These cards are a testament to the early printing runs of the Base Set, which were produced without the shadows around the Pokmon image and the border on the front
Tangela is the 14th AR card here yet the 22nd grass/bug type in the pokedex
So if an opponent can take the monarchy from you, it will be letting them draw an extra card instead
As such, the A4b set is likely intended to allow players to complete collecting some of the earlier sets before the big update DeNA promised is released in the game
A lot of the time, writing these articles leads me to more obscure finds, such as the Japan-exclusive 11th Anniversary Set, which led me to scoop that up
At that point, spending give mana just for a few tokens and lifegain every other turn seems like a bit of a waste