What makes him stand out in comparison to other competitive mono-blue generals, such as Arcum Dagsson or Azami, Lady of Scrolls (other than being significantly less expensive to build!), is that Talrand, Sky Summoner can devote many more card slots to stopping his opponents from winning than the former two
This turns looting effects, rummage spells, and self-discard engines into a steady stream of oversized threats , letting you convert every creature in your hand into battlefield value
It is the epitome of a deck playing with itself
After all, there are plenty of good White reanimation effects and reanimation targets
If the total mana value of historic permanents you control changes while activating mana abilities (probably because you sacrificed one or more historic permanents), the cost to cast Excalibur remains what you previously determined