A Thoughtseize or Duress asks you to spend resources to avert a play your opponent hasnt committed anything to (other than a card draw)
A haruspex was an ancient Roman religious official, so very loosely he could be Father Gabriel
Many players get very lax about keeping up with Smothering Tithe triggers, but with card draw added in they'll be much more likely to pay their taxes
You can pull off those counters for three cards, and if you managed to give it another counter, then you can keep it around (although I think it's better when you kill it)
The second ability is the one with a great deal of value, since it plusses her up and it gives us access to a few cards for a long timeuntil the end of our next turn
(I don't know the full story, but I believe members of the creative team were also fans of the whole package and also pushed to keep the name.) I had no doubt that the card would get the same response when previewed, and it took mere minutes for it to be clear it would