The removal of the card before the miracle trigger resolves removes a legal target for the miracle casting cost
Cards like Wild Mongrel or Lightning Bolt, like many of the best cards in the game were commons
Cryptothrall is a card that will see use in any artifact creature focused decks
There's tons of Merfolk that synergize well with +1/+1 counters (Benthic BiomancerBenthic Biomancer), Merfolk that are strong regardless of what else is on the board (Kiora's FollowerKiora's Follower), and even some newly printed Merfolk that changed the face of the strategy entirely (Singer of Swift RiversSinger of Swift Rivers)
When determining the total cost of the spell, you start with the mana value or the alternative cost that youre paying, then you apply the cost reduction
It was super fun. In preparation, Verhey had saved 10 card slots out of the 310-card set for Final Fantasy 16 cards