For Gandalf specifically, it helps that he was a powerful wizard, which opens up itself to lots of fun card designs, and that his character evolves significantly throughout The Lord of the Rings, Turian explains
Stacking up equipment can power up various cards like Adelbert Steiner, Giott, King of the Dwarves, and Slash of Light
If you are looking for a key card to answer something, this will help you find it
I will start by looking at a couple pet cards to see how they are improved to scale into Commander
THis one has a particularly fun effect, where you, the player, must act like a fool chicken to give the Mesa Chicken flying
Submerge Market Price: $4.80, Foil: $60.95 Part of a series of cards that can be cast for free as long as an opponent (thats any opponent, for you Commander players out there) controls an enemy-colored land, Submerge is the most valuable of this series from the Nemesis set by far, as it hoses green Stompy decks with ease