Granting Menace to the team on EtB is potent, and having a built-in way to bring it back to play means you can keep reusing the combat trick while ensuring the buff is never far away
They let you play two colours of mana, for literally zero downside
The payoffs (where lifegain actually wins) This is the half that makes the archetype real
Yes, since multikicker is an additional cost, you may pay it even if you didnt pay mana to cast the spell
It's impossible to parse the multitude of special editions anymore, and it goes way beyond when it was useful, like with Kaladesh and its special inventions, or the expeditions of Battle for Zendikar
From this very first contribution, the difference between Yuka Morii and other artists in the hobby is abundantly clear