In hindsight, Arabian Nights was a flawed but brave attempt at "top-down" set design, where flavor comes first and the lore dictates card design rather than the other way around
But here you have to spend the mana on your own turn, but in return you get a passable body
My attempt to get around the large mana costs is including 8 locus lands, Glimmerpost and Cloudpost
Shorikai, Genesis Engine is such a winner in terms of concept alone, but thankfully for us it's also a powerhouse of a card: this is an ultra-reliable value engine sitting in our command zone, drawing us cards, filling our graveyard for reanimation, making pilots to crew our vehicles, all while not being a creature unless we want it to be so it's exceptionally hard for opponents to remove it
His ability looks pretty situational, and it can be, but its important to remember that Leyline Axe is currently in Standard