My favorite EDH black removal spell is Shriveling Rot. It is an instant, something most mass removal spells cant say. In multiplayer games you can avoid its downsides more easily, and the creatures are bigger in EDH. Also if you like weird combos, add in a Wail of the Nim and you have a very powerful onesided boardwipe, that may kill a player or two.
... ritual of the machine -> the non-black clause hurts this a lot, but great to have a way of stealing problematic generals in black when you can tutor for it
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Yea, probably is. Enslave is another option. I like that ritual is a sorcery, so it doesn't fold to artifact/enchantment removal. I would probably still run ritual over helm in my Xiahou Dun, the one-eyed, for this reason and because it is black and I can get it back using XDOE.
Card advantage is not the same thing as card draw. Something for 2B cannot be strictly worse than something for BBB or 3BB. If you're taking out Swords to Plowshares for Plummet, you're a fool. Stop doing these things!
Yea, probably is. Enslave is another option. I like that ritual is a sorcery, so it doesn't fold to artifact/enchantment removal. I would probably still run ritual over helm in my Xiahou Dun, the one-eyed, for this reason and because it is black and I can get it back using XDOE.
UGUPrime Speaker Seamonster RampUGU
WUGDerevi Does NothingWUG
RRRFeldon's Lovely LadiesRRR
Grave Pact, Dictate of Erebos: Both of these let me kill a lot of things, with some help.
Attrition: Another fine way to kill things, and it takes out Tajuru Preserver, but sadly not his big sister. (Not always a problem, since nonwhite decks can't use the angel.)
Tragic Slip: More often than not, the black Swords to Plowshares, minus the exile (which I can totally do)
Gild: Expensive, but it's gone forever.
Hero's Downfall: The most versatile monoblack removal spell in the game.
Geth's Verdict: This is arguably the griefiest removal spell in Magic. It forces a Sophie's choice...and rubs it in by making him lose 1 life?
Shriekmaw: Extra card advantage.
Pestilence: This is sort of an odd one. Sword of Feast and Famine, Sword of Light and Shadow, Erebos, God of the Dead, and Darksteel Plate are all things that make it stick around perpetually (or at least until opp has an answer), and have the benefit of being, well, things (unlike, say, Cemetery Gate). When I add other colors, the sheer number of knight pairs helps.
On phasing: