What really cool with choosing Red is that you can easily splash for Chain to the Rocks, where mono White actually has to splash multiple mountains to work.
I'm leaning toward green, but I plan to play the hero as a vanilla 4/5. By the time you set her up, getting three 2/2 will probably be irrelevant. I'm choosing it solely as a safe bet since it's common are nice and every color pairs with green looks fun.
OTOH, I'm not even sure I'll attend the paper pre-release. The reason is that Theros might turn out to be fun in limited but I have zero interest in the cards in the set. There are no card that tingles my constructed bone. I'm not playing competitively, so things like thoughtseize are uninteresting. A new jackal pup gets a bored stare from me. Dual lands that ETBT are an abomination I'll gladly pass over. The gods seem more annoying than fun to play against, being either boring without devotion or overpowered for their cost with it and being indestructible means they'll just be a pain to remove. I don't need to a blue-hating hydra. Just as much as DGM seems unloved yet has ton of interesting build-around-me cards (split cards, champions), Theros has failed on this front for me.
I think the only 3 color deck that will work is going to have green as the base color. There isn't enough fixing available at a low enough commonality for it to be something that is likely to happen very consistently. That said, I think a ruG deck, or Gwr deck are both potentially strong. It requires certain uncommons from what I can tell, but it can be good if you get the right pieces. Getting the rare 0/3 green creature that taps for any color always helps as well.
This set looks like a battle between naya color aggro decks and dimir color tempo control decks so far, with a few oddball exceptions like G/U tempo. U/B based decks want to survive the first few turns then start playing bigger value spells to stabilize and finish with a big threat. Naya color decks (W/R, W/G, R/G etc..) want to start off aggressive and use combat tricks with heroic and bestow cards for their end game reach.
I've been bouncing back and forth between U/G, R/G, and R/U. I think I will go with the red pack and go R/U.
Imagine a mid to late game situation where you have your red promo and the opponent has just played his big fatty. At end of turn you either Griptide or Voyage's End that big thing. On your turn make your promo Monstrous, leaving the opponent unable to play that fatty again.
Oh I just noticed Fate Foretold is an excellent Heroic play.
That being said, I think black is the second weakest color in this set for limited.
White>Green>Red>Black>Blue is my opinion, based off of the relative strength of each color prioritizing rarity.
That's funny, I have it almost exactly the other way around.
Blue > Black > Green > Red > White
I've only gone through the spoiler a couple of times, so I guess we'll see.
As for the promo thingy, I guess I'll take the blue or black one
I think the White and Black promos are the best in a vacuum. Both have evasion and will win the game if unanswered. The demon always generates extra value where the white only sometimes generates extra value (as a bestowed creature).
I think there is a mono-black devotion deck out there for drafting, with Grey Merchant at common, but it's going to be require a pretty crazy set of pulls to be good in sealed. I'm not sure there's enough reason to play black otherwise.
White is OK, but I'm not sure they have enough exciting cards that I'd want a whole pack of white cards.
I'm leaning towards red. At it's worst, their promo is an under-costed beater that runs over almost anything at lower rarities. They have the best removal suite, so an entire pack of red just sets you up well.
I also think Blue, Black Green is the 3 stronger colour
and red and white are the weaker colour at least for sealed..
Not sure how I order them right now..
i would guess
Blue > Black=Green >> Red > White..
right now..
It seem to me those small heroic creatures may not work well in sealed
as you may not got a correct mix of heroic creatures and auras..
or if you do, drawing one but not the other will be a weak hand already.
Draft may be a different story though.
A lot of black's power comes from Read the Bones and Viper's Kiss though. Green has Nessian Asp and Nylea's Disciple to be excited about. Though I am not sure lifegain will matter as much since everything is HUGE @_____@
A lot of black's power comes from Read the Bones and Viper's Kiss though. Green has Nessian Asp and Nylea's Disciple to be excited about.
So I get Read the Bones/Viper's Kiss/Nylea's Disciple, but can someone explain to me why everyone is going ga-ga over Nessian Asp? I get that it's a giant fatty with Reach, but it's in the color known for having giant fatties. Why isn't anyone spouting about how amazing Ill-Tempered Cyclops is? It's essentially the same thing without reach for 1 less mana.
Sure, green is the color of ramp, so you can probably get the asp out before turn 5 reliably. But red is often the closest color associated with green, and at least one of the green "rampers" (Satyr Hedonist) is a common that produces red mana.
That, and you know what they say. If Wizards started shipping $100 bills in boosters tomorrow, people would scream and cry and whine that they were folded the wrong way.
So I get Read the Bones/Viper's Kiss/Nylea's Disciple, but can someone explain to me why everyone is going ga-ga over Nessian Asp? I get that it's a giant fatty with Reach, but it's in the color known for having giant fatties. Why isn't anyone spouting about how amazing Ill-Tempered Cyclops is? It's essentially the same thing without reach for 1 less mana.
I think I can shed some light on this. Let's unpack the Nessian Asp/Ill-Tempered Cyclops comparison a bit (and I suspect the cyclops will turn out to be decent).
First of all, 3/3 is not remotely the same thing as 4/5. There's just a huge difference in how combat plays out with those stat lines.
Second, you're underselling how much of a downgrade "without reach" is. Despite White generally having fewer big creatures than Green, Pillarfield Ox has always been trash, while Giant Spider has fallen somewhere between "acceptable" and "very good" every one of the many times it's been reprinted (literally and functionally).
---
Upgrades on Giant Spider tend to be standout commons; Sentinel Spider was very good, and Blightwidow was incredible. Without considering Monstrosity, Nessian Asp would be Sentinel Spider minus Vigilance, +1 toughness. Given that non-evasive 4/4s don't always attack very well on turn 6 and later, and that 5 toughness usually means beating all the non-rare fliers in a set, it's not automatically clear which of those cards would be better without knowing more about what hypothetical environment we're talking about.
So, in most sets, even without Monstrosity Nessian Asp would be a good common, something you'd be happy taking fairly early if you think you might be in green. The fact that you can turn it into a giant threat (or an answer to a "Dragon") once you hit 7 mana is a big upside, and turns an already good common into something people are excited about.
(It helps that being such a great blocker fresh from your hand improves your odds of making it to Monstrosity mana if you need to, unlike the cyclops)
Having Monstrosity makes Ill-tempered Cyclops, on the other hand, turn from a barely-playable Hill Giant into something I expect to be fine, but not amazing.
First of all, 3/3 is not remotely the same thing as 4/5. There's just a huge difference in how combat plays out with those stat lines.
Second, you're underselling how much of a downgrade "without reach" is. Despite White generally having fewer big creatures than Green, Pillarfield Ox has always been trash, while Giant Spider has fallen somewhere between "acceptable" and "very good" every one of the many times it's been reprinted (literally and functionally).
Thank you for the critique. I admit that I was using the Ill-Tempered Cyclops comparison hyberbollically, but I was thoroughly confused. I've heard comparissons between Nessian Asp and other rare spiders (yes, I know the Asp is a snake...) such as Silklash Spider. I understand that reach can make a good card great in Limited, but everyone's excitement seemed wildly in-congruent.
That, and you know what they say. If Wizards started shipping $100 bills in boosters tomorrow, people would scream and cry and whine that they were folded the wrong way.
Thank you for the critique. I admit that I was using the Ill-Tempered Cyclops comparison hyberbollically, but I was thoroughly confused. I've heard comparissons between Nessian Asp and other rare spiders (yes, I know the Asp is a snake...) such as Silklash Spider. I understand that reach can make a good card great in Limited, but everyone's excitement seemed wildly in-congruent.
Ah, gotcha. This being the internet, I wasn't sure how seriously you meant the Cyclops/Asp comparison.
I agree that Nessian Asp is no Silklash Spider, for which we can all be grateful. I don't think anyone in their right mind wants to see Silklash Spider printed at common.
Look at the common strength of white. So many are just so bad compared to other colors. What do you prefer on your bestow guy? +2/+2 and flying or +2/+2 and vigilance? Lifelink, or deathtouch? Granted, Heliod's Emissary is an exception as it is very good, but a lot of white creatures are quite lacking in comparison to their analogs from other colors. As a guy who loves white, it pains me. But you have to ask yourself, "why on earth does white get a simple bear with no upside whatsoever?" (Traveling Philosopher). White's also been saddled with Yoked Ox and Silent Artisan. It's fine for black to get straight up bears because it's creatures are supposed to suck, but white should have very nice low-drops rather than mediocre ones.
Another problem is that white's removal is pretty jank in Theros. Compare to Innistrad, where white's removal was straight up gangsta. Granted, white does have a couple of good combat tricks, but we have no Pacifism variant, which really hurts white. Vanquish the Foul is pure junk when you compare it to other colors' removal and Theros and also white's past precedents like Trostani's Judgment or Smite the Monstrous.
Short and sweet: white's removal is trash in Theros and its creatures aren't much better. I am pretty angry about it too. As I mentioned, I love white, and after seeing it get the shaft in M14, seeing it be ostensibly the weakest color again is disappointing.
While I too am not incredibly impressed by Theros' selection in white, there is one possibility for the color that looks tempting. White has significantly more heroic creatures than any other color (most of which look pretty good), to go along with the Cavalry Pegasus which can lift them all into the air (along with the bear). I can see the makings of an interesting aggressive white-based deck. Unfortunately, it looks to be pretty weak to Lightning Strike, Pharika's Cure, and Voyage's End. We'll have to see if heroic plays better than I think it will. It does look very skill intensive, judging when to use your pumps and protection.
At the prerelease I'm attending, I think I will either choose blue or green for the solo sealed event and I will definitely choose black for the 2HG event.
For a solo event, I think blue has the best splash-able commons and removal if it ends up that I get no color help in any of the other 5 boosters. I don't want to not be able to play my "Hero's Path" color as that's probably the most disheartening thing to happen in a sealed event.
For a 2HG event, black has the greatest majority of cards that effect multiple opponents (Agent of the Fates, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Tormented Hero) and, as demonstrated by Extort in Gatecrash Sealed, getting double the effect for the price of one can really take over a game. Coupled with some of the better removal should make a great permission strategy.
That, and you know what they say. If Wizards started shipping $100 bills in boosters tomorrow, people would scream and cry and whine that they were folded the wrong way.
I'd without a doubt give the nod to black as the best color with blue a close second. Read the bones might be the best common in the entire set and black also has three common removal with cure, hemlock, and lash.
Blue gives you a couple nice common fliers along with griptide, voyage, and bounty
Commons: Viper's Kiss -- -1/-1 at sorcery speed -- not great. March of the Returned -- double raise dead. The double make it somewhat playable but hardly good. If it were an instant, maybe. Loathsome Catobeplas -- 3/3 for 6 with -3/-3 when it dies for 6. The only way you can get a 2-for-1 with this is if your opponent lets you. So it's more like an awkward 6/6 that deals less damage. Disciple of Phenax -- okay ability on a weak body with heavy black cost. If they don't reveal their full hand, it's actually weak. Boon of Erebos -- Nice trick indeed. Gray Merchant of Asphodel** -- best black common, no doubt. Read the Bones** -- Yep, nice.
Uncommons: Ordeal of Erebos** -- slow, easy to see coming discard two? Not good. One of the worst ordeal. Mogis's Marauder -- Actually, maybe the best uncommon in this list. Insatiable Harpy -- 2/2 lifelink flyer for 4. Okay, but not something that pulls me into black. Tormented Hero** -- okayish, but rapidly outclassed. Rescue from the Underworld** -- neat, except when you happen to *not* have a board presence, which is when it would be most needed!
Also, you missed one of the best black uncommon: lash of the whipe. -4/-4 at instant speed is strong, how did you not list it?
So - black is not that amazing. It pulls it's weigh, but it doesn't seem to be the #1 color in Theros.
Look at the common strength of white. So many are just so bad compared to other colors. What do you prefer on your bestow guy? +2/+2 and flying or +2/+2 and vigilance? Lifelink, or deathtouch? Granted, Heliod's Emissary is an exception as it is very good, but a lot of white creatures are quite lacking in comparison to their analogs from other colors. As a guy who loves white, it pains me. But you have to ask yourself, "why on earth does white get a simple bear with no upside whatsoever?" (Traveling Philosopher). White's also been saddled with Yoked Ox and Silent Artisan. It's fine for black to get straight up bears because it's creatures are supposed to suck, but white should have very nice low-drops rather than mediocre ones.
Another problem is that white's removal is pretty jank in Theros. Compare to Innistrad, where white's removal was straight up gangsta. Granted, white does have a couple of good combat tricks, but we have no Pacifism variant, which really hurts white. Vanquish the Foul is pure junk when you compare it to other colors' removal and Theros and also white's past precedents like Trostani's Judgment or Smite the Monstrous.
Short and sweet: white's removal is trash in Theros and its creatures aren't much better. I am pretty angry about it too. As I mentioned, I love white, and after seeing it get the shaft in M14, seeing it be ostensibly the weakest color again is disappointing.
WOTC hates white!
I'd say +2/+2 vigi for 5 mana is pretty good (remember RTR?). Sure, it might not be as good as blue's nymph (which is one of the best commons in the entire set), but I'd say it's better than black and red nymphs.
Regarding the Eidolons, to me they're actually about the same because I'd rather have +1/+1 lifelink for 4mana than +1/+1 deathtouch for 5mana, but I prefer 2mana 1/1 deathtouch to 1mana 1/1 lifelink.
In this set, all black gets is a bear with a demerit. Actually, no other color besides green even gets a bear.
There's a general lack of good removals in Theros, not just for white, so that heroic and bestow can remain a powerful mechanic. Last Breath and especially Divine Verdict are both great removals that are hard to come by in other colors.
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Commons: Viper's Kiss -- -1/-1 at sorcery speed -- not great. March of the Returned -- double raise dead. The double make it somewhat playable but hardly good. If it were an instant, maybe. Loathsome Catobeplas -- 3/3 for 6 with -3/-3 when it dies for 6. The only way you can get a 2-for-1 with this is if your opponent lets you. So it's more like an awkward 6/6 that deals less damage. Disciple of Phenax -- okay ability on a weak body with heavy black cost. If they don't reveal their full hand, it's actually weak. Boon of Erebos -- Nice trick indeed. Gray Merchant of Asphodel** -- best black common, no doubt. Read the Bones** -- Yep, nice.
Uncommons: Ordeal of Erebos** -- slow, easy to see coming discard two? Not good. One of the worst ordeal. Mogis's Marauder -- Actually, maybe the best uncommon in this list. Insatiable Harpy -- 2/2 lifelink flyer for 4. Okay, but not something that pulls me into black. Tormented Hero** -- okayish, but rapidly outclassed. Rescue from the Underworld** -- neat, except when you happen to *not* have a board presence, which is when it would be most needed!
Also, you missed one of the best black uncommon: lash of the whipe. -4/-4 at instant speed is strong, how did you not list it?
So - black is not that amazing. It pulls it's weigh, but it doesn't seem to be the #1 color in Theros.
You actually missed the best black uncommon, Keepsake Gorgon and sip of hemlock at common. Black is without a doubt one of the top colors of theros in limited
I think Viper's Kiss is better than it looks; there are a lot of creatures with activated abilities in this set, including the off-color activation cycle and every single Monstrous creature. There are also a fair number of relevant 1-toughness creatures, like Vaporkin and both common deathtouch creatures.
Black does have some very good commons. I'm still not sure which color I'll be picking for the prerelease. I still believe White has the best promo, but it also seems to have the weakest commons for Sealed. I'm choosing between Blue, Black, and Green right now.
OTOH, I'm not even sure I'll attend the paper pre-release. The reason is that Theros might turn out to be fun in limited but I have zero interest in the cards in the set. There are no card that tingles my constructed bone. I'm not playing competitively, so things like thoughtseize are uninteresting. A new jackal pup gets a bored stare from me. Dual lands that ETBT are an abomination I'll gladly pass over. The gods seem more annoying than fun to play against, being either boring without devotion or overpowered for their cost with it and being indestructible means they'll just be a pain to remove. I don't need to a blue-hating hydra. Just as much as DGM seems unloved yet has ton of interesting build-around-me cards (split cards, champions), Theros has failed on this front for me.
This set looks like a battle between naya color aggro decks and dimir color tempo control decks so far, with a few oddball exceptions like G/U tempo. U/B based decks want to survive the first few turns then start playing bigger value spells to stabilize and finish with a big threat. Naya color decks (W/R, W/G, R/G etc..) want to start off aggressive and use combat tricks with heroic and bestow cards for their end game reach.
Imagine a mid to late game situation where you have your red promo and the opponent has just played his big fatty. At end of turn you either Griptide or Voyage's End that big thing. On your turn make your promo Monstrous, leaving the opponent unable to play that fatty again.
Oh I just noticed Fate Foretold is an excellent Heroic play.
That's funny, I have it almost exactly the other way around.
Blue > Black > Green > Red > White
I've only gone through the spoiler a couple of times, so I guess we'll see.
As for the promo thingy, I guess I'll take the blue or black one
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I think there is a mono-black devotion deck out there for drafting, with Grey Merchant at common, but it's going to be require a pretty crazy set of pulls to be good in sealed. I'm not sure there's enough reason to play black otherwise.
White is OK, but I'm not sure they have enough exciting cards that I'd want a whole pack of white cards.
I'm leaning towards red. At it's worst, their promo is an under-costed beater that runs over almost anything at lower rarities. They have the best removal suite, so an entire pack of red just sets you up well.
R Norin the Wary: I've Got a Bad Feeling About This
UG Thrasios & Kydele: Knowledge is Power
RG Borborygmos Enraged: The Breaking of the World
BG The Gitrog Monster: All Glory to the Hypnotoad
WUR Zedruu the Greathearted: Endless Possibilities, One Outcome
WBG Karador, Ghost Chieftain: What's Dead May Never Die
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I completely agree
Blue > Green >black>red>white
URWTwin
XAffinity
Blue>Black>Green>Red>White
A lot of black's power comes from Read the Bones and Viper's Kiss though. Green has Nessian Asp and Nylea's Disciple to be excited about. Though I am not sure lifegain will matter as much since everything is HUGE @_____@
So Pro I have an alpha Volcanic Island
After going through the spoiler a couple of times, I've also come to this conclusion.
Check out my expected lands table at:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Airj6A6lYAz_dG05T2JETnVTak1xQ0tqOHNSdEJLWVE&hl=en_US#gid=0
So I get Read the Bones/Viper's Kiss/Nylea's Disciple, but can someone explain to me why everyone is going ga-ga over Nessian Asp? I get that it's a giant fatty with Reach, but it's in the color known for having giant fatties. Why isn't anyone spouting about how amazing Ill-Tempered Cyclops is? It's essentially the same thing without reach for 1 less mana.
Sure, green is the color of ramp, so you can probably get the asp out before turn 5 reliably. But red is often the closest color associated with green, and at least one of the green "rampers" (Satyr Hedonist) is a common that produces red mana.
//stat.rumandmonkey.com/tests/1/6/5261/20801.jpg">stat.rumandmonkey.com
First of all, 3/3 is not remotely the same thing as 4/5. There's just a huge difference in how combat plays out with those stat lines.
Second, you're underselling how much of a downgrade "without reach" is. Despite White generally having fewer big creatures than Green, Pillarfield Ox has always been trash, while Giant Spider has fallen somewhere between "acceptable" and "very good" every one of the many times it's been reprinted (literally and functionally).
---
Upgrades on Giant Spider tend to be standout commons; Sentinel Spider was very good, and Blightwidow was incredible. Without considering Monstrosity, Nessian Asp would be Sentinel Spider minus Vigilance, +1 toughness. Given that non-evasive 4/4s don't always attack very well on turn 6 and later, and that 5 toughness usually means beating all the non-rare fliers in a set, it's not automatically clear which of those cards would be better without knowing more about what hypothetical environment we're talking about.
So, in most sets, even without Monstrosity Nessian Asp would be a good common, something you'd be happy taking fairly early if you think you might be in green. The fact that you can turn it into a giant threat (or an answer to a "Dragon") once you hit 7 mana is a big upside, and turns an already good common into something people are excited about.
(It helps that being such a great blocker fresh from your hand improves your odds of making it to Monstrosity mana if you need to, unlike the cyclops)
Having Monstrosity makes Ill-tempered Cyclops, on the other hand, turn from a barely-playable Hill Giant into something I expect to be fine, but not amazing.
Thank you for the critique. I admit that I was using the Ill-Tempered Cyclops comparison hyberbollically, but I was thoroughly confused. I've heard comparissons between Nessian Asp and other rare spiders (yes, I know the Asp is a snake...) such as Silklash Spider. I understand that reach can make a good card great in Limited, but everyone's excitement seemed wildly in-congruent.
//stat.rumandmonkey.com/tests/1/6/5261/20801.jpg">stat.rumandmonkey.com
I agree that Nessian Asp is no Silklash Spider, for which we can all be grateful. I don't think anyone in their right mind wants to see Silklash Spider printed at common.
Another problem is that white's removal is pretty jank in Theros. Compare to Innistrad, where white's removal was straight up gangsta. Granted, white does have a couple of good combat tricks, but we have no Pacifism variant, which really hurts white. Vanquish the Foul is pure junk when you compare it to other colors' removal and Theros and also white's past precedents like Trostani's Judgment or Smite the Monstrous.
Last Breath and Ray of Dissolution aren't bad though.
Short and sweet: white's removal is trash in Theros and its creatures aren't much better. I am pretty angry about it too. As I mentioned, I love white, and after seeing it get the shaft in M14, seeing it be ostensibly the weakest color again is disappointing.
WOTC hates white!
For a solo event, I think blue has the best splash-able commons and removal if it ends up that I get no color help in any of the other 5 boosters. I don't want to not be able to play my "Hero's Path" color as that's probably the most disheartening thing to happen in a sealed event.
For a 2HG event, black has the greatest majority of cards that effect multiple opponents (Agent of the Fates, Gray Merchant of Asphodel, Tormented Hero) and, as demonstrated by Extort in Gatecrash Sealed, getting double the effect for the price of one can really take over a game. Coupled with some of the better removal should make a great permission strategy.
//stat.rumandmonkey.com/tests/1/6/5261/20801.jpg">stat.rumandmonkey.com
Blue gives you a couple nice common fliers along with griptide, voyage, and bounty
Commons:
Viper's Kiss
March of the Returned
Loathsome Catobeplas
Disciple of Phenax
Boon of Erebos
Gray Merchant of Asphodel**
Read the Bones**
Uncommons:
Ordeal of Erebos**
Mogis's Marauder
Insatiable Harpy
Tormented Hero**
Rescue from the Underworld**
All great in sealed, with the starred cards being particularly amazing...
Viper's Kiss -- -1/-1 at sorcery speed -- not great.
March of the Returned -- double raise dead. The double make it somewhat playable but hardly good. If it were an instant, maybe.
Loathsome Catobeplas -- 3/3 for 6 with -3/-3 when it dies for 6. The only way you can get a 2-for-1 with this is if your opponent lets you. So it's more like an awkward 6/6 that deals less damage.
Disciple of Phenax -- okay ability on a weak body with heavy black cost. If they don't reveal their full hand, it's actually weak.
Boon of Erebos -- Nice trick indeed.
Gray Merchant of Asphodel** -- best black common, no doubt.
Read the Bones** -- Yep, nice.
Uncommons:
Ordeal of Erebos** -- slow, easy to see coming discard two? Not good. One of the worst ordeal.
Mogis's Marauder -- Actually, maybe the best uncommon in this list.
Insatiable Harpy -- 2/2 lifelink flyer for 4. Okay, but not something that pulls me into black.
Tormented Hero** -- okayish, but rapidly outclassed.
Rescue from the Underworld** -- neat, except when you happen to *not* have a board presence, which is when it would be most needed!
Also, you missed one of the best black uncommon: lash of the whipe. -4/-4 at instant speed is strong, how did you not list it?
So - black is not that amazing. It pulls it's weigh, but it doesn't seem to be the #1 color in Theros.
I'd say +2/+2 vigi for 5 mana is pretty good (remember RTR?). Sure, it might not be as good as blue's nymph (which is one of the best commons in the entire set), but I'd say it's better than black and red nymphs.
Regarding the Eidolons, to me they're actually about the same because I'd rather have +1/+1 lifelink for 4mana than +1/+1 deathtouch for 5mana, but I prefer 2mana 1/1 deathtouch to 1mana 1/1 lifelink.
In this set, all black gets is a bear with a demerit. Actually, no other color besides green even gets a bear.
There's a general lack of good removals in Theros, not just for white, so that heroic and bestow can remain a powerful mechanic. Last Breath and especially Divine Verdict are both great removals that are hard to come by in other colors.
It's got more than 10 different strategies you can choose from.
Comment about it here.
You actually missed the best black uncommon, Keepsake Gorgon and sip of hemlock at common. Black is without a doubt one of the top colors of theros in limited
I think Viper's Kiss is better than it looks; there are a lot of creatures with activated abilities in this set, including the off-color activation cycle and every single Monstrous creature. There are also a fair number of relevant 1-toughness creatures, like Vaporkin and both common deathtouch creatures.
Black does have some very good commons. I'm still not sure which color I'll be picking for the prerelease. I still believe White has the best promo, but it also seems to have the weakest commons for Sealed. I'm choosing between Blue, Black, and Green right now.