While it does half the damage (only dealing one point of pain at a time) Razorkin Needlehead is also half the cost of Sheoldred, The Apocalype - an infamous creature who has terrorized Standard for ages, and one of the most expensive MTG cards Wizards has put out in recent years
The fact that the deck can win at instant speed means the deck is very good at slowing down and playing a long game against counterspells, as the opponent never has an opportunity to tap out, so its hard for them to establish a clock or dictate the pace of the game
Thats less than $50 a deck, despite three out of four costing more than that when bought separately
The replacement for this function is a wild card system
It is much less reliable for final rules MTGPress proxy printing became popular because it solved a very specific Magic problem: players wanted a fast way to turn a decklist into printable proxy TLDR Fan-made Magic cards feel real when they follow the same invisible rules that make official cards readable, balanced, and playable
It also isnt as oppressive as other Izzet spellslinger commanders, and I actually like giving away information for free if my goal is to teach a newer Magic player what blue and red do together