Mastering the Emerald/Ruby deck is all about understanding what an opponent is doing and how to control it
These abilities are different from attacks, as they can be used whenever you want, and often the restrictions on these abilities are on the card themselves
The 1999 first edition holographic shadowless Charizard card is one of the rarest and most expensive Pokmon cards in the world, having recently sold for $661.5k earlier this year
The wow factor of a completely colorless precon works for me, and it should give you plenty of useful tools, new and old, for your collection
If you cast any of the exiled cards, you do so as part of the resolution of the spell
Dark Ritual and its ilk offer explosive mana for combos or tempo plays, while Cabal Coffers, Black Market, Altar of Shadows, Krrik, Son of Yawgmoth and Magus of the Coffers let you hugely outscale opposing mana production as the game goes on