Edited sentence: A toned-down, but still powerful version of this card exists in the Urza's Destiny card Opposition.Both cards had advantages:  Forbid could counter any spell, could be reused multiple times in a turn (if a player had the mana and the cards to discard), and wasn't in play.Considered one of the all time great decks, the seamless connection between both cards dominated standard and become one of the most feared and well known card pairings of all time.Conversely, Null Brooch cost less to play (as a counterspell), was an ability rather than a spell (an ability is harder to counter than a spell), and did not require two cards in a player's hand to keep its reusability (according to Magic rules, a player can discard a hand of zero cards, but can't "discard two cards" as a cost if he doesn't have that many cards.In casual, and minor tournament play, Recurring Nightmare would also see use with Deranged Hermit to quickly amass an army of mighty squirrels.Mind Over Matter - This card allows a player to discard a card to tap or untap a permanent.Null Brooch and Forbid - These cards gave a player reusable ways to counter spells.Oath of Druids - This enchantment allowed a player to have a chance to put a large creature into play early if this card was his first play.Players enhanced these chances by making their decks nearly exclusively large creatures, Oaths, and lands.Recurring Nightmare - Recurring nightmare was paired frequently in 'RecSur' (Recurring Nightmare/Survival of the Fittest) decks.Recurring Nightmare did not however see much play without its green counterpart.Survival of the Fittest - This card allowed a player to discard creature cards to "tutor" for a creature card.The degenerate aspect of this card was its combination with the Tempest card Living Death, where a player could then put all those creatures he discarded into play.The player would use Survival of the Fittest to discard a deadly creature (typically with a high casting cost (Verdant Force)), then use Recurring Nightmare to bring the creature into play with a  greatly reduced casting cost.The power of such decks caused the Oath to be banned.This effect proved to be too powerful, and eventually led to the card's banning, which still remains in effect in Legacy.This led to this card also being banned