While the ban list might look quite long at first glance, its really quite small when you consider the tens of thousands of cards that you can play there
copied Naru Meha and the land/mana artifact both re-enter the battlefield
While the life loss and gain synergy provides incremental advantage, there are better cards with similar effects, such as Zulaport Cutthroat or Blood Artist, which have lower mana costs and provide more immediate impact
Mondrak, Glory Dominus's ability to double any token that's created under your control justifies the high price, but it becomes an even more fiscally sound investment when it gives itself an indestructible counter to become an unmovable threat
And from a card availability perspective, card prices for Legacy and Vintage staples took a good dive and made these formats more accessible
This will probably drop a fair amount in the coming weeks, but I imagine EDH will keep the price respectable