Deveney says they wanted to stick close to what fans would expect from its pixel art sprites and limited concept art while also expanding upon them, and hopes that the character designs should feel like how you remember them, despite being a hybridization of many different references and new ideas. To help accomplish that, WOTC even consulted directly with the Final Fantasy 6 team as they updated these character to the standards needed for Magic art
We did this kind of thing a handful of times in the set, and it really makes the worlds seem even bigger and more expansive
The only reason she isn't the most expensive is that there are Iconic cards in the set
Plus, it just looks awesome and can signal to players how serious your young Arthur is
Mono-color decks are viable, but hybrid mana opens more explosive combos
Except, a player who plays Suplex could instead use its second ability, which allows it to specifically exile an artifact card