Toss in the usual Blood Artist / Zulaport Cutthroat for the win
The Mercadian Masques block was not looking great (and didn't end up doing that well), and Bill, who had recently become head designer, was eager to make sure that Invasion was a hit, so he got the three best designers in Magic R&D to be the design team
But if youre looking to just play all your favorite Simic cards, you dont have a real reason not to play her as your commander
Its banned in tournaments
Blade of the Bloodchief Blade of the Bloodchief might not be as striking as some other cards, but its cheap and it likes vampires
Currently selling for $970 on average, even the flavour text on the cards mentions just how rare this Pokemon is, so perhaps its high value is a self-fulfilling prophecy