Archfiend Of Ifnir
A massive bomb for limited that you don't even have to put that much effort into. Just having a 5/4 flyer for five mana is brutal enough but Archfiend Of Ifnir has a long lasting effect. Even if you just manage to Cycle one card while he's in play and manages to put a -1/-1 on one creature, that power toughness deficit will cause your opponent to think twice about any further attacks or blocks. You always play this in limited and could quite possibly become a player in some sort of mono black deck as a way to keep opposing creatures in check.
Baleful Ammit
This card is a powerhouse in limited. For three mana you get a four power lifelink creature, possibly at the expense of another creature. Being able to drop Baleful Ammit on turn three and have removal on turn four can really put the pace of the game on your side. A no brainer for limited and may have a little potential for constructed.
Blighted Bat
A good three drop creature for black in limited. It hits the curve nicely on turn three and in the late game, you can give it one more mana and it gives you another two damage in the air.
Bone Picker
So as a four mana 3/2 flying deathtouch, Bone picker is a very powerful card. Now, say a creature has died this turn, and let me remind you that it doesn't have to be a creature you control, suddenly it becomes all of that for one mana. You can remove an opposing creature and drop a one mana 3/2 that makes attacking into very difficult. Over all Bone Picker is very aggressive, say you've made a one drop on turn one and so did your opponent, then you attacked into it on your second turn and those creatures traded with each other. All of a sudden you have the opportunity, if you have two black mana on turn two, to make two Bone Pickers on your second turn, that's six power for two mana.
Bontu The Glorified
Maybe the most mana intensive of the gods, Bontu is still very powerful. You have to keep feeding creatures into it but with a pay off of draining life and Scrying for one, it can start to add up very quickly. An obvious bomb for limited and I could see it playing nicely in a black control deck or maybe a super aggressive Jund deck.
Cartouche Of Ambition
The auras in Amonkhet are very good. Cartouche Of Ambition is just what you want in a black aura, removal in the early game and can put the distance in between you and your opponent. The Cartouches won't make it into constructed, because of the aforementioned problems with auras and even with that being said, this is definitely the Cartouche that it most likely to be played, but I urge you to play it in limited.
Cruel Reality
The return of curses and it returns with a bang. Casual tables only with this one in afraid as it is a big splashy effect that eventually will wear your opponent down but it's so far in the late game that, more often than not, it probably won't come up much.
Cursed Minotaur
Gray Ogres are so good nowadays. Cursed Minotaur will do some work in limited as it's a very aggressive creature. Dropping this in turn three without any blockers in the way can be a fair chunk of damage for a couple of turns and it's also a great blocker on the other side.
Dispossess
There have been many effects like this in the past; Lobotomy, Cranial Extraction, Extirpate, Memoricide, the list goes on. This search and exile effect has become a great choice for a silver bullet in constructed side boards, but has almost no effect in limited. This is because you won't tend to have a read on what your opponent is playing and even if you name a card they are playing, more often than not you will only get one copy. Now to the main issue of Dispossess, it can only hit artifacts. This might not be much of an issue with Kaladesh block being standard legal as there are artifacts like Aetherworks Marvel or Dynavolt Tower to name. Dispossess might not get as much constructed play as cards with this type of effect have over the years but it may start appearing as a one of in sideboards.
Doomed Dissenter
This is an easy one; it's pretty much a Grizzly Bear but with a little more to it. It's two mana and it ends up as a 2/2 but in between it's an extra blocker that could trade off with an opposing creature.
Dread Wanderer
A recurring creature is a powerful thing. Yes Dread Wanderer comes back into play tapped but with an ability like this there needs to be a drawback, like Scrapheap Scrounger not being able to block, and it will always come with a proviso. In this case, you have to have one or less cards in hand, or in Scrapheap Scrounger's, removing a creature from your graveyard. I'm making these comparisons because I don't think Dread Wanderer will see any play until Scrapheap Scrounger leaves constructed; it costs less, has more power and has a lesser specification to meet. Obviously in limited it's a slam dunk all the time.
Dune Beetle
Nothing much here; a two mana 1/4, good at blocking in limited and not much else.
Faith Of The Devoted
Another all star in the Cycling department, Faith Of The Devoted can really take over a game. You should only play it in limited if you have a lot of Cycling cards but as far as constructed is concerned, you can build around Faith Of The Devoted as your game winner while utilizing the effects of Cycling cards. In doubles this card is insane and can quickly snowball.
Festering Mummy
I love this card because it can trade up early game and make combat difficult late game, in some ways it works as a 2/2 for one mana. That's good enough to play it every time for me.
Final Reward
The best removal spell in the set. Final Reward is no nonsense, instant speed exile target creature. It gets around Embalm or reanimation spells. You'll always play this and it only has one black mana in the cost so it's easily splashable, great for limited and definitely for constructed.
Gravedigger
Always nice to see Gravedigger in a set. It will do so much work in limited and can be really effective in multiples, using one to being back the other over and over. Again, easily splashable so it's easier to run in decks without a main black commitment.
Grim Strider
Keeping with one of the themes in Amonkhet, having a low hand size aids Grim Strider. If you're able to either use or discard a sizable amount of cards, it can turn Grim Strider into a very powerful creature, and keep in mind the power and toughness can change after you've cast Grim Strider depending on the amount of cards in your hand at that time. Can be a powerhouse in limited, probably not for constructed.
Horror Of The Broken Lands
In all honesty, a five mana 4/4 is good enough to play anyway. It's ability can get out of hand with a lot of Cycling cards but even just Cycling one means it can stand up to a lot of other creatures in Amonkhet. The other good thing about Horror Of The Broken lands is that it's possibly even better in multiples as it Cycles cheap and triggers copies in play.
Lay Bare The Heart
Another in the long line of targeted hand disruption, Lay Bare The Heart will definitely make it into constructed and play nicely along side Collective Brutality. After Brutality leaves standard, Lay Bare The Heart will almost definitely become a four off in every control and midrange deck.
Liliana, Death's Majesty
This is a fantastic midrange planeswalker, it's nothing but attrition. Liliana already comes into play with a fair amount of loyalty and although the first ability costs you two cards, that's a fine trade off for a 2/2 creature and if playing cards that play into a graveyard theme; Embalm, Aftermath or even just good old Flashback, it just gives you more options available. The cost of two cards for a creature also plays into her second ability, possibly using one of those cards put into the graveyard, if it's a creature, and returning it to play as a zombie in addition to its other creature types, nice an thematic. And all those zombies that you've recruited will be surviving the wrath of her third ability, leaving them free to smash face with nothing to stop them. Obviously you play Liliana in limited as she's a massive bomb and will probably win you the game? on the spot. I think Liliana will appear in constructed in a midrange deck, maybe Jund to really abuse all of the powerful creatures their playing.
Liliana's Mastery
An anthem for all of those Embalm creatures in limited, Liliana's mastery can have the potential to snowball in the power department for each zombie that you control, and it already gives you two to start with. Just as a card, Liliana's mastery is five mana for six power, so even if you don't end up playing many other zombies, the two that Mastery produces is enough to justify playing it in limited. I don't think you'll see it in constructed as it's high on the curve and the impact it has isn't big enough.
Lord Of The Accursed
Keeping with the zombie theme, here's a zombie lord to keep the power level of your zombies up. This is an all-star in limited and can really push your creatures over the top, especially if you can abuse the Menace ability on Lord Of The Accursed. In constructed it could see play if zombies become more played but i don't think it will be a top tier deck.
Miasmic Mummy
A bear with "upside"? In limited Miasmic mummy does act that way with Embalm and Aftermath as mechanics. If you don't have a way to take advantage of the discard ability you're still causing you opponent to discard a card and, if played at the right time maybe when they only have one card in hand, that's still a small advantage.
Nest Of Scarabs
I had to read this twice because usually when this type of ability is done you would only get one scarab out of it for every one or more -1/-1 counters put on a creature. The fact that you get one scarab creature for each counter put on a creature turns this into a powerful card and at three mana, I think a limited all-star. It's an option in constructed but as it has no immediate impact, i'm going to say no.
Painful Lessons
Blacks draw spell has gone through different iterations over the years. Night's Whisper was two mana and allowed you to draw two cards and lose two life, Read The Bones was one more mana but gave you the ability to Scry first. Painful Lessons sits at three mana but is still only draw two cards and lose two life, in this instance you're paying the third mana to be able to target a player. There might be times where you wants the two cards and will take the life loss, but there may come a time where your opponent is on two life and then Painful Lessons turns into a kill spell, granted those times will be few and far between but it could happen. Great in limited as it's easily splashable and you always need to draw cards. Black draw spells have a tendency of showing up in constructed as they are usually efficient enough mana wise for the effect you're getting.
Pitiless Vizier
Four mana for four power is what makes this guy good enough to play in limited, his Cycling trigger is just gravy. But it can be very juicy gravy especially when used in combat; being able to keep this guy back on blocks with a couple of Cycling cards in hand to make him Indestructible at will is a very difficult thing for your opponent to deal with and, with the four power I mentioned earlier, Pitiless Vizier could prove a match for a lot of creatures.
Plague Belcher
Another card that could make its way into a constructed zombie deck, Plague Belcher is the three drop that you want to hit when you have the ability to amass an army of zombies. In limited this guy is a powerhouse, picture this; turn one land, turn two land Miasmic Mummy discarding an Embalm creature, turn three attack with the Mummy then play Belcher, kill your own Mummy, your opponent loses one from the Belcher and you're left with a 5/4 Menace to attach with next turn. Even if you don't have many zombies to trigger it's ability, Plague Belcher is still insanely powerful for three mana and with only one black in its cost it's easily splashable. I expect to see it in constructed mainly as just a 5/4 for three with a small drawback but like I said, I'm sure zombies will become a thing at some point.
Ruthless Sniper
At one mana and with all the one mana Cycling cards in Amonkhet, Ruthless Sniper, in my eyes, is another limited all star. You could easily overlook this guy at first glance but with two toughness he can do some blocking in the early game and can really mess up the combat math if you have cards to Cycle, and in multiples they become nuts, very quickly being able to take down creatures one after the other.
Scarab Feast
One mana to take out three cards in a graveyard seems pretty efficient and at instant speed no less. In limited however, the reason you will be playing this will be because of its one mana Cycling cost and the amount of cards that trigger off of Cycling. In constructed I think it's a slightly different story; this will be a sideboard card for cards like Scrapheap Scrounger and Dread Wanderer and played even more in modern and older formats for dredge type decks.
Shadow Of The Grave
Did you enjoy triggering all of those creatures with your Cycling cards? Well why don't you bring them back and do it all again! I'm not sure where Shadow Of The Grave fits in for constructed but I'm sure we'll see it in some sort of combo-esc deck, I'm sure it will be very useful at certain times but I think it confined to limited and casual for now.
Soulstinger
You have the option of a big creature for four mana or the beginnings of a decent removal spell in Soulstinger. It will depend on what's happening in the moment but it gives you a nice choice of having more power or having less power and permanent -1/-1 counters on an opposing creature of your choice. I think more often than not you will put them on another creature you control so you can have a 4/5 to control the field with but there are a lot of other cards that put -1/-1 counters on your creatures, so if you find yourself in a situation where you could do with Soulstinger having some, I'm sure you won't have to look far.
Splendid Agony
Being able to put counters on creatures can be very powerful, the fact that Splendid Agony allows you to split the two counters if you want makes it very good at removing creatures. In the early game it can be a very efficient instant speed two for one and late game can be a great way to mess up combat math. I do the think it's good enough for constructed but only time will tell.
Stir The Sands
I love these Cycling cards. You can pay full price and get a big effect or you can pay less and get a slightly smaller effect and a card. In this case you can spend six mana for six powers worth of creatures, but for four mana, and don't forget at instant speed, you can get a two power creature and a card. In the late game Stir The Sands could provide you with the extra power to push through your opponents barriers but it also works nicely in the early game if you just need a creature to put some pressure on. Great for limited but I think it may cost a little to much for constructed.
Supernatural Stamina
Supernatural Stamina is going to be the key card in a lot of "bad beats" stories, you know what I mean the games that were going pretty well until your opponent was able to block your best guy, kill it and get their creature back for next turn, and at common and one mana, this could happen multiple times in one game in limited.
Trespassers Curse
The second of the Curses in Amonkhet and a little more playable than Cruel Reality but not by much. The good thing about curses is that they enchant target player instead of a creature which eliminates any two for ones. The bad thing is that most of the time the slot they have taken up in you deck, in this case the two drop slot, could have been used for something with a little more immediate impact than a two mana enchantment that drains one life. That being said, if you find yourself with two or more of these in your deck then the snowball effect can be devastating, but only from a limited standpoint or casual constructed.
Trial Of Ambition
What a powerful uncommon this is. A two mana reusable edict (forcing players to sacrifice a creature) effect. Having this Trial would be enough to make me play almost all the Cartouches I have in limited and maybe, just maybe, might be good enough for a black control deck in constructed?. Just imagine have two Trials Of Ambition? in play and then dropping a Cartouche allowing you to return both Trials and wreck your opponent's board. Part of me thinks this card may have started at three mana and someone had the good idea of reducing it which, if that is the case, I'm glad the power level got pushed. Removal is always good and you can do a little more pushing when it's not targeted removal.
Unburden
Pretty simple; would you like to pay three mana to cause your opponent to discard two cards, or pay two mana to draw a card? That's where most people's minds go Initially but there is another option; with all the cards in Amonkhet that trigger when you Cycle or discard a card, let's take Archfiend Of Ifnir for example, you could target yourself with Unburden to discard two cards and get two triggers of the Archfiend rather than Cycling then Unburden and just getting one trigger. That may be getting a bit trixy though as it involves losing three cards, but it could result in a one sided Wrath Of God, it all depends on the situation at hand. I can see Unburden making it into constructed maybe we a one of for black decks to get those last two cards but for now I think it stays in limited.
Wander In Death
The Cycling mechanic in Amonkhet gives you a lot of options that normal cards wouldn't give you, just by adding Cycling into a card you have already increased its value and broadened your plays. Wander In Death allows you to Cycle all of the creatures you can play early game and then get your choice of two of them back in the late game to actually cast, and it itself has Cycling, so if you come across multiples then you an always just trade one in for a card.
Wasteland Scorpion
The last of the black cards and we end on a good old death touching Scorpion. Not much different here from other scorpions in magic; it makes sense that scorpions have deathtouch which Wasteland Scorpion does, but also keeping in theme with Amonkhet it also has Cycling which just makes it even more playable in limited.
I had to read this twice because usually when this type of ability is done you would only get one scarab out of it for every one or more -1/-1 counters put on a creature. The fact that you get one scarab creature for each counter put on a creature turns this into a powerful card and at three mana, I think a limited all-star. It's an option in constructed but as it has no immediate impact, i'm going to say no.
Painful Lessons
Blacks draw spell has gone through different iterations over the years. Night's Whisper was two mana and allowed you to draw two cards and lose two life, Read The Bones was one more mana but gave you the ability to Scry first. Painful Lessons sits at three mana but is still only draw two cards and lose two life, in this instance you're paying the third mana to be able to target a player. There might be times where you wants the two cards and will take the life loss, but there may come a time where your opponent is on two life and then Painful Lessons turns into a kill spell, granted those times will be few and far between but it could happen. Great in limited as it's easily splashable and you always need to draw cards. Black draw spells have a tendency of showing up in constructed as they are usually efficient enough mana wise for the effect you're getting.
Pitiless Vizier
Four mana for four power is what makes this guy good enough to play in limited, his Cycling trigger is just gravy. But it can be very juicy gravy especially when used in combat; being able to keep this guy back on blocks with a couple of Cycling cards in hand to make him Indestructible at will is a very difficult thing for your opponent to deal with and, with the four power I mentioned earlier, Pitiless Vizier could prove a match for a lot of creatures.
Plague Belcher
Another card that could make its way into a constructed zombie deck, Plague Belcher is the three drop that you want to hit when you have the ability to amass an army of zombies. In limited this guy is a powerhouse, picture this; turn one land, turn two land Miasmic Mummy discarding an Embalm creature, turn three attack with the Mummy then play Belcher, kill your own Mummy, your opponent loses one from the Belcher and you're left with a 5/4 Menace to attach with next turn. Even if you don't have many zombies to trigger it's ability, Plague Belcher is still insanely powerful for three mana and with only one black in its cost it's easily splashable. I expect to see it in constructed mainly as just a 5/4 for three with a small drawback but like I said, I'm sure zombies will become a thing at some point.
Ruthless Sniper
At one mana and with all the one mana Cycling cards in Amonkhet, Ruthless Sniper, in my eyes, is another limited all star. You could easily overlook this guy at first glance but with two toughness he can do some blocking in the early game and can really mess up the combat math if you have cards to Cycle, and in multiples they become nuts, very quickly being able to take down creatures one after the other.
Scarab Feast
One mana to take out three cards in a graveyard seems pretty efficient and at instant speed no less. In limited however, the reason you will be playing this will be because of its one mana Cycling cost and the amount of cards that trigger off of Cycling. In constructed I think it's a slightly different story; this will be a sideboard card for cards like Scrapheap Scrounger and Dread Wanderer and played even more in modern and older formats for dredge type decks.
Shadow Of The Grave
Did you enjoy triggering all of those creatures with your Cycling cards? Well why don't you bring them back and do it all again! I'm not sure where Shadow Of The Grave fits in for constructed but I'm sure we'll see it in some sort of combo-esc deck, I'm sure it will be very useful at certain times but I think it confined to limited and casual for now.
Soulstinger
You have the option of a big creature for four mana or the beginnings of a decent removal spell in Soulstinger. It will depend on what's happening in the moment but it gives you a nice choice of having more power or having less power and permanent -1/-1 counters on an opposing creature of your choice. I think more often than not you will put them on another creature you control so you can have a 4/5 to control the field with but there are a lot of other cards that put -1/-1 counters on your creatures, so if you find yourself in a situation where you could do with Soulstinger having some, I'm sure you won't have to look far.
Splendid Agony
Being able to put counters on creatures can be very powerful, the fact that Splendid Agony allows you to split the two counters if you want makes it very good at removing creatures. In the early game it can be a very efficient instant speed two for one and late game can be a great way to mess up combat math. I do the think it's good enough for constructed but only time will tell.
Stir The Sands
I love these Cycling cards. You can pay full price and get a big effect or you can pay less and get a slightly smaller effect and a card. In this case you can spend six mana for six powers worth of creatures, but for four mana, and don't forget at instant speed, you can get a two power creature and a card. In the late game Stir The Sands could provide you with the extra power to push through your opponents barriers but it also works nicely in the early game if you just need a creature to put some pressure on. Great for limited but I think it may cost a little to much for constructed.
Supernatural Stamina
Supernatural Stamina is going to be the key card in a lot of "bad beats" stories, you know what I mean the games that were going pretty well until your opponent was able to block your best guy, kill it and get their creature back for next turn, and at common and one mana, this could happen multiple times in one game in limited.
Trespassers Curse
The second of the Curses in Amonkhet and a little more playable than Cruel Reality but not by much. The good thing about curses is that they enchant target player instead of a creature which eliminates any two for ones. The bad thing is that most of the time the slot they have taken up in you deck, in this case the two drop slot, could have been used for something with a little more immediate impact than a two mana enchantment that drains one life. That being said, if you find yourself with two or more of these in your deck then the snowball effect can be devastating, but only from a limited standpoint or casual constructed.
Trial Of Ambition
What a powerful uncommon this is. A two mana reusable edict (forcing players to sacrifice a creature) effect. Having this Trial would be enough to make me play almost all the Cartouches I have in limited and maybe, just maybe, might be good enough for a black control deck in constructed?. Just imagine have two Trials Of Ambition? in play and then dropping a Cartouche allowing you to return both Trials and wreck your opponent's board. Part of me thinks this card may have started at three mana and someone had the good idea of reducing it which, if that is the case, I'm glad the power level got pushed. Removal is always good and you can do a little more pushing when it's not targeted removal.
Unburden
Pretty simple; would you like to pay three mana to cause your opponent to discard two cards, or pay two mana to draw a card? That's where most people's minds go Initially but there is another option; with all the cards in Amonkhet that trigger when you Cycle or discard a card, let's take Archfiend Of Ifnir for example, you could target yourself with Unburden to discard two cards and get two triggers of the Archfiend rather than Cycling then Unburden and just getting one trigger. That may be getting a bit trixy though as it involves losing three cards, but it could result in a one sided Wrath Of God, it all depends on the situation at hand. I can see Unburden making it into constructed maybe we a one of for black decks to get those last two cards but for now I think it stays in limited.
Wander In Death
The Cycling mechanic in Amonkhet gives you a lot of options that normal cards wouldn't give you, just by adding Cycling into a card you have already increased its value and broadened your plays. Wander In Death allows you to Cycle all of the creatures you can play early game and then get your choice of two of them back in the late game to actually cast, and it itself has Cycling, so if you come across multiples then you an always just trade one in for a card.
Wasteland Scorpion
The last of the black cards and we end on a good old death touching Scorpion. Not much different here from other scorpions in magic; it makes sense that scorpions have deathtouch which Wasteland Scorpion does, but also keeping in theme with Amonkhet it also has Cycling which just makes it even more playable in limited.
That's all the black cards in Amonkhet, next up are all the red cards so keep checking back to Game Changers.
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