Abyssal Gatekeeper, common (first printed in Weatherlight, 1997)

As with all forbidding walls and stalwarts, Abyssal Gatekeeper is most useful when you have more than one opponent with which to contend, proving an effective deterrent which promises mutually-assured destruction, if you will. (For the nuclear option, see False Prophet.) Coupled with some useful means of sacrifice (Phyrexian Tower?) the Gatekeeper may act as a pseudo-unblockable creature and remain a dire warning to your enemies even when tapped. The Gate doesn't stay locked for every threat you will face, since many cards in the multiplayer environment come with quirks like supertrample, protection from black or sufficient size to require more than one blocker, but thankfully those creatures tend to appear at a much later stage than this small wonder. A player may pair this card with a supply of Unearths to frustrate his or her opponents with a corruptive stream of attrition, (and the cherry on top of this one is that the card Attrition itself fits perfectly into the theme) and when the graveyards are suitably full of the sacrificed, Mortivore may come out to play, perhaps Spoils of Evil or Songs of the Damned may enable some of the more shamelessly evil planeswalkers to cast a giant Drain Life or Death Cloud... it is more true of black than any other colour in magic, that when a black mage appears to be stalling, it is often to reach some threshold at which they can cast their most powerful and inevitably crushing spells - think Nightmare, Corrupt, Mind Sludge, et al. Playing an early Abyssal Gatekeeper is just one of the affordable ways to survive those grueling early turns. If you want this effect to be more of a surprise, consider Innocent Blood. Can be acquired for less than ten pence a copy.

Abuna's Chant, common (first printed in Fifth Dawn, 2004)

This card costs a fortune and has precious little effect to show. Why bring Abuna's Chant, when at four mana, white has access to more powerful abilities like full prevention - Story Circle - or even redirection of damage - Harsh Judgement, Kor Chant, Mirror Strike? Is five life worth the card's inconvenience? At full power, no card fully obsoletes Abuna's Chant's combination of abilities but I don't imagine that makes it an attractive card to anyone in particular. Mostly unplayable. Can be acquired for less than ten pence a copy.

Absorb Vis, common (first printed in Conflux, 2009)

In slower paced environments, cards such as Absorb Vis blossom. Its individual effects - a four-point Drain Life or else an uncounterable Lay of the Land - both cost at least one point of mana too much to be deemed optimal by those tourney lords who have somehow come to oversee the pronouncement of viability in cards, effortlessly painting how tournaments unfold with nary a paragraph of proof required from their devotees. Still, in conjunction, Absorb Vis gives a player a certain amount of freedom. It's important in the design of this type of card to allow one effect of the two to always be useful - this one can serve both as your killing blow and as a key to the means of casting it, and for that it has my confidence, no matter how slow it seems. Would that this type of card become popular with more players, perhaps the standard magic duel wouldn't be quite so coloured by "officially good!", one-dimensional, boring cards. Of course, judging by the way the Wizards of the Coast see fit to print cards specifically intended to ring true with the competitive set, cards that artificially cost a little extra will continue to be crowded out by card that artificially cost a little less. Well, it's one way to run a business, I suppose. This card has lots of cousins - for real overkill value, play it with Soul Spike or Spinning Darkness and watch as Absorb Vis takes on a third role in your deck! Can be acquired for less than ten pence a copy.

Absolver Thrull, common (first printed in Dissension, 2006)

I remember Thrulls from sets much older than this and they were black to a man, but at least their willingness to die for a cause has not been diminished. I'm unsure into what deck this card fits well - an aggressive deck that fears cards such as The Abyss or Solitary Confinement but wants to pressure the opponent every turn may require something from this family but never really Absolver Thrull in particular, since there are variants more suited to attacking - contrast him with Cloudchaser Eagle or Soltari Visionary. Including this card in your library largely means abstaining from using enchantments of your own or keeping this creature back in your hand for fear of sabotaging yourself. Finally among his weaknesses, you'll note that he belongs to that class of card which Humility makes look particularly foolish. In the Absolver's defense, however, the combination of his abilities puts him in a not totally obsolete position - if you choose to sacrifice him through some manner of card ability (Diamond Valley, Mask of the Mimic) or simply use him as cannon fodder against fierce attack, his role in the game has not yet ended - whether that is enough for him to be viable is up to the individual deck builder. Other marginal bonuses come from his popular Cleric creature type, although Monk Realist is similarly of the cloth and slots much more easily into many decks. There are a great deal of white cards which can disenchant and most have less strings attached. Can be acquired for less than ten pence a copy.

About Face, common (first printed in Urza's Legacy, 1999)

The creative department of the Wizards of the Coast team have had many successes, but the title of this card is not among them - About Face's mechanical relevance to its name doesn't withstand the barest scrutiny. Certainly we'd all be much happier if they left the military terminology to the military. That gripe aside, About Face is a powerful card in certain contexts, easy to misjudge. In a deck full of stalwart defensive creatures like Indomitable Ancients, Dream Stalker and Martyrs of Korlis, About Face trumps both Giant Growth and Berserk in terms of explosive efficiency. Of course, a bottom-heavy deck like that would have trouble sustaining an offensive line, but sometimes you'll only need a single copy of About Face to win - consider the popular combination with Tireless Tribe! A veritable wipeout occurs when those cards converge, and they can do so with haste, even quicker than the Hatred decks of old. About Face is also employable, rarely, as a removal spell, and although many people refuse to play walls so as to improve some overstated, theoretical "topdeck" ratio in their library, remember that About Face can also dispatch of Birds of Paradise, Noble Hierarch and Doran, the Siege Tower. Not for everyone, and if you find yourself building a deck to support it, weigh the merits of About Face's surprise factor against Dwarven Thaumaturgist's tenacity. Can be acquired for less than ten pence a copy.

Aboshan's Desire, common (first printed in Odyssey, 2001)

Desiring privacy yet attempting to manipulate people out of theirs, Desire transforms one of your creatures into Big Brother, the inevitable, immortal lidless eye. Best on creatures that are serving some static ability (Meddling Mage) but which have no aptitude for combat, Aboshan's Desire teaches your jailors to be executioners. As with all effects that grant some sort of protection or evasion, your opponent may find some way to "shoot you down" at inopportune times, and wipeouts await. If this isn't enough of a boost for you, consider Zephid's Embrace. Can be acquired for less than ten pence a copy.

Abolish, uncommon (first printed in Prophecy, 2000)

Countless times have I wished to throw away one of those interminable Plains cards, for effect or otherwise. Abolish provides an outlet with which to dispose of that most useless of lands. Just my little joke. What Abolish does, that Disenchant often does not, is allow a player of resourcefulness to escape from the grasp of a Tangle Wire, Limited Resources, Stasis or Chalice of the Void, or such thing. You'll find that people in relaxed casual environments never consider cards like this, instead preferring their Indrik Stomphowlers and Orim's Thunders and similar bloated spells. Find a way to put the squeeze on those passive planeswalkers and they'll start to replace such turkeys with spells that can be cast before the rapture. Can be acquired for less than twenty pence a copy.

Abjure, common (first printed in Weatherlight, 1997)

Seems a little desperate, no? Not at all! After all, few would suspect your remaining untapped island to imply a conditionless counterspell, and should you play, as many do, in an environment that frowns on the casual-unfriendly Force of Will, this is as cheap as the effect can come... at least in terms of mana. The sacrifice can be exploited in a trickier deck (Hatching Plans immediately comes to mind) but many of your early permanents may become obsolete (Merfolk Looter) or tiring to maintain (Mystic Remora) or in the case of a spell that dooms more than one of your permanents (Ashes to Ashes, Purify) Abjure lets you sacrifice one for the good of the many. Even an ernest sacrifice of a relevant permanent may be worth the price of Abjuring a gravely threatening spell. All the while, the player with Abjure in hand may be a little more active with his expansion on the battlefield than the typical island-playing "draw-proceed" opponent of that archetype. Abjure is also a neat, blameless one-of in a more casual blue deck. Can be acquired for less than ten pence a copy.

Abbey Matron (first printed in Homelands, 1995)

The "Abbey" prefix to cards must be shorthand for ways of beating traditional red decks, and the Matron is a perfect speed-bump against goblins and fireworks in general, especially as in that case her single point of power would be relevant against the individually tiny greenskins. If you can somehow add vigilance to her (Serra's Blessing?), she outclasses other classics like Giant Turtle and Yotian Soldier. Aside from that purpose, this old girl is second banana to many more generally strong defensive creatures. Still, when she's served her purpose, you can consider sending her on holiday to the beautiful Diamond Valley... Can be acquired for less than ten pence a copy, for either picture.

Abandoned Outpost (first printed in Odyssey, 2001)

Often worse than a Plains, Abandoned Outpost, along with its four cycle-sisters, nevertheless has its uses, namely, as an occasional activator of a bonus feature of a white card. Where rare and much-sought lands of the pain, fetch and dual varieties are unnecessary or unavailable, an Outpost can shine, painlessly regenerating a Spectral Lynx or kicking Orim's Thunder. More interestingly, though, are the outpost's applications to situations you can't always plan for - if your opponent plays Lim-Dûl's Hex, then you have a turn's worth of black mana in reserve... if you gain control of another's creature with a card such as Debt of Loyalty then you may find yourself able to play its abilities to a limited extent. In a trickier type of deck, the outpost can be sacrificed at the right time to manipulate the amount of permanents you control, whether to satisfy the needs of Balance or Chaos Lord. Of course, this card is underpowered in ability - consider instead Arabian Nights' "City of Brass" - and subtle in application, but it has homes. Can be acquired for less than ten pence a copy.