Onslaught

Onslaught is the first set (and the only large expansion) in the Onslaught block. It is the 27th Magic: The Gathering expansion and was released on October 7, 2002. The prerelease was September 28–29, 2002.

Set details
Onslaught, like its following expansions in the Onslaught block, Legions and Scourge, featured a theme that focused heavily on "tribal" cards, or cards that are concerned with creature types. The set contains 350 black-bordered cards (110 rare, 110 uncommon, 110 common, and 20 basic lands). Onslaught's expansion symbol is a stylized morphed creature.

Marketing
Onslaught was sold in 75-card tournament decks, 15-card boosters, four preconstructed theme decks and a fat pack. The packs featured artwork from Jareth, Leonine Titan, Arcanis the Omnipotent, Grinning Demon, Blistering Firecat and Kamahl, Fist of Krosa. The prerelease card was a foil Silent Specter. The set was accompanied by the novel of the same name.

Flavor and storyline
A continuation of the storyline developed in the Odyssey Cycle, Onslaught and the Onslaught Cycle are set on the continent of Otaria on the devastated plane of Dominaria, approximately a century after the events of Apocalypse of the Invasion block. Kamahl has relocated to the Krosan Forest with the Mirari and becomes a druid of Krosa. The power of the Mirari begins to work on the forest, mutating its residents and growing some of them to gigantic proportions. Meanwhile, Kamahl's sister Jeska is transformed by foul Cabal healing magic, into Phage, a pit fighter whose touch brings death. The illusionist Ixidor discovers his new powers of reality sculpting. Ixidor uses his new power to create the angel Akroma.

Tokens
Several tokens for Onslaught cards were offered as Magic Player Rewards.
 * 5/5 Dragon with Flying for Dragon Roost
 * 1/1 Soldier for Mobilization
 * 1/1 Insect for Symbiotic Beast</c> et al.
 * 2/2 Bear for Words of Wilding</c>

Because Magic Online needs to represent all the tokens in the game, art needs to be created for even the most insignificant tokens. For those, Magic Online is the only place it appears.

Themes
Tribal and creature types were a prominent theme in the Onslaught block. Some creature types bled into colors other than their normal colors (e.g., Festering Goblin</c>, a black, non-red Goblin), for more design space and variety.

Numerous cards with class creature types, as opposed to species or race ones, such as the Cleric, Soldier, and Wizards creature types, were retroactively given additional (species or race) creature types during the Grand Creature Type Update to be more consistent with the "race-class model". In most of these cases, the additional creature type was Human. This, by and large, did not cause significant changes to this expansion or block. In 2002, a poll conducted on MTG.com showed that a majority of respondents were opposed to the idea of Human as a creature type.

Dragons have a small presence in Onslaught, with the only Dragon creature cards being Quicksilver Dragon</c> and Rorix Bladewing</c> (and an additional one enchantment dragon-creature-token-creating card in Dragon Roost</c>). Dragons would go on to form a theme in Scourge, the third Onslaught block expansion.

In addition to the tribal theme, Onslaught features a number of cards, such as Erratic Explosion</c>, that foreshadow the "cost matters" theme that is more fully explored in Scourge.

Mechanics
Onslaught reintroduced the static keyword ability cycling and featured a number of mechanics, some of which were novel, including:
 * Fear: a keyword static ability of an established ability, fear, named after Fear</c>, the Limited Edition aura card, and first card, that conferred or featured this ability, means "This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.".
 * Gustcloak: a non-keyword triggered ability that allows the controller of a blocked creature with the ability to remove the creature from combat, thereby preventing all combat damage that would be dealt to and by it, similar to the effect of Maze of Ith</c>.
 * Lords: any card with an activated ability whose cost includes the tapping of a creature that shares a creature type with the lord (i.e., Ancestor's Prophet</c>, Aphetto Grifter</c>, Birchlore Rangers</c>, Catapult Master</c>, Catapult Squad</c>, Crookclaw Elder</c>, Gravespawn Sovereign</c>, <c>Shieldmage Elder</c>, <c>Skirk Fire Marshal</c>, <c>Spurred Wolverine</c>, <c>Supreme Inquisitor</c>, <c>Voice of the Woods</c>, and Legions ' <c>Keeper of the Nine Gales</c>). Cards somewhat similar to lords are <c>Cryptic Gateway</c> and <c>Gangrenous Goliath</c>, which, although they forward the tribal theme, do not tap creatures that share a creature subtype with the card itself.
 * Morph: a static ability that allows the controller of a card with the morph ability to cast the card face-down as a 2/2 creature with no text, no name, no subtypes, no expansion symbol, and no mana cost.
 * Saboteurs: any creature card with a "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player" triggered ability.
 * Self-recruiters: any card with an enters-the-battlefield triggered ability that allows its controller to search for a similarly named card, reveal it, and put it into their hand.
 * Cycling: originally conceived during Tempest design as "sliding" and first featured in Urza's Saga, was brought back from abeyance for reasons including "nostalgia", "exposing new[er] players [to older mechanics]", "[exploring] new twists [to the old mechanic]", "interaction with other mechanics", and "conservation of design space". To expand on cycling, a number of cards with cycling triggers, such as <c>Astral Slide</c> and <c>Lightning Rift</c>, and a number of cards with cycling and abilities that trigger when they are cycled, such as <c>Death Pulse</c> and <c>Krosan Tusker</c>, were featured in Onslaught.

Creature types
The creature types Pangolin (retroactively) and Mutant were introduced in Onslaught. The creature type Lord was used in this expansion at the time of printing but was later removed.

Cycles
Onslaught features 13 cycles.

Pairs
Onslaught has one mirrored pair.

Reprinted cards

 * <c>Clone</c>, First printed in Alpha, last seen in Revised Edition. Reprinted as a classic creature.
 * <c>Disciple of Grace</c>, first printed in Urza's Saga
 * <c>Elven Riders</c>, first printed in Legends, last seen in 6th Edition
 * <c>Lay Waste</c>, first printed in Urza's Saga
 * <c>Meddle</c>, first printed in Mirage
 * <c>Pacifism</c>, first pinted in Mirage, last seen in 7th Edition
 * <c>Shock</c>, first printed in Stronghold, last seen in 7th Edition
 * <c>Swat</c>, first printed in Urza's Legacy
 * <c>Syphon Soul</c>, first printed in Legends, last seen in 6th Edition
 * <c>Taunting Elf</c>, first printed in Urza's Destiny

Functional reprints

 * <c>Elvish Scrapper</c>, functional reprint of except for creature-type
 * <c>Glory Seeker</c>, functional reprint of and  except for creature-type
 * <c>Goblin Sky Raider</c>, functional reprint of except for creature-type
 * <c>Goblin Sledder</c>, functional reprint of
 * <c>Nantuko Husk</c>, functional reprint of except for creature-type

Color shifted

 * <c>Crafty Pathmage</c>, blue color shifted version of and
 * <c>Sandskin</c>, white color shifted version of
 * <c>Naturalize</c>, green color shifted version of
 * <c>Sea's Claim</c>, blue color shifted version of

Strictly better

 * <c>Barkhide Mauler</c>, upgrade from
 * <c>Disruptive Pitmage</c>, upgrade from and
 * <c>Foothill Guide</c> and <c>Gustcloak Runner</c>, upgrade from
 * <c>Naturalize</c>, upgrade from
 * <c>Riptide Biologist</c>, upgrade from
 * <c>Trickery Charm</c>, upgrade from

Notable cards

 * In then legal Standard, top cards included: <c>Astral Slide</c>, <c>Blistering Firecat</c>, <c>Exalted Angel</c>, <c>Goblin Piledriver</c>, <c>Goblin Sharpshooter</c>, <c>Patriarch's Bidding</c>, <c>Ravenous Baloth</c>, <c>Rorix Bladewing</c>, <c>Visara the Dreadful</c>, and <c>Wellwisher</c> 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.


 * <c>Erratic Explosion</c> saw some play alongside high mana cost cards, such as <c>Draco</c> and <c>Dragon Tyrant</c>.


 * <c>Nantuko Husk</c> 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 <c>Promise of Bunrei</c>.


 * <c>Starlit Sanctum</c> saw play in Extended, alongside <c>Daru Spiritualist</c> and cards able to repeatedly target the Cleric (Daru Spiritualist) for free, such as <c>Lightning Greaves</c>, <c>Shuko</c>, and <c>Nomads en-Kor</c>; not dissimilar to the Cephalid Breakfast deck.


 * <c>Voidmage Prodigy</c>, Kai Budde's invitational card.

Preconstructed decks
Onslaught has four bicolored theme decks.