The +1/+1 counters that are also Food tokens are still +1/+1 counters
"Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon" is particularly powerful, and is worth using even if it forces the inclusion of "Dark Magician" in the Deck, while "Meteor Black Comet Dragon" and "Red-Eyes Slash Dragon" are more flexible alternatives, requiring any Level 6 Dragon monster and any Warrior monster, respectively, as their second material
This is all achieved without a recoil or the need to discard Energy attached to Lugia
Physalia, on the other hand, allows you to both cheat out your other Water monsters (Such as Kairyu-Shin), as well as place Umi in the Graveyard (with several other mechanisms to add it back to hand)
The most reliable indicator of a card's current market value is found by checking what cards have actually sold for, not just the asking price
A different mode can't be chosen