Also, because it's on the table--when something is added to the base release (spread attack), if it's bad there's a pretty good chance it won't stick around. A feature in the base game is tested constantly by the entire player base, people get experience with it, and feedback is forthcoming.
When something is removed from the game, getting it back in requires:
- Reimplementing it
- Distributing it
- Getting enough people to play it to actually form an opinion
- Marshalling enough support from #3 to get it re-added to the release
After the axe falls here, someone interested in getting "deceivers cloak carriers" back in the game will need to do #1, #2, and #3 all by their lonesome (I can see the very respectful forum posts now, something along the lines of "it was taken out for a reason, idiot") while a feature newly added to the game--like the new spread attack--gets that administrative overhead for free.
Finally, removing something because "it's practically never used" is a bad metric. Something that isn't used remains in the solution space, with the possibility to find use when A. a future adjacent change is made or B. some new interaction or pattern is discovered to be effective. I'll speak for myself and say that I like it when unusual stuff happens. Locking doors for no reason other than people aren't using them moves the game away from that.