Since youre gaining life while your opponents are losing life, Gray Merchant lets you pick and choose which of Astarions abilities you want to trigger at the end of your turn, either putting your opponents in a precarious situation, or helping you take the lead with a massive surge of health
You can also stock your graveyard and one-shot your opponents with a card like Living Death or Bojuka Bog targeting yourself, as of course Syr Konrad isn't limited by a "one or more" clause
Bramblewood Paragon isnt that strong, but its an excellent warrior lord and a great combo with creatures that have the mobilize mechanic and can create a large number of warrior tokens
This will allow you to replay your removal and deal with a threat
Knot the thread, but do not cut it
the original two Special cards (Prismatic Piper and Faceless One) were intended as always-available cards in drafted Commander games, while later examples have been promo cards