He was literally the biggest, scariest creature in the game in 1993, and with both Animate Dead and Dark Ritual in the first set, he could hit the battlefield well before turn seven, so he was a very in-demand card
Fractured Identity In a 1v1 environment, Fractured Identity essentially steals a creature and gives you the relevant ETB effects
For one green mana, tapping Dawnstrider, and discarding a card from your hand, Dawnstrider can prevent all combat damage that would be dealt during a turn
High Utility, Low Price Farseek Cultivate Kodamas Reach Savage Ventmaw Painful Truths Nihil Spellbomb Wayfarers Bauble Armillary Sphere Darksteel Ingot Dreamstone Hedron Curse of Opulence Curse of Verbosity Frontier Siege Palace Siege Frontier Siege is under-appreciated
If the spell resolves but the permanent with squad leaves the battlefield before its squad ability resolves, you'll still create the token copies
The core issue I felt with this version is you give up a bit on efficiency to get that instant speed premium and you really felt that slowdown