Most of the critters what would die in combat are tokens, and tokens poof from existence once they hit the graveyard
Never give up, and you will achieve the results you want sooner or later
An alternative way to help your elves live long enough to use their tap effects, instead of giving haste you can use Tangle Wire or other mana denial effects
Many blue cards have a visual motif of a head being cracked open or unlocked to unravel secrets, usually to draw cards or mill
If the rebound starts to accelerate and less popular Reserved List cards follow suit, I may pause and reconsider my strategy
Bone Shards While removal spells like Bone Shards (there are too many variants to reasonably list) tend to be looked down upon as two-for-ones, sacrifice decks make up the extra card with triggers, plus its always valuable to have thematic removal