Olivia is already an aggressive card by giving +1/+1 counters and haste. Let's use a few cards you'll probably want to run as examples of how much damage a Hellbent AoR combined with Olivia can actually do here.
Olivia herself goes from dealing 3 flying damage to 10!!!
Because she grants haste, we will consider damage from the following creatures over 2 turn cycles to account for that.
Lady Orca would almost be reasonable for being able to kill in 3 hits, but Tsabo Tavoc has the same casting cost and stats, plus a bunch of useful abilities. The only thing Lady Orca has going for her in comparison is her type: Demon, of which she is the only female that I know of.
(They really should reprint Tsabo Tavoc in a Commander set.
Seven power and two legendary-relevant abilities on a huge legendary creature is just too good to pass up for this format.)
It's going to be really, really good in Standard so I'd recommend for most people to wait until it rotates to get it cheap.
As for its utility in EDH/Commander, it seems great in Naya, which lacks black and blue for card drawing. Azusa loves it as well.
I'd consider it in any deck that runs lots of fetchlands, really. It gets big, carries equipment, and keeps random guys from attacking you, all while drawing you cards. Pretty good for 2G.
I feel like we finally have a critical mass of these effects so one can reliably expect some decent filtering and graveyard-filling when running green.
This is a short list of some of the better effects you can run if you want some reasonable filtering and good graveyard ability enablers.
Not even close. The true power of discard outlets is the ability to do it multiple times in succession, which none of these new cards do. So they are all fairly terrible.
Shadows Over Innistrad has more discard outlets than any set in recent memory, and its focus on reanimation, Delirium, and Madness reflects this. I'd like to start a discussion on how these new discard outlets stack up against historical favorites. Hopefully this will become a useful resource for people looking for the perfect outlets to run for their particular strategy.
Here are the new discard outlets, sorted by color.
Shadows of Innistrad actually offers quite a few creatures that are acceptable at any point in the game.
Transform, Delirium, and Investigate have certainly delivered.
The aura Hero's Resolve will effectively give Doran +5/+5 for 1W. It's tough to find a better rate than that.
Eland Umbra comes close at +4/+4 for 1W, with totem armor protection.
Ensouled Scimitar gives +5/+5 for the same costs as a Sword of A and B, and can also turn into a 5/5 flyer.
Improvised Armor also gives +5/+5 at a cost of 3W, but it can also cycle for 3.
And while we're on the subject of auras in Doran, Genju of the Fields can gain you an absolutely insane amount of life. Basically, you get 5 life for every 2 mana you spend since you can stack the ability.
The Spirit Avatars
Deity of Scars
Demigod of Revenge
Deus of Calamity
Divinity of Pride
Dominus of Fealty
Ghastlord of Fugue
Godhead of Awe
Nobilis of War
Overbeing of Myth
Oversoul of Dusk
The Shadowmoor Hideaway Land-Associated Creatures
Hollowborn Barghest -> Howltooth Hollow
Isleback Spawn -> Shelldock Isle
Knollspine Dragon -> Spinerock Knoll
Mossbridge Troll -> Mosswort Bridge
Windbrisk Raptor -> Windbrisk Heights
You'd be much better served trying to cycle through your deck quickly in these colors.
Wheel of Fortune
Reforge the Soul
Mindmoil
Windfall
Faithless Looting
Mystic Remora
Mystic Speculation
Brainstorm
Ponder
Preordain
Serum Visions
Impulse
Anticipate
Augury Owl
Omenspeaker
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
Tormenting Voice
Wild Guess
Magma Jet
Frantic Search
Rhystic Study
Sea Gate Oracle
Crystal Ball
Foresee
Fact or Fiction
Cryptic Annelid
Treasure Cruise
Dig Through Time
Consecrated Sphinx
Recurring Insight
Olivia is already an aggressive card by giving +1/+1 counters and haste. Let's use a few cards you'll probably want to run as examples of how much damage a Hellbent AoR combined with Olivia can actually do here.
Olivia herself goes from dealing 3 flying damage to 10!!!
Because she grants haste, we will consider damage from the following creatures over 2 turn cycles to account for that.
Inferno Titan
without: 12 damage (+ firebreathing)
with: 60 damage (+ >2x firebreathing)
Grave Titan
without: 10 damage (4 zombies generated)
with: 76+ (6 zombies generated)
Wurmcoil Engine
without: 6 damage (+ 6 life)
with: 36 damage (+ 36 life)
Vampire Nighthawk
without: 2 damage (+ 2 life)
with: 20 damage (+ 20 life)
Scourge Wolf (Delirium) or Hound of Griselbrand
without: 4 damage
with: 40 damage
So having Olivia out with Hellbent AoR basically turns every creature into a must-answer threat that will end the game very quickly.
(They really should reprint Tsabo Tavoc in a Commander set.
Seven power and two legendary-relevant abilities on a huge legendary creature is just too good to pass up for this format.)
As for its utility in EDH/Commander, it seems great in Naya, which lacks black and blue for card drawing. Azusa loves it as well.
I'd consider it in any deck that runs lots of fetchlands, really. It gets big, carries equipment, and keeps random guys from attacking you, all while drawing you cards. Pretty good for 2G.
Lightning Bolt and Lightning Helix aren't terrible.
Flame Slash has its uses as well.
Magma Jet if you want to dig.
Just card selection includes Ancient Stirrings and Oath of Nissa.
I feel like we finally have a critical mass of these effects so one can reliably expect some decent filtering and graveyard-filling when running green.
This is a short list of some of the better effects you can run if you want some reasonable filtering and good graveyard ability enablers.
Whereas blue gets good filtering at 1cc (Ponder, Preordain, Serum Visions, Brainstorm), green seems to be getting filtering AND graveyard filling at 2cc, and is perhaps the best color to take advantage of this (Regrowth, Eternal Witness, Praetor's Counsel).
With the printing of The Gitrog Monster and the introduction of the Delirium ability (Traverse the Ulvenwald), it's high time we give these more attention.
Just Filtering
Commune With Nature
Natural Selection
Mirri's Guile
Oath of Nissa
Ancient Stirrings
Sylvan Library
Tel-Jilad Justice
Seek the Wilds
Duskwatch Recruiter/Krallenhorde Howler
Filtering and Graveyard-Filling
Vessel of Nascency
Survival of the Fittest
Commune With the Gods
Life from the Loam
Gather the Pack
Satyr Wayfinder
Fa'adiyah Seer
Hermit Druid
Fauna Shaman
Mulch
Multicolor
Grisly Salvage
Tracker's Instincts
>2cc
Lead the Stampede
Splinterfright
Nyx Weaver
Peregrination
Ferocious Charge
Artisan's Sorrow
Llanowar Empath
Sylvan Messenger
Collected Company
Kiora, Master of the Depths
Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
Fated Intervention
Garruk, Caller of Beasts
Nissa's Revelation
Ravenous Bloodseeker and Markov Dreadknight can do it, technically.
There's really not many cards that can do this. Off the top of my head:
Putrid Imp
Aquamoeba
Wild Mongrel
Zombie Infestation
Mindless Automaton
Survival of the Fittest
Tortured Existence (creatures only)
Considering the fact that this is a singleton format, I feel like some of the new cards are worth considering just for the added consistency.
It seems like red has done fairly well with Insolent Neonate and Ravenous Bloodseeker, at the very least.
And for while, Stern Constable is...something.
Thanks for pointing that out. I left them in the main list for completeness, but you're right in that they're reprints.
Among the new cards, Forgotten Creation, Pour Over the Pages, Behold the Beyond, Call the Bloodline, Heir of Falkenrath, Pale Rider of Trostad, Sinister Concoction, Insolent Neonate, Ravenous Bloodseeker, Elusive Tormentor, and Olivia, Mobilized for War seem to have promise.
For hardcore competitive decks, Call the Bloodline, Heir of Falkenrath, Pale Rider of Trostad, Sinister Concoction, Insolent Neonate, and Ravenous Bloodseeker are all fast and cheap enough to do broken things and would be used primarily for their discard abilities.
Here are the new discard outlets, sorted by color.
White
Stern Constable
Blue
Catalog
Compelling Deterrence
Forgotten Creation
Geralf's Masterpiece
Ghostly Wings
Lamplighter of Selhoff
Pore Over the Pages
Reckless Scholar
Stitchwing Skaab
Black
Behold the Beyond
Call the Bloodline
Creeping Dread
Ghoulsteed
Heir of Falkenrath/Heir to the Night
Macabre Waltz
Markov Dreadknight
Pale Rider of Trostad
Rottenheart Ghoul
Sinister Concoction
Red
Insolent Neonate
Mad Prophet
Ravenous Bloodseeker
Tormenting Voice
Green
Pack Guardian (Land Only)
Gold
Elusive Tormentor/Insidious Mist
Nahiri, the Harbinger
Olivia, Mobilized for War
Colorless
Murderer's Axe
Skeleton Key
With this many new options, some of them are bound to have at least niche use.
For reference, here are some powerful discard outlets from earlier sets:
Aquamoeba
Dark Deal
Evolutionary Leap
Faithless Looting
Fauna Shaman
Frantic Search
Greater Good
Hapless Researcher
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy/Jace, Telepath Unbound
Jaya Ballard, Task Mage
Liliana of the Veil
Looter il-Kor
Mask of Memory
Merfolk Looter
Mindless Automaton
Oona's Prowler
Putrid Imp
Reforge the Soul
Survival of the Fittest
Thirst for Knowledge
Tortured Existence
Waterfront Bouncer
Whispering Madness
Wild Mongrel
Windfall
Zombie Infestation
Two noteworthy cards that greatly resemble older cards are Insolent Neonate (Hapless Researcher) and Ravenous Bloodseeker (Aquamoeba).
I'm interested in any thoughts people have on these new discard outlets.
Transform, Delirium, and Investigate have certainly delivered.
Bygone Bishop
Hanweir Militia Captain/Westvale Cult Leader
Thalia's Lieutenant
Thraben Inspector
Topplegeist
Asylum Visitor
Diregraf Colossus
Relentless Dead
Sanitarium Skeleton
Byway Courier
Deathcap Cultivator
Duskwatch Recruiter/Krallenhorde Howler
Hermit of the Natterknolls/Lone Wolf of the Natterknolls
Inexorable Blob
Tireless Tracker
Arashin Foremost
Aven Sunstriker
Fabled Hero
Ghostblade Eidolon
Silverblade Paladin
Skyhunter Skirmisher
Student of Warfare can also become a double striker and is easy to fit into a curve.
Nantuko Shade and Rakshasa Deathdealer scale into the late game.
Fleecemane Lion and Eight-and-a-Half-Tails become very durable once you have some spare mana and carry equipment well.
Brimaz, King of Oreskos, Anafenza, the Foremost, and Doran, the Siege Tower are almost always relevant.
Eland Umbra comes close at +4/+4 for 1W, with totem armor protection.
Ensouled Scimitar gives +5/+5 for the same costs as a Sword of A and B, and can also turn into a 5/5 flyer.
Improvised Armor also gives +5/+5 at a cost of 3W, but it can also cycle for 3.
And while we're on the subject of auras in Doran, Genju of the Fields can gain you an absolutely insane amount of life. Basically, you get 5 life for every 2 mana you spend since you can stack the ability.