I agree that the cards can be oppressive and they have a tendency to really throw dirt in the wheels of a lot of other strategies in the game, but I am okay with that
The Vanguard format came out back in 1997 (a lot of new things that year, apparently) and introduced a completely new way to play Magic and players complained about Magic dying back then, too
it blocks strong light from revealing the card face from the back, ensuring your custom deck meets the strict durability and anti-cheat standards required for tournament play
Conclusion The OCG Metagame Paradigm is a simplification and not an absolute
That changed once it was revealed that it would be reprinted in Quarter Century Stampede, and fans (and speculators) who had been priced out of the deck before started buying the other Fiendsmith staples knowing theyd be able to afford Engraver in the near future
Erika can be obtained from Genetic Apex: Charizard pack in the Genetic Apex set