In general, your deck will do well by keeping your characters ready and not letting them gain lore by challenging or using Rush tricks
The Earth King is at its best when you can curve a cheap 4-power creature into it, perhaps Surrak, Elusive Hunter in Standard
Whats more, the aristocrats engine that encouraged me to sacrifice my board (to fuel my Commander, too) left me without enough blockers or enough board presence to survive the mid game and convert to a win
Not only that but while in play, Chandras Incinerator effectively doubles your damage spells by copying any non-combat damage done to an opponent and allowing you to then use that to strike down creatures or planeswalkers they control
Making sure to support Celes with plenty of creatures, along with any cards that have graveyard effects, makes the most of her ability to buff creatures played from the graveyard with +1/+1, quickly stacking the board with more attackers than your opponents might be equipped to deal with
Talon Gates of Madara: New gates are always welcome, and this can temporarily protect/remove a creature at instant speed