Since 1993 when Magic was first released, many sets have made their mark in some way or another. New mechanics come and go, and some prove to be more useful than others. Perhaps the most memorable set for all the wrong reasons was Urza's Saga. This set introduced a card which many consider to be the most overpowered card of the modern Magic era: Tolarian Academy. By using cheap artifacts, powerful card drawers and Mind Over Matter, the now notorious "Academy" deck could win in only a few turns. For as long as it was legal, this land made anyone sitting across the table from it a mere spectator in their own game.

The DCI soon remedied the situation by banning Tolarian Academy, but the lesson learned still lingers to this day: mana acceleration is a force to be reckoned with. Granted, no card before or after Tolarian Academy will ever come close to matching it in power. Mana acceleration has been seriously downgraded since the Academy, with even old staples such as Dark Ritual and Mana Vault being banned in every format but Type 1. In some ways this was a precautionary action, as the Magic design team wanted to make sure that Academy, and the much maligned "Combo Winter" it brought would never be repeated.

While the removal of Dark Ritual from most Constructed formats had been necessary, it also had the unfortunate side effect of weakening black significantly. Since Alpha, black cards had been designed with Dark Ritual in mind. Without this powerful acceleration, the color didn't seem to pack the same punch it once did. Dark Ritual was given a fitting final hurrah in Tom Van de Logt's World Championship deck. Soon after, Mercadian Masques rotated out, and Dark Ritual left Standard. Without Dark Ritual, black had been severely weakened. It has come to the point where it only exists as a support color for most Standard decks. Something had to change for the color to be brought back to a respectable power level.

This is where Torment comes in. Torment is "The Black Set". It contains significantly more black cards than any other color, and contains enough powerful dark spells to make even the most jaded black mage forget about Dark Ritual. One of these cards is the first land capable of producing massive amounts of mana since Urza's Saga: Cabal Coffers. It may not have the early game punch of Dark Ritual or the explosive nature of Gaea's Cradle, but it will certainly prove to be an important card in black decks for years to come.

The first thing you will probably notice about Cabal Coffers is that it is only truly efficient when used in a mono-black deck. This is a concept that will throw off many players at first, since the multi-colored Invasion Block has made monocolored decks a rarity. However, just as Invasion Block popularized three color decks, Torment will make mono-black a playable Standard deck type until it rotates out two years from now. Cabal Coffers, like many other cards in Torment, is only as good as the number of swamps you have in play. The most common black land configurations you are likely to see will be nothing but swamps, with a few Coffers for good measure.

But what exactly does this land provide? You don't get the early game boost of Dark Ritual, which was often used to bring out a monster creature like Phyrexian Negator or Phyrexian Scuta in the first few turns. In fact, Cabal Coffers is detrimental in the early game, but becomes more powerful as each turn passes, as more swamps come into play. Two swamps and a Coffers only gives you two mana, which is bad for having three lands in play, but every turn after that keeps getting better. Three swamps and a Coffers produces four mana, so you break even. Four swamps and a Coffers gives you six mana, netting you one mana total. With five swamps and Cabal Coffers in play, you would produce eight mana; two more than the six lands you have in play should be capable of providing.

Now, this isn't the stuff that broken Academies are made of, but having a reliable, mana-generating tool can be quite helpful. The great thing about Cabal Coffers is that it is a solid, playable mana acceleration card that is still balanced enough to not ruin the metagame. The mana generated by it will help black mages play multiple expensive spells in one turn. Additionally, Cabal Coffers may prove to be the saving grace for some of the more powerful, but expensive black cards in Torment that would otherwise never see tournament play. It is also less risky than most mana acceleration cards because it is a land, and therefore, cannot be countered.

While we're on the subject, just what is the appropriate number of Cabal Coffers to play with? Unlike Saga's Academy and Cradle, this massive mana producer is not Legendary. Things certainly can get very broken when multiple Coffers are going at the same time, but it may not be as simple as throwing four copies into any black deck. Drawing two in an opening hand could very well cost you the game, since the Coffers does not actually tap for mana itself. Plus, two Coffers in play means one less swamp in play, which can stunt mana productivity at least for the first few turns. This is a question that will be answered with time, as pros will decide if the power of Cabal Coffers is enough to accept the risk of running four, or they may opt to go the conservative route and play only one or two.

So, the cat is out of the bag. Torment is indeed "The Black Set". And you know what? Cabal Coffers will come to be known as "The Black Land". Once Torment is released and you start to incorporate your own ideas, there is likely to be one constant in your Black decks, and that is this new, useful mana tool. It may not be Dark Ritual and it may not be Lake of the Dead, but Cabal Coffers is definitely good enough to find a home among your very own swamps.