Ayara, First of Locthwain embodies this cycle of death and undeath perfectly with its mechanics
Overrated: Simian Sling I think a lot of people are viewing these reconfigure cards like Living Weapons and not creatures with upside
A *LITERALLY* UNTAPPED RESOURCE Convoke, conspire crew, harmonize, saddle, and now station: these are the mechanics which allow you to pay costs by tapping random creatures you control
You dont have to sacrifice a creature to activate the bard, so youll be able to fill your board for little mana
Mikaeus, the Lunarch and Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit are legends that play nicely with +1/+1 strategies if we want to further develop that angle of the deck
If wheel effects and group hug cards arent your forte, you can also choose to focus on finding ways to boost the power of Xyris, then swing in for a bunch of damage in the area to build your swarm that way