The consumate cowardly card. What better way to shriek "please don't hit me!" on the very first turn? Sadly, it's a ploy that rarely works - unadjusted, this shrinking leper can only block one foot soldier and will never survive the experience. Examined from this perspective, Abu fails to live up to his potential and compares unconvincingly to the gamut of one-mana removal spells through Magic's history, every single one of which having more surprise value. It is only through combination with trickier cards that he shines. To start with, Blaze of Glory and Lure are two popular ways to throw a combat into chaos, and with Abu Ja'far as your avatar, means the decimation of all involved. With his power augmented by some equipping or crusading (although should you place Abu and Jihad in the same deck be aware of the potentially off-color observations your opponents could voice, on the theme of Arabian guerrilla-terror types, I dare say. One may as well drive the point home by adding Alaborn Zealot, a similar card.) effect, the leper's ability often amounts to unblockability, much to your opponent's chagrin at being harried by a card never intended to threaten his life. Back to the cowardly end of the strategic spectrum, their exists a card named Proclamation of Rebirth which can serve to resurrect Abu as many times as you wish - exactly the thing to quell attack by hordes of dumb beasts although ill-suited against those with trample or fear. Not a "good" card exactly, but an amusing one - in victory, how satisfying would it be to claim your opponent was outsmarted by your leper general? Can be acquired for around three pounds a copy in a black border, or much more readily in white for less than ten pence each.
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