If youre taking a common sense approach for what counts and doesnt count as a unique MTG card - namely, that if you look at two cards side by side is there a clear and intended difference between them and way to tell them apart - then clearly foil card variants count as unique, different cards
It doesnt do anything for two turns, which is a hefty downside, but since its a 1-drop that shouldnt be too bad
Feeding into lifegain strategies with a powerful removal effect, Karlov enables two powerful abilities to work in tandem and is a steal at only WB to cast
Make sure you read John Dales piece to learn about the legendary artist theyve tapped to create this version, Jody Clark
A bunch of them are really good, and if you chuck in a Roaming Throne, you can ride Liberty Prime to victory
If you've already shuffled your Commander into your library, sucks to be you no seriously, it's a casual format and chances are your opponents will let you pull your Commander out and require a shuffle