Kaladesh had compounding factors, namely that energy was a complicated new mechanic with several costs having been misjudged, but had the designers been able to easily slap colored mana costs on most of the artifacts without tradition turning them away, things could have been different
Secondly it has the capacity to be as effective as Actual Counterspell for half the mana which in itself is a strong effect but also means that any time you stop a spell with Force Spike you feel like you have gained value which is rarely the case when your Actual Counterspell is baited out on a lowly one drop
Modality while not a quality shared by all top commanders, what can be a major strength for many is their versatility, enabling you to do whatever the situation requires
It's not bad on curve, or with Coffers and 1st Turn in Type Four with infinite mana but just one spell/turn
Then those choices are revealed, and that player sacrifices those creatures
So while Lucario isnt worth building a deck around, its absolutely worth slotting into any of your existing fighting-type decks
