to quote Urza
"You can build a perfect machine out of imperfect parts".This isn't just true in Theros, that giftwraps the Heroic archetype -- it's true everywhere. A deck with strong synergy, internal consistency, and a good game plan can and will beat a messy pile that has 'better cards' in a consistent manner. I think splashes are a good example of somewhere else where this goes over -- a deck that keeps itself to two colors (or manages just one: I've done it) on slightly weaker picks is going to outperform the deck that tries to reach for "good stuff" in three or Yawgmoth forbid four or five colors (I've seen it.) Yes, you can run
Anger of the Gods alongside your
Master of Waves -- that's two colors. Fine. If you've got the support, you can double dip. Now you want to run your
Xenagos, the Reveler and
Ashiok, captain godpacks? Consider that you'll have fewer dead draws and slots that have to be devoted to correcting that problem if you leave one or both of the planeswalkers in the sideboard. I'll be here, playin' green black and leaving you wondering how you could lose to a deck that packs
Returned Centaur. The answer: I did my thing consistently.
Which brings me to the secret of Heroic. Make a proper Heroic deck, and you'll crush the field. But to do that, you need around a dozen enablers. I have one word for you, just one word: Bestow.
When I ran undefeated r/w heroic, I had 13 cards in my deck that could trigger heroic. Six of them were Bestow creatures -- Hopeful Eidolons, Nymphs, and an Emissary. These are versitile cards that let your deck do something consistently, because they can either be bestowed and power up your heroic guys, or cast on their own if you need a body on the field.
Emissary of Heliod in particular I don't think I actually bestowed in the entire tournament (Spearpoint oreads: almost always).
I won because I had a solid game plan: I had Akroan Crusader, cantrip auras, Ordeal of Heliod, and combat tricks to apply pressure early. I had Wingsteed Rider and bestow creatures to dominate the midgame, and I had a Colossus of Akros to bail me out if things went really pear shaped and got to the long game. I used weaker cards than most of my opponents, but I still one because they supported each other and together forwarded a reliable game plan.
I think looking at cards in isolation is one of the biggest mistakes you can make in limited. However awesome a card is, it's somewhere around 1/23 of the gas in your deck, and if it and the other 22/23 of your deck get in each others ways and make it harder to actually get those game winning plays on a regular basis, you'll lose to the guy with 23/23 cards that function together, because they're stronger together than each of your plays is alone.