Onslaught

For other uses, see Onslaught (disambiguation).

Onslaught is the twenty-eighth Magic expansion and was released in 2002 as the first set in the Onslaught block.

Set details

It, like its ensuing expansions, Legions and Scourge, has a theme that focused heavily on "tribal" cards, or cards that are concerned with creature types. It introduced the "morph" keyword, as well as revisiting "cycling", and making "This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures." a keyword ability, "fear".

Cycles

• Avatars: Five of the races (Clerics, Wizards, Zombies, Goblins, and Elves) have an Avatar creature whose power and toughness are equal to the number of permanents of that race, which is also one of its races as well, in play; in one case in fact, one Avatar (Soulless One) takes into account cards of that type in all graveyards.

• Lords: Ancestor's Prophet, Catapult Master, Gravespawn Sovereign, Skirk Fire Marshal, Supreme Inquisitor, and Voice of the Woods were all, at the time of print, prior to [www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgcom/feature/424a3 The Grand Creature Type Update], Lords of their race; these "lords" possess an ability, the cost of which is the tapping of five permanents of their respective race. For example, Ancestor's Prophet, the Cleric Lord, allows its controller to tap five Cleric permanents to gain 10 life (formerly, prior to "tribal", it would have merely been creatures that could be tapped with Ancestor's Prophet's ability, for creatures were the only type with creature types).

• Chain spells: Chain of Silence, Chain of Vapor, Chain of Smog, Chain of Plasma and Chain of Acid, like their predecessors, Chain Lightning and Chain Stasis, are spells that can be copied by another player, either for free or with an alternative cost.

• Couriers: The Couriers are uncommon creatures that can tap to grant an appropriate creature — a creature of the respective type — an increase in power and toughness, as well as an ability, as long as a Courier is tapped, the target creature has the Courier's effects. They also have the ability to not untap during their controller's untap step, thereby allowing for their controller to leave it tapped so that the target creature will have the effects continuously: Everglove Courier, Flamestick Courier, Frightshroud Courier, Ghosthelm Courier and Pearlspear Courier.

• Crowns: Crown of Awe, Crown of Ascension, Crown of Suspicion, Crown of Fury, and Crown of Vigor are a cycle of common auras that that grant a creature an ability, and can be sacrificed to give all creatures that share a type with the previously enchanted creature that ability until end of turn.

• Cycling lands: These lands could be Cycled or played tapped, then produce mana of the appropriate color: Barren Moor, Forgotten Cave, Lonely Sandbar, Secluded Steppe and Tranquil Thicket.

• Fetch lands: A cycle of five rare lands that could be sacrificed along with a payment of 1 life to search for one of two basic land types: Bloodstained Mire, Flooded Strand, Polluted Delta, Windswept Heath, Wooded Foothills.

• Pit-fighter champions: A cycle of legendary creatures costing File:Mana3.gifCCC (where C is one colored mana), with powerful abilities: Rorix Bladewing, Jareth, Leonine Titan, Arcanis the Omnipotent, Silvos, Rogue Elemental, and Visara the Dreadful.

• Symbiotic creatures: A vertical cycle of creatures — consisting of Symbiotic Elf, Symbiotic Beast and Symbiotic Wurm — that, once put into a graveyard from play, green Insect tokens are put into play; the number of Insects put into play is the creature's printed power.

• Tribal lands: A cycle of uncommon lands that tapped for colorless mana and had an activated ability that benefitted one of the major creature types in the set: Daru Encampment, Riptide Laboratory, Unholy Grotto, Goblin Burrows and Wirewood Lodge, as well as Contested Cliffs, Seaside Haven, and Starlit Sanctum.

• Words enchantments: A cycle of enchantments that allow their controller to pay mana and skip their next draw in exchange for a powerful effect: Words of Worship, Words of Wind, Words of Waste, Words of War and Words of Wilding.

Notable cards

• In contemporary standard, Exalted Angel, Astral Slide, Patriarch's Bidding, Visara the Dreadful, Blistering Firecat, Goblin Piledriver, Goblin Sharpshooter, Rorix Bladewing, Ravenous Baloth and Wellwisher were particularly noteworthy. The Fetch lands and Cycling lands also saw high levels of play.

• Erratic Explosion saw some play alongside high mana cost cards such as Draco and Dragon Tyrant.

• The cycle of Fetch lands continue to see significant play in all formats in which they are legal.

• Nantuko Husk was the cornerstone of Standard BW Ghost Husk decks after being reprinted in 9th Edition, thanks to its strong interaction with Promise of Bunrei.

• Starlit Sanctum sees play in Extended alongside Daru Spiritualist and cards able to repeatedly target the cleric for free, such as Lightning Greaves and Shuko.

External links

• Onslaught product information page — Wizards of the Coast