+1: Each opponent exiles two cards from their hand
Tapping them and untapping them through other means are always on the table as well, like crewing a vehicle or using cards like Intruder Alarm or Augusta, Dean of Order
Use the abilities of your cards
Decks that want to play counters are almost always control decks, and control decks would much prefer to gain life rather than cause opponents to lose life, so all things being equal they would have preferred to play with Absorb but there were other considerations that forced most of them down the black road instead
It seemed like Charizard was never going to get a competitively viable card until this months Sun and Moon: Unbroken Bonds expansion set released what is not only the best Charizard card ever printed but one of the best cards in the game, period
The system isn't perfect and it occasionally pairs you up or down to ensure you find a match, but it generally keeps things balanced and helps prevent new players with a small collection from playing against completely maxed-out decks