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Optimizing Merciless Eternal in Black Midrange: A Strategic Guide

Merciless Eternal sits at an intriguing crossroads in black midrange decks. With a modest 3-mana body and a two-part toolkit, it pressures opponents while offering a flexible finisher option once you start refunding value from your own graveyard and hand. The card’s Afflict 2 mechanic nudges the opponent into awkward blocking decisions, and its activated ability—{2}{B}, Discard a card: This creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn—gives you a surprising tempo swing when timed correctly. In a world of calcified hands and carefully-timed removals, Merciless Eternal rewards patient play, punishing stalemates and helping you push through the final points of damage 🧙‍♂️🔥💎⚔️.

“My work here is complete. The people have done everything required of them.” —Nicol Bolas

In midrange games, you want to maximize survivability and inevitability. Merciless Eternal brings both: it’s a resilient blocker that can convert pressure into a decisive attack when paired with the right pump, and it thrives in a deck that can both draw cards and reliably discard, turning your own hand into a resource, not a liability. The key to optimization is crafting a careful balance between hand management, card draw, and the discipline to deploy the +2/+2 buff at the moment when it most disrupts your opponent’s plan 🧙‍♂️🎲.

Understanding the toolkit

Two core levers define Merciless Eternal’s power in midrange: the Afflict 2 trigger and the discard-for-pump ability. Afflict 2 means that whenever this creature becomes blocked, the defending player loses 2 life. That pressure compounds as the board gets crowded with blockers, turning even modest creatures into threatening chalk lines on the battlefield. The pump ability—pay {2}{B} and discard a card to grant +2/+2 until end of turn—offers a controlled, tempo-friendly way to win combat exchanges or push through a last-ditch alpha strike. The challenge is clear: if you use the pump, you’re committing to discarding a card. That means your deck needs reliable draw and filtering to ensure you don’t strand yourself late game.

To optimize, design a flow that keeps your hand moving and your life total stable. Card draw, cheap filtering, and a disciplined approach to discarding become your best friends. Think of Merciless Eternal as a value engine you fuel with your own resources, turning each attack into a negotiation with your opponent: block and lose life, or take the trade and hope your follow-up threats keep coming. When you time the buff correctly—often after you’ve drawn into a removal spell or another threat—you can flip a seemingly average 3-drop into a genuine late-game threat, swinging for meaningful damage and applying consistent pressure 🔥🎨.

Building the curve: a practical midrange shell

In a black-based midrange, Merciless Eternal slots nicely as a midrange beater and attrition engine. A practical shell centers on balance: solid early interaction (removal or denial), a durable midgame threat in Merciless Eternal, and a handful of card draw or filtering options to keep the hand healthy as you sacrifice a card for a strong tempo swing. The specific card choices will vary by metagame, but a few guiding principles help you maximize Merciless Eternal’s impact:

• Hand management matters: ensure you have at least a couple of ways to draw or filter through your deck each turn. This keeps the discard cost from becoming a leash that tightens around your neck.
• Tempo around Afflict: leverage the fact that blocking is often a losing proposition when you have other threats on the board. If you can force blocks with a resilient draw engine or evasive options, Merciless Eternal’s Afflict begins to tip the game in your favor early and often ⚔️.
• Buff timing: use the +2/+2 pump when you’re about to trade profitably or push into a 2-for-1 scenario. The moment you resolve the buff should correspond with your most favorable combat outcome, ideally leaving your opponent with fewer resources to answer the board.
• Graveyard and recursion considerations: in many midrange builds, a light touch of graveyard strategy helps you recycle value and keep threats coming. If your metagame features graveyard interaction, Merciless Eternal can be a recurring menace rather than a one-off spark.

For a concrete feel, imagine a turn where you untap with Merciless Eternal on the battlefield, opponent in a 2-3 card hand state, and a clean line of play: attackers set the pace, you bait a block, you pay {2}{B}, discard a card, and grant +2/+2 to push through lethal damage or force a direct answer that can't be afforded due to the life loss from Afflict 2. The result? A tense, dynamic exchange that tilts in your favor, all while you maintain pressure with subsequent threats 🧙‍♂️⚔️.

Matchups and sideboarding ideas

Against control-heavy decks, you lean into card draw and efficient removal to keep Merciless Eternal relevant while pressuring the life total. Your objective is to shorten the game, forcing the control player to use their answers early—then close the door with a buffed attack when their removal is spent. Against aggro, you want to maximize staying power and trading efficiently, so you can preserve Merciless Eternal as a long-term thorn that rewards you for each block and each discarded card that feeds your momentum. The buff is your finisher trick, not a wasted discount; use it to break stalemates and surprise your opponent with an unexpected swing when their life total is within a few points of zero.

Sideboard ideas typically orbit around additional discard outlets, extra removal, and more card draw or filtering. The exact mix depends on your local table and the broader metagame, but the theme remains consistent: maximize Merciless Eternal’s relevance by ensuring you don’t run out of gas and you preserve life while you peel through your deck to find the answers you need 🔥💎.

Practical build notes

Aiming for a solid midrange curve with Merciless Eternal invites a measured approach to color balance and mana efficiency. Prioritize a lean curve, consistent draw, and enough graveyard- or discard-friendly interactions to keep the engine humming. And yes, the occasional bold play—a turn where you push through with a buffed Eternal in the face of a daunting board—will happen. When it does, savor that moment of inevitability and let the drama of black midrange do its work 🧙‍♂️🎲.

As with any thoughtful MTG deck, testing is the catalyst. Refine your hand-size expectations, tune the buff timing, and calibrate your removal suite to match your local scene. Merciless Eternal rewards disciplined execution and a little flair for the dramatic—just the right recipe for midrange mastery in the timeless grind of Magic: The Gathering 🔥⚔️.

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