MTG Top 10: The Dark | The BEST Cards in one of Magic's WORST Sets | Episode 362

[@NizzahonMagic]

Many you have asked what the #11 card is so here's your answer! It is Tivadar's Crusade, which has one point.

[@Milkybetrayal]

Goblin killer deserves that one point. Surprised Dust to Dust doesn't have a point.

[@Janshevik]

thanks

[@slayerofmankind]

Nice beard much respect

[@TeraunceFoaloke]

thanks. what year and format?

[@astuteanansi4935]

"The only good goblins are the ones that never come out of their stinking holes." -Tivadar of Thorn, probably

[@ROMANTIKILLER2]

The Dark is such a fascinating set: while generally underpowered in terms of gameplay, it has that unique uncanny flavour, mostly thanks to the often bizarre and creepy artwork on its cards.

[@SpitefulAZ]

feels like the original original Innistrad.

[@joshuaeverett9887]

It was my first set, so I have great memories, and I love the artwork, but yeah, the game is a lot different (better, in my opinion) now.

[@demilembias2527]

innistrad is a set about things that are haunted. the dark is a set that I'm convinced is ACTUALLY haunted, like as a work of media. some of the art is so surreal and implies such disturbing things about what was going on in the slow decline towards the Dominarian Ice Age

[@johngleeman8347]

The blood moon shines malevolently over Tormod's crypt!

[@meylinfox]

Just found out my dad was sitting on a complete set - thats every card in the set - of the dark that he got at a convention in the mid 90s. Amazing he kept an entire set in such good condition for that long

[@tehsavage]

Damn that original Elves of Deep Shadow art is RAD

[@PandaSafadopudim]

Apparently the model was a receptionist at WOTC that doubled as a punk singer

[@Norritt7167]

@@PandaSafadopudim She used to have a myspace page I remember finding it back 2004

[@supercard9418]

@@PandaSafadopudim yup, it’s Amber Bird, lead singer of the Seattle-based band “Varnish”.

[@llongone2]

I bought my first MTG cards the day The Dark was released. To a quarter-century of cardboard crack addiction!

[@AidanWR]

I love that the points go from 13, to 33, to 192. It's clear that the set isn't that great when that happens

[@phoebehamilton8957]

Elves of Deep Shadow not getting any points off its original printing isn’t too surprising, it was competing with Llanowar Elves and Birds of Paradise after all.

[@raizarslaxterhaha]

Yeah and green and black at the time together wasnt that much played actually, for some reason. BUT, to be fair, GBR Ponza was a thing at the time actually, but birds a was the choosen all the time do

[@BenjaminLodge]

I've watched so many of your top 10's but I've never had a face to put to the voice! Glad to see you're a person rather than a sentient MtG wiki.

[@mikenahmias7102]

The art on Elves of Deep Shadow is of a real person. Her name is Amber Bird and she is a writer and musician.

[@Hyuuga2109]

@@chris-zs1vu r/SuicideByWords

[@mikenahmias7102]

@@chris-zs1vu lol

[@bluedestiny2710]

I used to watch my older brother play in tournaments before, and The Dark actually had SOME cards that were tolerable during its time. Let me make it clear that I didnt say good, I only said tolerable... as i newer cards took their place easily and even during their time, they were only SOMEWHAT usable. Here are some of the cards that were at least fun to use that is NOT part of this list: - Inferno: RR5 to deal 6 damage at instant speed to everything? Chandra would shed a tear with this spell xD - Gaea's Touch: GG Enchantment that is Exploration's granddaddy, and about as slow. Still, that additional forest drop and ability to sacrifice to add GG is still a good boost back then - Dance of the Many: an enchantment for 2 Blue mana that creates a token of any creature on the field. It has an upkeep of 2 blue, tho, so it's not great, but it has some good uses... especially if you're copying a creature that you intend to sacrifice so that upkeep wont bother you - Tracker: G2 2/2 with the fight mechanic. Yea it sucks, but it IS the first one (that I know of) to have that ability - Goblin Wizard: RR2 , 1/1, tap to put any Goblin Permanent in to the battlefield... this CAN lead to some abuse, but when I quit the game, I havent heard of that happening. Ability to grant Prot White to a Goblin (didnt say creature but no idea if this is errata) can be useful too - Amnesia: nuke's opponent's hand except for lands... would have been great if not for that horrid 3 blue and 3 generic cost - Mana Vortex: blows up lands each turn... not good but it was fun to use. I thought this should have been a red card tho - Wormwood Treefolk: GG3 4/4 with the ability to gain Forestwalk or Swampwalk at the cost of GG or BB (respectively) and 2 life. Yea, it's bad, but this was still usable back in the middle ages - Witch Hunter: WW2 1/1 that can tap to do 1 damage to a player or WW1 to bounce one creature and opponent controls back to hand. It's usable for long grind games. - Scavenger Folk: G 1/1 with the ability to nuke an artifact by blowing itself up. Not bad, gets rid of troublesome artifacts - Brainwash: for W, this aura stops a creature from attacking unless the opponent pays 3 generic. It's no Pacifism, Arrest or Oblivion Ring, and does jack shit to stop mana dorks, but it does do a small tempo hit against aggressive players. Some cards that stood out... whether good or bad reasons, are the following: - Leviathan: to a kid like myself, this blew my mind and tried to run this in my deck... only to shed tears of absolute pain when it bricked in my hand... or when I DO summon it, it dies to Terror, Swords or any other metric fuckton of removal spells AFTER I sac-ed the 4 islands to untap and attack with it. - The Fallen: Terrible card, but I still consider this one of the most disturbing artwork in the history of Magic - Eater of the Dead: for some untap shenanigan. Give this an Aura like Firewhip and it becomes fun to use... you're... just gonna win anything with it

[@jordancourtney9142]

It’s interesting how cards like dark heart of the wood and elves of deep shadow have gotten reprinted again after this set, also maze of ith is an enigma in this set

[@hiimemily]

Shoutouts to Amber Bird at #7 for modeling for one of the most beautiful card arts in Magic's history.

[@hitmangfx7162]

Corrrection: Fountain of Youth was used to satisfy the requirement for Chronicles, where Fountain of Youth was a reprint. Usually meeting the requirement wasn't too hard, since Chronicles was a decent set. The Homelands and Fallen Empires requirements were way more dicey.

[@mantissaPuc]

At 1996 pro tour NY, The Dark was not part of standard (actually "Type 2" at that time), but people needed to use at least 5 cards from Chronicles and 4th Edition, and both have The Dark reprints.

[@mantissaPuc]

As Fellwar stone was a "4th edition card" on 1996, it was played actually because it was good for the meta (all relevant decks have more than 5 cards from 4th edition at that tournament). But many cards from Chronicles (which includes Safe Haven and fountain of youth), Homelands, and Fallen Empire (at least for non-black decks) were really included only because of the 5 card rule.

[@davidhill3595]

I always like the Dark, the flavour of it.

[@derekfnord]

Re: Fountain of Youth - Back in the day, I think a lot of the play it saw wasn't so much because trying to gain life 1 at a time was a key strategy of the decks it was in, but rather the thought was that it was a cheap (free to cast) card that gave control decks a way to spend the two blue mana they had kept untapped for counterspells, if turned out they hadn't needed to counter anything on the opponent's turn, and get a little benefit...

[@NDHFilms]

I do like the more stylized art in these older sets.

[@mbarker_lng]

The funny thing about the crypt was how it went so unused among my friends when it first came out. It only appeared to hose black reanimator decks and wasnt even a rare card. Any other color pulling stuff from the graveyard was an edge-case (like green's Regrowth) I still have plenty of crypts from that timeframe. Now? I want to run one in every deck I own.

[@wyattdupre2721]

it might be fun to do a series of videos going through each set/product examining how the general power level of Magic changes throughout the history of the game. I hear about older players saying that the power level of Magic changes all the time, but I only recently started playing frequently.

[@Clonekiller66]

You can just look at old school creatures. Colossus of Sardia was considered terrifyingly powerful. A 9 mana 9/9 with trample was horrifying. Especially with Mishra's Workshop, Tolarian Academy and Metalworker. However, now, Colossus of Sardia is considered really bad. A 9/9 trampler is just okay. But that downside is HORRIBLE. Especially compared to Galta, which is basically a 2 mana 12/12 with trample. Or look at other CMC 9 creatures. Zacama Primal Calamity is a personal favorite of mine. Which is a 9/9 with trample, reach and vigilance, along with 3 powerful activated abilities. AND Zacama untaps all your lands when you cast him. With 9 mana, if you're not playing a threat that can win the game, it's not a good threat. Even with the fast mana at our disposal like Mishra's Workshop, Tolarian Academy, ect. You can spam out WAY better Golems, like Blighsteel Colossus.

[@jonothanthrace1530]

I wonder if Tormod's Crypt was designed to be a land at some point but changed for some reason.

[@Maximxj750]

I love the dark. I collected the complete set a few years ago. Yes it's not the best but it has great art and flavor.

[@mushclone298]

You look much different than the faceless void I always imagined!

[@mcamp999]

forgot this was tormod's crypt first printing was confused that blood moon wasnt rank 1

[@blueredlover1060]

It isn't out of the question that Blood Moon catches up to Tormod's Crypt though. Considering that Blood Moon is much more heavily played in Modern and Legacy, especially. If Blood Moon were to ever get another standard legal reprint, there's not a doubt in my mind that it would be the number one card.

[@GellyVelly]

I always thought "Gaea's Touch" was really underrated from The Dark. Even to this day I think its totally playable in EDH. 6 Mana on turn 3 just from Gaea's Touch is pretty hot.

[@robmitchell3039]

I run it in a couple mono green commander decks.

[@GellyVelly]

@@robmitchell3039 Nice! I run it in a few myself. It's a totally decent card.

[@robmitchell3039]

@@GellyVelly extra land drops are very good. If you're playing a lot of basic forests, it's almost a no brainer. Add in that in a pinch it can be sac'ed for two green (admittedly, I caj count the number of times I've done that on one hand😀) and it's a very useful card in the right kind of deck. Plus it's cheap. I love cheap cards.

[@arson55]

This is one of those occasions that I actually made the correct assumption of what was number 1. That seldom happens.

[@brandonvladovic2839]

I think there is a difference between "bad" and "past its prime". Many cards that are excellent now will be past their prime 10 years from now, doesn't mean the cards were bad.

[@wolfperson7879]

The Dark isn't to bad. Since a lot of these cards are like really iconic and good like Blood Moon, Tormod's Crypt, Maze of Ith, Elves of Deep Shadow, Ball Lightning, and Fellwar Stone.

[@garyk2629]

I think you mean the "BEST cards in one of Magic's BEST sets."

[@AliceMargatroid7]

While it might overlap a bit too much with the Banned & Restricted List series, you should do a top 10 list covering sets with an insane amount of banned cards, like Urza's Saga. It'd be like covering one of the worst sets, but worst has entirely different connotations.

[@robmildon8612]

I still have my set of the Dark that I collected back in 1996. Flavour-wise it's my favourite expansion.

[@TeensierPython]

Ball lightning. My favorite card when young.

[@steffensgary]

Amnesia made an appearance in the first pro tour, as did preacher.

[@Kingmasterlord69]

My personal favorite set. It may not be the most powerful set, but there are some amazing cards like my personal favorite Blood Moon.Also my boy Goblin Wizard.

[@mrurameshi9433]

Festival by Mark Poole is up there

[@letsmakeit110]

suggestion: top 10 most excruciating win conditions in competitive decks. like looping pyrite spellbomb for 15 minutes or tucking teferi once per turn while you draw your whole deck.

[@MrBunt]

Turbo Zvi, which iirc is the reason why there is a time limit in competitive play at all? The deck will kill the opponent via one Lobotomy/Inspiration while looping through the whole deck with dream halls and then reshuffling the win con with gaea's blessing

[@akoskovacs6830]

I'm starting to think that Sorrow's Path might be decent in a vigilance-themed commander deck. Most vigilance cards are white where life-gain is almost a guaranteed thing. Without tapping in the attacking phase, Sorrow's Path would only shock me in the face for creating bad blocks for the opponent which is quickly gained back just because I use white magic.

[@stevenglowacki8576]

Ashes to Ashes was mainly outclassed by Reckless Spite a few years later in Tempest. The targeting restrictions are slightly different, but Reckless Spite being an instant makes it a much better deal. Reckless Spite has gone on to see plenty of reprints, while Ashes to Ashes hasn't, which is a shame, because Reckless Spite's effect was clearly stolen from Ashes to Ashes.

[@diddylonglegs1969]

What’s the card who’s art is background to the scoring chart?

[@Earthboundmike]

Ooooooooooo. Ashes to ashes? I just found a card for my cat deck. I was super unaware of this card and it will fit in SUPER well. I'm always kicking around extra life with that deck. It's an abzan thinger making use of mutate and biolante. Surprisingly powerful honestly in modern, after the zendikar rising set showed up and added a few things.

[@Indy94445]

ashes to ashes does damage not life loss, I point this out because you could back in the day prevent that damage with a circle of protection black.

[@cirdanannare4843]

I am interested in the best card of Pauper format , as an idea . Great video as always .

[@thesamuraiman]

I've never even heard of this set. Haha. I haven't played every set, but I've been around long enough to hear about a lot of old sets. Never heard of this one. 😂 Oh, hey, I've seen Elves of Deep Shadow, but the Ravnica version haha

[@benito6036]

Nizzahon, when are we getting top 10 homarid? :-D

[@waaaaaaah5135]

Ashes to Ashes looks like it'd be a good card for Commander :)

[@Milkybetrayal]

Dust to Dust would be nice to. Removes two target artifacts from the game and no life lost.

[@Rachel-im6yc]

I use I in all my Black Commander Decks. It's always super useful and can really swing the game in your favor.

[@StaceyIsles]

I love ashes to ashes n im glad it was listed I had that exact elves of deep shadow lol

[@camdenharper7244]

How could you not do an honorable mention for the one other card from the set with a point?!?

[@tonythepokemonguy751]

I’d love to see best 10 top from older sets

[@LeetMasterAce]

Woah! An intro featuring that handsome mug!

[@TheGloriousLobsterEmperor]

I just want to point out how much I hate Blood Moon. I hate it, it is one of my absolute least favourite cards. Why? One of my favourite EDH decks is a 99 land Golos gimmick, and Blood Moon annihilates it. It makes me so angry that I wanna see "Top 10 Vintage Cards (Minus Power 9)" just so that I can laugh at Blood Moon for not being on the list! Fuck Blood Moon.

[@CanadianBaconPwnage]

Can't kill my Golos deck if I run it full Colorless! :)

[@iamn00bish]

tbh did not expect this comment to go this way

[@MTG69]

Anyone have a shovel for all that salt?

[@tomaszurbanowicz1559]

I think lands that don't produce mana but instead do things are an interesting design space. It's a tough strategic decision, do I miss a mana drop for utlity? I'd love to see more of them though I also now why they're not happening anymore.

[@NizzahonMagic]

I think it is interesting too, would be interesting to see on occasion

[@hobez64]

It's so weird seeing the best of the worst, especially since the first couple cards just so happen to have a win just because it beats a single meta that happened to be around

[@jasonbell791]

What was the 11th card?

[@TheSquareOnes]

I am also curious and need to leave an algorithm comment anyway.

[@Pneubeteube]

The Fountain of Youth's flavor text is very, very nice

[@T4N7]

I knew blood moon n tormod's crypt would be in the top 3 (couldnt remember if anything else was good but that's cuz I forgot Maze of Ith is from this set) but I'm glad TC took the top spot as it's always been 1 of my favourite cards n I own over a dozen copies n have built whole decks around it

[@pyro2708]

I love blood moon, it basically reads "screw rich players" in EDH.

[@tavitalvensaari6355]

Is Blood Moon rude? Yes. Will most people abstain from casting it? Yes. Does it feel good to resolve? Absolutely. By every essence.

[@nickbalmes6640]

What nice Alpha dual lan- I mean basic Mountains tou have there opponent!

[@TreeCutterDoug]

I feel personally attacked.

[@mrhaftbar]

It took me almost 25 years to finally see the dude crawling through the Maze of Ith.

[@geronimo8159]

Current beard suits you, señor. I think your presenting also got a bit more... relaxed recently (hope you don't take that the wrong way). I like it!

[@Randy-lg1qo]

I used to make Leviathan work in an all blue counter deck. Drop your stasis and watch him roll thru the opposition.

[@superbaas8822]

Bloodmoon, making magic fair for more than a decade.

[@a_fuckin_spacemarine7514]

What?! Nothing fair about blood moon

[@superbaas8822]

@@a_fuckin_spacemarine7514 considering it punishes you for playing objectively overpowered non-basic lands, while you could be playing fair magic with the lands everyone has access too instead of the elite few and blank the card entirely, yeah, it makes the game fair.

[@a_fuckin_spacemarine7514]

@@superbaas8822 omg, shocklands are so OP, elite, and expensive 😑 stfu

[@superbaas8822]

@@a_fuckin_spacemarine7514 considering you are spending money to invalidate base game balance (hence why so many gold cards are suddenly broken when they are likely fine in playtesting), you are infact using your credit card to cheat.

[@a_fuckin_spacemarine7514]

@@superbaas8822 🤣🤣🤣🤣 gtfo

[@dionderksen6521]

Ashes to ashes looks like a solid budget card for EDH, thanks for the heads up!

[@kaydenchapman3094]

Such a cool set flavor wise

[@wolfwing1]

Oh yeah, tormod's crypt, the bane of my favorite powerful graveyard card :> Gaea's blessing hehe :> That and that card that exiles all cards that hit the graveyard hehe.

[@Clonekiller66]

*LEVIATHAN*

[@Clock83131]

I believe the reason Homelands has more cards that have points is because people were forced to have Homeland cards in their lists for tournament play, while the Dark was not? Could it be?

[@MrJoakyfran]

Isn't ashes to ashes amazing in commander?

[@matthewutech5970]

Yes, but Nizzahon does not weight in on commander/EDH usage of cards UNLESS it's for a Top ten Worst set. For those, he measure lack of play a card has seen in edh in addition to not being in a top 8 pro tour/ player invitational deck list. The reason why Nizzahon doesn't count Commander usage when ranking cards, other then lack of extensive top 8 tournaments to analyze, is cause nearly ANYTHING can find a niche in commander. Some cards are obviously better in the format then others, but with so many commanders, all sorts of builds, and diverse causal metas, the majority of cards can find a home *somewheres* , in *someones* deck, *somehow.*

[@darkstargazer80]

that may be, but also, you could just run Curtain's Call and have a similar effect at instant speed for a potentially cheaper cost. Or, triple down on it and add Reckless Spite to the mix... In other words, its not really that special, just ok spot removal. Could def do worse, but could also do better

[@MrZer093]

Fun fact: The Dark is most likely the very set that pushed those “think of the children!” mothers over the edge when it came to this game. It’s a very flavorful set based on real demonic powers and the more sinister parts of humanity and wasn’t shy about depicting such things. So glad we stopped seeing satanic panic stuff today. Absolutely nothing happened recently of note like a music video in regards to such moral panics.

[@DimT670]

Eh that one had more to do with homophobia and racism if you ask me. Ive been listening to mainstream bands that sprinkle hail satan like salt and no one said a thing but oh lil nas makes a thing and suddenly people are up in arms. Not a coincidence

[@mcd9468]

Love the new intro c:

[@astuteanansi4935]

Ashes to Ashes seems pretty good even by modern standards. Exile 2 creatures for 3 mana? That's pretty crazy, and in EDH or in lifegain decks the downside isn't that bad

[@SisypheanSeas13]

Possible idea: Best 0 CMC cards. Not sure if there's enough, if you disregard the Power 9 moxes. Anyways, love the work Nizzy.

[@artlailey1496]

He’s already done that, and don’t worry there were plenty

[@SisypheanSeas13]

@@artlailey1496 very cool. I'm new here. Will search for that video. Thanks.

[@Skjeggspir]

Which card was the final and 11th card that got any points?

[@matpoliquin]

BBB: Ball lightning + Berzerk + Black Lotus

[@TheTrueFool]

Where'd you get that shirt? It looks dope.

[@bretttrimble1173]

Can change the art as you talk about the various printings.

[@cax1175]

Stone Calendar from this set is currently the only RL card I own. I like the artwork.

[@mackwa]

nice shirt!

[@Janshevik]

So camera will become standard in mtg channel too as you do in your history channel?

[@NizzahonMagic]

Yep, just for the intro here though.

[@jonathantillian6528]

Come on Bog Rats! (What? I won one of my first games against a wall deck with them)

[@tavitalvensaari6355]

I thought Cave People would make the list for sure. A competively-costed 1/4 for three, it almost does something.

[@mattgreene4049]

Goblin Wizard is my favorite from The Dark

[@scottyscroggins1071]

Something interesting about the Elves of Deep Shadow is that it’s the only blackborder card whose art, rules and flavor text were all created by the same person.

[@deeterful]

The entire set was designed by Jesper Myrfors.

[@blacklancejeo6625]

If there were 11 cards that got points on The Dark set, what was the supposed honorable mention that didn't quite make i?

[@asherbdavis]

I appreciate the face cam dude. Humanizes you.

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

I am hoping to see Tividar's Crusade! Edit: I posted this before I read Nizzahon's post at the top :P Yay honorable mention :D

[@plaguedr8831]

The Dark is amazing

[@theymerLoviatar]

Yo but where the dope shirt from?

[@steffensgary]

Your biggest issue is that the dark was considered weak at a time where players didnt understand card power levels very well. Many good cards from the set were overlooked due to just not being legal at the right time.

[@steve_jackson9933]

I think it is tough to rate the older sets due to the power creep that has happened. I would say The Dark has a ton of flavor and some pretty good cards.

[@n.m5253]

As there are only 11 cards with points which one would've been 11th?

[@scorpiod2235]

Only people who love continuous power creep think of The Dark as a "worst" set. It's a fun set, and way better than the absolute crap mtg has been producing the last decade.

[@NizzahonMagic]

That sounds like some unbiased, level-headed analysis.

[@scorpiod2235]

@@NizzahonMagic thanks. I think so too! Lol.

[@stevenglowacki8576]

Dragon Stompy is a poor name for current Legacy mono-red prison/aggro decks, since they don't actually have any dragons at all. It's a reasonable historical name, but the deck is still a significant part of the meta now, and looks completely different than the old Dragon Stompy other than trying to cheese wins with a Turn 1 Blood Moon, Trinisphere or Chalice of the Void. The usual creatures are the two 3 drop goblins that make a goblin every turn, P&K Nalaar, and Fireflux Squad in more aggressive versions.

[@oom-3262]

Wow, I think this is the first time I've seen your actual face.

[@quirk3]

You should put your notes in front of you so your eyes don’t keep drifting to your left :)

[@SpitefulAZ]

No Preacher!?!?!?!? But it's Preacher! :O

[@Earthboundmike]

Why is there a *asterisk saying top 8 not 10 when it SAYS that on the video already there? You might have mispoken but it's clearly shown. I saw the thumb and was like wait only 8 cards made this list?

[@cymbaline4384]

The dark has some amazing art though. So it one on style at least

[@TheCroutonman]

Good list. Old School players would include Preacher as well and the number 1 card wouldn’t even be on the list.

[@duyas1628]

Not going lie the art on Math of Ith is pretty cool.

[@CoachJEFF_CG]

I always thought the intro was a pre-recorded thing that he just followed up with video specific talk, but to know he does that so uniformly every time is a bit strange...

[@taylorolson6228]

i wonder what card that has the highest score in its set has the lowest score overal

[@taylorolson6228]

i would totally watch a 'top ten worst best cards' vid xD