Thoughts on my designs/archetypes above?

Do we plan to move to other color philosophies? Are decisions being made?

This has been a fun exercise, Rush!

I know this thread is only for Black, but I think we should probably iron out what the main "disease" mechanic is, because it'll probably play a pretty big part in the set as a whole. I'm certainly biased, but I still like the idea behind my interpretation (plagued creatures causing life loss and spreading it via combat damage) the best.

@BelangiaJo: I like putting sacrificial stuff into (instead of the much more common ), especially if there are plagued creatures running about. Getting rid of some diseased things that are hurting you/to protect the rest has an interesting "good of the many over the few" vibe. Also, I think Anguish is very neat combined with plagued things - life becomes a much more valuable resource if your creatures are also potentially hurting you every turn, so the decision on mana vs life becomes a little more divisive. What about moving it into , though? It could be a good suicide aggro mechanic, plus we get to call the archetype "plaggro" which is very appealing to me, personally. I'm less enthusiastic about face-down stuff, though, unless we're specifically aiming for a "zombie virus" feel?

feels like the color that gives opponents the disease, just to see how it works. They like the data, even if it comes through morally dubious means. "Tap and plague target creature"? Stalling effects to let the opponent just die to it? Gosh that sounds a little sadistic, actually. Plague their dudes and then play Fog Banks and just... wait.