Additionally, decks with their own alternate win conditon, like combo decks or Toxic strategies that win by giving players poison counters, can be less vulnerable to Exile effects by including more instants and sorceries and fewer permanents
Three mana to bring a single tapped basic into play isnt a great deal, but the fact that Earthbender Ascension also makes you a 2/2 via Earthbending more than makes up for that
It can protect key pieces with a myriad of protection spells and effects, and ways to shut down spellcasting within your turn some of which, like Grand Abolisher or Conquerors Flail, are even tutorable
Spectral Denial is a soft counter, but it can counter anything
You can retrieve any basic land, so whether you need Wastes for Eldrazi, a color of mana you dont have access to in multicolored decks, or more Forests (in which case, also consider Nissas Pilgrimage), Kodamas Reach and Cultivate are great cards for helping you accelerate into the midgame
And of course, it slots into Enrage decks