The color Black in Phyrexia: All Will Be One is stacked with above-average Magic: The Gathering Common and Uncommon cards, synergizing with three main mechanics in the set.
Fueling Toxic, Corrupted, and Proliferate synergies in Phyrexia: All Will Be One is the MTG color Black. The set showcases five main mechanics, with Black providing a foundation in three of them. There are a total of 30 Common and Uncommon rarity Black cards in the new set, synergizing with four ONE Draft archetypes.
- Blue/Black (UB): Corrupted and Proliferate Control
- Black/Red (BR): Sacrifice and Oil counters
- White/Black (WB): Toxic and Corrupted synergies
- Black/Green (BG): Toxic and Reanimation synergies
Black Common and Uncommon ONE Draft honorable mentions
The color Black in ONE has an abundance of synergistic Limited cards but lacks multiple powerful creatures and/or spells to automatically pull players into the color. All honorable mentions are playable and sometimes will pull a player into a color under the right circumstances. Stinging Harvester, for example, is a vanilla 3/2 three-drop with Toxic that creates a mite upon death and has Toxic one. The Phyrexian warlock has the potential to drop three damage and one Poison counter. And if that doesn’t work, it provides a token as sacrifice fodder after being sacrificed itself.
Blightbelly Rat is another solid Common that applies early pressure with Toxic and Proliferates when it dies. Annihilating Glare is a one-drop removal spell that should have sacrifice fodder available a majority of the time. Ravenous Necrotian should also have access to sacrifice fodder should the Corrupted angle not come together.
Testament Bearer is a unique four-drop that potentially can find something better from the top three cards of your library with stats to threaten a decent-sized attacker. And Drown in Ichor is a bomb in the UB Proliferate archetype.
Best Black Common and Uncommon ONE Limited Draft cards
The color Black is considered one of the weakest colors in the ONE Draft meta. Both UB and BR still have potential while WB is strong when players are able to ensure an opponent will get three or more Poison counters to activate the Corrupted mechanic. Each of the six best Common and Uncommon cards is a solid top pick, depending on the direction players want to go in the Limited Draft format.
Sheoldred Edict
Sheoldred’s Edict is the staple Uncommon of the ONE set that can splash into any of the 10 archetypes. The removal is good for its cost, specifically when targeting a planeswalker. Sheoldred’s Edict is a top Draft pick, especially when pack-one pick-one options are limited. The Instant speed spell also has value at both the early and late stages of a match.
Scheming Aspirant
Of the seven Blue Commons and Uncommons that Proliferate, six are playable. The UB archetype has the potential to dominate the ONE LImited meta. Scheming Aspirant is the alternate payoff, draining and gaining with each time you Proliferate. Unless running UB or BG, Scheming Aspirant isn’t a top pick.
Bilious Skuldweller
One-drop Deathtouch creatures are a solid option in Standard Constructed and a top Uncommon in Limited formats. Bilious Skuldweller is that one-drop in ONE, but with a Toxic topper to synergize better with multiple archetypes. The insect is also good at slowing down aggressive Draft archetypes in the meta like GR and WR.
Pestilent Syphoner
Alongside repeatable one-drop Deathtouch creatures in Black are the two-drop 1/1 Flyers with an effect or ability. Pestilent Syphoner stands out in ONE because it has Toxic. The Phyrexian Insect will land a Poison counter most times, and potentially a few more. And Perstilent Syponer is ideal sacrifice fodder once the insect has done its job.
Nimraiser Paladin
Nimraiser Paladin is a five-drop top Uncommon pick. The Phyrexian knight’s stats are decent at 4/4 and the Toxic two is a nice add-on. Nimraiser Paladin also reanimates a creature with a mana value of three or less from your graveyard to hand. It does everything a Magic player can expect from a five-drop and can slot into a variety of archetypes.
Annoit with Affliction
Annoit with Affliction is one of the best Black Commons in the ONE set. The Instant exiles for only two mana at Instant speed on targets that have a mana value of three or less while also having Corruption synergy. Corruption and Toxic hold hands nicely in ONE, raising Anoit with Affliction’s value to the top.
Update Feb. 15 1pm CT: All the best low-rarity ONE Draft cards in the color Black were updated prior to the Pro Tour Phyrexia.
