Black Market MTG Card


Black Market amasses mana with each creature’s death, providing significant ramp-up and card advantage for strategies. With its unique mana-generating ability, Black Market fits well into metagames heavy on creature interactions and removal. Countering Black Market requires enchantment removal or reducing creature deaths to mitigate its mana acceleration impact.
Card setsReleased in 11 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment

Text of card

Whenever a creature is put into a graveyard from play, put a charge counter on Black Market. At the beginning of your precombat main phase, add o B to your mana pool for each charge counter on Black Market.


Cards like Black Market

In Magic: The Gathering, Black Market offers unique strategy and tactical edge to its players. Much like Death Pit Offering, a card that also significantly boosts mana reserves. Both use the death of creatures as an impetus, one creates mana while the other improves creatures. But the former’s impact is inherently tied to combat, making it limited in some situations.

A card worthy of comparison here is also Revel in Riches. Similarly functioning on the demise of creatures, Revel in Riches and Black Market share a strong theme–wealth derived from death. However, what makes Revel in Riches stand out is its blueprint to win the game. Collect enough treasure tokens, and you clinch the game. Quite a powerful effect, yet it can easily become a primary target for opponent’s counter measures, unlike the subtle power of Black Market.

When comparing different ways to increase mana, Black Market definitely holds a valuable position. Its ability to build up resources over time, coupled with its capacity to utilize almost any creatures’ demise makes it a flexible and potent tool in a Magic: The Gathering commander deck.

Death Pit Offering - MTG Card versions
Revel in Riches - MTG Card versions
Death Pit Offering - MTG Card versions
Revel in Riches - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Black Market by color, type and mana cost

Horror of Horrors - MTG Card versions
Worms of the Earth - MTG Card versions
Forbidden Crypt - MTG Card versions
Death Pits of Rath - MTG Card versions
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Larceny - MTG Card versions
Conspiracy - MTG Card versions
Putrefaction - MTG Card versions
Unnatural Hunger - MTG Card versions
Intimidation - MTG Card versions
Spreading Plague - MTG Card versions
Yawgmoth's Agenda - MTG Card versions
Traveling Plague - MTG Card versions
Screams of the Damned - MTG Card versions
Dawn of the Dead - MTG Card versions
Gravebreaker Lamia - MTG Card versions
Doomwake Giant - MTG Card versions
Painful Quandary - MTG Card versions
Horror of Horrors - MTG Card versions
Worms of the Earth - MTG Card versions
Forbidden Crypt - MTG Card versions
Death Pits of Rath - MTG Card versions
Handcuffs - MTG Card versions
Discordant Dirge - MTG Card versions
Subversion - MTG Card versions
Larceny - MTG Card versions
Conspiracy - MTG Card versions
Putrefaction - MTG Card versions
Unnatural Hunger - MTG Card versions
Intimidation - MTG Card versions
Spreading Plague - MTG Card versions
Yawgmoth's Agenda - MTG Card versions
Traveling Plague - MTG Card versions
Screams of the Damned - MTG Card versions
Dawn of the Dead - MTG Card versions
Gravebreaker Lamia - MTG Card versions
Doomwake Giant - MTG Card versions
Painful Quandary - MTG Card versions

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Black Market is exceptional at providing card advantage. This enchantment allows you to amass a significant amount of mana counters whenever a creature dies. This opens up the opportunity to draw multiple cards and maintain a viable hand, thus offering a solid card advantage.

Resource Acceleration: As a potential resource accelerator, Black Market rewards you with mana counters each time a creature is sent to the graveyard. These counters can be utilized during your precombat main phase, allowing you to speed up your gameplay and quickly bring formidable threats or more permanent cards to the battlefield.

Instant Speed: Although Black Market isn’t a spell that can be employed at instant speed, its effectiveness lies in the immediate benefit it provides. It generates counters without requiring any additional input, thus working as a continuous resource generator throughout your turn. This consistent energy gain can be a game-changer, giving you the upper hand by supplying the resources you need when you need them the most.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: The black market requires a discard as an additional cost — a hurdle when you’re running low on cards to afford losing any further.

Specific Mana Cost: Black market’s cost includes the color black, constricting its use to decks that can support this particular mana type. It’s not a one size fits all card.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a high mana cost of five, the black market card can get expensive very quickly. There are other cards that potentially generate more resources or offer better card draws for a lower mana cost.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Black Market in your deck bolsters a wide array of strategies, particularly those centered around death-theme and ever-increasing mana base. This card can generate value in almost any game state, offering resources for future plays.

Combo Potential: Black Market synergizes highly with strategies involving creature sacrifice or creature removal. As creatures die, the benefits intensify, providing you a formidable mana advantage in your next turns.

Meta-Relevance: Within the current MTG metagame that leans towards creature-based and control strategies, the incremental value and ramp created by Black Market can give you a significant edge against the competition.


How to beat

Black Market is an enchantment card that brings a unique dynamic to the MTG playfield. With its discrete power of generating mana for the owner during their pre-combat main phase for each creature that went to the graveyard in the previous turn, it’s a formidable force. However, there are strategies to overturn the economic advantage it brings.

You can use enchantment removal cards like Return to Nature, Mortify, or Disenchant, which can effectively dismantle Black Market from the game field. These cards are cost-effective and potent, making them an excellent counterattack to the Black Market mechanism.

If you prefer a broader strategy, consider sweepers like Wrath of God or Shatter the Sky to clear the field of creatures, thus crippling the additional mana generation from Black Market. Alternatively, through a carefully managed game pace and avoiding creature elimination, you could minimize the mana that the Black Market can generate.

Decisively, understanding your opponent’s deck and having effective countermeasures in yours can break the mana bank strategy centered on Black Market, ensuring your victory in the match.


BurnMana Recommendations

Black Market can be a powerful addition to any MTG player’s deck, especially within strategies that thrive on creature deaths. Its ability to accumulate mana and offer a substantial card advantage can tilt the playing field in your favor, turning the tide of matches. While it has its constraints, like the specific mana cost and discard requirement, the card’s potential for resource acceleration is undeniable. If you’re intrigued by the strategic depth Black Market can add to your gameplay or are curious about how to best integrate it or counter it in your deck, we encourage you to further explore and learn with us. Diving deeper into the MTG universe can significantly enhance your play experience and success.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Black Market MTG card by a specific set like Mercadian Masques and Commander 2015, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Black Market and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Black Market Magic the Gathering card was released in 8 different sets between 1999-10-04 and 2024-03-08. Illustrated by 2 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
11999-10-04Mercadian MasquesMMQ 1161997NormalBlackJeff Easley
22015-11-13Commander 2015C15 1162015NormalBlackJeff Easley
32017-08-25Commander 2017C17 982015NormalBlackJeff Easley
42019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 5752015NormalBlackJeff Easley
52020-07-17JumpstartJMP 2042015NormalBlackJeff Easley
62020-09-26The ListPLST C17-982015NormalBlackJeff Easley
72022-06-10Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's GateCLB 7392015NormalBlackJeff Easley
82024-03-08FalloutPIP 1832015NormalBlackIrina Nordsol
92024-03-08FalloutPIP 7112015NormalBlackIrina Nordsol
102024-03-08FalloutPIP 9912015NormalBlackIrina Nordsol
112024-03-08FalloutPIP 4632015NormalBlackIrina Nordsol

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Black Market has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
PremodernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
PredhLegal
GladiatorLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Black Market card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2004-10-04 Getting the mana is not optional.