It's hard to put much weight in the value of the new cards during spoiler season, and this is doubly true for this release since it's the first time a Universes Beyond Commander release will also have booster packs alongside the decks
Since it puts all damage onto an equipped creature instead of you, if you equip Pariah's Shield to a creature with indestructible then that won't be killed through damage either, keeping you safe so long as Pariah's Shield is attached to something
The reasons for using the artifact base are to increase your odds of making a turn one play infect creature and to be able to abuse things like Cranial Plating and Arcbound Ravager for killing blows out of nowhere
to fuel your control plan, youll keep the board clear and stay in control
Bitterblossom provides exactly that, ensuring that your deck is always running in the optimum conditions
Demand is always high for cards that are rare and numbered and Magics venture into numbered cards will certainly drive people to open more packs to find these valuable gems