Alternate casting cost (ACC) or Alternate playing cost (APC) is a term from the card game Magic: The Gathering, and refers to a cost to play a spell that is an alternative to the mana cost in the upper right hand corner of the card. This alternate cost may be some amount of life that its caster pays, some number of cards discarded from the caster's hand, or any number of other drawbacks that can be used to help balance the fact that the card's mana cost does not need to be played in order to play the card.
Note: This is an informal term. The term used for this in the official rules is "Alternative cost."
Famous cards
* Force of Will is the most famous alternate casting cost card, as it has been played extensively in tournaments since it was printed in Alliances in 1996. Its power comes from the way it allows its owner to counter a spell even when they have no untapped mana: it can even be used before the player has taken a turn at all, which means it can disrupt "turn one wins" in tournament formats where they're possible. There are several other alternate casting cost spells which will counter a spell such as Thwart, Foil and Daze, which have also seen play in tournaments, but none of them to the extent of Force of Will. Force of Will was the blue card in a five-card cycle of alternate casting cost cards in Alliances, but none of the others achieved anywhere near the level of recognition that Force of Will did: this is an example of the pattern often repeated in Magic: The Gathering's early years where blue cards were unintentionally printed far more powerful than cards of the other colours.
* Fireblast is a famous red card from Visions which deals four damage to any target. Its mana cost is an expensive six mana, but it can be cast for the alternate cost of sacrificing two mountains. This makes it very strong in aggressive decks with other direct damage spells: once the opponent is down to, say, seven life, the red player could cast a spell to deal three damage which uses all their mana, and then sacrifice two mountains to Fireblast to finish them off.
* Misdirection from Mercadian Masques was another blue ACC card. Misdirection lets its caster change the target of an opponent's spell. It saw some play in tournaments.
* Gush was yet another powerful blue ACC card, also from Mercadian Masques. It allows its controller to draw two cards for the alternate cost of returning two Islands from play to their hand. This card was so powerful in a tournament deck called that it was restricted to a maximum of one per deck. This has changed with the June 1st banned restricted list, as Gush was taken off the restricted list because "Psychatog is no longer the threat it once was. Bringing Gush back may restore some or all of 'Tog's power, but we're of the mind that the format has passed the toothy one by and that Gush is no longer a problem."
* Shining Shoal and Sickening Shoal from Betrayers of Kamigawa are alternate casting cost spells with a variable (X) in their cost. Their caster may either set X by paying that much mana, or by removing a card in their hand from the game, which sets X to the converted mana cost of the removed spell. Shining Shoal is a rare example of a white card which can cause damage to be dealt to any creature or player: for this reason it was nicknamed white Fireball. Sickening Shoal is partially renowned for its strange artwork featuring vomiting fish. Other Shoals with the same way of setting X exist for the other colours (the red Blazing Shoal theoretically enables a first-turn win if its player draws two of it as well as certain specific other cards, but this requires such an exact opening hand that it's extremely unlikely to be pulled off) but Shining Shoal and Sickening Shoal saw the most play in tournaments. Both cards are in the top five most valuable cards from Betrayers of Kamigawa. In contrast to most early cycles, the blue Shoal, Disrupting Shoal, does not look like much. This is because while the other five can be played pretty much regardless of what cards are in the player's hand, Disrupting Shoal depends on the cards matching the converted mana cost of an opponent's spell. However, it was a tournament staple in its day anyway, due to the sheer tempo efficiency of the ACC.
Note: This is an informal term. The term used for this in the official rules is "Alternative cost."
Famous cards
* Force of Will is the most famous alternate casting cost card, as it has been played extensively in tournaments since it was printed in Alliances in 1996. Its power comes from the way it allows its owner to counter a spell even when they have no untapped mana: it can even be used before the player has taken a turn at all, which means it can disrupt "turn one wins" in tournament formats where they're possible. There are several other alternate casting cost spells which will counter a spell such as Thwart, Foil and Daze, which have also seen play in tournaments, but none of them to the extent of Force of Will. Force of Will was the blue card in a five-card cycle of alternate casting cost cards in Alliances, but none of the others achieved anywhere near the level of recognition that Force of Will did: this is an example of the pattern often repeated in Magic: The Gathering's early years where blue cards were unintentionally printed far more powerful than cards of the other colours.
* Fireblast is a famous red card from Visions which deals four damage to any target. Its mana cost is an expensive six mana, but it can be cast for the alternate cost of sacrificing two mountains. This makes it very strong in aggressive decks with other direct damage spells: once the opponent is down to, say, seven life, the red player could cast a spell to deal three damage which uses all their mana, and then sacrifice two mountains to Fireblast to finish them off.
* Misdirection from Mercadian Masques was another blue ACC card. Misdirection lets its caster change the target of an opponent's spell. It saw some play in tournaments.
* Gush was yet another powerful blue ACC card, also from Mercadian Masques. It allows its controller to draw two cards for the alternate cost of returning two Islands from play to their hand. This card was so powerful in a tournament deck called that it was restricted to a maximum of one per deck. This has changed with the June 1st banned restricted list, as Gush was taken off the restricted list because "Psychatog is no longer the threat it once was. Bringing Gush back may restore some or all of 'Tog's power, but we're of the mind that the format has passed the toothy one by and that Gush is no longer a problem."
* Shining Shoal and Sickening Shoal from Betrayers of Kamigawa are alternate casting cost spells with a variable (X) in their cost. Their caster may either set X by paying that much mana, or by removing a card in their hand from the game, which sets X to the converted mana cost of the removed spell. Shining Shoal is a rare example of a white card which can cause damage to be dealt to any creature or player: for this reason it was nicknamed white Fireball. Sickening Shoal is partially renowned for its strange artwork featuring vomiting fish. Other Shoals with the same way of setting X exist for the other colours (the red Blazing Shoal theoretically enables a first-turn win if its player draws two of it as well as certain specific other cards, but this requires such an exact opening hand that it's extremely unlikely to be pulled off) but Shining Shoal and Sickening Shoal saw the most play in tournaments. Both cards are in the top five most valuable cards from Betrayers of Kamigawa. In contrast to most early cycles, the blue Shoal, Disrupting Shoal, does not look like much. This is because while the other five can be played pretty much regardless of what cards are in the player's hand, Disrupting Shoal depends on the cards matching the converted mana cost of an opponent's spell. However, it was a tournament staple in its day anyway, due to the sheer tempo efficiency of the ACC.
Transzap, Inc. was founded in 1999 by a team of business professionals with experience in software innovation and business operations. The team developed the Oildex suite of services to specifically address the accounting and operations needs within the energy industry. Oildex provides a SaaS-based system for exchanging digital transaction data between buyers and suppliers, providing workflow and analysis tools, Oildex employs the American Petroleum Institute’s PIDX standards for data exchange, including: Checkstub Data Exchange (CDEX) and .
Frictionless Man are a Welsh based band formed in 2004. The name was coined by founder member Stuart Ross after the title of a short story he planned to write. The story was never written but the same character of a 'frictionless man' was later used with permission by author Rhys Hughes in several of his own stories.
The band consists of a duo, Stuart Ross, who plays guitar, sings lead vocals and writes most of the songs, and Monica Konggaard, who plays bass and drums.
Both musicians have wide and varied experience in writing and performing music. Ross (born Bangladesh) played bass in the prog rock group Satori for several years before rejecting the unfashionability of such music in favour of a cleaner sound. Konggaard (born Denmark) is the daughter of the keyboard player for psychedelic rock band Elmira, whose seminal album 'Lady of the Mountain' (recorded over three years, 1973-1976) achieved cult success.
After leaving Satori, Ross secluded himself for several weeks and tried to write as many songs as possible in a manner akin to automatic writing. Certain elements of these early songs appeared in highly modified forms in the band's first serious compositions, 'Mile High', 'Car Crash' and 'Cloud'.
The band originally featured a drummer and an electric guitarist. In 2005, this four-piece released 'Grip, Grab, Grasp', an EP containing five songs. This EP caught the attention of radio presenter Adam Walton. At the same time studio time had been booked for the band, but before the recording date the drummer decided to leave, and the electric guitarist was dropped, and Konggaard inspired Ross to search for a new sound. The re-recorded version of the song 'Car Crash' launched the band as a vibrant duo on the local Welsh music scene.
Despite their popularity in the Swansea area, the duo maintain a modest attitude, with Konggaard recently declaring that "it's a bit up our own arse to have a entry!"
In addition to their own songs, Frictionless Man are currently composing music for the 'Sereia de Curitiba' show, a mixed media performance initiated by Rhys Hughes.
The band consists of a duo, Stuart Ross, who plays guitar, sings lead vocals and writes most of the songs, and Monica Konggaard, who plays bass and drums.
Both musicians have wide and varied experience in writing and performing music. Ross (born Bangladesh) played bass in the prog rock group Satori for several years before rejecting the unfashionability of such music in favour of a cleaner sound. Konggaard (born Denmark) is the daughter of the keyboard player for psychedelic rock band Elmira, whose seminal album 'Lady of the Mountain' (recorded over three years, 1973-1976) achieved cult success.
After leaving Satori, Ross secluded himself for several weeks and tried to write as many songs as possible in a manner akin to automatic writing. Certain elements of these early songs appeared in highly modified forms in the band's first serious compositions, 'Mile High', 'Car Crash' and 'Cloud'.
The band originally featured a drummer and an electric guitarist. In 2005, this four-piece released 'Grip, Grab, Grasp', an EP containing five songs. This EP caught the attention of radio presenter Adam Walton. At the same time studio time had been booked for the band, but before the recording date the drummer decided to leave, and the electric guitarist was dropped, and Konggaard inspired Ross to search for a new sound. The re-recorded version of the song 'Car Crash' launched the band as a vibrant duo on the local Welsh music scene.
Despite their popularity in the Swansea area, the duo maintain a modest attitude, with Konggaard recently declaring that "it's a bit up our own arse to have a entry!"
In addition to their own songs, Frictionless Man are currently composing music for the 'Sereia de Curitiba' show, a mixed media performance initiated by Rhys Hughes.
Earl J. Field is the current mayor of the Village of Norridge. Earl J. Field was appointed on July 8, 1998, to fill the vacancy left by the death of Joseph Sieb, who was Norridge president for 46 years. He was subsequently re-elected in a special election in 1999 and to a full four-year term in 2001 and again in 2005.
Mr. Field first was appointed a Trustee in 1986. He was elected to that position in 1987, 1991, and 1995. He was Chairperson of the Streets, Storm Sewers, Lights, and Alleys Committee. In private life for the past 24 years, Mr. Field has served as Chairperson of the Board of Paramedic Services of Illinois, Inc.
Mr. Field first was appointed a Trustee in 1986. He was elected to that position in 1987, 1991, and 1995. He was Chairperson of the Streets, Storm Sewers, Lights, and Alleys Committee. In private life for the past 24 years, Mr. Field has served as Chairperson of the Board of Paramedic Services of Illinois, Inc.