EDH Optimizer
The best black cards for Commander
Black pays life for what other colors cannot do: tutors for any card, unlimited draw and graveyard recursion. It has the cheapest unconditional removal, at the cost of not being able to touch artifacts or enchantments.
Most played
Percentage of decks in this color identity that run them, according to EDHREC, with their reference price.
| Card | Played in | Price | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bojuka Bog | 30% | €1.12 | Land |
| Dark Ritual | 25% | €1.24 | Instant |
| Reanimate | 20% | €7.83 | Sorcery |
| Demonic Tutor | 19% | €28.47 | Sorcery |
| Toxic Deluge | 18% | €4.96 | Sorcery |
| Feed the Swarm | 16% | €0.17 | Sorcery |
| Phyrexian Arena | 15% | €2.89 | Enchantment |
| Deadly Rollick | 14% | €20.66 | Instant |
| Vampiric Tutor | 14% | €27.71 | Instant |
| Victimize | 13% | €0.30 | Sorcery |
| Deadly Dispute | 13% | €0.34 | Instant |
| Black Market Connections | 13% | €11.87 | Enchantment |
| Blood Artist | 11% | €1.90 | Creature |
| Night's Whisper | 10% | €0.30 | Sorcery |
| Animate Dead | 9% | €5.63 | Enchantment |
| Cabal Coffers | 9% | €16.67 | Land |
| Mirkwood Bats | 9% | €0.35 | Creature |
| Sign in Blood | 9% | €0.47 | Sorcery |
| Village Rites | 9% | €0.27 | Instant |
| Phyrexian Tower | 9% | €22.45 | Land |
| Fell the Profane | 9% | — | |
| Pitiless Plunderer | 9% | €2.64 | Creature |
| Zulaport Cutthroat | 9% | €0.94 | Creature |
| Viscera Seer | 8% | €0.47 | Creature |
| Infernal Grasp | 8% | €0.23 | Instant |
| Bolas's Citadel | 8% | €5.50 | Artifact |
| Diabolic Intent | 8% | €11.13 | Sorcery |
| Malakir Rebirth | 8% | — | |
| Orcish Bowmasters | 8% | €31.63 | Creature |
| Withering Torment | 8% | €1.50 | Instant |
| Morbid Opportunist | 8% | €0.20 | Creature |
| Syr Konrad, the Grim | 8% | €0.40 | Creature |
| Takenuma, Abandoned Mire | 8% | €9.28 | Land |
| Gray Merchant of Asphodel | 8% | €1.02 | Creature |
| Entomb | 7% | €7.32 | Instant |
| Exsanguinate | 7% | €0.37 | Sorcery |
| Bastion of Remembrance | 7% | €0.33 | Enchantment |
| Braids, Arisen Nightmare | 7% | €3.30 | Creature |
| Damnation | 6% | €15.01 | Sorcery |
| Buried Alive | 6% | €1.19 | Sorcery |
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
By role in the deck
The same list, split by what each card actually does. That is the order to build in: cover the roles first, tune afterwards.
Best ramp cards in black
Dark Ritual · €1.24 Cabal Coffers · €16.67 Phyrexian Tower · €22.45 Pitiless Plunderer · €2.64 Crypt Ghast · €9.98 Cabal Ritual · €9.75 Culling the Weak · €6.31 Black Market · €3.32 Charcoal Diamond · €0.12 Revel in Riches · €10.55 Cabal Stronghold · €10.43 Nightscape Familiar · €0.30
Best card draw in black
Phyrexian Arena · €2.89 Deadly Dispute · €0.34 Night's Whisper · €0.30 Sign in Blood · €0.47 Village Rites · €0.27 Bolas's Citadel · €5.50 Morbid Opportunist · €0.20 Necropotence · €14.33 Read the Bones · €0.12 Opposition Agent · €23.38 Ripples of Undeath · €6.48 Corrupted Conviction · €0.31
Best removal spells in black
Feed the Swarm · €0.17 Deadly Rollick · €20.66 Infernal Grasp · €0.23 Withering Torment · €1.50 Go for the Throat · €0.58 Grave Pact · €18.96 Accursed Marauder · €0.32 Snuff Out · €6.54 Saw in Half · €4.32 Plaguecrafter · €0.30 Sheoldred, Whispering One · €14.32 Defile · €1.04
Best board wipes in black
Toxic Deluge · €4.96 Damnation · €15.01 Living Death · €3.20 Massacre Wurm · €1.17 Accursed Marauder · €0.32 Blasphemous Edict · €5.11 The Meathook Massacre · €21.21 Kindred Dominance · €3.87 Blood Money · €1.65 Crux of Fate · €0.47 Crippling Fear · €0.36 Decree of Pain · €0.25
Best tutors in black
Demonic Tutor · €28.47 Vampiric Tutor · €27.71 Diabolic Intent · €11.13 Entomb · €7.32 Buried Alive · €1.19 Imperial Seal · €103.97 Diabolic Tutor · €0.36 Wishclaw Talisman · €2.09 Grim Tutor · €14.88 Tainted Pact · €22.77 Beseech the Mirror · €14.41 Insatiable Avarice · €4.69
Best recursion cards in black
Reanimate · €7.83 Victimize · €0.30 Animate Dead · €5.63 Dread Return · €0.29 Living Death · €3.20 Rise of the Dark Realms · €3.59 Gravecrawler · €1.01 The Soul Stone · €50.00 Whip of Erebos · €6.46 Reassembling Skeleton · €0.12 Sheoldred, Whispering One · €14.32 Unearth · €0.35
Best protection cards in black
Imp's Mischief · €4.25 Kaya's Ghostform · €1.08 Not Dead After All · €1.29 Darkness · €8.48 Feign Death · €0.94 Undying Malice · €0.60 Sudden Spoiling · €2.86 Fake Your Own Death · €0.08 Supernatural Stamina · €0.09 Tundra Tank · €0.10 Stolen Stark Tech · €0.05
Best lands in black
Takenuma, Abandoned Mire · €9.28 Mortuary Mire · €0.16 Castle Locthwain · €3.43 Vault of Whispers · €1.13 Barren Moor · €0.12 Thriving Moor · €0.04 The Black Gate · €10.89 Witch's Cottage · €0.61 Cabal Stronghold · €10.43 Spymaster's Vault · €1.19 Barad-dûr · €1.11 Dakmor Salvage · €0.24
Great and cheap
Heavily played cards under €2. Coming from a precon, this is the best value per euro you will find.
| Card | Played in | Price | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bojuka Bog | 30% | €1.12 | Land |
| Dark Ritual | 25% | €1.24 | Instant |
| Feed the Swarm | 16% | €0.17 | Sorcery |
| Victimize | 13% | €0.30 | Sorcery |
| Deadly Dispute | 13% | €0.34 | Instant |
| Blood Artist | 11% | €1.90 | Creature |
| Night's Whisper | 10% | €0.30 | Sorcery |
| Mirkwood Bats | 9% | €0.35 | Creature |
| Sign in Blood | 9% | €0.47 | Sorcery |
| Village Rites | 9% | €0.27 | Instant |
| Zulaport Cutthroat | 9% | €0.94 | Creature |
| Viscera Seer | 8% | €0.47 | Creature |
| Infernal Grasp | 8% | €0.23 | Instant |
| Withering Torment | 8% | €1.50 | Instant |
| Morbid Opportunist | 8% | €0.20 | Creature |
Commanders in this identity
Each one with its recommended cards and known combos.
Paste your list and we tell you what is missing: ramp, draw, interaction and a 10,000-game simulation to see whether the deck actually gets going.
📥 Analyze my deck for free 🛠️ Build a deckFrequently asked questions
What are the best black cards for Commander?
The three most played right now are Bojuka Bog, Dark Ritual, Reanimate. This page lists the top 40 with their real inclusion rate and price, plus the breakdown by role.
How much ramp does a black deck need?
The most common picks are Dark Ritual, Cabal Coffers, Phyrexian Tower. As a reference, a balanced Commander deck runs 8 to 12 ramp sources on top of its 36-38 lands; paste your list into EDH Optimizer and we tell you how many you have and whether that fits your curve.
Which cheap black cards are worth it?
Under €2, Bojuka Bog, Dark Ritual, Feed the Swarm stand out. The "Great and cheap" section on this page has the full list, ranked by how much they are played.
Can I play any black card in my deck?
Only if its color identity fits inside your commander's: in Commander both mana cost symbols and rules text symbols count. EDH Optimizer automatically flags cards that fall outside your commander's identity.