Is it that [$Q=mc\Delta T$] can only be used in few cases, or is it that I have any misconception?
It can be used given the following condition: We are doing nothing but heating ($Q>0$) or cooling ($Q<0$) the system at equilibrium at the condition (e.g., constant volume, constant pressure) corresponding to the particular heat capacity $c$ being used.
Here's why. We can always write $dU=\delta Q+\delta W$ for a closed system; that is, we can increase the system energy infinitesimally either by heating the system or by performing work on it. (The specification of a closed system is part of the condition specified above, that we can do nothing but heat or cool the system; otherwise, we could change the system temperature even with $Q=0$ by jamming in more material.)
In addition, we can expand $dU$ in terms of the relevant state variables. For example, if we consider pressure–volume work only ($dU=\delta Q-P\,dV$), it's an introductory thermodynamics exercise to show that
$$dU=mc_V\,dT+(\alpha TK-P)\,dV,$$
where $n$ is the mass, $c_V$ is the constant-volume specific heat capacity, $\alpha$ is the constant-pressure thermal expansion coefficient, $T$ is temperature, $K$ is the constant-temperature bulk modulus, $P$ is pressure, and $V$ is volume.
(A related expression is
$$dH=mc_P\,dT+V(1-\alpha T)\,dP,$$
where $H$ is the enthalpy and $c_P$ is the constant-pressure specific heat capacity.)
Hopefully it's clear now from comparing the expressions $dU=\delta Q-P\,dV$ and $dU=mc_V\,dT+(\alpha TK-P)\,dV,$ that $Q=mc_V\Delta T$ can hold in general only if $dV$ is zero, i.e., if no work—only heating—is being performed, on a closed system.
(An interesting special case is the ideal gas, for which $\alpha TK-P$ and $1-\alpha T$ are always zero; thus, $\Delta U=mc_V\Delta T$ and $\Delta H=mc_P\Delta T$ always hold for an ideal gas.)
Relatedly, $Q=mc_P\Delta T$ can be used only if $dP$ is zero, and so on. For a much more complex system, we might define a heat capacity for heating at constant volume, constant magnetic field, and constant surface tension, for instance. That's the origin of the condition in bold above.