In the early turns, Starting Town is strictly better than Vintage Cube regulars City of Brass and Mana Confluence, and you would often choose it over the other two in a late game with a dwindling life total
Throw Jace, Wielder of Mysteries in a control deck with a few more spells that draw you cards than usual, and youre set
You essentially take a massive creature like Archon of Cruelty or Griselbrand and either discard or put it in your graveyard, and then put it into play with cards like Reanimate, Exhume, and Animate Dead
While I had positive experiences playing with Key to the Archive (and then later against it, once I knew its possibility space), my experience overall has made me less interested in playing with more draft/spellbook cards
Stop me if youve heard this one before: add Basilisk Collar and we wont even need to drop that many counters on