In fact, Id argue that the only reason poison is even a viable strategy in Commander is because of the existence of proliferate as a mechanic
Phyrexian Dreadnought ($278) Phyrexian Dreadnought has a very real drawback, so it's not something to just jam in a deck because any deck can cast it
Some cards have an extra swirl around their cost which indicates they can be played face-down into the inkwell area to use as ink for the rest of the game
Most recently, the living weapon keyword was flavorfully tweaked and adjust with For Mirrodin!, which made a 2/2 creature token to attach to instead
Saheeli currently ranks at the respectable placement of 14th among all Izzet generals on EDHrec, which indicates to me that raw drawing power of Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain has allowed her to be the optimal artifact-matter Izzet commander
Brago is also notably a Spirit which means he benefits from Essence Flux and other Spirit tribal cards, many of which have powerful enter the battlefield effects