Date: Fri, 22 Jul 1994 08:35:28 -0400
From: The ELF <mblack@mdw015.cc.monash.edu.au>
Subject: ELF's Guide, Supplement 1 part II

                === The ELF's Guide to the Forests ===
                 Supplement 1 : Revised Edition Cards
                        Part II: Uncommon Cards
                          v.1.1, July 22 1994

The ELF returns to his forest glade, a little blackened around the edges, 
and glances around as those who wish to listen to his words enter, some in 
flesh, others by more mystical means...

"Good day, travellers! It has been some time since last I spoke of the
 beauties of the forests, but today I shall describe spells which,
 while not present in huge quantities, are not all that hard to come
 by.

"Except for three, of course. No longer do all the magicks of the Forest
 come easily - some are now hard won.

"Excuse my appearance - I've been debating with a belligerant fellow, one
 who took some words of mine for an attack upon the power of the Mountains, 
 and acted in the way of his kind. I was able to escape most of the heat,
 but...

"Yes, the power of the mountains can be useful - three of my favourite 
 creatures reside there: the Dwarven Warriors, the Keldon Warlord, and
 the Kird Ape - all useful for those of the forests, but if I may continue?

"Good. Then let me begin..."

                               -----------

UNCOMMON CARDS:

Creatures:
    Ley Druid
    Thicket Basilisk
    Wall of Brambles
    Wall of Ice

Most of the creatures of the forests are common, and easy to come by.
The uncommon spells generally deal with Green's destructive capabilities,
although some supplement the creatures.

The four Uncommon Creatures each have their uses, which I now elaborate:

The Ley Druid is that wonderful creature which allows you the use of
extra mana. It is midway between the Llanowar Elves, which give you only
green mana, and the Birds of Paradise, which give mana of any colour.
The Ley Druid will allow you to use a land more than once in a turn - thus
allowing you to use mana of any colour you have available. As befits his
casting cost, far more expensive than the Birds or the Elves, this ability
can be more powerful than either.
    With special lands (Urza's Mines, Power Plants & Towers come to mind),
or the enchantment of Wild Growth, the Ley Druid can create more than one
mana. The Ley Druid is not a creature for the early part of the game -
when your mana is limited and you cast small spells - but instead when you 
need large amounts of mana, for the powering of X spells, or for the
summoning of large creatures.
    Why would you wish to place the Ley Druid in your deck? Here are a
couple of suggestions:
    * When you are playing multi-colour, and you expect to cast spells
      requiring two or more mana of one colour. Ley Druids are useful
      for giving you that, instead of relying on drawing (and playing)
      a land.
    * When you have enchanted/special lands, which you will wish to tap
      more than once in a turn, e.g. Pendlehaven, or Equinoxed lands.


The Thicket Basilisk is the most widely known and feared of Green's
creatures. A creature which will destroy all non-wall creatures that block 
or are blocked by it. The Basilisk is best used in combination with the
spells of Regeneration and Lure - Jump is also useful for Blue/Green mages,
as it gives a surprise ability to the Basilisk. The Basilisk is probably
Green's best defense against White's Personal Incarnation, especially when
Lured.
    The Thicket Basilisk should be a standby of all Green-based decks,
especially if you have no other way of destroying creatures.

The Wall of Brambles suffers from the same ailment that all walls suffer -
it doesn't attack. However, a wall which regenerates and deals damage is
extremely useful. It is also extremely cheap to summon. I find its best
use is with Flight enchantments, for now it will stop anything, and take
out lesser creatures. Such is the Wall of Brambles.

The Wall of Ice, the last of the Forests' walls in the normal set, is a
formidible defense. It is just a little weaker than Red's Wall of Stone,
and is easier by far to get out - especially in a deck which is not
predominately green. In addition to being tough and stopping even the
Craw Wurm, it also is wonderful for stopping trampling creatures, of which
a large number now roam Dominia.

Sorceries:
    Channel
    Desert Twister
    Hurricane
    Ice Storm      (removed - was in Unlimited & earlier)
    Regrowth
    Tsunami

Channel is the ultimate expression of Green's fast mana. Your life for
mana. It is most used in conjunction with Red's destructive X-spells, but
can also be used for expensive spells - I would suggest Large creatures,
Craw Wurm or larger, or especially Artifacts. As this loss of life may
not be prevented, Channel should be used with care - it is more reminiscent
of Black's perverted magicks than that of Green.
    * Use in decks which require lots of colourless mana, which can
      immediately be converted into an attack against the opponent.
      Glasses of Urza can tell you if he may counterspell your spell -
      use them to stop him leaving you with 1 Life.

Desert Twister, although expensive, is Green's destructive capabilities
in full force: Any card in play is destroyed. Unfortunately, this still
will not get rid of regenerating creatures - that is not Green's way. But
it will destroy artifacts, enchantments and creatures not so warded. Useful
as a last resort - if you find yourself needing large quantities of Twisters,
then your spells are not working correctly. Lure gets rid of creatures,
Tranquility gets rid of enchantments, Crumble is a cheap way of getting
rid of artifacts. Another use is to destroy lands... this can save you.
    * Very useful in all-green decks, less so once Green is combined with
      other colours. Can replace other spells, and is more general - but
      also expensive.

Hurricane is the ultimate defense the forests reserve against the flying
creatures - and I've seen it most in use against the Sengir Vampire and
the Serra Angel. In a White/Green deck, a Circle of Protection from Green
can be a valuable addition to a Hurricane strategy - as it damages the
wizards in addition to the flying creatures. If you find your strategy
does not include many flying creatures - take in a Hurricane or two.
If all else fails, it may finish off your opponent. And I have seen a game
where a wizard, not wishing to lose, committed suicide with a Hurricane,
taking his opponent with him...
    * Place in decks where you fear your air defense is light. Best in
      pure Green, Green/Red or Green/Artifact decks, due to the small
      number of flying creatures.

Ice Storm is no longer one of the spells which wizards teach these days,
for which many people are very relieved. Useful for a number of things,
mainly for destroying lands of your opponent which prove frustrating
(Karakas is a good choice), or possibly deadly.
    * Land destruction is always a tricky tactic to employ. Most useful
      against multi-colour decks.

Regrowth is one of the most useful spells the Forests have ever given us.
For little mana, you may recover any spell which you thought lost to the
graveyard. This spell is almost essential in a Green deck - particularly
if you fear the destruction or countering of a much prized spell to the
wiles of your opponent.
    * Useful, cheap. Raise Dead, Reconstruction & other spells not
      invented yet rolled into one. Also on the Restricted List for
      Convocation rules... A good card.

Tsunami: how to annoy the Blue mage. In fact, there is no better way to
restrict Blue's power - as they derive too much of their power from the
Islands. Green has creatures & enchantments to provide extra mana, but many
of Blue's spells require a large quantity of Blue Mana, which this will
destroy. A warning however: the elder wizards are prone to use such a spell
as a Magical Hack to turn this spell against you. Use with care - as always        
when playing a Blue mage, the Glasses of Urza may aid you.
    * Limited in usefulness, but quite frustrating to the Blue Mage.
      Think about this one a lot before including in your deck.

Other Spells:
    Berserk                 (removed as of Revised)
    Camouflage              (removed as of Revised)
    Crumble
    Instill Energy
    Lifeforce
    Lure
    Wanderlust

Berserk, now beginning to fade from the memories of the younger magi, is
a truly frightening spell - especially combined with Regeneration,
Firebreathing and other enchantments and enhancements such as Giant Growth.
For the new magi: Berserk was a spell that would double the damage a
creature would do, while making it trampling. Although the creature was
destroyed after the attack, regeneration could stop this. Beware the mage
who uses this spell.
    * Obviously, should be used in a creature-based deck. Useless without
      a large creature to cast it on. Creatures such as the Phantasamal
      Forces are perfect to cast it on - they'll die anyway from being
      blocked, and this will make them do as much damage as possible.

Camouflage, also unfamiliar to the new wizards of today is one of my
favourite spells. Your opponent would be unaware of what creatures attacked
him, and causing him not to know which creatures to block with. Something
useful in a deck with many creatures, some large and some small.
    * Use in decks with many & varied creatures.

Crumble, a spell from the dim past, is useful generally only if you have
no other way of ridding yourself of artifacts. Both Disenchant and 
Divine Offering are better, but when you yourself are low on life, this
can prove more useful than a Stream of Life, as you use such on your own
artifact. In combination with the Colossus of Sardia, you can use for
your own benefit and the detriment of your foe.
    * Not needed in Green/Red or Green/White decks, but essential for
      Green/Black or Green/Blue. Anti-artifact capability can save your
      life, and many of the more frustrating artifacts have small
      casting costs: The Rack, the Icy Manipulator, and so forth.
    * However, the only spell which will immediately destroy the Living
      Wall (a regenerating Artifact Creature), with no possibiltity of
      regeneration. Crumble BURIES the artifact, which can make it more
      valuable than the other anti-artifact spells.

Instill Energy - very useful for many applications. Extremely useful
against Black's paralyze and Royal Assassin, and almost as good as the
Serra Angel's special ability - more so in many cases. Beware its
limitation as always - you can untap the creature in YOUR turn only.
A Instilled Ley Druid, a Forest and several Wild Growths can give
a lot of mana to you in a turn. Animated Artifacts can also be a good
target for this spell.
    * Of course, you need creatures for this spell. Used on a creature
      like a Prodigal Sorceror or Lady Caleria, can be quite frightening.

Lifeforce - counterpart to Black's Deathgrip. Limited, and requiring
knowledge of your opponent, but can save you. In conjunction with a
Sleight of Mind, can give you countering abilities against any one
colour. If you fear Black most of all, use this spell, but remember that
it is expensive in terms of mana.
    * Think about this one a lot before placing in your deck. However,
      this and a Northern Paladin together will destroy Black completely.

Lure - most useful spell of this set, in my opinion. With so many
creatures available to Green's use, one Lure can let all the others
sneak through. If possible, cast on a creature which will survive the
experience of being blocked by every other creature. This means
Regeneration or Banding. Banding creatures with Lure sacrifice one
other creature every time they attack, but leave the Bander alive.
Of course, the favourite card to cast this spell on is the Thicket
Basilisk, but the Uthden Troll or Drudge Skeleton is also a good choice.
    * Requires enough creatures on your side to be able to do damage -
      although this is academic in the case of your creature being a
      Thicket Basilisk.
    * Also extremely useful on Rampagers. The Craw Giant comes to mind
      for some reason...

Wanderlust is a spell which is more commonly associated with Blue magicks.
This spell can win you the game, as you get into a stalemate situation with
plenty of creatures on both sides. Also fun to cast on a creature your
opponent has just stolen from you with a Control Magic...
    * Dispelled by Tranquility. Remember that - this spell can win the game 
      for you in the long term - but if you won't survive the short term, why
      include it?

                                ----------

The ELF finishes his description of the uncommon spells of the Forests and
looks around. "All these spells have their uses in duelling other wizards,
some more so than others. Lure never goes astray, nor does the Thicket
Basilisk, but the others are of lesser usefulness - but be aware of their
powers!"

"Farewell until we meet again! May your forests preserve and protect you!"

============================================================================
"The ELF's Guide to the Forests" is a document intended as an aid to new
and old players of Magic: The Gathering. It is written by The ELF, a.k.a.
Merric Blackman, who is very interested in people's opinions of the work,
and whether he should continue to revise and expand upon his examination
of the forests. He is quite happy to have people copy and use this document,
as long as his name is always attached to it. :-)


=== The ELF === mblack@mdw015.cc.monash.edu.au === The ELF ===
        "The forest's green, in beautiful spring,
         When all is good and all will be:
         A marvel to behold! A marvel to behold!"
