gandalf cards mtg Magic The Gathering - The Lord of the Rings draw a card. gandalf the white mtg commander

Phyrexian Rebirth: Not the rare you want to open in a $10 New Phyrexia pack (I have experienced this exact bad feeling)

The loyalty counters can really skyrocket if you deal any saboteur damage

You are getting a ton of value for your seven mana, as you can exile your opponents best creature while putting a rather large threat in play

If you do, remove the words in square brackets.) Counter target spell [that wasnt cast from its owners hand]

In terms of actually gaining life you have plenty of options

The graveyard is a huge source of advantages for most Commander decks between recursive creatures like Feasting Troll King, spells that return cards from the graveyard to your hand like Seasons Past, creatures that bring things back from the graveyard like Sun Titan, and commanders that relentlessly leverage card advantage from the graveyard like Muldrotha, the Gravetide or Meren of Clan Nel Toth