The Creatures rep said the reason behind the change was to create a better sense of balance, simplify the game, and make the remaining types more versatile
Maybe the best measure of a Magic card design is how helpless a fresh player is to the ideas that come to mind while reading it, despite what seems like very little English language input
It's responsible for a bunch of ecological damage to Appalachia (hence its land destruction suite of abilities) but that's not that notable in my option
Red, in its purity, feels like it can accomplish so many different goals because it alone as a color is so directly tied to a fundamental concept in Magic: damage
but Twinblaze pointed out that Flame Slash is good against Putrid Leech, and Alfrebaut and some others talked about using Flame Slash to help a beatdown deck get past Wall of Omens, or a Red Deck deal with problem creatures like Rhox War Monk (and any Red mages out there know what a serious problem that 3/4 can be)
Attack 2 : VMAX CLAW SLASH Flip a coin