The ability for the ships not to be targeted made them difficult to get rid of, and they warped the meta for a significant time before Konami finally dealt with them
This can provide some extra battlefield presence if you don't use them as Equipment
As described here, it was not an effect from the original comic book, but came out as an OCG specification, so there were no insect-type monsters in Jounouchi's deck, and at the time, Risid activated the Light Sealing Sword, sealing all monsters' attacks for 3 turns, so it was summoned in defense mode, and even this side was eaten by the sacred monster Selket
Could you cast Opalescence and make sure Nine Lives as a kitty creature never hits a critical mass of incarnation counters
This is a big win for the VCC
As a set moves through the design process, we sometimes need to sacrifice a bit of flavor to synergize cards