Valgavoth, Terror Eater budget ideas

I’ve had this idea for a while now, I wanted to build a Valgavoth deck after I pulled him last year. The problem is how costly and threatening he is. I’m conflicted over whether to play him as a life gain or discard commander. Discard gets me targeted, but he isn’t as effective as a life gain commander. Most posts about him mostly talk about putting him in the 99 but I do want to make him work as the commander.