These references aren't totally obscure, but I also picked ones that aren't such popular knowledge that even people who haven't played the games probably know about them, like Sephiroth killing Aerith
Erayo, Soratami Ascendant First Printed: 2005-JUN Banned: 2014-SEP When played as a commander, Erayo leads decks that cast and flip her early, leading to games where even targeted removal is often ineffective
Mouthful of a title means many different themes will appear
It deals damage equal to its power to target creature you don't control
Their true importance comes in the fact that they are also triggered if they're sent from the Deck to the GY, such as with the effect of the archetype's core Fusion Summon Spell, "Shaddoll Fusion", which can use monsters in the Deck as Fusion Materials: sending "Shaddoll" monsters directly from the Deck to the GY provides consistent card searches, and sending multiple "Shaddoll" monsters with single cards outright generates advantage instead of merely offsetting costs