We get to the stumbling block, as it were, of the article
Kelman became responsible for crafting the Magic: The Gathering story bible from all established lore as reference for further expansions and for the external media
As good as they may seem on the surface, making a format successful likely cant be done overnight
Ramp, draw, removal, board wipes, protection
its just really satisfying
Finally, you can spend 9 loyalty to activate: If target player has fewer than nine poison counters, they get a number of poison counters equal to the difference. All you have to do then is add another poison counter somehow - say, by proliferating - and that opponent is dead