As of this writing, neither Wizards of the Coast (WotC) nor Dalton have responded to the allegations
Elves rarely need help tapping for mana, the +1/+1 counters are cute with Rishkar, Peema RenegadeRishkar, Peema Renegade but are too individualistic for this tribe full of anthem effects that pump the whole team, and the 0 ability creating tokens doesn't help lead to the best part of this card: its ultimate
However, some of this value is tied up in cards like Indomitable Ancients, Weathered Sentinels, and Tree of Redemption, which have very few homes outside of decks exactly like this one
Bitterthorn excels instead in token builds like Neyali, Suns Vanguard, where it can enjoy double-strike and a number of anthem effects
I was caught off when someone played Kefka (Purphoros) and his laugh was played on entering
Still, turn 3 kills are nothing to scoff at, and if players use the above logic similar to my own, there might not be a ton of removal floating around out there