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.

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

It's difficult to estimate how powerful Abundance is as a permanent in a vacuum but it seems a slight improvement of one's topdecking luck should not be worth four mana unless it shares a card with a creature or disruptive spell - any normal deck with a heavy green element will be more interested in casting, say, Ravenous Baloth, or else Creeping Mold, or in any case something that grabs the opponent's attention. Abundance does none of that, making its inclusion in a traditional green creature deck unlikely. In a slower environment, the fourth turn can be very important indeed, not to be wasted on an opulant card like this. Still, it has homes in other types of decks... imagine Abundance allowing a player friendly with the Enchantresses - Argothian Enchantress, Enchantress's Presence, and so forth - dig for an enchantment each time one is cast, unleashing a daisy chain of blessings, each cementing the player's defenses that little more inevitably, in preparation for the moment when Opalescense finally climbs its way to the top of the deck. Add the card Sylvan Library and you'll note that the two cards are written in such a way as to provide an absurd effect in conjuction, that of drawing three cards a turn for no cost at all! With Stasis in play, allow yourself to draw a land every turn; with Orcish Mechanics in play, skew the odds in the favour of drawing an artifact. Besides Abundance's talent for dowsing for just what you need, it does one other, more subtle thing: with no cards left in one's library, an activation of Abundance to replace one's draw allows one to survive the draw step where loss otherwise looms. This is a very specialist card, plain in most circumstances but a cornucopia in those small, subtle moments. Can be acquired for about fifty pence a copy.

Absolute Law, uncommon (first printed in Urza's Saga, 1998)

A very straightforward card that ensures your aggressive red opponent can neither block your creatures or snuff out their lives with fireworks. Also protects you admirably from lesser-seen effect such as Threaten and makes your artifact creatures untargetable by Shatter variants. This mostly just turns such a duel into a lopsided race, which is often what red wants to do in any case - don't be surprised if your opponent simply employs his fireworks as one constant barrage of direct damage to you. It's hard for red to come back from such a comprehensive hate-card when it turns off their favourite methods of clawing back losts cards - Flametongue Kavu, Pyroclasm - but bear in mind the crazier side of red - Ball Lightning, Goblin Grenade, Arc-Slogger - remain as menacing as ever. Can be acquired for less than twenty pence a copy.

Absolute Grace, uncommon (first printed in Urza's Saga, 1998)

Of these two "Absolute" enchantments, Grace is the weaker. Protection from black notably fails to defend against forced sacrifice - Barter in Blood - or black's vision of global destruction - Damnation, Mutilate. Given that Absolute Grace grants its protection to every creature in play rather than just those ones under your control, it's frustrating to find cards that combine with it - cards like Pestilence suggest themselves as happy partners, at least until one reads the card a second time. So what's the card for? Well, for facing down aggressive black decks, of course, all the while wishing it were Light of Day instead. Can be acquired for less than twenty pence a copy.