The 43 Best Black Pump Spells in Magic Ranked

Last updated on October 24, 2025

Gift of Fangs | Illustration by Dominik Mayer

Black in Magic: The Gathering is all about power with a bit of risk, and its pump spells prove it, turning even the smallest creature into a real threat. Some give a quick burst of strength, while others stick around to keep the pressure on.

Today, we’re looking at the best black pump spells in the game’s history! Many come with perks like lifegain or deathtouch, making them extra rewarding.

Intrigued? Let’s dive into the list.

What Are Black Pump Spells/Buff Spells in MTG?

Bladed Battle-Fan | Illustration by Colin Boyer

Black pump spells are cards that make your creatures stronger, either for a single turn or permanently. In black, these boosts often come with extra effects, like gaining life, giving a creature deathtouch, or even weakening an opponent’s creature at the same time. Many also require a trade-off, such as paying life or sacrificing another creature, which fits black’s risk-for-reward playstyle.

#43. Unholy Strength

With Unholy Strength, you get a classic, efficient pump aura. For a single black mana, your creature gets +2/+1 permanently. It’s a cheap and aggressive way to make early threats more dangerous and keep pressure on opponents.

#42. Predator's Gambit

Predator's Gambit boosts a creature with +2/+1 and gives it intimidate if it’s your only creature, making it much harder to block. It’s ideal for Voltron strategies or decks that focus all their resources on one massive attacker.

#41. Mogis's Favor

Giving a creature +2/-1, Mogis's Favor is excellent for pushing early aggression while doubling as a way to pick off small threats. Its escape ability means you can keep casting it from the graveyard, letting you apply pressure turn after turn while repeatedly clearing out low-toughness creatures that might otherwise gum up the board.

#40. Lash of Malice

With Lash of Malice, you get a flexible boost of +2/-2 until end of turn. It can make your own creatures hit harder or shrink an opponent’s creature to finish it off, making it a solid combat trick and removal spell in one.

#39. Demonic Appetite

A risky but powerful aura, Demonic Appetite gives a creature you control +3/+3 for just 1 black mana. The upkeep cost of sacrificing a creature shines in decks that churn out expendable bodies or want creatures in the graveyard.

I especially like pairing it with Nested Shambler, since boosting the Shambler’s power before it dies floods the board with 1/1 Squirrel tokens, turning a drawback into a token-making engine.

#38. Demonic Vigor

Offering both pump and insurance, Demonic Vigor gives a creature +1/+1 and returns it to your hand when it dies. That makes it perfect for aggressive decks that want to keep replaying their best threats while keeping the pressure on. It pairs especially well with creatures like Gray Merchant of Asphodel, letting you repeatedly drain your opponents for massive life swings while making each attack hit just a bit harder.

#37. Armor of Shadows

For just 1 mana, Armor of Shadows gives a creature +1/+0 and indestructible until end of turn. That small power bump can push a little extra damage through, but the real value is keeping a key attacker or blocker alive against removal or bad trades, making it one of the most efficient black pump-protection spells.

#36. Bladed Battle-Fan

Bladed Battle-Fan comes down at instant speed, attaches itself to a creature, gives indestructible for the turn, and leaves behind a permanent +1/+0 bonus. It’s a combat trick and equipment in one card, making it great for aggressive decks that want reusable pump effects.

#35. Rouse

Rouse is a simple but effective combat trick. For , or just 2 life if you control a swamp, it gives a creature +2/+0 until end of turn. That flexible cost makes it an easy include in aggressive black decks, letting you squeeze in extra damage or win trades without slowing down.

#34. Skulduggery

Skulduggery is a 1-mana blowout waiting to happen. It gives one of your creatures +1/+1 while giving an opponent’s creature -1/-1 until end of turn. That dual effect can turn a combat trade in your favor, remove a small blocker outright, or make a key attack safe while pushing more damage through.

#33. Shadow-Rite Priest

Shadow-Rite Priest boosts all your clerics with +1/+1, which can be huge in tribal builds. It also has a sacrifice ability to cheat a black creature from your library straight onto the battlefield, making it both an anthem and a powerful tutor in the right deck.

#32. Life of Toshiro Umezawa / Memory of Toshiro

Life of Toshiro Umezawa starts as a saga that can give a creature +2/+2 for two turns, pick off small threats, or gain life. When it flips into Memory of Toshiro, it becomes a creature that helps you cast more spells—perfect for decks that like a mix of pump and utility.

#31. Nameless Inversion

Granting +3/-3 until end of turn and stripping away creature types, Nameless Inversion works both as an offensive pump to push extra damage and as removal for smaller threats. Thanks to changeling, it counts as every creature type—which means goblin decks can tutor it up with cards like Goblin Matron, giving you a removal option right out of your tribal search package.

#30. Death-Priest of Myrkul

Death-Priest of Myrkul is a triple-threat anthem for skeletons, vampires, and zombies, giving each +1/+1. On top of that, it can make a skeleton token at the end of your turn if something died, keeping your pumped army growing turn after turn in any creature-heavy black deck.

#29. Hand of the Praetors

An infect player’s dream, Hand of the Praetors boosts all your other infect creatures by +1/+1 and gives opponents a poison counter whenever you cast a creature with infect. That constant pressure accelerates your win condition, especially alongside Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon or Phyrexian Crusader, where every new infect body makes the clock even shorter.

#28. Perigee Beckoner

When it enters the battlefield, Perigee Beckoner gives another creature +2/+0 and a death trigger that brings it back tapped, creating both offensive power and insurance against removal. It works beautifully with creatures like Fleshbag Marauder or Siege-Gang Commander, letting you swing in aggressively and reuse their enter-the-battlefield effects if they die.

#27. Scare Tactics

Scare Tactics is a go-wide finisher for black aggro decks. It gives all your creatures +1/+0 until end of turn, making small tokens hit harder. It’s a simple card, but in the right deck, that extra point of power across the board seals the game.

#26. Howl from Beyond

Howl from Beyond is as straightforward as it gets—pay and to give a creature +X/+0 until end of turn. That scaling makes it deadly in the late game, where you can dump all your mana into a surprise lethal swing.

#25. Gift of Fangs

Pulling double duty as both pump and removal, Gift of Fangs gives a vampire +2/+2 for a big tribal boost, or hits non-vampires with -2/-2 to kill off small threats. In vampire decks, it’s especially nasty when paired with Stromkirk Noble or Vampire Nighthawk, making your threats harder to block while keeping opposing utility creatures in check.

#24. Monoist Circuit-Feeder

Monoist Circuit-Feeder is a big aerial threat that turns your artifacts into raw combat power. When it enters, you can give one of your creatures +X/+0 and shrink an opponent’s creature by -0/-X, where X is the number of artifacts you control. In an artifact-heavy deck, this can remove a blocker while supercharging your attack.

#23. Sorin, Vampire Lord

Sorin, Vampire Lord offers repeatable pumping with its +1 ability, granting +2/+0 to a creature until end of turn. While its other abilities are strong on their own, that combat boost makes key creatures hit harder every turn, which is perfect in vampire tribal decks looking to keep pressure on.

#22. Liliana of the Dark Realms

Liliana of the Dark Realms has a -3 ability that’s pure pump magic, giving a creature +X/+X until end of turn based on the number of swamps you control. In mono-black decks, this can turn any attacker into a wrecking ball while still offering removal flexibility.

#21. Chainer, Dementia Master

Chainer, Dementia Master pumps all nightmares you control by +1/+1, but the real strength is how it can reanimate creatures from any graveyard as black nightmares. Combine that with the anthem effect, and you’re building a steadily stronger army while stealing the best threats from around the table.

#20. Final Revels

Final Revels is a flexible board-wide pump spell, giving all creatures +2/+0 until end of turn when you’re pushing for a win. The fact that it can also be used to shrink all creatures with -0/-2 makes it a great dual-purpose card for aggressive or controlling black decks.

#19. Liliana's Mastery

A staple for zombie tribal, Liliana's Mastery permanently boosts all your zombies by +1/+1 and brings along two 2/2 Zombie tokens when it enters. That combination of anthem and token generation gives you an immediate army and a lasting power boost. It pairs perfectly with Diregraf Captain or Cemetery Reaper, stacking even more bonuses and making every shambling corpse a serious threat.

#18. Balthor the Defiled

Balthor the Defiled boosts all minions by +1/+1, but the real danger comes from its activated ability to mass reanimate black and red creatures. Combine the anthem with a reanimation wave, and you can swing for lethal the same turn you bring your army back.

#17. Cursecloth Wrappings

Cursecloth Wrappings gives your zombies +1/+1 while letting you embalm creatures from your graveyard. That means you’re not only pumping your undead but also bringing more pumped threats back onto the battlefield.

#16. Topaz Dragon

Topaz Dragon is a solid flier with deathtouch, but the pump comes from the adventure, Entropic Cloud. Giving all your creatures deathtouch for the turn means every attacker becomes an unblockable threat if your opponents don’t want to lose their best creatures. It’s an excellent way to turn a combat step into a board wipe.

#15. Archenemy's Charm

Archenemy's Charm is a flexible instant that can turn the tide in more ways than one. While it can exile threats or recover key creatures, the real pump value comes from giving one of your creatures two +1/+1 counters and lifelink for the turn. That boost makes combat trades more favorable and swings life totals in a big way, especially in decks with evasive or beefy attackers.

#14. Astarion's Thirst

With Astarion's Thirst, you can remove an opposing creature and funnel its power into your commander. The +1/+1 counters stick around, making this a permanent pump effect that grows stronger when you exile larger creatures. It’s perfect for Voltron strategies that rely on stacking power on one creature.

#13. Dire Fleet Poisoner

In pirate builds, Dire Fleet Poisoner brings unexpected lethality. Flash it in during combat, give an attacking pirate +1/+1 and deathtouch, and suddenly even a small creature becomes a deadly striker. It’s a great way to punish opponents who think they can safely block or ignore your attackers.

#12. Forsworn Paladin

Forsworn Paladin offers consistent pump power thanks to its ability that grants +2/+0, with bonus deathtouch if you spend Treasure to activate it. This makes your attackers harder to ignore.

#11. Desperate Measures

Desperate Measures might look small, but it’s sneaky. Giving a creature +1/-1 can finish off a small blocker or push through extra damage. And if that creature dies under your control, you draw two cards—turning an aggressive push or combat trick into card advantage.

#10. Ghoul's Feast

Ghoul's Feast makes your graveyard a direct power source. The more creature cards you’ve buried, the bigger the pump, making it ideal for late-game alpha strikes. Decks that self-mill or play sacrifice-heavy strategies can easily turn this into a massive boost.

#9. Spire Mangler

Spire Mangler rewards you for playing fliers. Flash it in to give another flying creature +2/+0 until end of turn, and you can surprise opponents with unexpected damage. It’s especially nasty in aggressive aerial decks where a small boost means the difference between surviving and closing out the game.

#8. Ascendant Evincar

Ascendant Evincar is a flying anthem that not only gives your black creatures +1/+1 but also weakens all nonblack creatures by -1/-1. This swing in stats can be devastating, especially in mono-black decks where the pump benefits your entire team and the debuff punishes opponents equally.

#7. Mikaeus, the Unhallowed

Boosting all your non-human creatures with +1/+1 and undying, Mikaeus, the Unhallowed turns your board into a relentless force. The extra power makes each swing more dangerous, and the built-in recursion means opponents can’t easily trade their way out. Pairing it with sacrifice outlets like Viscera Seer or Yawgmoth, Thran Physician turns the undying ability into a repeatable engine for value or damage.

#6. Tainted Strike

Tainted Strike turns even the smallest creature into a lethal threat. It gives +1/+0 and infect for the turn, meaning you can turn a regular attack into a poison counter win. It’s particularly scary in decks with high-power creatures that kill in a single hit.

#5. Unexpected Fangs

Offering permanent upgrades, Unexpected Fangs puts a +1/+1 counter and a lifelink counter on a creature, making it stronger and gaining life over multiple combats. In Pauper, it’s splendid for boosting threats like Gurmag Angler or Tolarian Terror, which often hit the battlefield for just 1 mana. That sudden lifelink threat can completely turn the race in your favor.

#4. Virulent Swipe

Virulent Swipe grants +2/+0 and deathtouch for the turn, making any attacker or blocker deadly. Its rebound ability means you get to do it again for free on your next upkeep, giving you two turns of combat leverage for a single mana.

#3. Vampire's Bite

A flexible combat trick, Vampire's Bite gives +3/+0 for just , and with the kicker cost paid, it also grants lifelink. That lifegain can swing races in your favor, especially on evasive creatures. It’s also a strong finisher in infect strategies, where the power boost alone can push through lethal poison counters in a single attack.

#2. Supernatural Stamina

Acting as both a combat trick and insurance, Supernatural Stamina gives +2/+0 for the turn and returns the creature tapped if it dies. That makes it great for forcing aggressive trades or protecting key attackers from removal. It’s especially nasty with creatures like Plaguecrafter, and cards like this were a critical piece with Grief during the height of Modern Scam strategies before the bans—letting you evoke Grief, strip an opponent’s hand, and immediately bring it back for more disruption.

#1. Hatred

Few pump spells end games as suddenly as Hatred. By paying X life, you give a creature +X/+0 until end of turn—often enough to one-shot someone. Pair it with lifelink or an evasive attacker, and you can end games while negating the life cost entirely.

Best Black Pump Spell Payoffs

If you’re leaning into a black pump spell strategy, the real payoff comes from pairing your buffs with creatures that turn a temporary boost into a game-ending threat. Few strategies do this better than infect. Cards like Plague Stinger, Ichorclaw Myr, and Phyrexian Crusader can close out a game in one or two swings when backed by a well-timed pump spell, since infect only needs 10 poison counters to win.

Lifelink is another strong payoff. Boosting creatures like Vampire Nighthawk or Gifted Aetherborn can swing a race hard in your favor, letting you recover massive chunks of life while putting opponents on the back foot. Pumping up evasive threats like Dauthi Voidwalker or Ayara's Oathsworn makes it much easier to connect and fully capitalize on the extra power.

You can also get incredible value from pairing pump spells with creatures that have strong enter-the-battlefield abilities, especially when the buff also brings them back after they die. This works perfectly with evoke creatures like Grief or Shriekmaw, letting you get their ETB effect, pump them for combat, and then have them return for another round of value.

Echo creatures such as Keldon Marauders can also benefit, giving you more damage or triggers than you’d normally get. With the right setup, these buffs don’t just make your attacks stronger—they turn every death into another chance to exploit powerful ETB effects.

Wrap Up

Tainted Strike | Illustration by James Ryman

As you can see, black doesn’t usually boost creatures with massive stat increases like green pump spells do, but it makes up for it by adding extra, game-changing abilities. Whether it’s lifegain, deathtouch, infect, or even bringing a creature back after it dies, black’s pump spells pack versatility and surprise value into every play.

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Take care, and we’ll meet again in my next article.