Drag to the Underworld |
Instant (U)
This spell costs less to cast, where X is our devotion to black. (Each in the mana costs of permanents you control counts toward your devotion to black.)
Destroy target creature.
The more you struggle against death, the tighter its grip becomes.

This is legit good. It'll definitely be a premier removal piece in Standard. I'd bet Pioneer as well, where mono-black is doing quite well.

Tasty Murder for . Instant too. Resists taxation effects to a degree. And it's even just Uncommon. I like it.

Design-wise I dislike this card. Devotion is more interesting when you are incentivized to go out of your way to have more colored mana symbols on your permanents than normal. This, on the other hand, might as well read "costs 1 less - sometimes 2 - if you control a black creature".

Since you can't cast this on turn two barring shenanigans, I cannot see this replacing Murderous Rider in Standard decks. Maybe in an escape deck that needs those cards in the graveyard, but even in a black devotion deck, Murderous Rider gives you two devotion on top of killing planeswalkers too.

I get what you are saying but maybe we will find that the difference between a 2 and 3 mana matters more than you would think when it comes to instant speed removal.

I think it is kind of funny that in a deck that cares about devotion to black having something cost instead of can be better, but then this card would be way stronger at

We still are in a Standard environment where I can turn-0 Leyline of the Void right?

LotV about to become more relevant with Escape and related tech (such as Grapple with the Past 2.slOw)

Oh this is swag. Like I've already seen it but it wasn't posted here so now I'm taking the chance to call this swag as hell.