These simply had a global effect that was always on
At this point most players will start wondering, "What do they have to stop what I'm planning?" Abeyance takes away all that worry, while greatly increasing the chance of victory during an attack (or defense) by preventing the opponent from playing "instants, interrupts, sorceries, or abilities requiring an activation cost"
It seems like most new white cards that come out are automatically compared to Smothering Tithe, which does a disservice to many of the awesome cards that weve seen over the past few years
It reads like a card with limited use that can cause mayhem in the right situation, which fits what Red is supposed to do
It is still going to be a chore taking the monarch away from you if you have a 5/5 flier to block with, attack back with, and all the while taking no damage