The original version of populate had you copy each individual unique token you controlled, but that ended up being too powerful, so we changed it to just copy a single token of your choice
His ward ability prevents opponents from targeting him unless they sacrifice a legendary artifact or creature, which is a hefty price to pay for a targeted removal spell which you'll likely have an answer for anyways
The selection almost always includes a mixture of brand new cards (where the card name, in-game rules, and art are all new) and 'reprints' (new versions of existing popular cards, which keep the same name and rules, but may feature new artwork and sometimes updated wording)
Rejoin the Fight is another powerful tool to fill your side of the Battlefield
Syr Gwyn, Hero of Ashvale is one of my pet choices, and I actually shied away from the deck not long after it came out
She can dig six cards deep for them, and gets a reasonable buff when you have enough of them in play
