THE TOP 10 BLACK CARDS IN cEDH

Culling the weak: Sacking a creature isnt a cost, its usually a benefit

i love you guys but holy. bowmasters is such a good card.

its a board wipe, life-as-a-resource punisher, token maker, midrange punisher, spot removal, alt wincon. all wrapped up for a 2 mana flash creature.

27:40 so close to saying beseech the ritual

#1 AmEx

Is it possible that dark petition could be played as a 5 mana necro +utility or is 5 mana + threshold just too much?

It's because Culling Ritual is also a Ritual? It's actually fine if you're stuck in Golgari, but that's like trying to play pool without using your hands. Culling the Weak is a really strong card, but as noted it won't cast Naus by itself. TBH there might not be that many Black Ritual effects, but their is a lot of bangers in that list, there is also the Black High Tide effect if you're on something really weird (does mono-Blue even play High Tide??).

Again, there aren't THAT many Black tutors, but the ones that are good are literally the best in the game, nothing comes close to the raw power of Demonic Tutor. Vampiric is very good too in VERY fast decks, but right into hand is very high ceiling so i think Demonic is a 'better' card, though I think Dylan is right, in a Turbo list it's possible Vampiric has better play patterns than Demonic.

It's entirely possible I'm talking crap, but in what deck would Bargain be better than Necro or Naus (with build around)? I feel like 6 mana is slow enough that you'll probably be getting several cards less than the turn 1 Necro, and Naus will draw even more cards due to it's higher efficiency while both coming down earlier AND being an Instant. I feel like some decks would still bother with it, but I'm struggling to see what you can do with Bargain that you can't have already done with Necro SEVERAL turns earlier, or a situation when you wouldn't have preferred to build around Naus and tutor for that.

Out of the Forbidden Tutors (Pact and Consultation) Pact is way better if you need to find a card, Consultation shines when you need to remove your whole library from the game (for Thoracle obviously), Pact is versatile and probably the stronger card. I don't think too many decks should be eager to Consultation for a card, but when it's 'do or die' you might want to do it anyways, but the odds are pretty bad, and the biggest issue is usually you hit the named card halfway through your deck, and pass several cards that would have done the job along the way and all you can do at that point is either king make or bargain for a draw.

In the actual top 10 list Dark Ritual is probably the highest ceiling card as the best ramp option that can enable a turn 1 Necro, the other option for 1 is probably Necro. Naus is probably better than Peer in most decks that are built around it, but lots of strategies can't build around Naus. Demonic Tutor is more universal but Necro is a much, much higher ceiling card so I feel like it's a better contender for 1, with only Dark Ritual exceeding it potentially IMHO. IMHO Pact/Consultation shouldn't be on the list, worst call but your list isn't that wrong. IMHO Necropotence is probably the strongest card ever printed in Magic's history, at least that's a tournament legal card, nothing else can draw you as many cards as fast, not even a Recall, and if you've got access to Black Lotus it's worth noting the best thing you can do is still probably Necro (because it's easier to counter Channel/Fireball fwiw).

Re: Hoarding Broodlord, can you prove to me that it's easier to win with Griselbrand than this tutor engine? I guess you can start the chain with less mana with Grisel, but you're almost never going to fizzle a Broodlord line, and Griselbrand not only can fizzle it can only draw in blocks of 7, a significant weakness sometimes.

I still say 3 mana is too much for Yawgmoth's Will, but ymmv.

Underworld breach isnt a win con. I would call it an engine or enabler. It allows you to go for the win or enable the win but it isn't winning the game itself

I would argue some decks abuse reanimation so saying it’s a bad strategy I don’t think is right. I main Inalla and if i reanimate a broodlord it is a definitive win, I do not run PITA and opens up much more routes. Still incredibly niche to that deck tho.

Spoiler alert:


#1: K'rrik

Y'all make me want to throw rog/si back together.

Necro and naus do go in Sisay you just didnt build it right

Demonic cousil i feel will go up in stocks if a good demon gets popular for some cedh deck

41:55 Shimmer Myr has entered the chat.

I give you all my hype points 🙇‍♂️

I feel like this should have been a Cubby video to edit, with all the misnamed cards

The best tutors, bowmaster, necro, bolas and the best rituals like culling the weak, dark ritual etc.
Black is the goat colour!

Mana dice please

Dylan gave everything for us RogSi player and the Necropotence in our hearts it will always be the best card 🫶🏼🖤

Doomsday, sacrifice, burnt offering, hoarding broodlord, razaketh, notably absent so far at about halfway

Edit: also surprised the categories are rituals, tutors, draw when there’s also removal, reanimation, etc

Great video! I really wanted to see Doomsday in the honorable mentions, but alas 😢

Would you consider Sacrifice or Burnt Offering good rituals?

necro not number 1 is crazy (I am also a rog si player)

Dr. Doom is entering the chat next week. 4 mana but its a thoracle in black

Y’all are the best! I live for these podcasts

44:40 "it's the thing you are tutoring for" seems like a good argument for why the best tutor should be rank 1

I live for the cold opens

As a K'rrick player, I can't believe you guys forgot CEDH staple, Fleshwrither lol But actually yawg will might be in the top 10 or close

Where are my points cubby!!

When in doubt, JUND em out!

Id like to think you could activate wishclaw hold priority untap it with a key and reactivate before the first ability resolves?
Or use wishclaw to get mindslaver and mindslaver the op you gave it to, tutor up their answer to your threat, and pass the wish claw back to yourself

Dear Dylan, if you are not playing Ral for sunday's episode we riot.

Black might be the hardest color to rank. Tutors, Yawg's Will, Rituals, Necro, Bowmaster Ad Naus. Just a really stacked cEDH color.

My favorite Magic artist has a kickstarter, and it's being promoted by PlaytoWin? instantly sold

If there's one thing I learned from this video is that Magic's consistent naming conventions for certain effects is both a blessing and a curse. A card could be called "Culling the Imperial Tutor's Demonic Ritual" and we'd instantly know what it does without reading the text

Sacrifice and Burnt Offering are both Ritual effects for Black that are kind of the opposite of Culling the Weak. They create the sacrificed creatures casting cost in mana. I've only seen it in Dargo, but it slaps there.

Burnt offering is probably my favorite ritual next to culling ritual

I will never forget the game where I played turn one Swamp, pass. Opponent plays, cracks a fetch and I dark rit into and Oppo Angent lol.

Is Dark Petition still seeing play?

Who up Culling they Ritual?

Are we not counting Burnt offering because its a red and black card?

"You can Praetor's Grasp a Gaea's Cradle". While that statement is technically true, good luck getting the Cradle before the Green deck does.
Every Cradle deck is designed to have Cradle in Play between Turn 1-3, most run 6+ cards that can Tutor for Cradle.
~90% of the time you would need to Dark Ritual + Praetor's Grasp to steal the Cradle before it hits the Board.
It's like saying "You can Preator's Grasp their Necropotence".

you guys could use edgrec for number you know? xD

9:17
Culling the Weak
Culling Ritual
Dark Ritual
Cabal Ritual


My favorite list to keep straight is:

Force of Will
Force of Negation
Pact of Negation
Demonic Pact
Demonic Tutor
Diabolic Tutor
Diabolic Intent
Malicious Intent
Malicious Eclipse
Eclipsed Realms
A Realm Reborn
Jeska, Thrice Reborn
Jeska's Will
aaaaand back to Force of Will

I think “win enablers” are a better way to describe Tainted Pact, Necro, Ad Naus, etc. They can definitely “win” you the game with how much value they provide but it isn’t a guarantee. It enables the win. Thassa’s Oracle is the condition that Pact enables