I didn't reflect that much on the name change, but it was recently pointed out to me on this blog that sphere of annihilation was an artifact in D&D made famous by the 1978 module Tomb of Horrors, and it is possible that they changed the name before print to avoid any conflicts regarding intellectual property
Players should also consider other board-wide creature-buffing effects like Imperious Perfect, Maja, Bretagard Protector and Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, as these give players more options to give +1/+1 counters to their tokens and small creatures
This leaves everyone else with an empty board and no mana while you start your turn ready to attack
Plus, they come with a collectors booster sample pack with two rare or better cards featuring alternative bordersbecause why stop at just shiny
Lots of Demons fly, so its not all that surprising really