Card of the Day - Rogue's Treachery

Does this seem forced?  Black has very limited direct damage. I wanted to make a spell with Espionage instead of only creatures, and this was the first design that came to mind.  I looked at it for a few minutes trying to make it more black, and came up with the perfect solution.
 

Once I added the lifegain element, the card felt infinitely more black.  It costs two more mana to cast but it resonates with one of the iconic black mechanics, life drain.

Edit:  Here's Rogue's Treachery with the new Espionage wording:

 I changed it to an instant since it doesn't deal actual damage to players anymore.