In a format like Explorer or Historic that doesn't have the literal The Rack, the backside could be a replacement, although I'm not sure how a discard deck is going to flip the battle
Flavour text has nothing to do with the process of gameplay, but pairs with artwork and helps flesh out the imaginary world depicted on the cards
It should come as no surprise that when you get several shrines in play, good things happen, and the Forest Guardian does that majestically
If you get caught in a spot where you need to refill your hand, this helps with that, while also throwing an artifact onto the board for free
White is the second best mana ramp color, though its ramp options are either contingent on you being behind other players in terms of land count or your opponents fulfilling a specific condition in order to ramp or accelerate your mana
Card advantage one turn, then pumps your creatures the next two turns