Casting commanders with Partner

Asked by Eldrazi13 5 years ago

So, I know that this might be pretty obvious, but what happens if I cast Khorvath Brightflame as my commander with Sylvia Brightspear ? Normally, Partner lets you or another player search for the chosen card in your library and add it to your hand. And I know that it lets you use both Khorvath and Sylvia as your commander, but how does the ability work when you cast one or the other from the command zone? Or does it just let you have both as a commander?

Kogarashi says... Accepted answer #1

"Partner with" in this case refers to two specific, distinct abilities.

First, it allows you to have two commanders as long as they each have the other's name in their "Partner with" text. In this case, using Khorvath Brightflame and Sylvia Brightspear together as your commander.

Second, it is a triggered ability that, when one enters the battlefield, allows you to target a player to find the partner in their library, put it into their hand, and then shuffle. It does not affect the command zone at all.

So if you cast Khorvath and the ability triggers, and Sylvia is still in your command zone, you may do one of the following:

• Target yourself with the trigger. You would not be able to put Sylvia in your hand this way, but I guess you could use it to shuffle.

• Target another player with the trigger. Maybe they have Sylvia and could put her into their hand.

Functionally, though, "Partner with" doesn't really get you that trigger benefit in commander unless you're not actually using them both as your commanders.

December 3, 2019 8:01 p.m.