Black Cat, Cunning ThiefBlack Cat, Cunning Thief | Art by Alessandra Pisano

Can you really have too much of a good thing? Well, with Marvel's Spider-Man, it seems the answer is no. Today, we're looking at a fan favorite character from Spider-Man media, and one of my favorite new cards from the set. We'll get in and out of this deck tech without triggering a single alarm, and once we're safely away, we will divide the loot.

My name is Nick, and this is another Tech The Deck, featuring Black Cat, Cunning ThiefBlack Cat, Cunning Thief.

Double Up

Sometimes it is nice to go back to something simple, something that you know. One thing that I know is the card Gonti, Lord of LuxuryGonti, Lord of Luxury - a card that I would argue "everyone likes." It's a simple effect that changes every time you play the game and every time you target a different opponent. So when I saw Black Cat, Cunning ThiefBlack Cat, Cunning Thief and realized that it was a double Gonti trigger, I knew it was a card that I wanted to get my hands on.

Black Cat does come with one drawback, and that's the lack of deathtouch. It might not seem like such a big deal, but one of the most significant advantages of a card like Gonti is that the longer it sticks around on the field, the longer it can be reused. Having deathtouch means no one wants to attack you for fear of losing their creature. What Black Cat lacks in blocking ability, they more than make up for with the ability to take a second card from an opponent every time they enter.

There's a joke among competitive 60-card players that goes something like "two mana is much more than one," and in the case of Black Cat, two cards are much more than one.

Our goal for this deck is to play as many of the table's cards as possible. One thing about a theft deck such as this is that it's as fair as what everyone else is doing. I've played against many theft decks, and I run a fair bit of theft cards in my decks, and it often makes for a very fair play experience for the table. To me, that's what makes it so fun.

But enough of me waxing poetic about this strategy without giving some concrete examples of what makes this deck feel like getting away with robbery.

How Many Gontis Are Too Many Gontis

Obviously, Gonti, Lord of LuxuryGonti, Lord of Luxury and Black Cat, Cunning ThiefBlack Cat, Cunning Thief go hand in hand in this deck. But they aren't alone. When it comes to creatures that steal, we've got three flavors: ETB, attack/damage, and upkeep/end step.

We'll start with the creatures that enter the battlefield, as collectively they're the most well known of the bunch.

Enters

The CrabominationCrabomination has become a staple of Magic Online Vintage Cube, and a card I highly recommend people cast once in their life. A great mix of randomness and selection that brings you the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, depending on what you hit.

Next up is Intellect DevourerIntellect Devourer, which isn't the best of the bunch, to be fair. Giving your opponents the ability to give you a basic land doesn't feel great. What it can do, however, is let you politic. Perhaps an opponent has a card they can't cast due to mana issues. You can use it to address a problem on board that concerns you both; the Devourer is right there at your service.

Last up is the Author of ShadowsAuthor of Shadows. While is a bit expensive if you treat it only as graveyard hate, getting any card from your opponents' graveyards to play later makes up for the cost. The Author highlights the deck's most significant issue: Most cards are roughly a mana more expensive than we'd like.

So for all these cards, there'll be times when grabbing a card such as CultivateCultivate or even a Sakura-Tribe ElderSakura-Tribe Elder is the way to go.

Combat

Our second way to steal is during the combat step. Dealing damage as a requirement to steal cards isn't as easy as just casting creatures, so hopefully these cards can steal a combat trick or two from the opposition.

Gonti, Night MinisterGonti, Night Minister allows all players to get in on the action of playing everyone's decks and rewarding everyone who decides not to attack you with cards and Treasure.

Orochi Soul-ReaverOrochi Soul-Reaver might be cutting corners when it comes to stealing cards, since anything that isn't a creature will only be a 2/2 for us. The payoff is that ninjutsu allows us to reset our ETB creatures, which is precisely what we want.

Rev, Tithe ExtractorRev, Tithe Extractor is a strong card that's sadly not shown up at many tables. Hailing from Jumpstart 2025, it isn't a well-known creature to the player base. This is a tragedy because everything about this card is perfect. She steals, she ramps, and she gives your opponents a headache when they think about blocking.

Start & Finish

While not a complete set of three like the first two categories, these two cards might be some of the strongest of the bunch. Brainstealer DragonBrainstealer Dragon is pricey to cast at , but you're getting three cards on your end step, and anything significant you hit burns the owner as a bonus.

Thieving AmalgamThieving Amalgam continues the trend of cheating the rules when it comes to thievery, but it's another creature that makes up for the mana cost by affecting the whole table. It's also able to affect life totals if any of the stolen goods die.

Tricks of the Trade

Every good thief has a bag of tricks. It could be a glass cutter or suction cups to climb a building. For this deck, it's the instants and sorceries. My single favorite sorcery in this entire list is Scheming SymmetryScheming Symmetry. There might not be a more perfect spell for this deck — a single that serves as a double tutor in most cases.

At best, you get the best card from your deck and a good card from an opponent, not realizing you're going to steal it. At worst, they put a land on top of their deck for you to get. But the middle is where this card shines.

The opponent you target with Scheming SymmetryScheming Symmetry might not be the one you target with the follow-up casting of Black Cat. Alternatively, you can engage in some table talk and use an opponent to get something that helps eliminate problems at the table. We also run two massive sorceries that maximize the stolen goods for us in the game.

Maximizing Results

Running Black Cat, Cunning ThiefBlack Cat, Cunning Thief means taking every chance to trigger the ability, and when we can, we should maximize those triggers. A trio of instants can allow us to do this in some very unique ways.

As always, when making these deck techs, there's a card that I've never heard of that makes the list. MisinformationMisinformation may be from Alliances, but it seems to be made for this deck, taking the best cards from an opponent's grave and using them in all manner of ways. We can fizzle a ReanimateReanimate or set up for one of our many theft effects.

At one mana, this card might be situational. But when it works, it'll make you feel like a genius.

Saw in HalfSaw in Half and Rescue from the UnderworldRescue from the Underworld fill similar roles in the list. Both at a baseline give us another ETB for our commander and various creatures in the deck. While Saw in HalfSaw in Half can be used in some tricky ways, slicing up a non-legend, Rescue is full of tricks by giving us back a creature taken from someone else, thanks to the lack of the word "owner" in the textbox.

Both of these cards allow for some humorous interactions when they show up in a game.

Spice

Mono-black blink has been around at least since the printing of Gonti, Lord of LuxuryGonti, Lord of Luxury, and smart money says it was around even before that. I could sit here and say how good cards like PanharmoniconPanharmonicon and Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet are for the deck, but instead, I'd rather talk about interesting cards. PanharmoniconPanharmonicon is a great card and one that should be included in a list like this; I'm not crazy after all.

I'd rather talk about Staff of Eden, Vault's KeyStaff of Eden, Vault's Key. A crazy six-mana artifact that steals a legendary permanent from a graveyard and draws cards based on how well your robbery went. This card is super funny, and I can see instances when you draw four or more cards by tapping this. There'll also be times when you draw one card in response to someone killing this card.

The last card I want to mention is Protection RacketProtection Racket. I forget about this card all the time; if it leaves my vision, I no longer know that it's real. Does it annoy your opponents by slowing down the game and asking, "Do you pay the life?" Yes, they may get very cranky. However, this enchantment does a great job at appearing as not a big enough threat to be dealt with until it is too late.

Five damage here and another three damage there, and suddenly the life totals are all in the mid twenties. The card can overperform.

Wrap Up

Black Cat, Cunning ThiefBlack Cat, Cunning Thief is cool. It isn't game-breaking due to its power level. They don't upend the format with a never-before-seen ability. They do something people enjoy, but with a little more. That's a bit refreshing in the land of Vivi OrnitierVivi Ornitier, Infinite Guideline StationInfinite Guideline Station, and Hydro-Man, Fluid FelonHydro-Man, Fluid Felon. Simple and clean.

I plan on adding Black Cat, Cunning ThiefBlack Cat, Cunning Thief to at least one deck, and I expect it will end up in the 99 of many more players' decks.

With all that, this has been Tech The Deck, and I continue to be Nick. Check out all the other great content talking about Marvel's Spider-Man, and I hope to run into you and maybe get a game at MagicCon Atlanta.

Black Cat, Cunning Thief Commander Deck List

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