Among the themes of the set were chicken, dice rolling and multiplayer Magic games
"Harnessed" is a designation that the permanent has once an ability instructs you to harness it
Melek, Reforged Researcher I think the last part of this card to be balanced in design was the mana value because getting this much cost reduction on your first spell each turn is ridiculous, and if you could cast Melek, Reforged Researcher any earlier, it'd be broken
On the second turn, you get a 1/1 green Saproling creature token
The deck starts by casting powerful creatures with abilities that trigger when you cast spells including Alania (copies spells), Valley Floodcaller (flash, anthem effect), Stormcatch Mentor (haste, prowess, reduces spell cost), Harnesser of Storms (draw), and Coruscation Mage (offspring, direct damage)
Nevertheless, if you can muster the three colors required for the War Monk, it's a great value for the price