Low-cost characters (Captain Hook, Forceful Duelist and Goons, Maleficent's Underlings) can do much the same thing, running interference as you prepare
That means it might not net you that much mana and you might not have much to spend it on when it does, and, as mentioned, two mana is an enormous amount to hold up
As for this deck's commander, popular choices include similarly controlling leaders like the Grand Arbiter or more aggressive creatures that seek to put beleaguered opponents out of their misery quickly, like Harbin, Vanguard AviatorHarbin, Vanguard Aviator, or Raffine, Scheming SeerRaffine, Scheming Seer
Its surprisingly playable, too
Black also has plenty of good two drops it can play