If you have a status condition, the game will make you take damage , do a coin toss , or recover naturally
A player offered a villainous choice can always choose either option, even if the effect of that option turns out to not do anything
Then you can swing and net that trigger to exile an instant/sorcery from your graveyard and copy it
Suddenly your 2-mana removal spell costs 3, or your wrath costs 5, and its almost impossible to deal with what your opponent is up to
Second, both sets featured brick counter cards like Sunset Pyramid and Edifice of Authority, which would build up to or tick down from three brick counters
Even just a couple of turns should allow you to build a reasonable army if you already have some zombies