Not only can he call in other Astartes for assistance, with them (or with other tokens) comes important intel, as he's also a master tactician
With an Ink of 9, but a 6/6 Strength and Willpower, it's ideal for getting the card into play quickly
Another good alternative is to draw cards when a certain condition is metlike, say, possessing a creature with four or more power
Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait has similar positive attributes to The Gitrog Monster, just with less of the graveyard interactions
Underground Breach, Past in Flames, and Six all help to achieve this by giving your spells various abilities that let you cast them from the graveyard, usually for another cost
I doubt many of you will shed a tear when replacing vanilla creatures with more dynamic cards anyway