You can't choose to pay life instead of exiling cards from the top of your library while you control Ashiok, and you can't split the payment between life and cards
Ideally this makes Tracker a card you make behind the curve which in turn means you ideally don't want to think of him as a 3 drop but more of a psuedo CMC+1 drop like Aetherling or Glen Elandra Archamge
Feel free to send me your questions, discard-related or otherwise
The key here is making sure your commander survives long enough, and that's what Force of WillForce of Will, Force of NegationForce of Negation, and Fierce GuardianshipFierce Guardianship are for
Exile this creature at the beginning of the next end step, then you may cast it from exile on a later turn.) Creature - Dragon Creature (CTRL to add secondary) Draw Creative Technique Demonstrate (When you cast this spell, you may copy it
This marks the third type of Trainer Cards added to the game, leaving Stadium Cards as the only remaining untapped category