It began as a smaller product, and by the time the decision was made to expand it into a full, draftable release, the production timeline was too tight to develop Commander decks from scratch
This is the type of commander thatll help you set up other big plays, instead of being a big play itself
This mechanic can also be used offensively to slow your opponents down, but Appa's ability is only defensive in this specific case
Production errors like Prerelease Raichu command premiums because they shouldn't exist at all
Cards like Prosper, Tome-Bound, Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald, and Party Thrasher reward you and enable you
It's still technically not ramp, since it leaves you with the same amount of mana you'd have if you'd just played a basic land instead