Dealing damage every time a player casts a non-creature spell could turn into quite a big number if you're playing opposite decks that don't have a lot of creatures
The games are more popular than ever, but it also sands off the rough edges, gives them traditional shounen battle storylines, and no longer does bold, risky experiments
Sword of Fire and Ice was absolutely a fine first pick in cube, powered or otherwise and that likely remained true all the way to Zendikar block kind of era
It's a simple effect, but incredibly potent because it forces both players to adjust the way they play the game
Many players consider it one of the most dangerous Mega Pokemon cards ever printed
Plus, we can combine this ability with Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer to turn any spare tokens we have into more Vehicles