EDH Optimizer
Black Cat, Cunning Thief
Legendary Creature — Human Rogue Villain · 3BB
Color identity: Black
Black Cat, Cunning Thief is black: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
When Black Cat enters, look at the top nine cards of target opponent's library, exile two of them face down, then put the rest on the bottom of their library in a random order. You may play the exiled cards for as long as they remain exiled. Mana of any type can be spent to cast spells this way.
Reference price of the card: €0.28
Average lands in decks for Black Cat, Cunning Thief: 36
TheftReanimatorBlinkAristocratsControlETBGraveyardRamp
Build your Black Cat, Cunning Thief deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Black Cat, Cunning Thief 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Black Cat, Cunning Thief deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play per EDHREC (the 99 most-included cards, with its average land count), simulated with the EDH Optimizer engine: hands, mulligans, lands, curve and commander. It does not model opponents; it measures whether the plan gets going.
Deck health of the average list: D (40/100)
- Consistency34
- Speed43
- Interaction22
- Resilience70
- Closing36
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 36 lands (10 nonbasic, 26 Swamp)
Sol Ring · Arcane Signet · Supernatural Stamina · Undying Malice · Conjurer's Closet · Deadly Dispute · Fake Your Own Death · Not Dead After All · Feign Death · Gonti, Lord of Luxury · Panharmonicon · Dark Ritual · Nasty End · Saw in Half · Jet Medallion · Gonti, Night Minister · Village Rites · Kaya's Ghostform · Reanimate · Crypt Ghast · Gray Merchant of Asphodel · Solemn Simulacrum · Mind Stone · Undying Evil · Blade of Selves · Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire · Soldevi Adnate · Feed the Swarm · Return to Action · Brainstealer Dragon · Charcoal Diamond · Come Back Wrong · Corrupted Conviction · Thieving Varmint · Morbid Opportunist · Victimize · Dauthi Voidwalker · Demonic Gifts · The Darkness Crystal · Animate Dead · Fellwar Stone · Toxic Deluge · Wayfarer's Bauble · Outrageous Robbery · Vincent's Limit Break · Withering Torment · Cunning Rhetoric · Abnormal Endurance · Arvinox, the Mind Flail · Intellect Devourer · Sign in Blood · The Soul Stone · Thought Vessel · Fungal Fortitude · Viscera Seer · Ashnod's Altar · Night's Whisper · Phyrexian Arena · Presumed Dead · Accursed Marauder · Black Market Connections · Expedition Map · Fell the Profane // Fell Mire · Cabal Coffers · Bojuka Bog · Myriad Landscape · Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth · Phyrexian Tower · Cabal Stronghold · High Market · Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx · War Room · Witch's Cottage
🃏 Recommended cards for Black Cat, Cunning Thief
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Black Cat, Cunning Thief, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Conjurer's Closet | 71% | +68% |
| Supernatural Stamina | 76% | +68% |
| Panharmonicon | 63% | +62% |
| Undying Malice | 72% | +62% |
| Gonti, Lord of Luxury | 65% | +61% |
| Fake Your Own Death | 68% | +60% |
| Nasty End | 61% | +57% |
| Feign Death | 65% | +57% |
| Not Dead After All | 68% | +56% |
| Gonti, Night Minister | 56% | +53% |
| Saw in Half | 60% | +51% |
| Blade of Selves | 49% | +47% |
| Undying Evil | 50% | +46% |
| Kaya's Ghostform | 54% | +44% |
| Return to Action | 44% | +42% |
| Soldevi Adnate | 46% | +42% |
| Deadly Dispute | 69% | +42% |
| Come Back Wrong | 42% | +40% |
| Brainstealer Dragon | 43% | +40% |
| Thieving Varmint | 41% | +38% |
| Demonic Gifts | 38% | +37% |
| Outrageous Robbery | 34% | +32% |
| Vincent's Limit Break | 34% | +32% |
| Abnormal Endurance | 32% | +31% |
💰 The best cards for your Black Cat, Cunning Thief deck, by budget
Three tiers based on the maximum price PER CARD you are willing to pay. Paste your list and hit Optimize: you pick that cap and the AI only suggests swaps that fit under it.
Tier 1 · Budget up to €2/card
The most value for almost nothing. Coming from a precon? Start here.
- Supernatural Stamina
- Undying Malice
- Gonti, Lord of Luxury
- Fake Your Own Death
- Nasty End
- Feign Death
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Conjurer's Closet
- Panharmonicon
- Saw in Half
- Blade of Selves
- Brainstealer Dragon
- Thieving Varmint
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Rev, Tithe Extractor
- The Soul Stone
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Black Cat, Cunning Thief
- Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Vito, Thorn of the Dusk Rose + Bloodthirsty Conqueror → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Gravecrawler + Phyrexian Altar → Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite storm count
- Sanguine Bond + Bloodthirsty Conqueror → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Exquisite Blood + Enduring Tenacity → Infinite lifegain triggers, Infinite lifeloss, Infinite lifegain
- Pitiless Plunderer + Ashnod's Altar + Reassembling Skeleton → Infinite colorless mana, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Black Cat, Cunning Thief's color identity?
Black Cat, Cunning Thief is black: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones. Color identity comes from every mana symbol on the card, including those in the rules text, not just the casting cost.
What turn does Black Cat, Cunning Thief come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Black Cat, Cunning Thief deck (the 99 most-included cards per EDHREC, with 36 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 4.3 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 99 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 16 % of the time and floods 31 %. Deck health: D (40/100).
How many lands should a Black Cat, Cunning Thief deck run?
Real Black Cat, Cunning Thief decks run 36 lands on average. That is a starting point, not a rule: a lower curve can shave one or two, big-mana builds want more. The EDH Optimizer simulator tells you, over 10,000 games, how often you get mana screwed or flooded with your exact count.
What are the best cards for Black Cat, Cunning Thief?
The three highest-synergy cards are Conjurer's Closet, Supernatural Stamina, Panharmonicon. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Black Cat, Cunning Thief decks.
What combos does Black Cat, Cunning Thief have?
Black Cat, Cunning Thief has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood. Note that two-card combos raise your deck's bracket, so it is worth knowing which ones you are running before you sit down.
How much does a Black Cat, Cunning Thief deck cost?
You can start cheap: Supernatural Stamina, Undying Malice, Gonti, Lord of Luxury are under €2 each. The "Level up" section on this page splits the best cards into three price caps PER CARD (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.