K, I am also going to start a new game on normal B&W and stay on the first land. I am trying to decide which would be a good starting creature, naturally good aligned, good combat, and good growth rate. I was thinking about either the Horse or the Ape? What should I do on the first land and how long should it take real time for it to get acceptionally big ( about the size of the guide creature ) p.s. I have creature changer so I might change him later but I like the horse.