I have always loved running monoblack decks. There is just something ever so thrilling about being in command of vast, undead armies. For the most part, black decks are pretty easy to play too.
You cast. You kill. Every so often, you will sap a bit of your life away, but nothing too drastic.
The problem with playing a mono-black deck is that, if you want to play the best cards, you are going to lose life. If you aren’t careful, then your opponent can easily whip out a heavy hitter and take the game. This is why you need to have some spot removal cards in your deck. You know, the sorts of cards that can instantly destroy your opponent’s big creatures as soon as they hit that battlefield.
Luckily, mono-black is in a great place right now, especially when it comes to spot removal. Here, I want to go through some of the best MTG black removal cards.
While most of these cards have been designed for Commander, I reckon that they can easily be played in most modern decks. I have even seen a few of these cards appear in some vintage decks.
MTG Black Removal
1. Snuff Out
Snuff Out is easily one of my favorite spot removal instants. I love to whip it out late in the game, if only to frustrate an opponent that has spent an age building up their land base to pull out a hulking creature. It works especially well when you are pitted against a green-heavy deck.
One of the great things about Snuff Out is the number of ways that it can be used. While I do prefer to use it as a late-game card, you can use it earlier on if you run the risk of becoming overwhelmed by your opponent’s creatures.
For just 1 swamp and 3 additional lands, you can instantly eradicate any target nonblack creature. That creature can’t be regenerated. As I said, it works well as a late-game card as you can take out some big hitters for not a whole lot of land.
Feel like playing it early on in the game? You can, but you must have one swamp and sacrifice 4 life. If you are playing a black deck, then I do not doubt that you will be familiar with losing hefty chunks of your life anyway, so this probably isn’t going to be that much of an issue.
Snuff Out has seen a ton of play in Commander, but I have seen it worked into a few modern decks too.
2. Deadly Rollick
Deadly Rollick first appeared in Commander 2020, and it has been a staple of many Commander decks since then. While I can’t imagine it is going to serve much purpose in modern MTG, if you are playing Commander, you should run one of these in your deck.
As long as your Commander is in play, Deadly Rollick will enable you to instantly exile any target creature. How much will this card cost to play? Nothing. If you have a Commander in play, you can play it for a grand total of 0 lands.
Deadly Rollick is probably going to play best during the late game when you really want to take out the big creatures.
3. Curtains’ Call
Curtains’ Call first appeared in Commander 2016. This means that it is going to get the bulk of its use in Commander. However, I can see a few of these being easily worked into Modern decks. It will be a bit more mana expensive in Modern, but it is still an incredibly powerful card.
For 6 mana, Curtains’ Call will allow you to remove 2 of your opponent’s creatures. Now, here is the kicker. For each opponent you face, the mana cost will be lowered by one – all thanks to that Undaunted keyword!
This means that if you are playing a full 6-person EDH game, the land cost can be as low as 1!
As I said, it is a bit more expensive to play in Modern MTG, but it can still be useful. 5 land to remove 2 of your opponent’s cards late in the game could be an absolute godsend.
4. Feed The Swarm
The previous three cards can only be used to remove creatures, so what do you say? Should we get rid of some enchantments too? Enter, Feed The Swarm.
Feed The Swarm costs just 2 lands. This sorcery can be used to remove any creature or enhancement. It can come in immensely useful. However, before you go casting this spell willy-nilly, remember that there will be an additional cost. You will lose life equal to that of the mana cost of the removed card. Because of this, I see Feed the Swarm as being much more useful during early play i.e. when the target cards don’t have a huge mana cost. Play this later in the game? Sure, you will get rid of some big creatures, but your life is going to take a huge hit.
Feed The Swarm was released in Commander 2016, and I have seen it as a staple in many mono-black Commander decks. However, I have also come up against Modern decks at Friday Night Magic that feature four of these babies. Trust me. They are annoying to face.
5. Baleful Mastery
Baleful Mastery was launched in April 2021. You can pull it from the Stixhaven: School of Mages expansion. At the time of writing, it is playable in all MTG formats, and I reckon it can easily be slid into any mono-black deck that you build.
This is the MTG best black removal option where you want to exile some cards, but you don’t fancy spending a ton of mana. There are a couple of ways you can play this.
For four mana, you can play the card normally. There is no cost to you outside of losing four lands for the turn. This will allow you to exile any target creature. Simple stuff. Great for late play. The four mana is more than worth getting rid of some of the larger creatures.
If you play this card for two lands, you can still exile any target creature but your opponent is allowed to draw an additional card. It is a risk, but a risk that I love early on in the game. I especially love playing Baleful Mastery when my opponent is sitting on the cusp of reaching the 7 card hand limit. It forces them to make some big decisions.
6. Fatal Push
Fatal Push has been a staple spot removal tool in all sorts of decks ever since it first appeared in the Aether Revolt expansion back in 2017.
Fatal Push is a worthy inclusion because it is just so cheap to play. For one swamp, you can wipe out any card that cost 2 or fewer mana to play. This makes it a good early-game card if you want to prevent your opponent from ramping up their assault.
Don’t worry. It still retains a bit of use during the late game too. If you have removed any permanent from the battlefield on the turn that you play Fatal Push, then you can remove any card with a converted mana cost of 4. When I play this card, I love to play it in decks where I am playing a ton of cards that kill off my permanents.
While you are never going to be wiping out the biggest creatures with this MTG black removal card, I don’t think there is a ‘cheaper’ card out there for removing something with 4 mana. I would try and get at least 2 to 3 of these in a deck.
7. Go For The Throat
Go For The Throat is heavily used in both Commander and Modern.
For just 2 mana, you can destroy any target non-artifact creature. Yep. Even those big, hulking beasts that green-heavy decks seem to favor.
While it is cheap enough to use in the early game, I reckon that you should keep this in your hand. By turn 5-10, a couple of these should come in pretty handy.
8. Murderous Rider
I do love my cards with dual functionality, so I want to wrap up my list of the best MTG black removal cards with Murderous Rider.
Want to play this as a creature? Nifty. For a converted mana cost of 3, you have a pretty decent 2/3 creature. It isn’t going to blow anybody’s mind, but it works if you need to squeeze a few more creatures onto the battlefield.
The real usability of Murderous Rider comes from its use as an Instant, though. For the rather small cost of three mana and two life, you can destroy any creature or planeswalker. The best part? Murderous Rider is going to go into exile. So, if you load up your deck with cards able to pull Murderous Rider from exile, then you will be able to play it over and over. Your opponent is going to hate you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Spot Removal Cards Should You Play In a Mono-Black Deck?
It is always going to be dependent on what you want to want to do with the deck. I try to aim for between 5 and 10 spot removal cards. This seems to be the sweet spot. It means that you will not have so many spot removal cards that your hand gets clogged up with them, but there won’t be so few that you will struggle to find one when you need it.
What Is The Cheapest MTG Black Removal To Play?
If I know that I am going to be facing off against a green or white deck, I like to get a ‘Deathmark’ in there. For one mana, you can instantly destroy any green or white creature. I didn’t include this card in the MTG best black removal list, mostly because the usability is rather limited. If you are facing black, red, or blue decks, then the card is useless.
What Is The MTG Best Black Removal For Pauper?
There aren’t that many black removal spells for pauper, sadly. It isn’t really a card type that appears heavily in the common cards. If I had to choose one, it would probably be Death Rattle. The converted mana cost is 6, but the mana cost will be reduced by 1 for each card in your graveyard (you must exile them). This card can be used to remove any nongreen creature.