Thats free ramp and mana fixing for you
Alara Reborn Hybrid's next use would come a year later in the third set of the Shards of Alara block
Anyhow, if you dont want to use By Force or Vandalblast, theres cool alternatives with: Fury Charm also lets you pump your creature, Molten Frame lets you draw a card instead and Gleeful Demolition is really cool for Goblin decks
Esper Sentinel Although [c]Esper Sentinel[/c] doesnt shine when it comes to raw power, this little creature is one of the most efficient cards out there
There's no real number, but control decks generally run fewer creatures than other archetypes
With four willpower, Kuzco puts up a decent defence, and his pesky keywords and effects can make him hard to remove without your opponents spending a lot of turns and sacrificing at least one of their cards