I think it fits a lot better for Deteriorate than it does for Scorch.
If you’re not going for a straight base race, then it’s basically: In black I can kill a weenie for 0, even if it has infinite armor. In red I can kill a weenie for 3, even if it has exactly 1 armor, but it has to be patrolling; but with Scorch and Bombaster I have two ways of doing it! One of them can be used more cheaply as a patroller if I don’t need to kill an enemy weenie this turn! And it’s not Scorch!
Sirlin must be seeing more utility in building destruction than I do. Maybe if you stayed at Tech I and did Crashbombers, Lobbers, and Firebats? You’d want Bloodlust to support the CBs and FBs. And Desperation to support the fact that you’ll play out your hand. But then Scorch could help with the building destruction? I’m still not sure why you wouldn’t worker it once you’ve replaced it with Jaina’s spells, though.
To answer your point, White probably has similar “don’t worker me” cards in Snapback, maybe Sensei, Sensei’s advice, right? Purple, maybe Nullcraft, maybe Mox? (It’s tougher. Purple cards are all pretty awesome, but also all situational depending on the matchup.) Green, maybe Prospector? I dunno; again, it seems more situational.
For Neutral it’s much harder to come up with a definite “do not worker” answer, but Bloom and Wither are probably the most versatile and important. (Wither is an expensive Deteriorate!)