I personally suspect that, in the case of Raphael's sai, there's the advantage that there's a very similar Japanese weapon it could be exchanged for with minimal fuss, but perhaps I'm way off base
There was still plenty of fun to be had with Planar Chaos design, from the playtests where every card was a reprint in a new color to the many offsites at Mark's house where we lounged around, browsing through Magic Encyclopedias and throwing out idea after idea about cards that would be exciting to bring back in a new color
But once they activate, a removal spell on the stack often wont help, depending on the ability
That's a question for your local philosopher, not judges
I Scry 2, then draw two cards
Flusterstorm Flusterstorm is undoubtedly the most popular and widely played storm card in every format where its legal, most notably cEDH