Another use is to use a Commander that discards cards or lands for effects that you can tap for, like Lord Windgrace
But it's not just Vanille - you also want to get Fang, Fearless l'CieFang, Fearless l'Cie onto the battlefield so that you can meld the two into Ragnarok, Divine DeliveranceRagnarok, Divine Deliverance, because melding two cards into one big creature is a ton of fun in Commander
Many spells that target creatures can also target magician cards
Most likely you'll play A-Raiyuu, Storm's Edge on your fourth turn and then attack with a single Samurai or Warrior
In more multiplayer/EDH terms a super interesting political tool is to turn an opponent into a more desirable target, much like curses, and turn it into benefits for someone attacking a battle they dont own