Onslaught
- For other uses, see Onslaught (disambiguation).
Onslaught is the twenty-eighth Magic expansion and was released in September 2002 as the first set in the Onslaught block.
Set details
Onslaught, 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 revisited "cycling", and made "This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures." a keyword ability, "fear".[1]
While there are a few cards from other creature types such as Dwarf or Centaur, the featured creature types are:
- Beasts primarily in Red and Green with a few stragglers in Black and Blue
- Birds primarily in White and Blue with a few straggles in Black and Red
- Clerics exclusively in Black and White
- Elves exclusively in Green
- Goblins almost exclusively in Red with a few exceptions in Black.
- Soldiers almost exclusively in White with a few exceptions in Blue and Green
- Wizards almost exclusively in Blue with a few exceptions in all other colors
- Zombies exclusively in Black
Many cards with creature types that fall into the Classes category such as Cleric, Soldier and Wizard were given additional creature types in the Grand Creature Type Update, many of which gaining the creature type Human. This however did not change anything about their functionality in the set. Dragons have a very small presence in Onslaught with the only cards being Quicksilver Dragon, Rorix Bladewing and Dragon Roost, but would go on to become a subtheme of Scourge.
Mechanics
Onslaught introduced a number of major mechanics and featured the first return of a keyword from abeyance (cycling).
Cycles
Onslaught has 14 cycles:
- Allied-colored 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.
- Avatars[1]: Five of the creature types, one for each color, (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, one Avatar (Soulless One) takes into account cards of that type in all graveyards. The Avatars are: Doubtless One (clerics), Nameless One (wizards), Soulless One (zombies), Reckless One (goblins), and Heedless One (elves).
- Lords[1]: Ancestor's Prophet (clerics), Catapult Master (soldiers), Gravespawn Sovereign (zombies), Skirk Fire Marshal (goblins), Supreme Inquisitor (wizards), and Voice of the Woods (elves) were all, at the time of print (prior to The Grand Creature Type Update) of the creature type Lord in addition to their race or class. 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[1]: 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.
- Charms: Piety Charm, Trickery Charm, Misery Charm, Fever Charm and Vitality Charm are all modal spells that cost one colored mana and have three selectable options.
- 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 the Courier is tapped, the target creature has the Courier's effects. They also have the ability not to 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 put into play tapped, then produce mana of the appropriate color: Barren Moor, Forgotten Cave, Lonely Sandbar, Secluded Steppe and Tranquil Thicket.
- Cycling Triggers: Each of these uncommon permanents has a triggered ability whenever a player cycles a card: Astral Slide, Fleeting Aven, Withering Hex, Lightning Rift and Invigorating Boon.
- Pit-fighter champions[1]: A cycle of legendary creatures costing File:Mana3.gifCCC (where C is one colored mana), with powerful abilities: Jareth, Leonine Titan, Arcanis the Omnipotent, Visara the Dreadful, Rorix Bladewing and Silvos, Rogue Elemental.
- 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 can be tapped for colorless mana and have an activated ability that benefits, or benefits from having, one of the major creature types in the set: Daru Encampment (soldiers), Riptide Laboratory (wizards), Unholy Grotto (zombies), Goblin Burrows (goblins), and Wirewood Lodge (elves), as well as Contested Cliffs (beasts), Seaside Haven (birds), and Starlit Sanctum (clerics).
- Uncommon cycling spells: Each of these uncommon spells can be cycled for a smaller than their original effect: Sunfire Balm, Complicate, Death Pulse, Slice and Dice and Primal Boost.
- Words enchantments: A cycle of enchantments that allow their controller to pay
and skip their next draw in exchange for a powerful effect; it consists of Words of Worship, Words of Wind, Words of Waste, Words of War and Words of Wilding.
Mirrored pairs
Onslaught has one mirrored pair.
- Disciple of Grace/c> and <c>Disciple of Malice are both uncommon Clerics with a mana cost of C, power/toughness of 1/2, cycling and protection from the other's color.
Notable cards
- In then legal Standard, top cards included: Astral Slide, Blistering Firecat, Exalted Angel, Goblin Piledriver, Goblin Sharpshooter, Patriarch's Bidding, Ravenous Baloth, Rorix Bladewing, Visara the Dreadful, and Wellwisher were particularly noteworthy. The fetch lands (lands that could be sacrificed for the cost of tapping them and the loss of one life, in order to search their controller's library for a land of the specified basic land type) and cycling lands also saw high levels of play.
- The cycle of allied fetch lands continue to see significant play in all formats in which they are legal.
- Erratic Explosion saw some play alongside high mana cost cards, such as Draco and Dragon Tyrant.
- Nantuko Husk was the cornerstone of Standard BW Ghost Husk decks after being reprinted in 9th Edition, thanks to its strong interaction with Saviors of Kamigawa card Promise of Bunrei.
- Starlit Sanctum saw play in Extended, alongside Daru Spiritualist and cards able to repeatedly target the Cleric (Daru Spiritualist) for free, such as Lightning Greaves, Shuko, and Nomads en-Kor; not dissimilar to the Cephalid Breakfast deck.
Reprinted cards
The following 10 cards have been reprinted from previous sets and included in Onslaught:
- Clone — was last seen in Revised.
- Disciple of Grace — was last seen in Urza's Saga.
- Elven Riders — was last seen in 6th Edition.
- Lay Waste — was last seen in Urza's Saga.
- Meddle — was last seen in Mirage.
- Pacifism — was last seen in 7th Edition.
- Shock — was last seen in 7th Edition.
- Swat — was last seen in Urza's Legacy.
- Syphon Soul — was last seen in Battle Royale.
- Taunting Elf — was last seen in Urza's Destiny.
Functional reprints
Onslaught has 5 functional reprints:
- Elvish Scrapper is a functional reprint of Scavenger Folk from 7th Edition, save for creature type.
- Glory Seeker is a functional reprint of Knight Errant from 7th Edition and Fresh Volunteers from Mercadian Masques, save for creature type.
- Goblin Sky Raider is a functional reprint of Bird Maiden from 6th Edition, save for creature type.
- Goblin Sledder is a functional reprint of Mogg Raider from Tempest, save for mana cost.
- Nantuko Husk is a functional reprint of Phyrexian Ghoul from Urza's Saga.
Colorshifted cards
- Naturalize is a green version of Disenchant
Theme decks
Onslaught theme decks introduced a new design on their cardboard box that quickly showed the colors used to build the deck. The preconstructed theme decks are: Template:Theme decks