Its pretty clear to me that these cards prioritized flavor over function
2022 brought us the first non-Ravnican gates in Commander Legends: Baldur's Gate (CLB), which introduced gates like Cliffgate and, more importantly, gate synergies like Basilisk Gate, which spawned a whole archetype in Pauper
Plus, running blue creatures specifically for sacrificing isnt the best strategy, since many blue creatures in competitive formats are value engines you want to stick to the board, or important combo pieces like Thassa's Oracle
Now is the perfect time to update your dragon binder, brew something bold, and embrace the storm
As much as Islandcycling is a nice mana fixing upside, it hardly justifies this cards immense cost
I could see the vision, but thought it was going to be either busted or boring