Abyssal Specter, uncommon (first printed in Ice Age, 1995)

This is the accepted baseline for the Specter creature archetype and commonly not good enough to suit a seasoned competitive player - Hypnotic, Blazing and Sedraxis Specters await. Still, if you can look past its near-obsoletion by those three cards you'll find that the Abyssal one is still serviceable and more reliably resilient thanks to its extra point of toughness, resisting Pyroclasm, Sudden Shock and other popular zaps. That's probably not enough to make it your first pick in any scenario other than, well, Ice Age draft, but there's no reason to retire this card - he's still solid in any highlander or large-deck format you care to name. Can be acquired for about twenty pence in your choice of black or white borders, with various pictures to choose from over the years.

Abyssal Horror, rare (first printed in Urza's Saga, 1998)

A creature who needs to be cheated into play, its cost being higher than its apparent power would suggest is necessary. Ideally you'll be able to find a way of placing this Horror directly onto the battlefield for less than 2B, the cost of Stupor - (Hymn to Tourach forced two random discards for the low cost of BB but I think we can all agree on how much of an aberration that was...) Flash, Oath of Druids, Animate Dead and Soul Exchange all come to mind, but in a game of multiplayer, you'll find far weirder ways. Am I being harsh about its uncastability? Of course, you can wait until the middle of a multiplayer game or until near the end of a duel to cast this creature honestly, but its effect on the opponent will be much less disruptive. Indeed, it is unusual among rare black threats that it becomes weaker as time marches on - you could have cast Nightmare or Visara for similar costs! Can be acquired for about thirty pence a copy in black border or twenty in white.

Abandon Hope, uncommon (first printed in Tempest, 1997)

If you feel that you have reached a stage in the game where the cards you have in play demand more than one card's worth of solution from your opponent, perhaps you can seal their fate by casting Abandon Hope at a sufficient X value to empty their hand. Unlike Odyssey's similar sorcery "Last Rites", Abandon Hope is really too expensive to be used as a combination or catalyst card in reanimation, madness, or more rogue strategies, and Urza's Saga's "Duress" is a far more efficient preventative tool than this. Use Abandon Hope chiefly as a method of converting a threat in play into victory. For more modern analogs of this card, look to Odyssey's "Mind Slicer." Can be acquired for less than ten pence a copy.