Foundations (FDN) Limited Set Review: Black

The new set isn’t really looking to rock any established foundation. We’ve got about 50% reprints, 50% new cards, and no new mechanics. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be bad by any means, in fact it may be a better set because the designers are working with far less unknowns than usual. Either way, I have been feeding and watering my J2SJosh in my basement, and I feel like he’s thriving. Let’s take a look at blue.

5.0: Disgustingly powerful and basically unbeatable. Either answer it the turn it comes down or just pack up your cards. (Gruff Triplets, Virtue of Persistence, The Eternal Wanderer)

4.5: Incredible bomb that still gives your opponent a slim chance. (Virtue of Loyalty, Imodane's Recruiter, Realm-Scorcher Hellkite)

4.0: Great rare or the absolute best uncommons and removal. (Faunsbane Troll, Gumdrop Poisoner, Talion’s Messenger)

3.5: Great role filler or removal that you never cut. (Candy Grapple, Hearth Elemental, Torch the Tower)

3.0: Good playable that I’m basically never cutting. (Shrouded Shepherd, Spellscorn Coven, Sharae of Numbing Depths)

2.5: Decent playable and the bar I hope nearly every card in my deck to reach. (Evolving Wilds, Archon's Glory, Flick a Coin)

2.0: Mediocre filler that normally is your 20-23rd card(s). (Mintstrosity, Ice Out, Grabby Giant)

1.5: Replaceable, overall bad filler. Could also be decent sideboard cards. (Titanic Growth, Scarecrow Guide, Territorial Witchstalker)

1.0: Bad filler. Gets cut most of the time. (Dark Tutelage, Kindled Heroism, Impact Tremors)

0.5: Very unhappy to main deck this, but maybe it has fringe sideboard applications. Cards that “could” be situationally decent, but bad in most situations. (Smothering Tithe, Rhystic Study, Mana Flare)

0.0: Unplayable in every possible situation. They rarely print cards this bad these days. (Hew the Entwood, One with Nothing)

Abyssal Harvester

Rating: 3.5 // 5.0

This seems incredibly annoying to play against. It’s easy to activate, and scales in power throughout the game.

Arbiter of Woe

Rating: 2.5 // 5.0

As long as your deck has the fodder to support this, I like it. It’s also a good reanimate target to pair with Zombify

Bake into a Pie

Rating: 2.5 // 5.0

The food token shouldn’t be overlooked. There is a solid amount of life gain synergies this set, and this can be some nice incidental value.

Billowing Shriekmass

Rating: 2.5 // 5.0

Assuming you want to enable threshold, this card is excellent. If your deck doesn’t have too much trouble achieving threshold this is a 4/4 flying for 4, which is a giant threat.

Blasphemous Edict

Rating: 3.5 // 5.0

This is Damnation with more words.

Bloodthirsty Conqueror

Rating: 3.5 // 5.0

A gigantic flying threat with a brutal passive ability. The passive works for any life loss, and also triggers life gain synergies. It also goes infinite with Marauding Blight-Priest.

Burglar Rat

Rating: 2.0 // 5.0

Works as great sacrifice fodder after doing it’s job.

Crypt Feaster

Rating: 1.0 // 5.0

This creature is pretty close to unplayable, but if you need a body, it has one.

Diregraf Ghoul

Rating: 1.5 // 5.0

Decent in more aggressive builds, but nothing special.

Eaten Alive

Rating: 2.5 // 5.0

Solid removal with multiple casting cost options.

Exsanguinate

Rating: 2.0 // 5.0

Kind of an odd card in practice, but when it’s good, it’s great. It’s rough when you are far behind, but solid in other positions.

Fake Your Own Death

Rating: 2.0 // 5.0

The strength of this card depends on the creatures you’re able to pair it with. Trading up with a Burglar Rat, is one of the better sequences with this card.

Gutless Plunderer

Rating: 1.5 // 5.0

The raid trigger is a little underwhelming, but not totally irrelevant.

Hero’s Downfall

Rating: 2.5 // 5.0

Great removal spell.

High-Society Hunter

Rating: 3.5 // 5.0

If this sticks around you start to accrue a game-deciding amount of card advantage.

Hungry Ghoul

Rating: 1.5 // 5.0

This threatens to make combat difficult for your opponent, and is a good outlet to feed your own chump blockers to.

Infernal Vessel

Rating: 2.5 // 5.0

If you combine the two creatures, you’re getting 6/4 worth of stats for 3 mana, which seems like quite a deal for 3 mana.

Infestation Sage

Rating: 1.5 // 5.0

I’m not quite sure about this card. The 1/1 token is a flyer, and this does pair well with equipment, but I’m still not sold.

Liliana, Dreadhorde General

Rating: 4.5 // 5.0

If your opponent doesn’t kill this/or you the turn after it comes down, it’s pretty difficult to lose from there.

Macabre Waltz

Rating: 1.5 // 5.0

While the mana efficiency is nice, there are scenarios where this card falls flat, like not having a card you want to discard, or not having 2 creatures to return.

Marauding Blight-Priest

Rating: 2.0 // 5.0

A decent 3 drop that gets better the more life gain you have.

Midnight Snack

Rating: 1.0 // 5.0

The main problem with this card is that it only works on offense. Free food is great, but if you’re able to attack each turn, it’s likely less impactful.

Nine-Lives Familiar

Rating: 2.5 // 5.0

This is mostly an infinite chump blocker/sac outlet, which can be annoying for your opponent, but also irrelevant at times.

Painful Quandary

Rating: 0.5 // 5.0

This card is very situational, and when it can be good, your opponent has options.

Phyrexian Arena

Rating: 3.0 // 5.0

The downside can sometimes kill you, but think about all of the extra cards!

Pilfer

Rating: 2.0 // 5.0

So long as you don’t top deck this, it does a good job at removing your opponents best card in hand.

Reassembling Skeleton

Rating: 1.5 // 5.0

I don’t think there are enough sacrifice outlets to make this awesome, but it’s still alright for some decks.

Revenge of the Rats

Rating: 2.0 // 5.0

In the same vein as Spider Spawning, this is for one specific type of deck. The deck wants to mill itself as much as possible and use these as a win condition. I would avoid putting this in most decks that don’t have that exact game plan.

Rise of the Dark Realms

Rating: 0.5 // 5.0

9 mana, in this economy?

Rune-Scarred Demon

Rating: 3.5 // 5.0

7 mana is manageable to cast for a card this powerful.

Sanguine Syphoner

Rating: 1.5 // 5.0

This is most suited for life gain synergy decks, and pretty much no where else.

Seeker’s Folly

Rating: 2.0 // 5.0

I’ve always been appreciative of Mind Rot, and the second option is very relevant as a sideboard option as well.

Soul-Shackled Zombie

Rating: 1.5 // 5.0

An underwhelming effect, considering it trades down with most 2 drops.

Stab

Rating: 2.5 // 5.0

Another Disfigure reprint. It’s still good.

Stromkirk Bloodthief

Rating: 2.0 // 5.0 

This works well with repeatable ways to assure your opponent loses life each turn, aside from attacking. Sometimes it does line up that this doesn’t grow at all, but they make pills for that nowadays.

Tinybones, Bauble Burglar

Rating: 2.0 // 5.0

Tinybones isn’t all that exciting this time around, but if you pair it will some decent discard spells, like Pilfer, it becomes a lot more exciting.

Tragic Banshee

Rating: 2.5 // 5.0

I like the design of this Ravenous Chupacabra. It’s very strong with morbid, and not so great without, it’s a nice balance.

Vampire Gourmand

Rating: 2.0 // 5.0

This is good later in the game, turning irrelevant creatures into card draw.

Vampire Nighthawk

Rating: 2.5 // 5.0

This isn’t as insane as it was back in original Innistrad, but it’s still an amazing creature.

Vampire Soulcaller

Rating: 1.5 // 5.0

This is nice value, but the fact that it can’t block is pretty big for a 5 drop.

Vengeful Bloodwitch

Rating: 2.0 // 5.0

I was really excited for a moment, thinking this was a buffed Blood Artist. Alas, this only triggers on your creatures. It’s still a powerful effect nonetheless.

Zombify

Rating: 2.0 // 5.0

If you want to play this, you need to have good self mill as well as relevant targets for this. Otherwise, these types of cards are rarely effective.

Zul Ashur, Lich Lord

Rating: 2.5 // 5.0

Assuming you have some decent zombies, this thing can be quite annoying. It’s not incredibly threatening, but the implication is.

Top 3 Black Commons:

Bake into a Pie Stab

Black looks a bit lackluster in the creature department. It does have some great removal spells (big surprise), and some solid utility spells as well. There’s also some good life gain synergy/enabling cards floating around if that deck proves to be decent. I’m going to be tackling red next, stay tuned!

Lose and Learn, Learn and Win!