Why do old cards love sacrificing lands?

I'm trying to make an commander deck with alit of old terrible blue cards because the art is gorgeous and I'm kinda liking the slow pace. Regardless quiteca few cards want you activity sacrificing you're precious islands to use its ability [[coral reef]] or even attack with [[leviathan]]. Was there a mechanic that benefitted from this land hate and is it possible to benefit from these terrible mechanics?