Characters with Ward like Jetsam, Riffraff and Flotsam, Riffraff (if you have Jetsam in play) are particularly sticky , while Evasive characters like Don Karnage, Prince of Pirates and Wildcat, Mechanic can be hard for your opponent to remove
Once upon a time, there was even a purple rarity symbol for special rarity cards
The rest of the deck also has ways to get a Lore bonus once banished or add some defense to your heroes, and the amount of tactical options at your disposal keeps the challenge-focused gameplay from getting repetitive
Sapphire cards, like Aurora: Dreaming Guardian, have unique effects that can help build strategies and buff other characters
Cabal Coffers is one of the lands that continues to get away with murder turn after turn because all that it needs to do its thing is for you to control a handful of swamps, with a card like Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth readily available to make it even easier
As such, watch out before engaging any deathtouch creatures if you know you cant immediately destroy them