Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Of all the slices in the color pie, Mono-Black is ironically the most giving of "life." Swamps alone in the real world offer a complete, practically self-reliant ecosystem of flora and fauna unlike anywhere else. Compare it to plains, mountains, oceans, even forests - though forests are a very close second for elements found in swamps, making Golgari quite the flavorful pairing.

With Mono-Black, you will control the circle of life (and death). Make deals. Feel pain. Relive memories, and watch them slip through your fingers. Rigor mortis never seems to set in, leaving you flexible to play how you want.

A Friend of the Devil

Necromancers never had the monopoly on digging deep. The demons did, seeking to pull that secret desire from deep within your soul. They'd keep your soul but give you that desire for a little bit - unless you forgot to read the fine print.

In the case of Demonic Tutor, the terms are pretty fair: to search for a card, put it into your hand, and shuffle. The price itself, however, may not be suitable for every player. The good news is these types of contracts are negotiable with seven Mono-Black tutors at Sorcery Speed and one at Instant (Vampiric Tutor). If you need to get that one crucial piece, or just want a pet card on the field, it's as easy as signing on the dotted line. Cost too high? There are installment plans available with Profane Tutor.

Every Faustian bargain needs a demon, however, and there are 132 of them to choose from in Black. Ob Nixilis, Unshackled does not take kindly to others muscling into his territory - no wonder he ended up on New Capenna. For , opponents searching their library must sacrifice a creature and lose 10 life. In addition, whenever another creature dies, put a +1/+1 counter on him. Talk about a protection racket that just builds this Legendary Creature's, well, legend.

But we forgot the most important part: how to summon said demon.

How about a Dark Ritual? gets you at instant speed - perfect for causing trouble at any time. When it comes to iconic Mono-Black cards, Dark Ritual is one of them, with 14 different flavors of art to choose from.

Let's make a deal to start things off slow, maybe. Just Sign in Blood; it will only cost you to draw two cards... oh, did they not mention the loss of two life too? For , there is Village Rites to draw two, but only after sacrificing a creature. Small prices to pay. Small deals get you hooked though. Before you know it, there's a Bolas's Citadel on the board because life is a resource.

Murder by Death

The dark arts fall across a wide spectrum of practice from magical to physical. On the opposite end of demonology, we find one of the oldest professions: assassination. After all, the quickest way to get ahead is to kill the person in your way. Assassin players in mono- or multicolored are about to get a boost to the card pool with Universes Beyond Assassin's Creed, but there is a nice cabal to choose from before the set drops.

Most recently, the all-star is Vein Ripper from Murders at Karlov Manor. At , you can hire a 6/5 vampire assassin with flying, ward: sacrifice a creature, and whenever a creature dies, target opponent loses two life and you gain two life. This might be a kill-on-sight card in most pods or even good interaction bait. Regardless of the "promised end," Vein Ripper will do some work.

Considering the age of the profession, Royal Assassin looks to make a return in Assassin's Creed. Dating back to Alpha, for get a 1/1 assassin with Tap to destroy target tapped creature. Classics never go out of style.

Killers need to be paid, and Massacre Girl, Known Killer will pay you in card draw - the currency of the realm in a way - between having menace, giving all your creatures wither, and "Whenever a creature an opponent controls dies, if its toughness was less than one, draw a card."

While the assassins' guild tries to manage in-fighting, sometimes there will be a Deadly Dispute. Sacrifice an artifact or creature for , draw two cards, and create a treasure token.

Fill Your Coffers

No one should work for free in matters of life and death. Card draw, treasures, ramp, and more ramp are all available. Payoffs also range from 20/20 demons to alternate win-cons.

Collateral is key for any deals you plan to make, and land is a great start. Cabal Coffers, Cabal Stronghold, and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx all boost your mana base by Swamp count or Devotion to Black at slightly varying rates. Magus of the Coffers at will give you a 4/4 with a built-in Cabal Coffers. Need something more, compleat? Try K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth to pay in blood. Life - yours and that of others - is a resource in Commander, doubly so in Mono-Black.

Demons aren't the only ones to wheel and deal; the Black Market (and its Connections) give you a precombat main boost. For , whenever a creature dies, Black Market gets a charge counter that provides you with for each counter on it. Black Market Connections at flips the script, giving you options to trade life for treasure, card draw, or tokens. One-stop shopping that feeds the metaphorical (not just the cardboard) coffers.

Sadly, we can't take our wealth with us when we go. Revel in Riches provides a way out of the game. Whenever an opponent's creature dies, create a treasure token. When you have ten or more treasures at the beginning of your upkeep, you win the game. What could possibly go wrong? Add Pitiless Plunderer at to gain a treasure whenever another creature you control dies.

As an honorable mention in the land game, Dark Depths is a joy to witness. Entering with 10 ice counters, you may pay three to remove a counter. When there are none left, sacrifice Dark Depths and create Marit Lage -20/20 with flying and indestructible. If you're going to spend the ill- or otherwise-gotten gains, here is the place.

It's a Dead Man's Party

Who could ask for more? Necromancers, that's who. It took until now to mention one of the most ICONIC characters in Magic: Liliana. A powerful Planeswalker constantly dodging her past, both atoning and owning up to her actions across the multiverse. Any of the 12 iterations of this powerful planeswalker will find a home in your deck. With Modern Horizons 3, we saw the return of flip 'walkers, harkening back to Origins' own Liliana, Heretical Healer. For , you start with a 2/3 with lifelink that, whenever a nontoken creature you control dies, exiles Liliana and returns her transformed. Then put a 2/2 Zombie token on the field. The flavor of this play goes hard, especially if the lost creature was meaningful. Liliana, Defiant Necromancer brings some core Mono-Black powers to the field with forced discard and two styles of graveyard recursion. Bonus: she can be in the Command Zone with the creature side.

Overall, bringing back creatures is an easy feat. Cornerstone pieces including Animate Dead and Reanimate offer low-cost returns at and Black, respectively. Add Entomb for to search for a pricier creature, put it into the graveyard, and shuffle. Play Reanimate and do what a necromancer does best - pay the cost with life equal to the mana value.

When you are ready to close out a game with an undead horde, channel that inner Liliana with Rise of the Dark Realms for , putting all creature cards from ALL graveyards onto the battlefield under your control. Looking for an alternate wincon? Mortal Combat (you hear the theme song now too?), an enchantment for , gives you the game win if your graveyard has 20 or more creatures in it on your upkeep.

The Great(er) Beyond

Pardon me for a second, but there is a pre-game action I'd like to mention. Unfortunately, all cards leaving the battlefield are exiled with Leyline of the Void. Sorry, not sorry.

Okay. Carry on.

The "Dark Depths" of Mono Black extend far beyond the scope of this piece. The flavor is off the charts, covering the horrors of monster and man and the folly of pursuing absolute power.

There are still Vampires, Skeletons, Elves, Humans, Orcs, Knights, Nightmares, Phyrexians, the Horrors - OH MY! (Both creature type Horrors and just Horrors in general). There are still techniques to make your opponents bleed - both life and cards between mill- and ping-effects, alternate lose conditions that give boons when an opponent is taken out, and so much more. If you have never delved into Mono-Black, now is the time to get your hands dirty and dig up some fun.