Kraum, Ludevic's OpusKraum, Ludevic's Opus | Art by Aaron Miller | Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver | Art by Winona Nelson

Hello everyone! I’m Levi from The Thought Vessel, and today we’re diving into the world of “What If?”, where we take a single tweak to the format of Commander and explore the possible ripple effects that change could have.

This time, we’re exploring the hypothetical scenario of allowing the partner keyword to pair three legendary creatures together instead of just two. This would fundamentally reshape the Commander landscape in countless ways, but before we dive into the implications, let’s take a quick look at what partner is and how it currently works.

What Is the Partner Mechanic?

The partner mechanic was first introduced in the incredibly format-shaping preconstructed set, Commander 2016. These decks each featured four-color identities, something that was practically unheard of at the time and nearly impossible to access without using a five-color commander and working without a color.

Each precon featured a marquee commander, including powerhouses like Saskia the UnyieldingSaskia the Unyielding, Breya, Etherium ShaperBreya, Etherium Shaper, and, of course, Atraxa, Praetors' VoiceAtraxa, Praetors' Voice, who remains one of the most beloved and built commanders in the game.

As impressive as these commanders were, they didn’t fulfill the needs of every archetype or playstyle. Players still wanted the freedom to build their own four-color decks in new ways, so Wizards of the Coast introduced partners as a solution. These were two-color legendary creatures that could be paired together to form decks with two, three, or four colors, depending on how they were combined.

Most of the original partners were relatively tame and flexible by design, offering generic utility like token generation, card draw, or minor recursion. These original fifteen partner commanders were a massive hit.

For a while, that was it. Then Commander Legends came along in 2020 and exploded the number of partner options, adding a whopping 56 new legends. This time, all of them were mono-colored, creating even more potential combinations. The number of possible pairs (and now, hypothetically, trios) increased dramatically, giving players access to incredible deckbuilding variety and potential.

With so many different combinations available, partner quickly became a favorite tool for bottom-up deckbuilders — people who start with a concept or card interaction and then look for the right commander to match. It’s no surprise that in the competitive EDH scene, partner combinations have had a massive impact.

One of the strongest and most played cEDH decks right now is the combination of Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver and Kraum, Ludevic's OpusKraum, Ludevic's Opus, also known as “Blue Farm.” According to edhtop16.com, in the past six months, three of the top five and four of the top ten reported cEDH decks have utilized partner commanders. That’s a clear sign of the mechanic’s strength and versatility at high-powered tables.

How Partner Decks Typically Work

When it comes to how these decks are built, there are three main ways that players tend to use partners. The first is when both commanders are central to the game plan. I have a deck like this myself: Malcolm, Keen-Eyed NavigatorMalcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator and Sakashima of a Thousand FacesSakashima of a Thousand Faces. The goal is to create as many clones of Malcolm as possible in order to generate a huge number of Treasure tokens.

Once I have enough Malcolms, I can either cast Mirror BoxMirror Box to buff them all up and swing out or start cloning more threatening creatures. It’s a fun, synergy-driven deck that fully relies on both commanders working together.

If you’re interested in a full deck tech for Malcolm/Sakashima, drop a comment and I’ll put one together.

The second style is when the deck is really built around just one of the commanders, and the second is there mostly for support or to provide access to another color. One of my decks, Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver paired with Kamahl, Heart of KrosaKamahl, Heart of Krosa, is a great example. Tymna is the main focus; I want to swing in with a bunch of small creatures, ideally Humans, and use Tymna’s ability to draw extra cards.

Kamahl only enters play at the very end of the game to pump the team and give everything trample for a finishing blow. Until then, he’s just sitting in the command zone to unlock green.

The third type of partner deck is more about color identity than anything else. The commanders may occasionally be cast, but their main purpose is to give you access to a desired combination of colors.

You’ll see this more often at high-powered or competitive tables, where synergy and consistency take priority over flavor or theme.

What If We Could Have a Third Partner?

So now imagine what happens when you add a third commander to the equation, one that not only brings its own colors but also its own abilities and potential synergies. That opens the door to an enormous range of new possibilities and, with it, a fair number of concerns. 

Before we dive into the list, let’s establish a couple of rules. We’re only considering legendary creatures with the exact “partner” keyword. This excludes “Choose a Background,” “Partner With,” and “Friends Forever” from the Stranger Things Secret Lair.

I’d love to talk about those variants in a future article, so let me know in the comments if that’s something you’re interested in.

1) Partners Would Be Wildly More Popular

Deckbuilders already love partner for the flexibility and potential it offers. Adding a third partner commander makes it even easier to find a tight theme or powerful synergy.

Take a Golem typal deck, for instance. You could start with Ich-Tekik, Salvage SplicerIch-Tekik, Salvage Splicer and Rebbec, Architect of AscensionRebbec, Architect of Ascension, and then round out the color identity and utility by adding Armix, Filigree ThrasherArmix, Filigree Thrasher for black, Toggo, Goblin WeaponsmithToggo, Goblin Weaponsmith for red, or Silas Renn, Seeker AdeptSilas Renn, Seeker Adept for blue and black.

Suddenly, even the more obscure partners that usually get overlooked might see more play - not because they’re perfect first or second options, but because they’re excellent complements as a third commander.

There's also the factor of consistency that can't be overlooked. Your typical commander deck has one commander for a total of eight cards to start and a main deck of 99. A triple partner deck has ten cards to start with and a main deck of 97. In a multiplayer format like commander where entire games can change by drawing one card, this can be the difference between winning and losing a game. 

2) Partners Would Become More Expensive

More play usually means more demand, and in this case, supply is a real concern.

Many partner commanders have only seen one printing, often in specialty sets. With more decks being built around these combinations, prices for older or less-printed partners would likely spike. Unless reprints become more frequent, scarcity would drive up the cost of building partner-based decks across the board.

3) Francisco and Breeches Would Be Huge Winners

Pirate decks often lean Grixis, as that’s where the strongest and most popular options tend to fall. You don’t see a non-Grixis Pirate commander in the rankings until you get to Malcolm and Breeches, and even that pairing has less than half the deck count of Admiral Beckett BrassAdmiral Beckett Brass.

But if you could run Francisco, Fowl MarauderFrancisco, Fowl Marauder and Malcolm, Keen-Eyed NavigatorMalcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator with Breeches, Brazen PlundererBreeches, Brazen Plunderer together, you'd suddenly have a powerhouse Pirate deck.

This trio would allow you to explore, make Treasure tokens, and impulse draw, all from the command zone. You could also include other Pirate-related legends in the ninety-nine to flesh out the theme. That kind of synergy would likely drive both interest and prices for Francisco and Breeches upward.

4) Support Commanders Would Rise in Value

Esior, Wardwing FamiliarEsior, Wardwing Familiar is definitely a pet card of mine, but it doesn’t see a lot of play outside of niche formats like Pauper Commander. And that makes sense; mono-blue utility creatures tend to get overlooked in favor of more explosive options.

But if you’re already running plan-focused commanders, let’s say Vial Smasher the FierceVial Smasher the Fierce or Yoshimaru, Ever FaithfulYoshimaru, Ever Faithful, adding a commander like Esior as a third could provide meaningful protection. It offers a soft ward effect for only two mana and brings blue into your color identity for access to counterspells and card draw.

5) Sakashima of a Thousand FacesSakashima of a Thousand Faces Could End Up Banned

This one might be controversial, but it’s not hard to imagine. Sakashima of a Thousand FacesSakashima of a Thousand Faces is already strong in two-commander builds because it allows you to copy one of your partners and ignore the legend rule. In a three-commander format, that strength would be multiplied.

Not only would Sakashima be an obvious inclusion in a huge number of builds, but it would also allow players to double up the strongest commander in the trio. If enough decks gravitate toward that pattern, it could become unhealthy for the format and could prompt ban discussions. (To clarify, as things are now, I don't think that Sakashima is close to being banned. Leave our beautiful blue friend alone.)

6) Four-Color Decks Would Explode in Popularity

Adding a third commander gives players a much easier way to reach into four-color space. Decks with combinations like white, black, red, and green (Dune-Brood) currently have very few options, most of them being partner pairs.

With trios available, players could get the color identity they want without needing to sacrifice synergy or flavor. Five-color decks would likely increase in number too, though the effect might be less noticeable since five-color commanders are already plentiful.

7) The 99 of Decks Would Matter Less

When your command zone offers ramp, card draw, synergy, and win conditions, there’s less pressure on the rest of the deck to do the heavy lifting.

Having three commanders essentially gives you a starting hand of ten cards - eleven if you’re using a companion. That kind of consistency makes it very tempting to fill the 99 with staples like mana rocks, tutors, and removal, leaving less room for creativity.

In our Grixis Pirate deck example, your three commanders could easily carry the game by themselves. All you’d need is the mana to cast them.

8) Commander Damage Tracking Could Become a Hassle

As the rules currently stand, each commander’s damage must be tracked separately. That’s already a bit of a chore with two partners.

Now imagine every player in a four-person pod has three commanders. That’s nine separate damage trackers, not including any commanders that get stolen or copied. At some point, the complexity outweighs the benefit.

To simplify things, we could see the rule shift toward cumulative commander damage, or perhaps even be eliminated altogether in high-complexity games.

9) The cEDH Meta Would Shift Dramatically

The current cEDH meta already leans heavily on partners. Adding a third commander would allow even more optimized builds.

Picture Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver, Thrasios, Triton HeroThrasios, Triton Hero, and Rograkh, Son of RohgahhRograkh, Son of Rohgahh in the same deck. That’s a five-color machine with draw, ramp, fast mana, and combo outlets all in the command zone. Even adding Rograkh to the existing Blue Farm shell would make it stronger.

The bar for what counts as viable would rise, and many current commanders would struggle to keep up.

10) “Good Stuff” Piles Would Be Everywhere

This might be the most significant risk. With three commanders offering generic value, there’s less need to commit to an archetype. Players could just load their decks with the best cards they can find, knowing their command zone will always provide a solid backbone.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with “good stuff” piles, but when they become the default, it diminishes the variety and creativity that makes Commander special. Compare that to a deck like Gishath, Sun's AvatarGishath, Sun's Avatar, which must lean heavily into Dinosaurs. That kind of thematic identity might become less common if partner trios take over.

Wrapping Up

It’s always fun to explore the hypothetical world of “What If?” and imagine what might happen if we changed one of the core mechanics of Commander. The partner mechanic is already one of the most flexible and impactful tools in the format, and adding a third commander would supercharge its potential.

But just like candy, there can be too much of a good thing. While the increased power and flexibility of partner trios would open new doors for deckbuilding, it could also lead to a future where deck creativity suffers, archetypes fade, and games feel more homogenous.

We may never get to see this scenario play out in real life, but it’s worth considering what makes the format special and how to preserve that going forward.

Until next time, I wish you happy brewing and happy gaming.

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