New spells.

This is undoubtedly true... But you shouldn't ignore this spell in battles against an opponent either. It can cause quite a bit of trouble for enemy ranged units, especially those specializing in ranged attacks. It's scary to think: an Elf with Rain, buffed with Crystal...
Besides all that, it deals decent damage, and when playing as a mage, I often place a Crystal in front of a dangerous stack of troops and cast Fireball at them...