Wizards of the Coast has its own written stance on proxies, in which they state: Wizards of the Coast has no desire to police playtest cards made for personal, non-commercial use, even if that usage takes place in a store. What is the Point of a Proxy
This has led to Cyclonic Rift becoming an auto-include for any blue deck in Commander, and the merit of its banning has been a heated topic of discussion for years
Additionally, if your deck has a lot of card draw or even just manipulation (your Commander Scrys or draws, for example, or you're Mono-Blue with a ton of cantrips and Ponder-style effects), you can adjust your number
Virtue of Persistence is great early removal that turns into a beast of a reanimator effect
To make them consistent, we run Aquitects Will and Tide Shaper that can shape lands into Islands
Rishkar, Peema Renegade Most +1/+1 counter commanders spread a bunch of counters across the team or double the counters you put on creatures