They dont really exist in Modern at the moment, but they do exist to some extent in EDH, although its still fairly situational
Basil also has a passive ability allowing the player to pay a cost of one when inking a card, which will make an opponent discard a card
Despite the effect of transforming Battle being a triggered ability , its controller exiles the permanent and then casts it without paying the mana cost , opening up space to interact with Battle on the stack with Make Disappear, or other counterspells, or even to bounce them on the stack, with Venser, Shaper Savant and the like
Just dont use those spells before this hits the battlefield
As such, The Ruinous Powers stands far and above other decks of its color combination, due to its most excellent commander and mechanics