The only reason Zulaport Cutthroat beat out Blood Artist is that it is a 1/1 rather than a 0/1, and has three creature types that can all work well in black Commander decks, over Blood Artist's lone Vampire typing
This is a one-two punch, especially in Commander where there are plenty of ways to gain a ton of life in a single turn
Maybe its worth just playing to have removal in the command zone, but I want more than that out of an eight-mana creature
3 Saryth, The Viper's Fang Another creature that can give all your other creatures deathtouch, Saryth, the Vipers Fang provides tons of protection for your board
But that was seventeen years ago, and now there is a new threatthe military nation of Galbadia has allied with Sorceress Edea for world domination
8 Elminster Elminster is a rare planeswalker that can be your commander, designed for that format