Once Animar has just a few +1/+1 counters on it, you can chain together cheap cantrip creatures like Fierce Empath, Imperial Recruiter, and Mulldrifter for just one mana per card
Similar to the creature-lands of the set, the conversation here starts with opportunity cost
8 S:P Little Knight An Extra Deck Staple S:P Little Knight was first introduced in Age of Overlord and since then it has been one of the best generic Extra Deck tools
On the bright side, it can give you a chance to make a comeback on a mostly cleared field
My opinion As I said, I think Pokemon cards are a great investment, for the following reasons (among others): The Pokemon franchise has a huge fan base, and if anything: it's growing, not shrinking
You can have as many basic energy cards as you want