A lot of the cards in the deck, including Soaring Thought-Thief, reward you for milling opponents or if your opponent has cards in their graveyard
Planar Chaos is an excellent card to drop onto the field when your boardstate is ahead of your opponents, or you have abilities on board where you can spend your mana instead
While sacrificing lands has its downsides, a Crucible of Worlds makes up for it, especially once you consider how much ramp Commander decks play
It's a staple in black decks, since it can hit both creatures and enchantments, giving it a versatility that no other removal spell has
But when Memnarch was defeated they were lost and started to build their own culture
I feel like with a void ability like this, Alpharael really wants deathtouch to ensure trading