While Ruby/Amethyst probably has the advantage realistically in that matchup, its not by a lot and a strong Sapphire/Steel player can certainly overcome Ruby/Amethysts tools either by gaining more cards in hand through superior draw support, or discarding that decks key cards via A Whole New World
It's just reprinted in Standard for another five-year run in the sun
Were still looking to gain significant amounts of life and use that to both put us out of range of the opponent and trigger a bunch of our synergies
The 6/6 creature costs a colourless, two blue or black mana, and two green
If Explorer's Cache isn't on the battlefield as its activated ability resolves, you can't remove a +1/+1 counter from it, so you won't put a +1/+1 counter on the target creature
Greasefang, Okiba Boss is the lynchpin here