Theros Beyond Death: Set Review - Black
Both Jamie and TJ are using a rating scale of 10 for this set. Jamie is basing hers on limited play, while TJ is giving more of a holistic rating. Melvin is just being Melvin.
other colors
agonizing remorse:
Jamie: 5/10 Filler.
TJ: 6/10 Seems bad in limited, has potential in standard.
Melvin: Agonizing Remorse - See previous Chipotle jokes.
aphemia, the cacophony
Jamie: 9/10 Efficient flyer and awesome in sac decks to turn your sacrifices into zombos. I love this card.
TJ: 9/10 Easy to cast, good stats good way to use in the late game. the card isn’t massively exciting or game changing but it's a lot for 2 mana.
Melvin: Is she a whole cacophony by herself? She does seem to harp on.
aspect of lamprey
Jamie: 5/10 Expensive, asking to be 2 for 1‘ed, but could be powerful.
TJ: 3/10 Slow effect that doesn’t really upgrade the creature. art makes me uncomfortable.
Melvin: That feel you get the first day you have braces.
blight-breath catoblepas
Jamie: 8/10 Removal with a body that gets left behind. Sign me up.
TJ: 8/10 For a common this is pretty wild good. could be super strong removal or even could be used post combat to finish a creature off that blocked.
Melvin: It's a typo, that's actually supposed to be "Bud Light-Breath Catoblepas". Still pretty nasty though.
cling to Dust
Jamie: 7/10 flexible, reusable.
TJ: 5/10 Doesn't seem like it does anything. But it does nothing pretty well. seems like versatile filler that may end up being a game changer in some games.
Melvin: I usually have the reverse problem of dust clinging to me.
discordant piper
Jamie: 4/10 Filler, but good fodder for sac decks.
TJ: 3/10 Neat? if you can use it, use it. But its going to be at home in synergy decks more than for raw power.
Melvin: How many horns is that? Four?
drag to the underworld
Jamie: 10/10 Great removal spell... probably costs BB.
TJ: 10/10 wowza
Melvin: When Erebos tells you to sashay away.
eat to extinction
Jamie: 10/10 Perfect removal.
TJ: 10/10 wow again
Melvin: That's why they closed all those "Kentucky Fried Pandas".
elspeth’s nightmare
Jamie: 7/10 Seems like you will always hit something on 1st mode, the discard is nice, and getting rid of pesky escape creatures. Price is right too!
TJ: 6/10 For three mana I like it. It's all conditional which means when it misses you'll look silly. But the ceiling on this card is pretty high.
Melvin: Two clowns short of being exactly my nightmare.
enemy of enlightenment
Jamie: 9/10 Swole boi that makes opponent discard. Flying! Demon! Yas!
TJ: 9/10 Is this card just great? I guess against some decks it'll be trash. But this card seems real good for an uncommon.
Melvin: Fox News?
erebos, bleak-hearted
Jamie: 8/10 Card draw big game, build around for small creatures/mono black synergies, ability is powerful but comes with a cost.
TJ: 8/10 Requires a bit more enabling than the others but still has a really powerful effect. making it an option adds some benefit as well.
Melvin: Maybe Erebos just needs to adopt a rescue dog and learn to love again.
erebos’s intervention
Jamie: 10/10 Perfect scalable removal, flexible if needed to get rid of powerful escape creatures in the yard.
TJ: 9/10 Pretty expensive but also pretty powerful. love cards that scale throughout the game and this card does just that while also tacking on some life gain so that it's never truly dead.
Melvin: At his intervention, the other gods told him to always insist on a safe-word when using that whip.
final death
Jamie: 8/10 EXILE, gets rid of gods and pesky creatures. The price is high, but splashable!
TJ: 8/10 Black's removal is pretty bonkers.
Melvin: They say it's always the final death that kills you.
fruit of tizerus
Jamie: 1/10 Nope, unless I get like 8 of these in a draft then... still probably nope.
TJ: 1/10 lol
Melvin: But can I spread it on toast and charge ten bucks for it?
funeral rites
Jamie: 5/10 will play one of in any black deck. card draw is nice, will pay 2 life for it, plus fills the graveyard.
TJ: 6/10 This card is another version of a card we've seen before and it's always decent.
Melvin: Because two funeral wrongs don't make a rite.
gravebreaker lamia
Jamie: 7/10 Perfect to find your best escaper. 4/4 lifelink for 5 is nothing to sneeze at either.
TJ: 8/10 Good stats, good ability, good static, gets better if you have a good escape card.
Melvin: Two questions. 1) Is this a lady snake? 2) If so, is she wearing a (ahem) cobra?
gray merchant of asphodel
Jamie: 6/10 Gary's back! Not sure how often a mono black deck will come together in draft or sealed, but this is a great payoff.
TJ: 5/10 Card has always been awesome. rating it a bit low because I think its better in constructed than limited. Might impress me in limited.
Melvin: Gary, you dropped a bag! Could be @GaryMuppet.
grim physician
Jamie: 4/10 Filler but will make combat wonky sometimes.
TJ: 3/10 Seems alright if you can control when it happens. But an on-board trick that your opponent can play around easily isn’t exciting.
Melvin: Brings back memories of my last HMO.
hateful eidolon
Jamie: 6/10 Seems like a fantastic build-around... great in an enchantment heavy deck.. voltron itself and gain life then regain cards after death. I like this.
TJ: 8/10 Maybe I'm getting too excited about this one. But a one mana creature that eliminated that downside of auras makes me excited.
Melvin: From Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eightolon".
inevitable end
Jamie: 8/10 Decent removal.
TJ: 5/10 Will be terrible against some strategies and wont save you in a pinch. But it's good inevitable removal that can be incredible.
Melvin: Listen, the nothing will be here any minute. I will just sit here and let it take me away too. They look like good, strong hands.
lampad of death’s vigil
Jamie: 4/10 Seems okay to use in response to opponents removal. Not a great payoff.
TJ: 6/10 The way that this is written makes is great in 2-headed giant. otherwise is a decent sacrifice enabler.
Melvin: The lampad is Nyx's version of the iPad. Both have memory issues.
minion’s return
Jamie: 4/10 Seems fine to flash in before damage when one of your good creatures will die.
TJ: 6/10 If this card didn’t have flash it would get a 2. But being able to flash this in as a trick makes my brain swim in Christmas land.
Melvin: Is it yellow? Maybe. Is it wearing overalls? I can't tell. Could be a minion.
mire triton
Jamie: 8/10 Price is right for deathtouch, plus filling graveyard for future escape.
TJ: 6/10 Fine rate for a fine card.
Melvin: How much worse does a zombie merfolk smell than a regular merfolk?
mire’s grasp
Jamie: 9/10 Efficient removal, enchantment synergies.
TJ: 8/10 Black's removal is so good.
Melvin: They never did drain the swamp.
mogis’s favor
Jamie: 5/10 Flexible... use to finish off an opponents creature after combat, combat trick, or just buff one of your big evasive threats. Plus escape. I'm here for this.
TJ: 5/10 Is it a buff spell or removal? Choose your own adventure. It's medium at everything.
Melvin: Fortune favor's the....horny? Because he has horns.
nightmare shepard
Jamie: 10/10 Slam this so much value, making sac fodder or taking advantage of good ETB effects, plus on a 4/4 flying body.
TJ: 10/10 At it's absolute worst it is still wild. This card is fiery.
Melvin: I don't think it's sheperding my nightmares, because I don't see any Bjorks with six arms and two heads that breaths flames when it sings.
nyxborn marauder
Jamie: 4/10 Filler city.
TJ: 3/10 zzzz
Melvin: A minotaur just roaming around the plains of Nyx is less than amazing.
omen of the dead
Jamie: 5/10 Good sacrifice fodder.
TJ: 6/10 Pretty good for how cheap it is. Plus flash?
Melvin: Theros's version of getting Jack Sparrow back from Davy Jones's Locker.
pharika’s libation
Jamie: 4/10 Edict effects are tough to time right, but this could get a powerful creature or enchantment. Probably fine to include as filler.
TJ: 10/10 Black just gained the ability to hit enchantments. Sure this card is super medium. But it hits enchantments.
Melvin: Woah woah, Pharika. Save that stuff for the Nickelodeon Award shows.
pharika’s spawn
Jamie: 7/10 Decent stats on both sides of the escape... and price is right for the escape.
TJ: 8/10 Automatic 2 for one that can get cast from the graveyard? ok.
Melvin: Not as good as Todd McFarlane's.
rage-scarred berserker
Jamie: 5/10 Nice ETB plus decent body.
TJ: 5/10 Good size, neat ability, swing away.
Melvin: Despite all my rage, I am still just a minotaur in the underworld.
scavenging harpy
Jamie: 5/10 A 2/1 flyer for 3 is decent plus lots of stuff that you will want to get out of opponents graveyard. I'm playing this is every black deck.
TJ: 4/10 Seems alright.
Melvin: I think they're scavenging for words to put in front of "harpy" on card names.
soulreaper of mogis
Jamie: 5/10 Sacrifice/graveyard synergy seems fine. or having mana up to do this in response to opponents removal is nice.
TJ: 4/10 Ability is a bit expensive. But drawing cards is good. Able to sacrifice itself if that matters.
Melvin: I guess you reap what you soul.
temple thief
Jamie: 4/10 Lots of decks won't have too much to block this. I dig this as filler.
TJ: 6/10 If you start putting enchantments on this creature it seems likely that it wont get matched by anything larger that can still block it. his seems really good.
Melvin: But my friend you left so early, surely something slipped your mind. You forgot I gave these also. Would you leave the best behind?
treacherous blessing
Jamie: 7/10 Draw 3 for 3 awesome... this is PERFECT fodder for sacrifice decks.
TJ: 4/10 If you have anyway to get rid of enchantments this seems great. But it's got risk.
Melvin: Awww, the infinity gauntlets lost its gems.
tymaret calls the dead
Jamie: 7/10 Great value.. most likely 2 2/2s for 3 mana PLUS gain 2 and scry 2.
TJ: 6/10 Three mana for two zombies across two turns plus a scry seems ok.
Melvin: Looks more like Face Time than a call.
tymaret, chosen from death
Jamie: 6/10 Big butt potential, exile graveyard powerful effect with escape mechanic.
TJ: 8/10 Great if your mana base will support it. can hit cards from any graveyards so go wild.
Melvin: Few know that Tymaret was actually chosen via a reality dance competition.
underworld charger
Jamie: 4/10 A 3/3 that can't block is fine but exciting. Escape value adds a bit, but this is still 100% filler.
TJ: 5/10 Fine in an aggressive deck. blocking is dumb anyway.
Melvin: It's a charger because no one carries cash in the underworld.
underworld dreams
Jamie: 1/10 Not a limited card.
TJ: 1/10 I'm going to say that you should never play this in limited. I also expect to lose to it within the week.
Melvin: I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I'm living, so different now from what it seemed. Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.
venomous hierophant
Jamie: 5/10 A 3/3 deathtouch for 4 isn't super exciting, but graveyard synergies want this.
TJ: 5/10 Four mana deathtoucher ain’t shabby.
Melvin: When a bad hair day is a good hair day.
woe strider
Jamie: 6/10 Great in sacrifice deck.. not super exciting otherwise but 3/2 with escape has value.
TJ: 8/10 That’s a lot of words for 3 mana. It's not amazing but it does a lot and is splashable and comes back to make even more goats. This card seems real fun.
Melvin: Don't let it get your goat.
