Although the token is attacking, it was never declared as an attacking creature (for the purposes of abilities that trigger whenever a creature attacks, for example)
Its a great example of what Id call a glue card: Its rarely the flashiest or most vital card in your deck, but it touches enough synergies to help hold your deck together
Unfortunately, the playability of Gouging Fire-ex hurts its value quite a bit
Fiery Confluence, for example, can shatter up to three artifacts on resolution, or you can mix-and-match artifact destruction with one of its other modes
Another option is to dip into black mana for sacrifice effects like Village Rites, ensuring that the equipped creature dies anytime the player needs it to
They happen less frequently early in design, occuring every three to four weeks, and increase as the design evolves