Theres also the fact that it lives on as an infamous example of plagiarism, which definitely helped it end up so high on the list
Exile is a powerful way to remove a creature for 2 mana
Tyranid Invasion is great early (since you usually have three opponents), Tyranid Prime is absolutely bonkers, one of the best cards in the deck, and Tyrant Guard is pretty good, offering protection to your board
Delve spells like Treasure Cruise are great here since theyll likely cost just one or two mana, but Livaan will get an enormous power boost from them
There are far too many to mention here, as most sets contain at least a few rocks, but Ill cover the most popular and useful ones
Now, heres where things got a little bit wonky