Not the same level as Pokemon or MTG, but some sizable growth
Origin Arcanine may be based on the Ryukyuan shisa , or komainu , mythical creatures that resemble a mix between lions and dogs
Auntie Blythe is inarguably a group slug commander, but you can tone it down to focus all of its damage effects on yourself rather than the entire table simultaneously
Back in 2008 tempo was sufficiently low that Bitterblossom was just a solid card, overrated in cube but none the less a strong threat
It was the most-hyped set of its day, comparable to something like Prismatic Evolutions or Destined Rivals, and believe it or not, you could just walk into a store and buy it
When Zendikar debuted as Adventure World with Quests and Traps and such, it also had Allies to come together across colors, and then a full party when we came back too and tons of great Allies too