Why pay 3 mana for a 3/2 that comes back as a 2/1 when you can get a 4/4 is now a reasonable question
It's a fresh take on a +1/+1 counter themed deck, with more open-ended designs allowing people to brew with all sorts of counters
Once Food tokens existed, that meant the set didn't want to have Gold tokens as we tend to limit how many different tokens we make in any one set
While Adwals ETB effect is fairly effective at digging through your library, even at its best it wont win you the game
2 Bloodthirsty Conqueror No Pain, No Gain 5 Mana Cost in Black Creature The only real issue with Bloodthirsty Conqueror is its mana cost, being an expensive card to play in a color with fewer ways to ramp
That said, the little 1/1 Wizards clog up the board against aggressive strategies, and the $1 price-tag means a low risk