Okay, my argument for Ring of Ma'ruf.
First off, this was the FIRST card that let you interact with cards outside of the game. There WAS Bronze Tablet, but that interacted with the Ante and that was considered part of the game. You were able to find a solution to any problem the game presented OR (in my case) find something that was completely random. Imagine playing a White Weenie deck and then Ring of Ma'Ruf-ing for a Phyrexian Dreadnought when your army got large. OR how about Ma'Ruf-ing for a Foil Island because you thought the field wasn't bright enough. OR when your opponent plays his Volrath the Fallen, taunt him by nabbing a random Ascendent Evincar (making reference to the story), even though you aren't playing black. I especially love Ma'Ruf-ing for Unglued cards.
Also, this card influenced the creation of the famous "Wish" cards. The concept of grabbing cards from outside of the game intrigued R&D so much that they were determined to design a cycle fit for tournament play. Living Wish and Cunning Wish were WILDLY used in Type 2 during that era, and all of them (save for Death Wish) found a home in the decks of many casual players. Have you ever Burning Wished for a Goblin Game? I have! And it's all thanks to the concept donated by Ring of Ma'Ruf.
The name of the card isn't as silly as Island of Wak-Wak or as funny as Two-Headed Giant of Foriys, but it's still a pretty ridiculous name. I can't recall exactly, but I believe the name "Ma'ruf" came from the first few letters of a friend of one of the designers.
The only card that I'm to offer criticism on is Shaharazad. YES, this card is VERY casual and accomplishes the goal of continuous play that I alluded to in the last round of nominations. However, this can be abused very easily. I witnessed a game back when I lived in El Paso (LONG time ago) that took nearly four hours long to finish. This one guy had four Shaharazads in his deck and world cast Flash to play them as an instant whenever he was about to die. Also, keep in mind that these guys were playing rather large decks (100-200 cards), so these took a LONG WHILE. Fun is fun, but when fun becomes abuse, it's loses it's "Funliness". Yes, I just made up the word "Funliness" for my argument, but there you go.
Ransac, cpa trash man
