With resources readily available every turn, a comeback mechanic built into the game's Life system and the defending player having the last say in who wins combat, games of One Piece are tense back-and-forth duels rewarding good strategy
Moving away from removal, Take Heart is the latest incarnation of the W: +2/+2 with upside instant, joining the recent ranks of Lithomancers Focus, Strength of Arms, Built to Last, Vampires Zeal, and Moment of Triumph
One of his effects is a primitive version of what would be known as 'goad' in future sets, which is to force one of your opponent's creatures to attack -- thereby making it susceptible to destruction by combat
As the stock of reprint sets depleted, the total cost of the deck would start to increase again, as those reprinted cards were no longer in a heavy supply
Skullclamp's actual value as an equipment is negligible