Uppercut's point about using marks and pillars in the same deck is valid, yet pendulums (used in a mono deck) can achieve the same result, and the tactic employed is only a countermeasure to Earthquake/Trident. I believe the rarity of marks in the Elements community is a good thing. There has to be a card type that has a marginal effect that players can use to "show off" their winning record. Marks are exactly that card. Without a trophy type card, there would be no prize that zanz could offer that would hold any significance to the winner without granting a very large advantage at the same time (i.e. nymphs). Granted, a player can still pick a nymph as his/her prize for winning a tournament, but most choose marks due to rarity.