The persist ability makes combat complicated for your opponent here since anything that survives on your field can pick off anything that survived on theirs
In the meantime, though, we have plenty of information on the new set
And to simply dismiss it as a joke that says, well, if you dont have a middle name, Dont run Moniker Mage! still seems like a joke that went terribly wrong, and now people have to be reminded of it every time they see the card
The various Swords, like Sword of Feast and Famine or Sword of Fire and Ice, are great choices, because while the creature gets the buff and the protections, you, as controller of the Sword, get the triggers, regardless of who controls Tahngarth
While some cards shine on their own, the real power comes when you build decks that maximize their abilities with the right support cards and items