was pokemon a card game or video game first Pokémon Cards (1997-) Pokémon cards began with the Base Set in 1999, released alongside the anime and games that were sweeping through American culture at the time. The ideology of collecting these (The Original PC Version) Pokemon

Versatility, value, and threats are generally the common answers to the why question

We had to check with Aaron Forsythe and others in the studio, but eventually, we were cleared to use these very obscure pieces on the traditional foilonly Future Sight sheet

It can't cause any abilities to trigger, and no effect will see its result

If they have a board of 1/1s, option two is the way to go

If Machine God's Effigy somehow enters the battlefield at the same time as another creature, it can't become a copy of that creature

While you do have to sacrifice a creature to get this effect, its still useful at worst and abuseable at best