XXG gives you X manifested creatures, then immediately puts X +1/+1 counters on each of them
However, requiring you to exile cards and costing a minimum of 4 mana to activate is a lot more rough than just paying two for one damage with no drawback
Theres a demon tribal subtheme to support Belakor
It's a sizeable 4/5 Avatar Wizard with flash, and Gandalf the White allows the player to cast legendary spells and artifacts with flash as well, which can take the opponent by total surprise
Cheems was really named Balltze, and lived in Hong Kong
I have a lot of experience playing group hug in EDH, and I can say with confidence that no matter how friendly your deck is, some players will feel manipulated by this type of strategy and retaliate accordingly