We've got the Slow Lands, excellent reprints in Cryptolith Rite and Cathar's Crusade, and even the Chandra planeswalker from Crimson Vow to spice things up
This doesn't seem wholly sufficient to explain the spike, otherwise why didn't it pop off during Bloomburrow, which brought in a popular new bird commander Kastral, the Windcrested
Just draft, add lands, and play
Its also another saga thats very good if you can mess with the number of counters on it, keeping it in play to gobble up more targets
The Scrappy Survivors decklist looks like its built around having a few cheap creatures that can be buffed up with powerful auras and enchantments
March of Burgeoning Life March of Burgeoning Life is a ton of fun for combo decks that need two copies of the same effect to go off