This card was used to superlative effect in the uber-popular Sligh decks of the time, which were what the Mono-Red Aggro builds were called in Tempest 's era
If you're playing in best of three matches, these spells are best to keep on a sideboard, which can have upto 15 cards on it for quick swapping with your deck between rounds
The eccentric Buggy is presented in a full-art version, sitting in a pile of gold and other treasures
All of that said, for some MTG Commander decks, generating a bunch of 1/1s isnt the most interesting payoff in the world
For more background on the challenge, read here
While not explicitly lifegain, I think this commander offers a fresh take on the lifegain theme and directly converts your lifegain into a tangible resource (mana) as opposed to more +1/+1 counters or bonus life