Regardless of how much life you lose, drawing an extra card each turn is a strong enough effect that its worth it to take the risk
Raffine, Scheming Seer is an inexpensive creature with a lot to offer on the battlefield
Mutavault aside, Thoughtseize is the best card in Standard, and Heros Downfall in a world full of giant monsters and threatening planeswalkers is precisely where you want to be
You dont even need other chocobos, since Choco, Seeker of Paradise just draws you a card whenever you attack with it, but additional birds really make it that much better
As it isnt Floodborn, theres no way of reducing the Ink cost of the card using Shift in game
Thats not to mention the prospect of having access to Illuminor in the Command Zone