(Chthonian Nightmare | Art by Thomas M. Baxa)

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Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions

Hello, everyone! It’s your friendly neighborhood Jesguy here, and welcome to the Modern Horizons 3 Black Set Review!

Today I'll be going through all the black cards from the main set and from the commander decks, and seeing how impactful they are to our format! Let's not waste any time and jump right in!

Mythics

Nethergoyf

This first one is going to be short and sweet. If you aren't playing Modern, or Disa the Restless, you aren't playing Nethergoyf.

The amount of decks that want a cheap, recursive vanilla creature are exceedingly low. Being able to bring it back is nice, and costing one mana is cool and all, but it is just small potatoes for our format. We have bigger and better things to do. Skip.

Sorin of House Markov

Man, if I was forced to sit at a fancy-shmancy dinner party with my family and drink angel blood, I'd also look as sullen as Sorin does. Poor guy.

Now look, I know that Sorin of House Markov is technically an Orzhov card, but there was no way I was passing up talking about my favorite planeswalker's flip card.

While he looks quite morose in his art, Sorin's card itself is extremely lively! a 1/4 for two mana with lifelink is a great body, then tack on Extort and now we're talking! The requirement for his flip trigger is negligible, since, after a single Extort you'll have the life you need (at least if you're in a three player game that is)!

Then on his back side...Whoo wee!

Keeping the Extort is lovely. The Food token creation and his ultimate are nice, but nothing to write home about. His -1 though? Whew, that has some power to it!

Unlike some Lifegain decks where you want to gain a lot of small increments of life over time, Sorin would prefer you to gorge and feast, gaining as much life in a turn as possible. To this end, he would love to Beacon of Immortality and Revival//Revenge to one shot opponents with ease. Combine that with The Chain Veil, and you can do it twice in a turn! Then if you have some extra room in your deck, add in Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord and Witch's Clinic to give him lifelink, and you'll be even further ahead on the life gain train!

Sorin of House Markov is the perfect place to put those life gain cards from 2013 and before. Rhox Faithmender, Boon Reflection, Serra Ascendant...Sorin appreciates all the big durdly life gain cards that you can fit in him. He does an excellent impression of Aetherflux Reservoir, so gain a bunch of life and let him go to town!

Rares

Chthonian Nightmare

While Chthonian Nightmare is a fixed Recurring Nightmare, that doesn't make this any less powerful.

If you've played Vintage Cube on MTGO at all, you know how strong Recurring Nightmare is. If you've played Vintage Cube on MTGO at all, you'll also know you don't need to be getting back Griselbrand and Archon of Cruelty to get value out of Recurring Nightmare. Instead of using it as a reanimation piece to cheat big things out, Chthonian Nightmare is a value piece that will help accrue resources over time. If you look at the Top Creatures in the format, the overwhelming majority of them are MV 3 or less.

Your main priority with Chthonian Nightmare would be to buyback valuable cards like Dockside Extortionist, Eternal Witness or Esper Sentinel. Then if you have some extra energy lying around, bring back some bigger stuff! You have so much control over this card its ridiculous.

I really like Chthonian Nightmare as a value piece, and I think it has plenty of homes in various Graveyard decks in the format. I know I'll be trying it out in my Karador, Ghost Chieftain Enchantress deck for sure!

Crabomination

Crabomination is such a good name. Kudos to the name and flavor text writers for this one!

Crabomination looks like a really solid card. Emerge from Artifact is a nice twist on the original Emerge mechanic, and really helps make this Crab Demon playable. Even by just Emerge-ing from a Signet that you tap for mana, you bring the Emerge cost down to four mana, which is incredibly reasonable!

This is great in Blink decks and Theft decks specifically. It's fun, it's silly, and can provide a bunch of value, even if the cards you are exiling are random!

Emperor of Bones

Now this is a tasty little Hatebear!

Incidental graveyard hate is always welcome, especially when you get to exile a creature and then Goryo's Vengeance it back a bit later in the game! This is an excellent include in Skeleton decks, of course, but more importantly, +1/+1 Counter decks! If Emperor of Bones is able to stay on the field for a few turns, it could easily exile some banger creatures from any graveyard and bring them back whenever you want.

Emperor of Bones is a little niche, but it is also quite powerful. A cheap creature that is relevant at all parts of the game is a rarity, but this noble pull that off with aplomb!

Flare of Malice

An edict isn't the flashiest of spells that you can get for free, but it is far from the worst!

Soul Shatter sees play in a whopping 58,000+ decks; just about 3% of all black decks! Why is that? Well I'm glad you asked! Black has a ton of excellent commanders that synergize with things dying or being sacrificed: Gisa, Glorious Resurrector, Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest, Glissa, the Traitor, Missy, Kresh the Bloodbraided, the list goes on. And on. And on.

Long story short, this kind of effect is surprisingly powerful in the right decks, and a free version of it will be an excellent addition to the black brews of EDH. Thumbs up from me!

Necrodominance

A fixed Necropotence is sweet.

...For 60 card formats (and maybe cEDH).

For casual EDH though, I'm unsure how good this will be. We already have access to the aforementioned Necro so I don't think a worse version of it will make too many waves. That said, a "fixed" version of Necropotence is still a Necropotence, so having both in your deck might not be a terrible play either.

This is right at home in combo decks, decks that don't care about their life total, or Lifegain decks! Necrodominance certainly isn't bad, but it does seem a bit tame for casual EDH at first blush. I've been known to be wrong before, so we'll see!

Ripples of Undeath

Ripples of Undeath is like a strange Sylvan Library, and I'm not sure if I like it.

Even just compared to Necrodominance above it, I think Ripples of Undeath comes up a bit short. It's nice that it mills you for a bit, but an extra mana and three life can be a lot to ask, especially multiple turns in a row. That said, the free milling and potential card selection is nice, so it isn't all bad.

This falls short of "normal" card advantage options, but can definitely perform better as a synergy piece. In the right deck, Ripples of Undeath can put in a lot of work, but it doesn't have more raw power than options we already have.

Shilgengar, Sire of Famine

A massive, under-costed Demon with zero downside? Back in my day, this would have been a chase mythic of a set! Today though, Shilgengar, Sire of Famine is just par for the course.

Like Sorin, Shilgengar is technically an Orzhov card, but with all these Innistrad legends, I just couldn't help myself. I can't pass these up especially when Shilgengar is so powerful!

First and foremost, people are going to be looking to him to lead an Angel deck. This will be quite strong, as you can build up Blood fast and reanimate your sacrificed Angels quickly. Throw in some blink effects like Eerie Interlude to shake off those finality counters, and you're going to town!

Angel lists aren't the only ones that Shilgengar fits into either! Sacrifice decks love a free sac outlet, and one that can filter your hand with Blood is even better! Six Blood might seem like a lot, but with all of the fodder these decks have available to them, getting rid of them only to bring them right back shouldn't be an issue whatsoever!

Shilgengar, Sire of Famine is powerful and fun, with plenty of ways to build around him, and plenty of decks he can slot into. With his cool visual design and flavorful, interesting mechanics, I could easily see him being one of the breakout legends of the set.

Warren Soultrader

Phyrexian Altar...Is that you?

It may look a bit different, but this little Zombie Goblin is definitely an excellent successor to Phyrexian Altar in our format. A 3/3 for 3 with two relevant creature types and a free sac outlet stapled to it is absolutely absurd. Zombie decks, Goblin lists, Aristocrat brews, Sacrifice shenanigans...All these styles of decks (and more!) will happily take such a powerful card to add to their repertoire.

Yes, yes, you need to pay a life each time you do it, but if Yawgmoth, Thran Physician has taught us anything, it's that paying one life for a powerful effect is negligible. I don't have much else to say about Warren Soultrader, it's just that good. Put it in your lists!

Uncommons and Commons

• Accursed Marauder is the cheapest version of the Fleshbag Marauder effect we've ever seen, and it's even better than ol' Fleshbag to boot! Two relevant creatures types, cheap mana cost, and the ability to get rid of an actual creature? Sign me up!
• Arcbound Condor can be brutal in the correct Artifact lists. Being able to pick off tokens or bigger creatures with artifact etbs is great. Having Modular 3 is also just icing on the cake! I like this a lot in those specific decks.
• Boggart Trawler is near perfect. ETB exile a graveyard is an excellent ability, and the option to be a land on top of that is just great. This can easily be blinked or brought back, and is an excellent kind of effect to have access to. It isn't Bojuka Bog, but it's some nice redundancy.
• Consuming Corruption is a nice Defile variant. I don't think it is as good as Defile, but it is a nice secondary option. If you have lots of swamps and want some removal/life gain, here you go!
• Eviscerator's Insight isn't Deadly Dispute, but nothing ever will be. Being able to cash in an artifact or a creature to draw two cards is lovely though, and the flashback cost on it is just gravy.
• Fetid Gargantua is a nice piece for +1/+1 Counters decks. It's costly, but it can easily net multiple cards through Proliferate and other counter-adding shenanigans. It won't make it into the most tuned lists, but it's a good option to have for more casual ones.

• Grim Servant is a cute callback to the titular Grim Tutor. Servant is best in decks with high devotion to black. Three devotion is where I would say the sweet spot is. At three you have a swath of things you can get, like Sol Ring, Feed the Swarm, Phyrexian Arena, or Toxic Deluge! Overall I think Grim Servant is pretty cool and can fit into a lot of decks. Being a Zombie is an excellent bonus too!
• Fell the Profane, like nearly all MDFCs with lands on the back of them, is excellent, no ifs, ands, or buts. Being a removal spell when you want it, or a land when you need it is excellent modality. No complaints here, it just seems to be an all around better Hagra Mauling.
• Marionette Apprentice is an absolute banger. In most situations it will be a better than its predecessor Marionette Master. While it is comparable to Zulaport Cutthroat it won't gain you life...But when you can quickly drain opponents' life via creatures or artifacts, I don't think the life gain is necessarily necessary. Excellent uncommon!
• Mindless Conscription is nice for Zombie decks and decks that care about having an Army, but not much else. Unless you're in a deck that can draw a lot of cards each turn, this is a glorified vanilla 3/3. If you can Amass multiple times, go for it. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother.
• The Creation of Avacyn is slow, but interesting. A cheap tutor, isn't terrible, especially when the only thing that hurts you is nabbing a creature. That said, there is plenty of enchantment removal in the format, and having an opponent blow this up after you taken the life loss, but before you get your card is an absolute disaster. I like the card, but there are definitely better tutors out there. If you want something fun and cheap though, here is your go-to.
• Wurmcoil Larva is absolutely adorable. Wurmcoil Engine is one of my favorite cards ever, so seeing a tiny version of it is so dang cute. That said, 5 mana is a lot for a 3/3, even if it splits up into two bodies. Maybe some Deathtouch decks will play it, but otherwise, I have a hard time seeing where this little baby has a home.

Modern Horizons 3: Commander Decks

• Barrowgoyf is a solid creature. It's got two keywords and like all 'Goyfs, it grows in size over time. Unlike most 'Goyfs though, this one comes with some card advantage attached! Milling for three and getting a creature back is a pretty nice effect, especially for Self Mill or Graveyard lists. That said, if you wouldn't run Ripples of Undeath, you probably wouldn't want to run this.
• Bismuth Mindrender is a bit underrated as a 4/3 for 4. Along with that, its ability make you pay life in order to cast spells isn't all that great. Sure you might be able to do it a time or two, but there is a reason why Dark Confidant doesn't see a lot of play in casual EDH; these effects just eat up too much life. I think Mindrender pretty lackluster, but if you are dead set on playing it, make sure it's in a Lifegain list or maybe a Theft deck.
• Final Act has been compared to Farewell, and while I understand that, it isn't nearly as oppressive. Two of its five modes will usually be irrelevant (nixing battles and counters) and the other three just make it a very powerful board wipe. Most black decks will want this if you have one, and I can certainly see it replacing more "vanilla" wipes like Damnation, since it has so much versatility.
• Mutated Cultist is another easy way to get your ice counters off of your Dark Depths. On top of being a combo piece there, it is excellent at removing planeswalkers from the board, energy and experience counters from your opponents, and +1/+1 counters from creatures. Combine that with the mana discount you get and you're off to the races! It seems niche at first, but I think there is a lot of potential for the cultist.

Or Do the Modern "Solutions" Cause More Modern Problems...?

And there we have it! All of the black cards from Modern Horizons 3!

Whew, that was a long one! In particular, the commons and uncommons section was packed full of juicy goodstuff. Don't let me sell those rares short though. Warren Soultrader? Emperor of Bones? Flare of Malice? All these cards are absolutely absurd! I know this isn't a Commander Masters set, but damn, it sure feels like one!

What about you, though? What black cards are your favorite? Any standouts? Anything I missed on? Be sure to let me know down in the comments below!

Until next time, may your solutions be the ones you're looking for!

You can reach me on Twitter (@thejesguy), where you can always hit me up for Magic- or Jeskai-related shenanigans 24/7. Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Please don’t hesitate to leave them below or get in touch! Stay safe, wear your mask, wash your hands, and keep fighting the good fight. I support you. No justice, no peace.

Angelo Guerrera

Angelo is a New England resident who started playing Magic during Return to Ravnica, and has made it his mission to play Jeskai in every format possible. Along with Commander, he loves Limited, Cube, and Modern, and will always put his trust in counterspells over creatures. He is still hurt by Sphinx's Revelation's rotation out of Standard.