The Swiss Army knife nature of Deathrite Shaman is appealing, as is its defensive body and the incidental graveyard hate it provides, but it was always the mana generation ability that pushed this card over the top
Thats incredibly powerful, especially against Pokmon with high retreat costs
Drannith Magistrate, Sanctum Prelate, Archon of Emeria, Lavinia, Azorious Renegade, Boromir, Warden of the Tower, Aven Mindcensor & Containment Priest shut down a LOT of strategies
Tetsu Kayama is indeed putting a lot of effort into making his cards unique, and we can spot them from a mile away (maybe not a MILE but you get it)
after the Curse of Darkness Structure Deck , they always introduce 5 new cards, 1 or 2 of them being Ultra Rare, 2 of them Super Rares, and the remaining 2 as Commons (usually Spells or Traps)