Standalone artwork is meant to capture a single moment, and this cards moment flawlessly encapsulates the sense of danger, fear, menace, and even awe that comes with encountering one of the most dangerous Pokmon aroundand as a shiny, no less
Wizards of the Coast Playing Eldritch Moon A big part of the strength of the set is the developers inserting clues on how to best take advantage of the different mechanics
Users kept coming back because it actually worked
Kids love it, parents love it (I see you, fellow 90s babies who grew up with Ash Ketchum), and there is SO much fun stuff you can do with it
Meanwhile Malamar has zero synergy with anything, is more telegraphed, and you can just put the same amount of effort into 200 + hand snipe instead