Onslaught
Onslaught is the twenty-eight Magic expansion and was released in 2002 as the first set in the Onslaught Block. It had a theme that focused heavily on "tribal" cards or cards that care about creature types. It introduced the Morph keyword, as well as revisiting Cycling and making Fear a keyword ability.
Cycles
- Chain spells: Chain of Silence, Chain of Vapor, Chain of Smog, Chain of Plasma and Chain of Acid could be copied by another player, either for free or with an alternative cost.
- Couriers are creatures that can tap to grant an appropriate creature two abilities. You can leave the Courier tapped for the creature to continuously have the abilities: Everglove Courier, Flamestick Courier, Frightshroud Courier, Ghosthelm Courier and Pearlspear Courier.
- Crowns are auras that grant a creature an ability. They can be sacrificed and all creatures that share a type with the previously enchanted creature gain that ability until end of turn: Crown of Ascension, Crown of Awe, Crown of Fury, Crown of Suspicion and Crown of Vigor.
- 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.
- Pitfighter Legends: a cycle of legendary creatures costing 3CCC, 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 that once put into a graveyard from play, green insect tokens were put into play - Symbiotic Elf, Symbiotic Beast and Symbiotic Wurm
- 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 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.