It is hard to disrupt Elixir and it gives a juicy immediate five life at an affordable 3 mana split into two parts
Many highlight it as both beginner-friendly and exciting for long-time Commander fans
Later sets have used Food tokens in a larger way, pushing even more in this direction
Ruby will play a big part in that, as will other sources of fast mana, bombastically large creatures, a few big-swing sorceries, and a bunch of creatures and enchantments that refill your hand every time you cast a creature
Like Zhalfir itself, the phasing mechanic simply vanished into the mists of time, with no suggestion that it would ever return
Unfortunately (or fortunately, maybe), this does not create an infinite loop with double copies of Dragon's Approach, Slime Against Humanity, or anything like that