BPhillipYork: To me the big thing here is a creature that absolutely must get through, and this really protects it
The laundry list of abilities includes a manaless sacrifice outlet, -1/-1 counter distribution, card draw, a discard outlet, and proliferation
This exact pattern is a distinctive feature used by Wizards of the Coast in their card design
Whether you're using official clients like Magic Online or MTG Arena, tools like XMage, or playing games in person, playing real matches with a deck is the fastest way to see what is and isn't working
The deck has pretty fair matchups against "classic control" ([[Kess, Dissident Mage]] for example) and fast low interactions decks ([[Animar, Soul of Elements]])