sovereign, but we didn't so you have to ask yourself, how much do you really want to pay 2 mana just to cycle a card and gain 2 life? Prob not very much. Not giving it a 0 because I'm sure some peeps will try to use it in cycle.decks.

Rhet-Crop Spearmaster - 0 - nah dawg. Nah.

Sacred Cat - 1 - maybe doesn't even deserve a 1, but it will go into embalm.decks and won't be the worst card in them.

Sparring Mummy - 0 - nah dawg. Nah.

Tah-Crop Elite - 1 - Edit: I was reading this card wrong on first review, and have increased it 1. Thought it only buffed itself +1 p/t. Team pump is a dif story. It's not amazing and people who have all the cards will use other options for similar effects, but this is fine and good for folk w/o full collections.

Those Who Serve - 0 - nah dawg. Another card that ok for limited but won't get played if your card pool is greater than a handful of booster packs.

Time to Reflect - 2 - going to be boss in zombie.decks. Unlike Mummy or Fan-dood, this will see a lot of play in zombies even if the aggressive tempo version doesn't pan out. Not getting played outside them. But in them it will be pretty boss, slaying indestructible Gods and Gideon's alike for the low, low cost of .

Trial of Solidarity - 0 - if trials/cartouches combos see play, this might. Otherwise it won't.

Trueheart Duelist - 1 - if tossing it in your embalm.deck, it prob won't be your worst card in it. If not building an embalm.deck, you won't be adding this. AI prob play the **** out of it tho.

Unwavering Initiate - 0 - if tossing it into your embalm.deck, it will prob be one of the worst cards in it.

Kinda white: Oketra's Monument - 2 - I'm probably overvaluing this a bit, but getting a free extra body with every creature spell sounds nice. Card single handledly hoses Cruel Reality. Seems fun in token/go-wide strategies. White doesn't have a ton of creatures with casting costs that would make the cheaper cast all that important, but it adds value in additional board presence to every creature spell anyways.

Top 5 in White:
1) Cast Out
2) Gideon of the Trials
3) Dusk // Dawn
4) Glory-Bound Initiate
5) Oketra the True

I'd review W, but who cares? It's W. No card draw. Come for the exile effects and sweepers, stay for nothing.
Now Black, Black's a real colour. I'll take that one gladly. ^_^

I make 1 joke about Oketra's toughness...... smdh

Of course, like you, I could have just put random numbers next to the card link with no explanation.

Gimme my list of Black cards before I get busy!

it is pretty scary.

Black is ready on the OP enjoy! ( I had to type it up on my phone, let me know if I made any mistakes or missed any cards)

-- Placeholder for my "highly detailed" review --

Black
Archfiend of Ifnir I like it a lot!
Baleful Ammit I like it!
Bone Picker I like it a lot!
Bontu the Glorified I like it!
Cartouche of Ambition I like it!
Cruel Reality I like it a lot!
Cursed Minotaur I like it!
Dune Beetle I like it!
Doomed Dissenter I like it a lot!
Dread Wanderer I like it a lot!
Festering Mummy I like it!
Grim Strider I like it a lot!
Horror of the Broken Lands I like it!
Liliana, Death's Majesty I like it a lot!
Liliana's Mastery I like it a lot!
Lord of the Accursed I like it a lot!
Miasmic Mummy I like it!
Nest of Scarabs I like it a lot!
Never // Return This card is amazing!
Painful Lesson I like it!
Ruthless Sniper I like it a lot!
Scarab Feast I like it!
Soulstinger I like it!
Splendid Agony I like it!
Stir the Sands I like it!
Supernatural Stamina I like it!
Trial of Ambition I like it a lot!
Unburden I like it a lot!

Nearly Black: Bontu's Monument I like it!

i predict you...will.... liKe IT!

Shh, don't spoil it!

Day 3 : Black

Archfiend of Ifnir: 4.5 Cycle/discard trigger in Black is great, no mana required to activate like Drake Haven, 5 power flier for 5, punishes people trying to go wide. Only thing that keeps it from being a 5 (goes in EVERY deck on colour) is "dies to Languish", which is another staple of the some of the decks this wants to be in. Also acceptable as the top end of an aggro curve though. Really close to 5 if you play it with Yahenni's Expertise.

Baleful Ammit: 2.5 Even if you put the counter on itself, you've got a 3/2 Lifelink for 3. Synergy with Nest of Scarabs which I suspect will see play at least early in the season, but possibly throughout. Even better if you can put the counter elsewhere and/or rid yourself of it later. Big in aggro, life in control/midrange.

Bone Picker: 4.0 Basically the only reason to not run this is if you're going creatureless. As that is a valid strategy, this can't quite be a 5, but otherwise it's an amazing card with the discount and not bad without.

Bontu the Glorified: 2.0 I stand by this being better than Kefnet - both because you can make the sacrifice work to your advantage (Revolt, Hidden Stockpile, et cetera) - and because it's extra effective in 2HG - they lose 2 life, you gain 1. In addition, he's difficult to chump. He's not super exciting, but he's a role-player in certain decks.

Cartouche of Ambition: 1.0 Role-player in the Nest of Scarabs deck, works nicely with its Trial. Useful if not exciting.

Cruel Reality: 0 I want to like this card, but 7's too much. Possibly a thing if we get a way to cheat it out no later than T5.

Cursed Minotaur: 1.0 Not actually that bad. Similar to the 3/2 for 4 Intimidate spirit in the base set, but cheaper. I don't think the Minotaur deck will be a competitive thing, but it might do okay casually.

Doomed Dissenter: 0.5 Not the worst 2 drop in B. Nice before a sweeper since it leaves a token after.

Dread Wanderer: 1.0 Role-player in a Zombie deck and not a bad aggro pick in general (although somewhat overshadowed by Scrapheap Scrounger.) Even if it only comes back 1-2 times, if it forces any removal out of their hand that doesn't exile it, you've gotten ahead.

Dune Beetle: 0 Nopearoni, the San Francisco treat!

Festering Mummy: 0.5 Strict upgrade from his Goblin cousin. Also goes in the Nest deck.

Grim Strider: 0.5 Potentially undercosted fattie, but not by enough. Disables bluffing to be a 6/6 for 4, forces pre-combat casting, no evasion. Cute when it works but even then nothing to be excited about.

Horror of the Broken Lands: 0.5 Lack of evasion keeps rating low.

Liliana, Death's Majesty: 3.5 We didn't get a huge number of GY-reliant zombies, so the self-mill for 2 on the +1 is almost strictly a drawback. Compare to Gideon Ally. -3 Pretty good - that's a five mana effect there these days. Ultimate is a stall-breaker that can win the game. Not as universal as the previous Lils, but still a solid card and you'd want both in a zombie-dedicated build.

Liliana's Mastery: 1.5 Overcosted as an anthem effect but produces two bodies to go with it. Nice answer to a sweeper, albeit overpriced if not in a tribal build.

Lord of the Accursed: 2.0 Great card, if only in a specific deck that will be tier 1 or 2. Menace granting ability questionable; Graf Harvest does it better.

Miasmic Mummy: 0.5 Useful in a deck that wants to discard; reanimator, madness, Archfiend partner, but not thrilling beyond that.

Nest of Scarabs: 2.5 I was hoping when I first saw this we'd see Wither return, but that would probably be too good. This card goes way up if it or Infect does, though. Black's Tutelage; uncommon build-around enchant that changes how the game plays. Several cards work well with it.

Never // Return: 5.0 // 0.5 The Holy Grail of removal, critter or PW for 3. Only thing that keeps it from being the #1 Black removal spell is Sorcery speed. Return is a 4 mana sorcery for a 2/2. If it exiles something relevant, great. If not, highly overcosted.

Painful Lesson: 0 Don't play this card. Lesson complete.

Ruthless Sniper: 1.5 Yes, equal with Kefnet. Beefy for a one drop; 1/2, repeatable source of removal. Costs a little mana but couldn't exist at 1 mana otherwise. Great start for the Scarab deck, not necessarily bad outside of it, particularly with Madness.

Scarab Feast: 0 This would get a rating if we had sideboards, because there's times it would devastate opponents. As we don't, I can't see this ever being worth the slot in your deck unless you're going full cycling and even then I'd question it over more generally useful cards.

Soulstinger: 0.5 Questionable on its own, beefy if you can put the counters elsewhere, but then that blanks its ability. Probably only of use in the Nest deck.

Splendid Agony: 1.5 Not an awful play outside the Nest deck, and a potential back-breaker in it.

Stir the Sands: 0 From Under the Floorboards is a thing. Play that instead.

Supernatural Stamina: 0.5 Nifty trick, potentially quite funny with some ETBs. Not sure it's worth a deck slot, but half a point says it might be.

Trial of Ambition: 3.5 Pretty much strictly better than Oath of Liliana outside of 2HG. Unless Superfriends is your bag, you should probably be playing this in B, Cartouches or not.

Unburden: 0.5 At any other time I might have given this a 1 or even 1.5 for having Cycling for when it's useless. However, this set has a fair number of discard triggers, so you can be actively punished for playing this. Maybe better in a couple of sets when not so many will be running discard triggers to begin with.

Nearly Black: Bontu's Monument: 1.0 (1.5) The higher rating is for 2HG. B's got a fair whack of critters that don't mind costing one less either. Enables a T4 Archfiend without splashing.

Partial Black:Start // Finish: 1.0 // 0.5 Slightly overcosted Raise the Alarm with slightly better tokens meets grossly overcosted Bone Splinters. Splinters is generally a bad call at one mana. At three it's embarrassing.

Destined // Lead: 0.5 // 0.0 Again, nifty trick, but not sure if worth a slot. Lead is crap by virtue of being attached to the wrong effect; Destined is a surprise instant, Lead is a Sorcery you have to telegraph prior to combat. If Destined had given Deathtouch...but it doesn't. Possible 1-2 punch the next turn, but why? You can do better things with the card slot. Only of interest to Delirium.

Rags // Riches: 0.5 // 0.5 A very underpowered (but potentially completely one-sided in the right deck) sweeper stapled to a poor man's Blatant Thievery. Potential hilarity in 2HG though.

Cut // Ribbons: 1.0 // 2.0 (3.5) Cut's decent, would be on par with Harnessed Lightning if Instant, but Ribbons is very nice source of direct damage for us, the higher rating being for being a game-ender in 2HG.

Top 5:
1. Never // Return
2. Archfiend of Ifnir
3. Bone Picker
4. Liliana, Death's Majesty
5. Trial of Ambition

Best Black set yet, IMO.

I think it's retarded to give the split cards two ratings. You have to play with both so give the joint card a single rating. That being said, I agree it's a 5.0. Best removal for planeswalkers yet, no?

And I LOVE that Archfiend too

Sure, but both halves have different utilities, and it's possible someone might use discard/self-mill/other means to only play the Aftermath half. Ribbons in particular is due that treatment, and Earth probably is too.

Yeah I get that but you can't choose to only include one half of a split so might as well only assign one rating, but you can openly say which half is earning the rating:)

Anyway good write-up, yo

Bontu's a she tho.

They're actually the opposite gender of the Theros major gods.

I'd give Doomed Disenter more credit, I'm pretty pumped to play him in my Crats Deck alongside Bontu. Then again, I love Crats, even though probably it's not an optimal deck at this point.

Ok, the first two I tried to avoide using decimals. But it kinda bugs me when I give 2 cards the same ranking but they're not close to equal, and one just barely squeaked in while the other just barely missed out on the next level. This time I'm .x-ing to greater accuracy.

Day 3 : Black

Archfiend of Ifnir - 2.99999
This is a serious bomb. If you're playing against a deck that discards stuff and this hits the table, you better have an answer right now, or this dood will wreck you. I can't quite give it a 3 because it's limited in the type of deck that can make use of its ability. But it's the type of card that will draw people to build those decks for it.

Baleful Ammit - 1.0
It's basically Bloodcursed Knight that goes into different types of decks. BK is just ok, and sees some fringe play in enchantment.decks. This will basically be that in decks that care about -/- counters. It'll go in some versions and you won't hate casting it.

Bone Picker - 1.25
I'm not very high on this card. You only ever want to cast it for its conditional cost; if you pay full price you will feel bad. Realistically, you're never playing this T1, maybe T2 if you're super lucky, T3 if you're a little lucky, or T4 more likely but alongside removal. Once you start getting past T4, it's cheap cast ability hits a downslide where it's less and less relevant each turn. Because it can trade with pesky flying vehicles, it will get consideration in some decks. Because it has potential to be a 1 mana 3/2 flying deathtouch, it is playable. Because it's conditional 1 mana, it's not going to beat out other options that are unconditionally good and see widespread play. I know some peeps are stoked about it and looking at it in its best light, but we saw how reliable Revolt was, so I'm tempering expectations.

Bontu the Glorified - 2.1
Like I'll be doing for all the gods, this is getting the "God Bonus" on its rating. Menace is good, butt that dodges Languish is good. Having to have a creature on your side die (not any old creature, but your control) to turn him on, he's not going to go into a ton of decks. He could see play in crats or token decks, but that's about it. I'm giving him a slight (.1) edge in rating over the blue god, because he's easier to turn on in decks that would want him.

Cartouche of Ambition - 0.25
I see it buffs +1 p/t and think, "alright". I see it puts a -1 p/t on opps creature and think, "that's nice". I see it gives lifelink and think, "ok that's good". I see it synergizes with Trials (black having an attractive one) and think, "ok let's do this!" Then I look at the casting cost and think, "nah, I'll pass".

Cruel Reality - 1.0
If you don't answer this card, it will end you. But it costs 7 mana and ends slowly, giving time to draw outs. There's a good chance you will lose a game to this on the ladder, but there's also a good chance you'll see it played and think "no prob bob, thanks for tapping out!", and then untap and attack for lethal. It's not garbage, but it's expensive and slow - so it's not very good either.

Cursed Minotaur - 0.25
Meh, a 3/2 menace isn't the worst thing you could spend 3 mana on. But that doesn't mean you should. Maybe worth considering if you're building a tribal Minotaur deck, or if you dont have everything unlocked. If neither of those things apply to you, this is not a card you will play with.

Dune Beetle - 0.25
Meh, it's not a terrible defensive play if you don't have everything unlocked. Otherwise, pass.

Doomed Dissenter - 1
Kind of an inverse Carrier Thrall. Crats has a new friend to party with. -/- counters decks could make use of him too. That's about it tho.

Dread Wanderer - 2.0
Zombies want him. Recursion decks can use him. Hellbent decks could use him. He has homes and will see play.

Festering Mummy - 0.75
Worth considering in zombies, -/- counters decks, and maybe crats. Prob won't make the cut very often tho.

Grim Strider - 0.5
I'm not high on this card. He wants to go in hellbent, but you're looking for curve toppers at 4CMC in hellbent, and there are better options than a big dumb body. Think we'll see it around as some peeps test with him early, but ends up relegated to fringe play after that. Dig the art tho.

Horror of the Broken Lands - 0.25
Cycling on a card that cares about cycling might get this guy in a few decks, but they prob won't be very good. Needs trample or menace to really be worth playing. As is, he isn't. Dig the art tho.

Liliana, Death's Majesty - 4
Feel like this is the Lili that belonged in Innestrad. Not that it's better than Last Hope Lili (she's so boss on curve it's hard to be better than that), but it's the zombie tribal machine we wanted then. She'll go in a lot of decks - in some (zombies, reanimator, delerium) she'll be great. In others (some types of midrange and superfriends) she'll just be pretty good. But the fact her -3 needs you to play with creatures, and her ultimate doesn't win you the game will keep her off the highest tiers of Planeswalkers.

Liliana's Mastery - 3
This card will be all over zombie decks. A pair of 3/3s for 5 mana is already pretty good, add the +1/+1 buff to all your zombies makes it really good. Like Archfiend, it's narrow in the types of decks that want it. But it's harder to kill than Archfiend, and you can get more out of it the turn you cast it, so it gets a little better rating.

Lord of the Accursed - 3.1
Another card that will be all over zombie decks, but won't get played outside them. What this card could do for zombies is pretty darn good tho. If not for this, zombie.deck buzz would be a whole lot quieter. Smidge higher rating than LM because there might be some super aggro versions that run him but don't use a high enough curve for 5 mana plays.

Miasmic Mummy - 0.75
Zombie decks might consider him, and hellbent decks might too. Not an autoinclude tho, and won't get played in anything other than those or the occasional goofy handhate.deck.

Nest of Scarabs - 2.0
This card is oozing with potential. It will see play as people test to see what they can do with it. The main problem (and a reason why 2 might be too generous) is the bulk of cards that distribute -/- counters want you to build an aggro deck. Scarabs' effect is better suited for midrange. The cards that would play well with it either aren't that amazing (i.e. Ruthless Sniper) or don't go in decks that otherwise synergize with it (i.e. Archfiend). I'm thinking it won't be very boss this season, but new cards next season could change that in a hurry.

Never // Return - 4.0
This card will see a lot of play. We all hate the difficulty establishing a boardstate that can deal with a 3 mana Planeswalker on curve (looking at you, Lili!). Now those games where Lili hits T3 on the play and kills your only creature won't be automatic losses! Aftermath side is pretty decent too - at worst you get a 2/2 zombie, at best you exile an annoying Scrounger too while doing it.

Painful Lesson - 0.5
This will not replace Read the Bones, or even Live Fast in any deck except perhaps one where you plan to be able to also target your opponent with it. Maybe something goofy with Fevered Visions, where you're making sure they're taking 2 damage from Visions and also taking 2 from this. Maybe in some Orzhov lifedrain build. Worth running if you don't have RtB or LF, but just has some super fringe uses otherwise.

Plague Belcher - 2.5
EDIT: adding this in late as I just realized it wasn't on the OP master list. Nice menacey beater option for zombie decks, and it packs reach with zombie death triggers. Not as important to zombie decks as the lord (as in if we got this but not new lords, zombie hype wouldn't be as loud as now), but still has much to offer them. Should see play in -/- counters decks too.

Ruthless Sniper - 1.0
This guy could do some work in a discard deck. Maybe you toss him into the same deck as Archfiend. If there were a few more cards that synergized -/- counters with the discard them, you could toss NoS in too for tons of fun. As it stands he's kinda meh. Very narrow with decks that could use him, and not an autoinclude in those. At least he's a 1/2 for .

Scarab Feast - 1.0
Idk how much I like this. It wrecks reanimator decks, and hurts anything with Scrounger. If you're really desperate to answer Scrounger in black, maybe you should just run Complete Disregard, since it still has targets in many decks that don't (and opp doesn't have the option to recur it in response)? Value vs reanimator is great, but I don't see those enough to care that much. The fact that it cycles is the only reason I don't see it as garbage. It's a sideboard card that cycling makes not 100% bad to maindeck. Is that enough tho? Thinking most will say no. Maybe embalm and awaken are prolific enough that this becomes more attractive, idk.

Soulstinger - 1.0
Card that could do work in a -/- counters deck. Keep piling -/- counters on him until you finally have a grouped trigger that kills him, and you can cripple opps board. Problem is he's a higher end play in a deck with creatures that'll want to go aggro, so I don't think he'll be as valuable as he could be. And he won't get played in any other decks than -/-.

Splendid Agony 0.15
Hard to feel excited about this. Cost is just too much - maybe if it cost 1 mana like Dead Weight, it'd get played in some decks (mostly just -/- ones). At 3 mana it mostly won't, outside of someone looking for a synergistic combat trick and maybe trying 1-2 copies of it.

Stir the Sands - 0.15
We have From Under the Floorboards, do we really care enough about having those zombies enter play untapped that we'd give up the lifegain and pay an extra mana for it? Even if it has an expensive cycling option tacked on that produces 1 zombie token? Probably not.

Supernatural Stamina - 1.25
A neat little combat trick that you can repeat ETB effects with. If we had that flicker deck challenge again, I'd add a copy or two for pseudo-flicker. It could go into a variety of decks (i.e. any deck that could use a combat trick), so I think it's a smudge better than 1.

Trial of Ambition - 2.0
One of the better Trials. Probably a better option than Oath of Liliana in control decks that don't run many Planeswalkers. The abuse potential is pretty high, but unfortunately black's cartouche is pretty bad.

Unburden - 2.0
Card that will get some people to take another crack at bad handhate.decks. Gets around the worst part of playing with hand hate spells by having cycling. Hits 2 cards. Some non-goofy control decks will consider this too.

Nearly Black: Bontu's Monument - 1.0
Lifedrain.decks might want this. Nobody else cares that much tho.

Top 5 Black Cards

1) Never // Return
2) Liliana, Death's Majesty
3) Lord of the Accursed
4) Liliana's Mastery
5) Archfiend of Ifnir
*) Trial of Ambition
*) Dread Wanderer

*I think zombies will be good and played widely. They were all over the ladder during Innestrad, and they weren't even good then. I'm sure we'll see a repeat of proliferation, but believe they'll be much improved. The zombie lord and tribal buff enchantment won't belong in the top 5 if I'm wrong about zombies. I've padded the top 5 with 2 additional cards, If that ends up being the case.

Funny story, I went out of my way to avoid gender pronouns with Kefnet. Bontu I figured I'd take a guess. It's not like I follow lore these days. I'll remember to stay neutral with any future reviews.

Archfiend of Ifnir - 3.0

I'm confident enough giving him this rating. He's good even in a not-as-dedicated Cycling deck, maybe even as a curve topper in a -1/-1 counter build. He won't be ubiquitous, but some archetypes want him, and he delivers.

Baleful Ammit - 1.0

If Golgari -1/-1 is a thing, this card will be decent there. Not very exciting outside of that deck, though.

Bone Picker - 1.0

This is interesting for aggressive decks that can reliably cast it for . Outside of these decks, 4 mana is a tad too expensive for him.

Bontu the Glorified - 2.0

Bontu is an interesting case. 4/6 for 3 mana is a good statline, but having to sacrifice a creature to have her attack is a lot of investment. There might just be enough support for Crats to become viable, and if they do Bontu presents a sac outlet as well as decent payoff.

Cartouche of Ambition - 1.0

An aura-themed deck might be interested, even though this costs 3 mana. Lifelink is a very relevant ability, as is the -1/-1 counter.

Cruel Reality - 2.0

7 mana is a lot to ask, but the emblem-like effect can definitely end a game. Might be a decent finisher for tapout control.

Cursed Minotaur - 0.0

3/2 Menace for 3 just doesn't cut it, even in Minotaur tribal.

Dune Beetle - 0.0

We have too many better defensive creatures than this wall-like one.

Doomed Dissenter - 1.0

Interesting recipient fpr -1/-1 counters, decent creature to sacrifice, and a Zombie coming out of him could be relevant as well. I think its power level is a tad low to see regular play, but it's not terrible.

Dread Wanderer - 3.0

Both Zombies and Hellbent have to seriously consider, if not auto-include him. 1-drops are at a premium in Duels, this one adds recursion to a solid stat line and relevant creature type. Great card.

Festering Mummy - 1.0

The power level here is very low and I was tempted to give it a 0.0 and move on. However, I just wrote that 1-drops with relevant creature types are at a premium, so I wouldn't be surprised if this would be experimented with in Crats or Zombies. I doubt it's going to make the final cut though.

Grim Strider - 1.0

This wants to go into Hellbent, but a vanilla body is not what you want at the top of your curve - even if it is potentially a 5/5 or 6/6. I doubt this will see much play.

Horror of the Broken Lands - 0.0

Cheap Cycling is nice, but the card doesn't do enough for 5 mana to warrant inclusion even in cycling based decks.

Liliana, Death's Majesty - 4.0

A bit of an optimistic rating, because she is not the type of "slam-dunk walker" that just works in every strategy. However, most midrange decks running Black will happily play her as she is an amazing source of board presence, can help fueling the graveyard for recursive strategies and her fast ultimate does serious work. The power level is definitely there.

Liliana's Mastery - 3.0

Anthem effect and board presence in one card is powerful. 5 mana is a lot to ask, and the card is narrow, but it is very powerful in the decks that want it.

Lord of the Accursed - 3.0

Zombie lord? Yes, please. This doesn't only buff our walking dead, but can help end a game quickly by granting Menace. Great card.

Miasmic Mummy - 1.0

Really low power level, but Zombies are short on 2-drops and have some cards they'd like to be in the yard, so maybe this can be a filler.

Nest of Scarabs - 0.0

I want to like the card, but it just seems way too slow to see play. -1/-1 counters want to go faster han this card.

Never // Return - 4.0

Reasonably costed planeswalker removal? Count me in. Sorcery speed hurts a bit, but this means we finally have an answer to Walkers not named Anguished Unmaking.

Painful Lesson - 0.0

Between Read the Bones and Live Fast, this will see no play.

Ruthless Sniper - 1.0

I don't want to write him off completely, but his niche is very specific and requires quite some investment. I just don't see enough payoff for him.

Scarab Feast - 2.0

Situational card, but Cycling means it's never dead. Interesting tech choice for graveyard hate, though you should never include too many of it.

Soulstinger - 1.0

This might be a roleplayer in -1/-1 counter decks, but it comes at a steep price - 4 mana is nothing to sneeze at. Maybe it's better than I'm giving it credit for as it makes a pretty good recipient for the counters, but 4/5 is not the mot exciting statline for 4 mana by Duels standards.

Splendid Agony - 1.0

Very interesting aand flexible card, but likely too expensive by Duels standards.

Stir the Sands - 1.0

Given our other options for this slot, 6 mana seems a lot for 3 Zombies (we have From Under the Floorboards as well as Liliana's Majesty for 5 mana), and the ability to being a Zombie Nimble Innovator doesn't excite me much either. Maybe the flexibility is what keeps the card alive, but I think it's too expensive for what it does.

Supernatural Stamina - 2.0

There definitely are worse 1-mana combat tricks, and Black lacked them beforehand. Also, this re-triggers ETB effects, meaning this might have quite some applications. I can't think about a deck off the top of my head, but I'm pretty optimistic here.

Trial of Ambition - 2.0

Edict effects are decent removal by Duels standards; this one is cheap and recurrable. If you find the right Cartouche to play alongside it, this could be really good.

Unburden - 2.0

Best discard effect in Duels by a mile. Likely Cycling fodder after the first one hit; but that first one can be devastating.


Top 5:
1) Liliana, Death's Majesty
2) Never // Return
3) Archfiend of Ifnir
4) Dread Wanderer
5) Liliana's Mastery / Lord of the Accursed

5th place is a tie between two powerful cards that likely end up with and without one another anyway.

Calling renewed faith a bad card shows how new some of you are to the game. All that spell needs to be amazing is something it can feed into. If you duels players got Drake haven you should absolutely be rating it higher. I'm referring to rock slide and how good renewed faith was way back when. Drake haven although not as powerful (it doesn't need to be its duels) still has a pay off that's strong. Renewed faith is the second best cycling card you can play behind the counter spell. That's because of its effectiveness as a swing card for control decks to fight aggression just as the counter spell works. Other cycling cards aren't as good as other finishers (the sphinx is mediocre and you won't feel good casting it as a 4/4 when you have a 2 mana one you can play) also if you are cycling cast out you are doing it wrong. From a design level and a constructed level that cycling effect might as well not be there. I don't play this game anymore but I enjoy reading and reading comments of people who have such bizarre opinions without reason to back it up. I figured I would give some input.

Peepy makes another post telling us how bad we all are? What a surprise!