That aside, having another Hushwing Gryff is always good, though the lack of Flash hurts it somewhat
Strengthening every single Creature your play should not be taken lightly, especially when considering the cards from Theros Beyond Death that care about +1/+1 counters, such as Polukranos Unchained and Hydra's Growth
If a player were to get lucky enough to get Zacian V out, look at their deck (only the top 3 cards), and hope for a Steel Energy and somehow get all three for his attack, it's pretty much over
To determine the total cost of a spell, start with the mana cost or alternative cost you're paying (such as a flashback cost), add any cost increases (such as kicker costs), then apply any cost reductions (such as that of Emet-Selch of the Third Seat's first ability)
For a long time, the archetype has been somewhat of an underdog, mainly seeing results when combined with other strategies
No, I didn't include it in my criteria