Unfortunately, I can't find an older replay to justify this, but when Avatar of Vengeance was changed to have the rebirth keyword instead of the durable keyword, its behavior when targeting itself changed. Before, when targeting itself, Avatar of Vengeance would not be replaced by the matching card. Now, it is, even if the rebirth keyword triggers. Here is a replay that demonstrates the current behavior:
http://arcomage.net/?location=Replays_details&CurrentReplay=405175&PlayerView=1&Turn=67
Was this change intended?