The cards became a schoolyard phenomenon after their launch in the mid-nineties
When you attack, both players decide what side of the battlefield their creatures go to, and any creatures on one side of the battlefield cannot block or be blocked by creatures on the other (represented by the fact that they're on opposite sides of the river)
These are community estimates Bandai does not publish official pull rates
Under the current design philosophy being used, the absolute top tier of cards creates a hostile environment for expensive alternative strategies and cards
You not only win a combat, but when your opponent kills your creature, youve still even on card advantage
Unless youre playing either a tokens deck, one with a lot of easy to access cheap reanimation, or a specific archetype like Enchantress or Artifacts-matter, then youre going to be caught by Braids group-slug sacrifice trigger