The only time the characteristics of the back face really matter is when the permanent is on the battlefield with its back face up
It's a shame that it hits you as well, but for about 10 mana, you can hit someone for 8 damage
Then, rest up to 1 of your opponent's Characters
So while "Don't worry, players will still be able to use all their cards" is true, it's true in the weird, rules-lawyery sense of the term where you name Borborygmos with your Pithing Needle only for your opponent to say, "Gotcha, I played Borborygmos Enraged, not Borborygmos." The community was hopeful that Historicthe non-rotating format designed to keep cards playable after rotationwould be " Arena Modern." Many actually expected it to cross over into paper play and become a post-Modern non-rotating option
It's a win-win, or lose-lose situation, depending on a player's perspective