Tokamaks also use superconducting magnets, there's really no feasible way to get the necessary field strengths without superconductivity. What makes the two approaches different is that ions want to follow magnetic lines naturally in a spiral which Stellerators lean into and allow (hence the lovecraftian geometry) while Tokamaks try to make them fly straight by inducing a current into the plasma creating a secondary magnetic field, creating turbulence which then has to be brought under control.
The net effect on plasma stability is that with a small Tokamak you're balancing a column of three tennis balls, when you make it bigger you get additional balls to balance. With Stellerators you're balancing a tennis ball in a salad bowl.
The reason early research favoured Tokamaks is because people thought designing the coil and field geometries necessary for Stellerators wouldn't ever work out but then Supercomputers came along (Wendelstein 7-X was computed on a Cray) and, well, as said, the real thing behaves exactly as computed. A thing Tokamaks can only dream of with all their tennis balls.