Onslaught

For other uses, see Onslaught (disambiguation).

Onslaught
Set Information
Set symbol
Themes and mechanics	Chain spells, Tribal/creature types
Keywords/​ability words	Cycling, Fear, Morph
Set size	350 (20 basic lands, 110 commons, 110 uncommons, 110 rares)
Expansion code	ONS
Development codename	Manny

Onslaught is the 27^th Magic: The Gathering 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".

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).

Creature types

The following creature types are introduced in this expansion: Mutant.

The following creature types are used in this expansion but also appear in previous sets: Angel, Avatar, Basilisk, Barbarian, Beast, Bird, Cat, Centaur, Cephalid, Cleric, Demon, Dragon, Druid, Dwarf, Elemental, Elf, Giant, Goblin, Golem, Gorgon, Illusion, Insect, Lord (now removed), Mercenary, Orgg, Rebel, Shapeshifter, Soldier, Specter, Spider, Wall, Wizard, Wurm, Zombie.

Cycles

Onslaught has 13 cycles and a vertical cycle.

• Allied-colored fetch lands: A cycle of five rare dual 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: 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: 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: 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: 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.

• 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.

Vertical cycle

• Symbiotic creatures: Green creatures Symbiotic Elf, Symbiotic Beast and Symbiotic Wurm, 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.

Mirrored pairs

Onslaught has one mirrored pair.

• Disciple of Grace and Disciple of Malice are both common Clerics with a mana cost of C, power/toughness of 1/2, cycling and protection from the other's color.

Reprinted cards

Card	Introduced in	Featured in	Notes
Clone	Limited Edition	Unlimited Edition, Revised Edition	Clone was reprinted as a classic creature.
Disciple of Grace	Urza's Saga
Elven Riders	Legends	4th Edition, 5th Edition, 6th Edition
Lay Waste	Urza's Saga
Meddle	Mirage
Pacifism	Mirage	Tempest, Urza's Saga, 6th Edition, 7th Edition
Shock	Stronghold	6th Edition, 7th Edition
Swat	Urza's Legacy
Syphon Soul	Legends	6th Edition
Taunting Elf	Urza's Destiny
Elvish Scrapper			Functional reprint of Scavenger Folk (The Dark)
Glory Seeker			Functional reprint of Fresh Volunteers (Mercadian Masques) and Knight Errant (Portal)
Goblin Sky Raider			Functional reprint of Bird Maiden (Arabian Nights)
Goblin Sledder			Functional reprint of Mogg Raider (Tempest)
Nantuko Husk			Functional reprint of Phyrexian Ghoul (Urza's Saga)
Naturalize			Green colorshifted version of Disenchant (Limited Edition)

Preconstructed decks

Theme decks

Onslaught has four bicolored theme decks. Template:Theme decks

External links

• Onslaught product information page — Wizards of the Coast