Before the release of Lorwyn in 2007, class creature types were far from common
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This is far better in a pure ramp deck where you will much more reliably have spare lands and resources to throw away or perhaps more need of dealing with specific things
This might be due to a spell or ability resolving, a permanent you control entering the battlefield with counters, or combat damage from a source with toxic, infect, or wither
Since you usually want to play this commander with tokens, you also want cards like Mondrak, Glory Dominus, and Anointed Procession to double your token production alongside effects like Cathars' Crusade and Intangible Virtue to pump them
By giving ourselves more cards in hand we potentially have recurring resources (like lands), which is a better path to victory than simply depriving our opponent of a few cards to start the game, and hoping they get mana screwed