Imagine you're playing Esper Control and you look at this opening hand: Temple of Enlightenment, Temple of Deceit, Polluted Delta, Swamp, Island, Negate, Dig Through Time This is a hand that you're thrilled to keep against an opposing control deck like Abzan or Blue-Black Control
Getting to shrink the toughness of all opposing creatures to one makes combat a nightmare for the opponent
It's much easier to ensure my opponents simply can't block than it is to try and exile EVERYONE'S graveyards
Wizards of the Coast enjoyed a 1/1 Elf that taps for so much, in fact, that they decided to print two identical versions of it with different names
Stormcatch MentorStormcatch Mentor not only provides the kind of redundancy in mana discount effects that combo players dream of, it also acts as a payoff for the multitude of spells you cast with its help
Which is basically the hydra