Sure, early on in a game they will likely block you, but once you get a few effects to start draining your opponents life total, theyll quickly run out of life to spend, giving you an all-but-guaranteed return on your sacrifices
The entire reason Akroma, Angel of Fury is in our deck is because we can cast it face down with morph and blink it, and it will return face up as a 6/6 flying, trample with protection from two colors
The water billowing behind Pidgeot as it flies away is a nice subtle hint at how much of a fast and powerful flier this bird is
4 Strength dodges all the strength-based removal while 9 is a lot of Willpower
With the actual MTG power level creep and good graveyard hate, Im not even sure that this card will be good
Additionally, its effect became even better over time with the introduction of Urzas Saga and the metagame shifting towards more artifact-heavy synergies