Based on all of the MTG Final Fantasy spoilers so far, it seems like Chocobo decks will be the ones to beat
Speed and cost of a discard outlet is still relevant outside of combo but more in the context of your curve
I'm sure they talked about making the creature have a mana cost of 2C to match the original Battlemages, but they felt that being a 2/2 with two off-color abilities captured enough of the feel of a Battlemage and the cheaper mana value made it play better
Demand swings on deck tech, Commander hype, tournament results, bans and unbans, spoilers, and reprints, so you price from recent sales, not from what a card was worth last year
He proceeded to play with a deck made up almost solely of cards that are 20+ years old and worth $100-$500 a card