Each player receives a "pool" of cards from which to build their deck
You can see a bit of a modern take on this with Wall of Limbs as well as Wall of Putrid Flesh
Remember: you can play it on your opponent's turn, you don't have to play it on your opponent's turn
Flying / First Strike / Double Strike / Vigilance / Deathtouch / Unblockable / Shroud / Indestructible / Flash / Trample / Haste / Regenerate / Life Link / cost reduction / Pay 2 life return to hand / +X/+0 / and lets not forget the classic +X/+X This deck also has numerous ways to get Slivers back from the graveyard or to keep them from dying with Hibernation Sliver, Sedge Sliver, Sliver Hivelord, Crystalline Sliver, and Patriarch's Bidding as I previously mentioned
Theres the Exeggcute/Exeggutor cards, for instance, which let you add two energy each turn to the former to power up the 80+ attack on the latter
Elvish Farmer, over time, accumulates 'spore counters' and after three turns, this 'seed' he farms grows into a 1/1 Saproling Token, which he can then sacrifice to gain 2 life