Partner commanders can be confusing to new and older players alike. Partner, Partner with, and Companion all sound like similar abilities so it’s no wonder players become lost. From Timin, Youthful Geist to Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith, I will lead the way through the darkness.
Partner commanders are legendary creatures with the keyword partner. Up to two cards with partner can be your commander. Their colors do not need to be the same and the colors of both cards make up the color identity for the deck. Each partner counts as your commander and can be cast independently of one another.
That’s the basics. Let me continue to be your guide as we go into more detail on the topic.
What Does Deck Construction With Partners Look Like?
With classic partner commanders like Reyhan, Last of the Abzan and Alharu, Solemn Ritualist you can combine them with each other or any of the other commanders with the keyword partner. Both cards are considered to be your commander and can be cast independently of one another.
The partner commanders do not need to be the same colors but they can be if you want to build a deck that way. If you have Falthis, Shadowcat Familiar and Akiri, Line-Slinger as your partner commanders, both cards count in the deck’s color identity. In this case, building a Mardu (Red, White, Black) artifact equipment deck is a good strategy. Remember you are still building a 100-card deck. That leaves 98 cards to work with.
How Many Partner Commanders Are There?
As of writing this article, there are 94. That is over 4000 combinations of commanders. Building a deck around partner commanders without a plan can be daunting. Gilanra, Caller of Wirewood and Alena, Kessig Trapper could be used to make a big creature Gruul (Red, Green) style deck. Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh and Keleth, Sunmane Familiar would make a fun Boros (Red, White) cheap creature deck. And so on.
Only two partner commanders can be at the helm of your deck. You could have just one as your commander but these commanders are generally weaker than normal. Both cards working together usually match the power of other commanders. Some deck builders might even use the partner commanders just for their colors or just the mana ramp or card draw they offer.
Can Battlebond Partners Be Commanders?
The partners that were introduced in Battlebond work a bit differently than the classic partners. They have the keyword Partner With, meaning they can only be partnered with a certain card. The cards that have Partner With that are also legendary can be your commanders. Toothy, Imaginary Friend and Pir, Imaginative Rascal can be partnered with each other. This is not explained on the cards but here in the rules.
Partner, “Partner with [name]” A keyword ability that lets two legendary creatures or planeswalkers be your commander in the Commander variant rather than one. “Partner with [name]” is a specialized version of the ability that works even outside of the Commander variant to help two cards reach the battlefield together. See rule 702.124, “Partner,” and rule 903, “Commander.”
From the glossary of the Comprehensive Rules (November 19, 2021—Innistrad: Crimson Vow)
With Toothy and Pir, you could make a Simic (Blue, Green) deck focused on +1/+1 counters. These types of commanders are easier to build around because they don’t offer the 1000s of combinations that the classic partners do.
What Are The Best Partner Commanders?
With an idea of how partners work, let’s build a deck. I think the best partner combo is subjective but some of the partner commanders outshine the others. Here is my opinion on the best partners in no particular order.
10. Krark, the Thumbless, and Sakashima of a Thousand Faces
These two make quite the team. When you cast instants and sorceries, flip a coin. If you win the flip, you copy your spell. Losing the flip returns the spell to your hand. Sakashima not only can become a copy of Krark, but she lets you ignore the legend rule. With more copies of Krark out on the field, the more coins you flip, and the more chances for copying your spell. Left unchecked this can get out of hand, fast.
| Pros | Cons |
| Flippin’ coins | Easy to disrupt |
| Slingin’ spells | Very luck dependent |
| Makin’ copies | Not everyone wants you to flip coins |
9. Brallin, Skyshark Rider and Shabraz, the Skyshark
+1/+1 counters for Drawing cards and discarding cards. This rewards Wheel effects (Discarding your hand and drawing that many cards). ards like Change of Fortune and Faithful Mending are great cards for this deck.
| Pros | Cons |
| Drawing and discarding makes you strong | High’ish mana cost |
| Can get out of hand fast | Doesn’t work without commander |
8. Cazur, Ruthless Stalker and Ukkima, Stalking Shadow
Cazur and Ukkima are Sultia. Cazur pumps up Ukkima every time she attacks and she is unblockable. If your opponents kill Ukkima she deals her power to target player and you gain that much life. Winding Constrictor and Corpsejack Menace will aid in making Ukkima more powerful.
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy commander damage | Can have a slow build up |
| Incentive not to kill Ukkima | Killing Ukkima early is an issue |
| Black, Green and Blue are great colors |
7. Haldan, Avid Arcanist and Pako, Arcane Retriever
It’s nice playing your own spells, but it is even better playing your opponents. Pako exiles the top card of each player’s library and Haldan lets you cast those spells. Haldan even lets you play exiled lands, so you want to make sure you have ways to play more lands.
Explore and Exploration are good choices. Making sure Pako retrieves your opponents cards is important to make this deck work. Including cards to make him unblockable would be a step in the right direction.
| Pros | Cons |
| Casting your friends spells | Needs both commanders |
| Good ramp and card draw | No one wants you to play their spells |
6. Ardenn, Intrepid Archaeologist and Rograkh, Son of Rohgahh
Rograkh is the perfect guy to get damage through as he has First Strike, Menace, and Trample. Unfortunately his power is 0. Ardenn can get aura’s and equipment off of other creatures and onto Rograkh, making him the threat that he is. All That Glitters and Colossus Hammer are great cards to include in this deck. Including ways to tutor equipment would also help lead you to victory.
| Pros | Cons |
| Can kill players out of nowhere | Become the table target quickly |
| Can set up fast | Worst color combo |
| Rograkh is fun to play |
5. Pir, Imaginative Rascal and Toothy, Imaginary Friend
Pir puts extra counters on permanents when they get counters. Toothy gets +1/+1 counters when you draw cards. Tezzeret’s Gambit is great with the card draw and proliferate effect. Herald of Secret Streams makes Toothy unblockable. You can even pull out a victory with Simic Ascendancy.
| Pros | Cons |
| +1/+1 counters for days | Toothy is easy to remove |
| Good ramp and card draw | There are better Simic commanders |
4. Akiri, Line-Slinger and Silas Renn, Seeker Adept
This four-color deck is all about artifacts. The more artifacts in play the stronger Akiri becomes so if you lose some artifacts, Silas can get them back. Equipment and utility artifacts shine here. Cranial Plating is a great piece of equipment in this deck and can get out of hand fast.
| Pros | Cons |
| Can kill players fast | Might be better in the 99 |
| Commanders synergize well |
3. Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa and Tana, the Bloodsower
Sidar and Tana make a great token deck combo. Sidar makes your low-power creatures practically unblockable. Tana is also low to the ground. When she hits an opponent she makes saproling tokens. Toski, Bearer of Secrets, enables a ton of card draw. Impact Tremors will tick opponents down as more and more tokens enter the battlefield.
| Pros | Cons |
| Most of your creatures are unblockable | Creatures are relatively low power |
| Can make all the tokens |
2. Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix and Thrasios, Triton Hero
These commanders can be built in a number of ways. Kydele produces more and more mana the more cards you draw in a turn while Thrasios helps draw cards and mana ramp. Together they can enable all sorts of combos. Umbral Mantle can make Kydele produce infinite mana so that you can use Thrasios to play all your lands and draw your entire deck.
| Pros | Cons |
| Infinite mana | Need combo pieces to work |
| Infinite card draw |
1. Tymna the Weaver and Thrasios, Triton Hero
This deck usually uses Thassa’s Oracle and Demonic Consultation to combo out a win. Tymna is good at drawing a card or cards on each of your turns and Thrasios can help dig out your combo pieces to put together a win. Like with other partner combinations, this one can be built in a variety of ways.
| Pros | Cons |
| Flexible builds | Needs combo pieces to work |
| Easy combo win |
What About Companions?
What are Companions? Companions like Jegantha, the Wellspring came out in Ikoria. Each one has a different caveat to use its companion effect. Jegantha, for example, needs every card in your deck to not have duplicate mana symbols (like Red Red).
If your deck meets the criteria, then Jegantha can be your companion. She doesn’t count in the 99 and sits outside of the game until you pay three mana to add her to your hand. Wizards of the Coast had to errata all companions to include the three mana clause.
Lutri, the Spellchaser was banned before the card came out. Lutri’s companion effect is no two cards in your deck can be the same (basic lands excluded). This means in any Red Blue commander decks, there would be no reason not to include her.
If you want to use a Companion, remember that their rules have been changed. If you want a companion as your commander, then you don’t need to follow the companion rules. You can ignore that part if you aren’t using them in that way. The same thing applies if you just want to put them in the 99.
What About The Stranger Things Secret Lair Mechanic Friends Forever?
The Stranger Things secret lair will add some cards with the Friends Forever mechanic. Friends Forever work just like the partner keyword so two legendary creatures with Friends Forever can both be your commander. Mike, the Dungeon Master and Eleven, the Mage are two examples of this mechanic. Secret Lair cards are legal in commander so if you see these partner-style commanders you won’t be surprised.
It Takes Two
Partner commanders can be fun to build around. There are a lot of possibilities and directions to build decks. With so many combinations of partners, it is hard to say what combo is best. That partner duo has yet to be discovered.
I suspect we will keep seeing Partner With commanders as time goes on, as they are easier to balance. That doesn’t mean there won’t be more classic partner commanders, but the more they print, the easier it will be to break. Regardless, they add a unique deck-building experience and can be a blast to play.
