Foreword: Partner choices open up a ton of possible combinations and synergy (a deck brewer's dream), but makes discussion of the "best" commanders difficult. In addition, the color combinations can be anything you want. As long as you somehow incorporate Gruul colors, you can feasibly use any of these commanders.
TLDR: Anything can work, here's some opinions:
Akiri, Line-Slinger
Grants access to Boros colors, which is good for the spell limiting cards and half of the required colors. In my opinion, more of a voltron commander, but his low mana cost is very nice and scales well. He would probably work well in an equipment focused werewolf deck (equip costs aren't spells...hahaha!). If you want these colors though, I'd suggest...
Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder
Also known as Braum, Heart of the Freljord. Access to Boros colors, and a very nice effect that triggers on ETB and attack, meaning excellent value both immediately and over time! His effects work best with your huge werewolves
Sage of Ancient Lore
, and support an aggressive strategy. For a build strategy, it'd probably be similar to
Xenagos, God of Revels
- build up one huge dude via equipment/auras/what-have-you and go to town. This would probably be my third choice for commander if I built partner werewolf tribal.
(Don't forget to make dozens of puns about the bruises you're giving out)
Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper
The color combo is nice, but she has the same problems as
Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis
- she's defensive and her effects don't really help the tribe much. 90% of wolves have more power than toughness - she's much better as a treefolk commander.
Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker
This card has one of my favorite effects in the game (
Forgotten Ancient
is actually my favorite card in mtg, because of my
Vorel of the Hull Clade
deck :P)...BUT, it's a classic voltron commander. In addition, her color combo forces you to use
Tana, the Bloodsower
if you still want Gruul colors.
Kraum, Ludevic's Opus
This is actually one of the best choices for a partner commander: access to red, a CMC at the upper half of your mana curve, evasion, haste for aggressive plays, and most importantly of all, a mechanic which encourages your opponents to not flip your wolves! The only downside to that is it's nullified if you already have something like
Rule of Law
out, but he's still a 4/4 flyer with haste. My #1 choice for this tribe.
Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix
I'll start by saying I don't like this commander, so I'm biased. I see her all the time, so I find her a bit boring (oh boy, another game where my opponent draws a billion cards, has a billion mana, and takes a billion years to win the game). I guess she has access to green, but as I've said about
Animar, Soul of Elements
,
Mina and Denn, Wildborn
, and
Radha, Heir to Keld
, you really don't need that much mana for werewolf tribal. (Sorry for the salty review, haha)
Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist
Ludevic is...ok. Which is sort of the problem - you'll use his ability and you'll like drawing cards, but you could be getting more out of your commander choice. He seems to be designed with a more control based deck in mind. In addition, if you're going for the alpha-strike strategy outlined in this primer, you might be saving your attacks for one huge turn, and not get to use his ability. If you do go for Ludevic, try pokey effects like
Staff of Nin
,
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
,
Pestilence
, or any card with extort. Mana sink cards that chip away at life totals would work very well!
Ravos, Soultender
I love
Squee, Goblin Nabob
! I want all my creatures to be him! This is a great commander if you think you'll be facing a lot of removal in your meta, and his pump up effect is good to have. On the downside, he's fragile, expensive in CMC, and requires you combo with
Tana, the Bloodsower
if you want Gruul colors. One of the better ones for this tribe, but that color combination really is rough.
Reyhan, Last of the Abzan
Reyhan is in the top three or four in my opinion, due to his synergy with mana sink effects like
Echoes of the Kin Tree
,
Bow of Nylea
, or
Unspeakable Symbol
. In addition, I like commanders with low mana costs, and he has access to green. If building Reyhan, you'd probably need to include a lot more counter based cards like
Doubling Season
and the aforementioned mana sinks.
Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa
I love the color combination, and his effect is a step in the right direction, but he really wants to be at the helm of a token deck with lots of weenies. The general idea I go for in werewolf tribal is to suddenly pump up everyone to kill in a single turn, which he doesn't help with. That being said, his color combination allows you to build any of the partners with access to red, and if you built him, you could chip away with your unflipped wolves while you're assembling your big swing. Overall, a solid choice of commander.
Silas Renn, Seeker Adept
Really the wrong commander for this strategy.
Tana, the Bloodsower
The only commander in both Gruul colors, and you might build her just for that. I'm not a huge fan, maybe because she seems off theme to me (if she made wolves...). Also, she's fragile and really works well as a more voltron build, to make tons of tokens with her effect. IF you don't mind the saprolings/wolf flavor clash, her tokens will help you when you decide to cast
Titanic Ultimatum
.
Thrasios, Triton Hero
Another great commander choice - cheap, a built in mana sink, and access to green. Doesn't directly help with your offensive strike, but is a great way to set up your big turn (or keep up in value over longer games). This is another commander I would wholeheartedly suggest for werewolf tribal! 2nd choice after Kraum.
Tymna the Weaver
Almost identical in function to
Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist
, but doesn't give you access to red, so I'ma suggest you avoid her.
Vial Smasher the Fierce
This guy is going to want to go in a slower, more controll-y werewolf build. Most werewolves are pretty cheap in CMC, so it's not as good in this tribe, but it's still a good effect and Rakdos colors are nice to have. I think he and
Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa
would make a nice couple.
Combos I'd try first:
Thrasios, Triton Hero
+
Kraum, Ludevic's Opus
Thrasios, Triton Hero
+
Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder
Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa
+
Vial Smasher the Fierce
Reyhan, Last of the Abzan
+
Kraum, Ludevic's Opus
Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder
+
Reyhan, Last of the Abzan