I'd like to address a few of the points you've raised
Bowdlerise: Number 13: Embodiment of Crime and Number 31: Embodiment of Punishment are named Cain's Devil and Abel's Devil respectively in the Japanese OCG, a clear allusion to the biblical story of Cain and Abel
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Even though it appears on some creatures, it's never a creature type
When it enters, you tap your creatures to size up how big of a threat you can steal from each opponent, and then it keeps draining life whenever those stolen creatures attack
The commander we designed to support one of our mechanical themes (Simic plus Abzan equals GWUB +1/+1 counters) spoke to Ben on a more fundamental level than the other commanders did