Black Market Connections gives black Commander decks a flexible resource engine at the start of each first main phase. You can choose a Treasure, a card, a creature token, or several of those options, trading life for whichever resources the turn requires.
The three choices cost different amounts of life: one for the Treasure, two for the card, and three for the 3/2 Shapeshifter. Choosing all three loses six life. The token has changeling, so it is every creature type, making it useful in decks that care about Dragons, Vampires, or another shared type. Connections can therefore support a creature theme while still providing cards and mana when those matter more.
Academy Manufactor improves the Treasure option by replacing that token with a Clue, Food, and Treasure. The Food can help support your life total later, while the Clue offers another way to draw if you can pay for it. Mondrak, Glory Dominus doubles the Treasure and creature tokens you create, giving a white-black deck more value from the token-producing modes without changing their life-loss amounts.
The enchantment normally begins paying off on a later turn because casting it during your main phase happens after that phase has begun. Build around the recurring choices instead of automatically taking everything. A low life total may call for only a Treasure, while a stalled board may justify paying for the card and creature. It is most effective when your deck can use several resource types and has enough time to collect repeated triggers.
