Invasion Draft: Black Uncommons

Gary Wise

With my Sydney trip to the Magic Invitational on the horizon, we get down to the bare essentials, with today's focus being Invasion's black uncommons.
Black Uncommons

Addle
With over half a dozen discard options in Invasion, Addle will never be a crucial card, but that doesn't mean its playable. Excellent against Dragons and the like, this card's value obviously goes up in Rochester draft as you know which players have the high-cost bombs and which colors those bombs are. Don't take it too high; you'll want Hypnotic Cloud over it in most situations. A 7th-9th pick.

Annihilate
Obviously a powerful card, the only question with a card of Annihilate's power is what you take it over and vice versa. First pick overall, I don't think there's a common I would take over it, and the uncommons can be counted on one hand (Reckless Spite, Breath of Darigaaz and Zanam Djinn are the uncommons that I feel compete). A 1st-2nd pick.

Cremate
If your opponent is playing Pyre Zombie, this card might be a worthwhile sideboard card. The only other time I could see myself bringing it in is against a deck with a number of Recovers and Cauldron Dances. Still, that makes it more useful then Phantasmal Terrain. A 12th - 14th pick.

Cursed Flesh
I missed this the first time on the common run. I like the versatility the Flesh provides in that you can use its Fear ability on your own creature, but it's not very often that you're going to do so. Cursed Flesh has one primary use in this format: kill Apprentices. Not as good at doing so as Zap, the Flesh gets around some of those tricks that Zap falls to. Try to get one or two, as your opponent should have a Tower Drake, Viashino Grappler or something of the like that will trade with this relatively low pick kill spell. A 5th-7th pick.

Dredge
I tried this out in a deck with two Shivan Emissarys and three Recovers. In retrospect, it would only have been worth sideboarding in if they had Shackles. A 12th-14th pick.

Goham Djinn
The second best Djinn (after Zanam) in the format, this guy is a wrecking ball even at 3/3. This format has very few creatures with a toughness of four, so ways to stop 3/3 regenerators are very rare. Think of it as a 3/3 regenerator who gets +2/+2 as a bonus once in a while. A 1st-3rd pick.

Hate Weaver
When the set was released, I thought Sky Weaver was a bomb and Hate Weaver was mediocre, but that position is starting to reverse itself. With one of the few problems UB has being the size of its creatures, the Weaver allows the trading of a 2/2 dork with a 3/3 or 4/4 monster, as well as giving your half of the race a shot of adrenaline. A very solid way to fill your two slot. A 5th-7th pick.

Plague Spitter
Ladies and Gentleman, presenting what may be the single most important uncommon in the format: Plague Spitter. A mere 2/2 for three, in a format filled with a number of powerful 1/1s and few ways to kill them, Plague Spitter is the most efficient non-rare way to deal with such parasites. Putting your opponent on a definite time clock, the Spitter not only kills all of your opponent's 1/1s, but can often attack recklessly as a threat to their army of 2/2s, often resulting in your getting in two extra points of damage. Any arguments involving the Spitter hurting your creatures also are negated by this one simple fact: you never have to cast it. A 2nd -4th pick.

Reckless Spite
As good as Annihilate is, this is the non-rare card I would take first overall in this format given the choice. While Breath of Darigaaz is a little better, I love the Spite, which, in addition to being a black card, will win the race if they don't have enough burn to take you out. A 1st - 2nd pick.

Trench Wurm
BR. As I've mentioned previously, 3/3 for 4 is a rare and wonderful thing in this format, and the Wurm is no different. While I've won games by using its alternate ability, it's the Wurm's size that makes it a high pick in a color that lacks mana efficient creatures. A 3rd - 5th pick.

Urborg Emissary
UB. That bounce is good is pretty obvious, removing a detrimental creature enchantment or a pivotal blocker, but throw in a 3/1 body and you have a very solid card. Not quite as good as a Repulse or Recoil due to its hefty cost and brittle nature, the Emissary is never the less a strong card that makes the cut in any UB deck. A 4th - 6th pick.

Urborg Shambler
In a format where UB has reared its head as the dominant archetype, the Shambler is a bomb, killing almost half of the common black creatures in the format and hitting for four a turn, all for the grand total of four mana. Throw in some nifty combo action with cards like Tidal Visionary and you have a card that has definitely been underrated up until this point. A 3rd - 5th pick.