Guess who's back? Back again. Yup, it's Dominaria and today we'll go over the first color the great lord Belzenlok discovered on Dominaria before sharing it with the rest of the world: Black. You and his majesty want to know the best for Standard and I'm not going to disappoint. Let's review my rating system.

I will not be going over cards that I believe will not see play in Standard. For example, cards like Time of Ice and Gideon's Reproach will be omitted since they are just Limited cards and saying, "This is just a Limited card" repeatedly gets old rather fast. Don't worry, though. I will be covering all the rare and mythic cards in the set. So, if you like a certain rare or mythic, it will be mentioned in the review.

Keep in mind I'm rating all these cards for Standard playability. I will mention Modern applications if I believe the card has some.

Each card will be listed by color, then alphabetically by name.

Each card will given a rating of 1-5. If a card would receive a 0, meaning it will see no play in that format ever, it's rating is left off the list

RATING -- Explanation -- Standard Examples

0 -- Will never see play in this format (0 ratings are not listed).

1 -- Unlikely to see play. (Dubious Challenge)

2 -- Could see fringe play, or occasional sideboard card. (Authority of the Consuls)

3 -- Commonly played, staple in a single deck, or frequent play in several decks. (Harnessed Lightning, Cast Down)

4 -- Format staples. Sees play in multiple decks, one of the best cards in the format. (Heart of Kiran, Abrade, Seal Away)

5 -- Format warping. If you're in these colors, you play that card. (The Scarab God, Chandra, Torch of Defiance

Unfurl the curtains.

	3 -- Cast Down is going to be an amazing removal spell in Modern. As far as Standard goes, it will still see play, but you won't be able to just jam four in your deck. Hazoret the Fervent, The Scarab God, Kari Zev, Skyship Raider and all these new legendary creatures from Dominaria do not die to Cast Down. I expect control to play on average about 2-3 Cast Downs. This number can increase or decrease depending on the number of legendary creatures that will be running around.
	2 -- Black's Glimmer of Genius! Putting a card in the graveyard is very relevant. It can fuel your The Scarab God or you could put a juicy target to bring back with Liliana, Death's Majesty. Better yet, put a Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh into your graveyard and bring it back the following turn with Yawgmoth's Vile Offering. The potential is great, but you must be weary of your life. 2-4 damage can easily be the difference between a win or a loss. I do like it as a draw spell in Mastermind Ramp, though probably just one or two.
	2 -- I'm sure we'll see Demonlord Belzenlok be a combo card in older formats. As far as Standard goes, he's just okay, but I don't expect him to see high level play. Overall, he's worse than Torrential Gearhulk and The Scarab God. If he does see play, it will be in a Mono-Black deck with Cabal Stronghold.
	2.5 -- This card will see some play in Standard. Being able to hit creatures and artifacts makes it better than Harsh Scrutiny. It won't be commonly played but it will show up here and there.
	2.5 -- When Nantuko Shade got a reprint, it saw no play, and Nantuko Shade is better than Dread Shade just because it's cheaper and easier to cast. However, Nantuko Shade wasn't legal the same time Cabal Stronghold. If Cabal Stronghold is powerful enough, then you can expect Dread Shade to go right into that deck as well.
	2 -- While not Consuming Vapors, The Eldest Reborn is similar. Instead of getting two creatures and some life, you'll get a creature, a card, and the best creature or planeswalker from any graveyard. The fact that it can bring back a Planeswalker is what makes me believe this will show up somewhere. Putting a planeswalker onto the battlefield and having access to all your mana is a huge tempo swing, especially if you wipe the battlefield with something like Fumigate. A slow card, but one that is rewarding if you build your deck a little bit around it.
	2 -- I see Final Parting being played in some sort of Reanimator shell. You'll cast final parting grabbing Liliana, Death's Majesty / The Scarab God and then some big creature to bring back like Razaketh, the Foulblooded or a Noxious Gearhulk. You can even go deeper and put Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh into your graveyard and get a Primevals' Glorious Rebirth. Now that's some spice!
	2.5 -- A solid card for the Mono-Black Cabal Stronghold deck. It's also a great card to have in your sideboard as a target for Mastermind's Acquisition. It does compete with Torment of Hailfire in the ramp / Cabal Stronghold deck. Which card is better is going to depend on the makeup of your deck and what game you're in. For example, if you're playing a ramp deck with few to no creatures, then Josu Vess will be great in games two or three. He's not even bad in the maindeck of your Mastermind deck as a singleton since he gets around spot removal like Vraska's Contempt.
	2 -- We have much better creatures than Kazarov for less mana in Standard. Hard pass on this vampire, even if he is of pureblood.
	2 -- Fantastic sideboard card for Black decks if White aggressive decks start popping up. Terrific way to hold down the fort or close out a game in that particular scenario.
	3 -- Hype level is over 9000! This is hands down the best lich card we've ever seen in Magic history. I believe it's good enough to see Standard play, especially since you can get around the lose the game clause with a Disallow. Conveniently a lot of Black cards have incidental life gain attached to them. Cards like Moment of Craving and Vraska's Contempt start drawing cards with a Lich's Mastery on the battlefield. That's insane! I want some number of copies in Mastermind's Acquisition. Gift of Paradise draws three cards now? Where can I sign up?!
	2 -- I would keep an eye on this just because it's a great card to keep discarding to something like Tormenting Voice or Cathartic Reunion. I don't believe we have enough moving pieces to make Lingering Phantom work, but I'd keep an eye on it.
	2.5 -- A slow Damnation that can grow and protect one of your own creatures. You can also preemptively play Phyrexian Scriptures, forcing your opponent to not play any creatures on their turn which will essentially Time Walk them. A great play with Phyrexian Scriptures is to just cast it on turn four, even if your opponent has one or fewer creatures. This will allow you to untap with a battlefield devoid of creatures. This will not only give you a tempo boost, but it will allow you to play a planeswalker with no creatures to pressure it.
	1.5 -- Not a fan of this card in Standard, even if you can find other ways to make use of your 0/1 Cleric tokens. The drawback of getting your battlefield cleared by something like Fumigate and then taking six damage is not something I want to be part of.
	2 -- Settle the Score allows you to ultimate a handful of planeswalkers. You can curve Jace, Cunning Castaway into Settle the Score and then ultimate him on turn four. You can ultimate Nissa, Vital Force right away and the same is true for Tezzeret the Schemer. Competing with Vraska's Contempt is not where you want to be, but it has its niche uses.
	1.5 -- This curves well off Rite of Belzenlok, but any more after the first one won't do anything to your opponent's life total. Cool Commander card but not one I expect to see play in Standard.
	2.5 -- You don't have the life gain like you do from Moment of Craving but being able to kill Gods when you kick Vicious Offering is very relevant. Great in takes that can make tokens like Hidden Stockpile or even Hour of Promise.
	2.5 -- Whisper is such an epic name. I really want to play Whisper in a attrition deck with a few big creatures. For example, she's excellent with creatures that make tokens, so you can keep using her ability over and over. Something like Regal Caracal makes an excellent pairing with Whisper. You can also buy her back with Dusk // Dawn. attrition/reanimator anyone?
	3 -- Such a powerful card. The swing this card can provide is so back breaking. Not only does it kill the best planeswalker or creature on the battlefield, but it also gets you the best one from any graveyard! This is my vote for the best Legendary Sorcery from Dominaria. It's so easy to play alongside Gonti, Lord of Luxury and The Scarab God. Be ready for this card because it will see play in Standard.

Top 5 Black Cards

HOLY MOLY! Lich's Mastery is in the top five, how much more hyped can a person be. Dominaria continues to not disappoint. Every color continues to show promise for Standard. If you're not hyped yet, I don't know if we have any hope for you. I can't wait to see what the rest of the cards have to offer.

We will light 'em up tomorrow with Red!

Until then,

Ali Aintrazi

Follow me @AliEldrazi

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