Black Cat, Cunning Thief

Black Cat, Cunning Thief is strong for one-shot card advantage and disruption in grindy black midrange or commander shells. It effectively “steals” two cards from the top nine, giving you selection plus temporary access to spells that may be outside your colors. Best use cases: - ETB blink, bounce, or reanimation decks to reuse the top-nine exile effect - Sacrifice/recur decks that can reset and replay it - Midrange/control decks that want value while pressuring opposing resources Strong synergies: - Flicker/bounce: Ephemerate-style effects, Deadeye Navigator, and similar reuse the trigger - Reanimation: bringing it back repeats the theft effect cheaply - Top manipulation on the opponent: cards that stack or clear their library make the exiled hits more likely to be useful Key mechanics: - Hidden-information exile creates awkward play patterns for the opponent - Playing exiled cards with any mana makes off-color splash less restrictive - Best when you can convert a 5-mana creature into multiple triggers, since one ETB alone is fair but not explosive