Best Black Kill Spell?
Modern forum
Posted on June 26, 2014, 11:46 a.m. by InnerFlame
Hey everyone, I just wanted to know what you thought was the best black kill spell? I kind of feel like a noob asking, and I know of stuff like Doom Blade , Tragic Slip , Dismember , and Go for the Throat , but I don't use black much and want to make sure I'm not missing anything and using the best. I'm working on a deathtouch deck so I will be killing stuff which is why I think I may go with Tragic Slip but I have room for more and want your opinions.
InnerFlame says... #3
Smallpox is crazy lol. I'll have to see if the removal on myself is worth it. Yeah I definitely want to put Hero's Downfall in my sideboard. Thanks ThatBlueMage
June 26, 2014 11:52 a.m.
PasorofMuppets says... #4
I am a really big fan of Smother in theory, but I have not played very many decks that would run it. In any case Go for the Throat is generally awful given that Affinity is a popular deck.
June 26, 2014 11:52 a.m.
InnerFlame says... #5
Thank you for the input TheHorse. Yeah, I don't think it's going in the deck.
June 26, 2014 11:55 a.m.
Dismember , no contest. It kills most things including Goyf and even indestructible things.
June 26, 2014 12:04 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #7
Yeah right now I have it down to Dismember and Putrefy . I am playing golgari btw. I am running Tragic Slip IzexD so that may give me a little comfort with indestructible. But am unsure.
What do you guys think?
June 26, 2014 12:09 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #9
I'm thinking hard about it. really hard. I have room for 5 cards in the deck so I want really powerful creature kill and am not sure if the restriction of Abrupt Decay is worth it.
June 26, 2014 12:14 p.m.
There is no "best". Which removal is most useful depends heavily on your metagame, but also on what kind of strategy your deck has. Disfigure is fantastic against tempo decks like delver/pyromancer. Liliana of the Veil is excellent against midrange/control strategies. Dismember is a great compromise if you can regularly afford paying 4 life and/or need to kill Spellskite . Smother is a great option if you don't mind the occasional Restoration Angel , Wurmcoil Engine , or Phyrexian Obliterator . Damnation is fantastic if your threats are manlands. Go for the Throat is pretty bad because of the prevalence of affinity and tron. Gatekeeper of Malakir is great in monoblack, but only against slower strategies. I could go on and on and on...
June 26, 2014 12:16 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #11
Haha, thanks for all the input, graft. I really appreciate it.
June 26, 2014 12:23 p.m.
gnarlicide says... #12
Geth's Verdict should work with what you're going for.
June 26, 2014 12:26 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #13
I have thought of that one too gnarlicide. Does anybody know of something other than Damnation that works like Extinction or Engineered Plague but for modern?
June 26, 2014 12:29 p.m.
blackmarker90 says... #14
Damnation is the only cost effective sweeper in black right now, and depending on if you are facing a lot of token decks, Illness in the Ranks is pretty dope
June 26, 2014 1:28 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #15
Thanks, blackmarker90!
Here's the deck if anyone cares to look at it-- Deathtouch & First Strike...I Think I Did IT
June 26, 2014 1:30 p.m.
Dismember is the strongest, though Abrupt Decay is the most consistent and can kill Liliana of the Veil and a Goyf no matter how big it gets.
June 26, 2014 1:37 p.m.
Terror ... (original art) just look at the fear in his heart (and his heart) D: (jokes, but still one of my favorite arts)
June 26, 2014 1:47 p.m.
Surprised nobody mentioned Victim of Night .
Disfigure is awesome. As is Funeral Charm . In that vein, I like Nameless Inversion and Auger Spree - although I might be my myself on those. If you're not mono-black, Terminate is great.
June 26, 2014 1:50 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #21
Yeah Damnation is undoubtedly the best black wipe. I'm going to go with dismember and throw Hero's Downfall into my sideboard until Abrupt Decay drops in price.
June 26, 2014 1:55 p.m.
blackmarker90 says... #22
zandl has it right with Abrupt Decay
any deck in B/G NEEDS to be running it. It is just too versatile in a format where the most powerful creatures and threats come at 3CMC or lower. While Dismember
is a good card, I just don't have the feels for it like a lot of other people do. There are very few incidents where taking 4 life to cast a spell is more beneficial than having a 2CMC spot removal that can deal with a fair majority of the creatures played, and since you don't have a way to recoup the life loss to any extent it is much more painful in the long run than it needs to be. Therefore I will also suggest Scavenging Ooze
it makes Dismember
easier on the life and keeps your opponents threats out of the way, don't forget to eat spells that they attempt to flashback with Snapcaster Mage
as well. Another card I highly suggest, if only in your sideboard to start, is Golgari Charm
the amount of stuff that it can do is just amazing. Removes irritating tokens at instant speed, blows up enchantments, and saves your precious creatures from wrath effects. Probably the best uncommon spell in Golgari colors for modern.
All in all your deck Is at a very good starting point, the best way you are going to see what you need and where your weaknesses are is just by playing in some Modern Tournaments at your LGS. Best of luck and keep up the good work.
June 26, 2014 1:56 p.m.
naynay666 Those are seen around a bit, most of them Nameless Inversion and Auger Spree are either edh (nameless) or limited (spree) mostly. But Modern MBC builds still run Disfigure , Victim of Night and Funeral Charm once in awhile, next to the rest of these (except Hero's Downfall which is really only seeing play in standard).
June 26, 2014 2 p.m.
blackmarker90 says... #25
_Xenagos_ your best bet is to get your Abrupt Decay s between now and the release of KTK, because it is a staple for all deck in modern and legacy that run B/G therefore keeping it's price high post rotation.
June 26, 2014 2 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #26
The only problem I have with Abrupt Decay in this deck is that it destroys. This deck has a big weakness to indestructible so it needs a good amount of ways to take careof that . That's why i want to sideboard it. I do want it though. I imagine it will drop in price here soon too. Really, Golgari Charm ? But it kills my snakes with bow and flying rats:(
I just updated my sideboard again. I imagine it will change again.
Tha ks for your help again guys.
June 26, 2014 2:01 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #27
Oh so you don't think Abrupt Decay will fall? I'll go ahead and put it in then.
June 26, 2014 2:03 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #28
Abrupt Decay is easily the best black kill spell in modern.
4x Abrupt Decay 2x Maelstrom Pulse and a Slaughter Pact or Dismember is all u really need.
My favorites are Smallpox Smother Vendetta /Devour in Shadow
Stay away from Go for the Throat . It reads good but will loose u games in most modern metas. Can't hit Affinity, Can't hit Infect, Can't hit Tron.
June 26, 2014 5:14 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #29
_Xenagos_ Abrupt Decay is actually rising in price and is expected to do so even post rotation. U may be better to get them while they're 10$ each. The see Legacy play as well.
To whoever posted it, that full art Terror is badass! I want one.
June 26, 2014 5:16 p.m.
Victim of Night is good, too, as previously mentioned. There aren't many things that can dodge it.
Abrupt Decay , though can hits artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers, too.
June 26, 2014 5:18 p.m.
guerillarage says... #31
As mentioned several times before Abrupt Decay and Dismember are both awesome. You have Bile Blight in standard, which I like a lot. There's also Sudden Death from Time Spiral which is very decent as well.
June 26, 2014 11:04 p.m.
APPLE01DOJ says... #32
I like Grasp of Darkness
...also Mutilate Drown in Sorrow Infest and Black Sun's Zenith are all good options if Damnation is out of budget.
I like Killing Wave too but it doesn't work as a complete board wipe.
June 27, 2014 1:25 a.m.
I played MBC for a while and I used Dismember , Victim of the night and Disfigure .
Victim of the night is great and better than Go for the Throat and Doom Blade IMO. Smother is also a good option but not as good as Victim of the night.
If you can, splash red, though. You'll have access to two of the best spot removal cards in Modern: Terminate and Lightning Bolt .
June 28, 2014 6:36 a.m.
NotSoLuckyLydia says... #34
Dismember , Victim of Night , and Slaughter Pact are the best that can be played in mono black. Abrupt Decay is the best if you have green. Terminate is a better Victim of Night in red.
June 28, 2014 3:46 p.m.
InnerFlame says... #36
If we're going red, I would say Dreadbore is pretty solid too.
June 30, 2014 1:01 p.m.
Ulcerate (B, -3/-3, pay 3 life instant) is about to become one of the best black removal in modern. It will in most cases replace Disfigure which is a pretty awesome removal for black.
July 3, 2014 3:19 p.m.
nobu_the_bard says... #38
Eye Gouge is keeping Cyclops of One-Eyed Pass from dominating every format it's legal in.
Servo_Token says... #2
Smallpox is pretty good, and if you want targetted removal, Tragic Slip (given that you intend to do a lot of killing) and Hero's Downfall are some of the better ones.
June 26, 2014 11:48 a.m.