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 [Image][What's New]                 [Image]  STRATEGY:
        [Basics]                              FEATURE ARTICLE#1
        [Strategy]
        [Using Cards in Strange Ways]         Using Cards in Strange Ways
        [A Magic PC Puzzle]                   From: The Official Magic: The Gathering Strategies & Secrets (TM)
        [Coming Soon: Killer Decks!]          By Beth Moursund, January 1997
        [Community]
        [Registration]
        [Downloads]                             A big part of the fun of Magic is that you can come up with new uses for old cards, or unexpected
        [Search]                                combinations of effects.  Don't fall into the mental trap of thinking that, just because a card has an
        [Image]                                 obvious or "intended" use, it can't be used in other ways.  Depending on what other cards have been played
        [Image]                                 and other factors in the duel, it's possible to come up with two or more different uses for every one of
                                                the 400+ cards in the game.  The following examples are merely a taste of some of the possibilities.

                                                                         Terror Your Own Creature
                                                    [Image]              The obvious use of Terror is to get rid of one of your opponent's creatures. But
                                                                         it's legal to cast it on one of your own creatures, too. Why would you ever want
                                                                         to do that? Perhaps your opponent cast Wanderlust on the creature, and you're
                                                 Illus. Ron Spencer      running out of life points -- or perhaps you've got a Force of Nature that you
                                                                         can't afford to pay the upkeep on.

                                                                         Stone Rain & Strip Mine
                                                          [Image]        Stone Rain and Strip Mine are "obviously" made so that you can destroy your
                                                                         opponent's land. But if your opponent has cast Cursed Land on one of your lands,
                                                                         or if you have only one Swamp and your opponent is attacking you with a
                                                 Illus. David Gelon      Swampwalking Bog Wraith, blowing away your own land maybe just the thing to save
                                                                         your skin.

                                                                         Wild Growth
                                                                         Near the beginning of a game, when you're short on mana, Wild Growth is a very
                                                         [Image]         good spell to draw. Once you've got a few forests in play, though, it's
                                                                         relatively useless. But with a bit of ingenuity, you may be able to turn it into
                                                                         a weapon. If your opponent has been blocking you with a regenerating Drudge
                                                 Illus. Mark Poole       Skeleton or Will-O'-The-Wisp, cast the Wild Growth on his one untapped Swamp.
                                                                         Now, if he taps the Swamp to power the regeneration, he'll be left with a point
                                                                         of green mana and nothing to spend it on, and have to take a manaburn damage.

                                                                         "Strength" Enchantments
                                                             [Image]     If a Meekstone is in play, preventing any creatures with a power greater than
                                                                         two from untapping, the Unholy Strength and Giant Strength enchantments seem
                                                                         rather worthless -- all they would do is make your small creatures large enough
                                                                         to be affected by the Meekstone. But look at them from a new angle. Cast them on
                                                 Illus. Justin Hampton   one of your opponent's tapped creatures, and you've paralyzed it for the rest of
                                                                         the game (or at least as long as the Meekstone stays around).

                                                                         Counterspells
                                                           [Image]       Sometimes plays that would be stupid under normal conditions can save your life
                                                                         in special circumstances. For example, normally, you'd never want to counter one
                                                                         of your own spells. But if you're being squeezed to death by a Black Vise, and
                                                   Illus. Mark Poole     need to reduce your hand size as quickly as possible, you might want to do just
                                                                         that.

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                                                   [Click here to learn more about The Official Magic: The Gathering Strategies and Secrets]   Reproduced
                                                                                                                                                from:

                                                The Official Magic: The Gathering Strategies & Secrets (TM)
                                                By permission of SYBEX Inc., ISBN: 0-7821-2031-8
                                                Copyright (c)1997, SYBEX Inc. All rights reserved.
                                                For further information please contact
                                                info@sybex.com or 1-800-227-2346.

         1997
  Wizards of the Coast,
         Inc. &
    MicroProse, Inc.

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