Subject: Astral Rift, Type II Anthony Anastasia
       Barely two sets old and already Onslaught Block has shown us the power of cycling cards. Astral Slide utilizes this Urza Block mechanic to slip creatures out of play and bring them back into play face up. More often than not, that creature will be a massive Krosan Cloudscraper or Exalted Angel. Besides cycling, Onslaught Block also shows us so far the weakness of its removal. Let's face it; after Odyssey Block rotates out, monoblack control will be a memory, and thanks to Legions, creatures will romp across the table once again. That's where Lightning Rift comes in. With cycling, this card becomes a reusable Shock, excellent for sniping Morph creatures or gunning down a row of weenies. The Astral Rift deck that follows seeks to stabilize the board with a plethora of mass-elimination spells and follow it up with a Slided Krosan Cloudscraper or Exalted Angel, all while holding its board position with cycled Shocks from Lightning Rift and the additional card drawing.

GREEN CREATURES
       4 Birds of Paradise
       2 Krosan Cloudscraper
       4 Krosan Tusker

WHITE CREATURES
       2 Exalted Angel

BLACK CREATURES
       1 Bane of the Living
       3 Undead Gladiator

BLUE CREATURES
       2 Riptide Mangler

RED SPELLS
       4 Lightning Rift
       2 Lay Waste
       4 Slice and Dice
       2 Solar Blast
       2 Starstorm

WHITE SPELLS
       3 Astral Slide
       2 Wrath of God

LAND
       4 City of Brass
       4 Karplusan Forest
       3 Sulfurous Springs
       1 Lonely Sandbar
       2 Swamp
       4 Mountain
       3 Forest
       2 Plains

Birds of Paradise The sole one-drop in the deck works to accelerate the deck ahead and prevent mana screw.
Krosan Cloudscraper Dealing with a 13/13 in the new Onslaught environment won't be too easy.
Krosan Tusker Utterly broken in this deck, not only can it be hard-cast as a 6/5 in dire straits, it can be cycled to, in the best of situations, draw you a card, Slide a creature into play, pluck a land out of your deck, and Shock something for two.
Exalted Angel A powerhouse 4/5 flyer that stops aggressive decks cold and gains you lots of life all while smashing your opponent.
Bane of the Living It's Mutilate with legs. Enough said.
Undead Gladiator Handy as an eternal blocker or a repeated cycler that can help you win the game or clear the board in combination with the Rift.
Riptide Mangler Slide a Krosan Cloudscraper into play and change the Mangler's power to that of the Cloudscraper's. Watch your opponent fall over.
Lightning Rift Key enchantment of the deck and elimination extraordinaire.
Lay Waste Can be either cycled or cast to slow up a mana-screwed opponent.
Slice and Dice Does wonders to clear a crowded board and can also be cycled.
Solar Blast A good early and late game play with cycling.
Starstorm The second-most powerful board-clearer in the deck comes complete with cycling.
Astral Slide Puts ridiculous Morph creatures into play on the cheap.
Wrath of God Solution to annoying regenerators that reappear after direct damage.

Suggestions for a sideboard include the obligatory four Naturalizes, three more Banes of the Living for added creature kill, four Callers of the Claw to help recover from opposing or your own mass removal, an Oversold Cemetary to recycle dead Angels and Cloudscrapers, a duo of Engineered Plague for weenie destruction, and a single supplement to the deck's two Starstorms.

Anthony Anastasia, MtGKid700@aol.com