While also making one of your creatures indestructible, every point of damage that would normally hurt it instead converts to +1/+1 counters, quickly building it into a massive threat
Xenagos, the Reveler 4 On paper this looks like another Wildspeaker but in parctice it is much worse
We can also see where the blood artist is sourcing his paint in the background
It wouldn't be surprising if the Phyrexians weren't partially based on Cenobites, so it is nice for Magic designers to give a nod to their inspiration
Meanwhile, cards from the Beta and Unlimited sets, though slightly more common, remain highly collectible as well, often reaching thousands in value depending on condition
The problem with Battle of Wits is that when you consider you will need 200 cards in your deck once it hits the battlefield and that it might take several (or many) turns to get Battle of Wits on the battlefield, you will need to play somewhere around 240 cards to make Battle of Wits work, which means you're increasing your deck size by 300%, which in turn leads to a massive drop in consistency, to the point where Battle of Wits simply isn't worth the cost in competitive decks