Between enter the battlefield effects, triggered abilities, and other synergies, it's often the case that playing a creature provides an opponent with much more value than just the creature's board presence
(Note that due to a printing issue, Special Guests cards appear in English in French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese Play Boosters.) Play Boosters Each Play Booster contains 14 Magic: The Gathering cards and 1 token/ad card, helper punch-out card, or art card
I was never going to be a threat to the more experienced players on my table, but that knowledge helped me hold my own
Commander Masters Product Lineup Get ultimate power right out of the box
This will certainly grow, but starting out as a 2/1 is brutal, and you need two counters to feel like you're getting there
Ramping 1 mana on turn 3 is acceptable, if unexciting, but it looks far better when it matures into the threat