Explosive Black Decks Turn to Outlaw Tech in MTG Standard

Last updated on August 7, 2025

Lazav, Familiar Stranger – art by Tyler Jacobson

Edge of Eternities landed last week, bringing with it spacecraft, lots of charge counters, and everybody's favorite Legendary Lobster (in space!)…

… and, specifically for Magic's Standard format, also rotating away every MTG set older than Wilds of Eldraine.

Black decks have felt the impact, since they lost two of the most efficient removal spells in the format: Cut Down, and Go for the Throat. As we reported last week, both Dimir Midrange and Esper Pixies are experimenting with EOE's Tragic Trajectory as a possible replacement, and both decks have thus far found this 1-mana black sorcery very efficient.

But it looks like it's a black card from Outlaws of Thunder Junction that the swamp lovers are liking the most right now, at least as indicated by the MTG card market: Shoot the Sheriff.

Shootout Showdown

Shoot the Sheriff – Illustration by Fariba Khamseh

Shoot the Sheriff, printed last year in Outlaws of Thunder Junction, has rocketed in price from about $0.66 on Jul 31 to $3.30 today – that's to say, a whopping +400% increase in 7 days:

Source: MTGStocks

Inventories in TCGplayer are running a thin, which attest to Shoot the Sheriff‘s increased demand (as a very broad rule of thumb, there's usually enough copies to sustain sales for a month or more; in this case, the current inventory would be depleted in less than a week):

Source: TCGplayer – Shoot the Sheriff, mint copies

The reason for this spike is very clear: Shoot the Sheriff has replaced the rotated Go for the Throat as the “Kill (Almost) Any Creature” in pretty much all Dimir Midrange decks, and it's usually a four-of between main deck and sideboard. And it's also seen in some version of the other black deck that's making waves in Standard: Esper Bounce, the post-rotation version of Pixies that, in one iteration or another, has been a solid deck throughout all this year.

It also helps that this black instant was already seeing play outside of Standard: It's reasonably popular with outlaw commanders like Laughing Jasper Flint and Olivia, Opulent Outlaw… 

… and it shows up from time to time in Dimir Control decks in Modern, or UB Reanimator decks in Legacy.

But, of course, just one piece of interaction won't do for top-tier decks… and, as it turns out, there's another well-known tech that both Dimir and Pixies are very happy with this week.

Nowhere to Run

Gunning down peacekeepers is something all Dimir decks do, and a handful of Pixies are trying; Nowhere to Run‘s story is the reverse, with Esper Pixies almost always running a full playset, and some Dimir players adding a copy or two.

And Nowhere to Run‘s price mirrors this trend, roughly doubling in price since early July:

Source: TCGplayer – Nowhere to Run, mint copies

Unlike Shoot the Sheriff, though, Nowhere to Run only sees play in Standard, and has been a well-known Pixie piece for several months: Nobody was caught by surprise here, and supply for the card is huge.

(Pixies also love another enchantment-based removal, Momentum Breaker, but this black enchantment's price hasn't moved.)

Bitter Triumph

Bitter Triumph is another black instant that's seeing some upward pressure post-rotation, and for similar reasons to Shoot the Sheriff: Very solid in Standard, and makes the cut into UB Reanimator decks in Legacy:

Source: TCGplayer – Bitter Triumph, near mint

Bitter Triumph‘s a lot less popular than  Shoot the Sheriff, though: Not every Dimir Midrange decks play it, those that do just pack 1-2 copies, and Pixie players don't seem fond of it at all.

What Will Happen With Black Removal's Prices in Standard?

Vihaan, Goldwaker – Illustration by Magali Villeneuve

If you've been interested in the MTG card market in the last few months, you've probably seen several uncommon cards spiking sky-high and staying there thanks to Edge of Eternities or Final Fantasy. Uncommons like Power Conduit have been up for weeks thanks to EOE making charge counters decks a thing, or even a common like Moonmist went from draft chaff to above $2 (and has remained there) thanks to FIN's saga creatures.

Thing is, the key factor for those commons and uncommons is that they come from very old sets.

Shoot the Sheriff or Nowhere to Run are a different kettle of fish: They were printed last year, in MTG sets that are part of the current Standard rotation. Supply will be much, much larger in these cases, and prices will reflect that. Players that wouldn't bother going through the trouble of selling their draft chaff for 50 cents may change their mind if they spike to five bucks.

Therefore, with the usual caveat that this is not investment advice (always do your own research, folks!), keep in mind the prices will very likely be a lot more volatile, and prone to go down as soon as players realize they have spare change in their bulk bin.

Newly minted uncommons can be worth around $6-$10 if they become a multi-format all-star, like Stock Up has done. But those cases are very, very rare, and even $2-$4 is exceptional.

At any rate, if you drafted OTJ or DSK a bunch (as you probably did, because those two sets just rocked!), you may want to check your uncommons.