Every Partner commander printed since 2016 traces back to a single set: Commander 2016, released November 11 of that year alongside five four-color preconstructed decks.
Rather than only offering one four-color legendary creature per deck, the set also included alternate bicolored commanders with the brand-new Partner keyword, letting players break the primary commander's four-color identity into two more focused two-color decks instead.
Fifteen legendary creatures received Partner across two distinct cycles, five rares and ten mythics, each pair sharing a color combination with its cycle-mate.
This guide lists the complete original fifteen and explains how the two cycles were structured.
Five rare Partner commanders were printed as an enemy-color cycle, one for each of the five enemy color pairs: Tymna the Weaver in white-black, Kraum, Ludevic's Opus in blue-red, Reyhan, Last of the Abzan in black-green, Akiri, Line-Slinger in red-white, and Thrasios, Triton Hero in green-blue.
Each of these five comes from the same plane as its Partner counterpart within its own color pair, and several, especially Thrasios and Tymna, went on to become defining pieces of the competitive cEDH metagame.
Ten mythic rare Partner commanders filled out the remaining ten two-color combinations, printed as pairs so that each of the five preconstructed decks contained two mythic Partner options alongside its rare pair.
The ten are Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker (white-blue), Silas Renn, Seeker Adept (blue-black), Vial Smasher the Fierce (black-red), Tana, the Bloodsower (red-green), Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa (green-white), Ravos, Soultender (white-black), Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist (blue-red), Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper (black-green), Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder (red-white), and Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix (green-blue).
Each Commander 2016 deck matched a four-color combination, and its two alternate Partner commanders together made up that same four-color identity when paired, giving players a built-in choice between the deck's main commander and a leaner two-color build.
For example, a deck built around a black-red-green-white four-color commander would include Partner options spanning those same four colors in complementary two-color pairs.
Thrasios, Triton Hero and Tymna the Weaver in particular became two of the most efficient card-advantage engines available in any two-color pairing, and both remain heavily played in competitive Commander pods today.
Kraum, Ludevic's Opus also saw significant competitive play thanks to the card draw it provides whenever it deals combat damage, making it a natural fit alongside aggressive strategies.
Splitting the fifteen across a rare cycle and a mythic double cycle reflected the differing roles the two groups played within each deck, with the rare typically serving as a strong standalone option and the mythic pair often built around more synergistic, deck-defining abilities.
This structure meant every Commander 2016 deck shipped with three distinct commander options straight out of the box: one four-color primary commander and two two-color Partner alternates.
All fifteen have seen various reprints since 2016 across Commander-focused supplemental products, so tracking down the original Commander 2016 printings specifically is more of a collector's preference than a gameplay necessity.
Because several of these commanders anchor cEDH-caliber decks, demand for clean, well-protected copies has stayed consistent even years after their original release.
Commander 2016 arrived three years after Wizards began producing dedicated Commander precons, and Partner represented the product line's first major mechanical innovation beyond simply printing new legendary creatures each year.
The set's five four-color decks and their alternate Partner options gave players significantly more deckbuilding paths out of a single product than any previous Commander release had offered up to that point.
The rare cycle specifically used the five enemy color pairs, while the mythic double cycle covered all ten combinations together, meaning between the two cycles every possible two-color pairing received at least one Partner commander.
This complete coverage across all ten two-color combinations from a single set was unprecedented at the time and remains a defining feature of Commander 2016's design.
Fifteen legendary creatures received the Partner keyword across a rare and a mythic cycle.
Thrasios, Triton Hero and Tymna the Weaver are widely regarded as the most competitively powerful pairing.
Yes, every original Partner commander from Commander 2016 was a two-color legendary creature.
Yes, several remain staples in both casual and competitive Commander decks.
Commander 2016's fifteen original Partner commanders still define what makes the mechanic work: two focused two-color legends combining into something greater than either alone. If you are assembling a full playset of these originals, a binder with a secure elastic closure like the EVORETRO 9-pocket binder with elastic keeps them organized and easy to browse.
Individual copies, especially the competitively played ones, deserve protection too. A set of EVORETRO penny sleeves is an easy, affordable way to keep them shuffle-ready.
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