The unupped version just seems highly UP. No matter how I try I can't seem to find a good way to use it in a deck... at least not where something else could be used instead.
The upped version seems very useful, providng time with a nice level of mass CC that can be tricky to deal with for the unprepared, but the unupped is just lacking somehow.
Part of the problem is that the unupped has so few HP's it ends up as fodder the turn it comes out, let alone after a couple of ticks have gone by.
Also at 15 damage, with a 3 turn delay and easy countering via CC, it just can't compete with gas. Even with the lower cost.