Lotus Petal helps you get mana positive with little to no effort, all while setting you up for combos and more
Smothering Tithe triggers whenever an opponent draws a card, including when they draw their card when their turn starts
Eventually you'll start swinging with your defenders, getting evasion from Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive or Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa, and maybe pumping your board up to lethal with Tower Defense
Once you flip Venat and again this will be easier in GW, with it costing (7) you get to exile something and get an even better card draw machine that can save something from board wipes until your next turn
I also don't want to disparage any of the fantastic work put in by the Pokmon TCG's artists
I like shenanigans involving other peoples creatures, especially if Im the one causing them and I can interact at instant speed