If you have 3 power more than the creature you want to destroy, this removal spell becomes a legitimate ritual, no matter how barbaric it is
I also see people playing Brainstorm in decks where alternatives would be better
A bunch of the special land cards here don't always add mana, which is going to be an oddity phased out very quickly
With any sort of luck, some of the creatures you play will have your life drain death triggers on them
Gollum, Scheming Guide Gollum, Scheming Guide offers you a pretty great advantage each turn
Try Coercion, Dark Inquiry, Diplomacy of the Wastes, Doomfall, Memory Leak, Memory Theft, Never Happened, Perish the Thought, Reckoner Shakedown, or Toil of the Invasion, if you just want to pluck a card of your choice out of an opponents hand for three mana