invasion cards mtg march of the machines Alara // Awaken Maelstrom [March of the Machine] you gain 4 life and draw a card Invasion of Gobakhan // Lightshield

How exactly does the exchange work

Night's Whisper might do much the same for your card advantage situation for the mana and it wouldn't becomes useless as your opponent consumed their hand but that is entirely overlooking the disruption caused by discard

Fortunately, there are good ways to trigger it on your opponents' turns as well, using cards like Unlicensed Hearse or Ghost Vacuum to maximize its potential

Is Level Up an Activated Ability

Most squirrel commanders have abilities that lend themselves to being typal commanders, but they get more powerful when you focus on everything else that they can do

The main drawback to these strategies is that gaining life doesnt impact the board, which can lead to a bunch of dead draws