I could make a totally tier one deck using nothing but the lands and a number of the delirium cards from this list
Day of Judgment and Shatter the Sky are some such alternatives, and still perform admirably in most scenarios
Terra, Magical Adept / Esper Terra Terra, Magical Adept is fine, but Esper Terra is the real reason this card is here, and the cost of six mana to transform it becomes immense value when it copies any chapter of your sagas three times and finishes by returning 10 mana to your pool
Gaining life when your opponents creatures die is a needed benefit when youre playing against aggro or go-wide, and if youre sacrificing your creatures for value, thatll hurt other players
I find I end up only playing it in decks that want a high artifact count and have good synergy with them as middle curve filler, quite a lot like Solemn Simulacrum