For instance, despite all five Titans being legal, Elesh Norn was a dominant Standard card on multiple occasions, most memorably in its role of what you can Birthing Pod a Titan or Wurmcoil Engine into. Creatures (28) 1 Llanowar Elves 1 Solemn Simulacrum 4 Birds of Paradise 1 Acidic Slime 1 Inferno Titan 1 Wurmcoil Engine 1 Viridian Emissary 1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite 4 Blade Splicer 1 Fiend Hunter 3 Avacyn's Pilgrim 1 Geist-Honored Monk 4 Strangleroot Geist 4 Huntmaster of the Fells Lands (24) Spells (8) In a format full of haymakers, Elesh Norn was one for the ages, particularly alongside lots of small, dorky creatures like Llanowar Elves and Germ tokens
The two are absolutely comparable, and Fateful Absence is, ironically, sure to stick around in decklists for a long time
The plan was scrapped when they realized that, one, to keep the copyright they had to have a continual name, and, two, the name caught on and people liked it
Any cards you splice onto a spell remain in your hand, regardless of what happens to the spell after you cast it