Ho-Oh's top half is easily the more visually stimulating side, given the incredibly detailed red, white, and orange shading portraying this Pokemon's fiery personality
Rather than preserve Heartfire Hero from removal, this deck employs Callous Sell-Sword or more accurately, its adventure side to proactively kill it off on your terms
Ziatora combos with a number of other abilities that trigger when your creatures/permanents die or are sacrificed such as drain (Disciple of the Vault, Marionette Master, Falkenrath Noble, Nadier's NightbladeZulaport Cutthroat), direct damage (Stalking Vengeance, Reckless Fireweaver), etc
Still, no one could have predicted the value of trading cards in 2020 when they were still a more novel idea in the 1990s
The closest paper comparison is something like Obsidian Fireheart, which uses a specific kind of counter to 'remind' you about the effect even if the creature dies
This is a pretty great disruption package, wrecking the often-complicated mana bases of combo, control, and midrange decks, and choking off rival aggro decks so they can't sustain pressure for long enough to get the kill