It does need to stay alive for you to get value out of the cards, but the good news is that there are other ways to mill yourself in UG, and turning every permanent you mill into a card effectively in your hand is just absurd
You can use cards like Land Tax and Tithe to ensure you hit your land drops, and Knight of the White Orchid will put a Plains card from your library into play
Honorable Mentions: Non-EDH Otters First, lets talk about Lutri, the Spellchaser
Its finally time for the list
Weve never had a Commander cost 0 before, and this little dude comes with first strike, menace, and trample on a completely fearsome 0/1 body
Captain Howler, Sea Scourge My favorite two color Commander from this set is this four-drop on curve Izzet colored 5/4 with two wards, one mana and the other life