Hey, there's a new set with the partner mechanic! That means I can dust off this article series and talk some more about partners in Commander decks. I'm not talking about how to play Battlebond, or Two-Headed Giant, or drafting, or any of that, just looking at these cards and how they stand up in […]

It’s that time again. This week on Intellectual Offering we are going back to IO's roots and examining a deck on a card-for-card basis. Ok, that’s a small lie. This week we examine a couple of decks that are all actually one. This week I’m looking at [card]Tymna the Weaver[/card] and [card]Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa[/card], […]

She's a kor who is good at offensive fighting, enjoys high altitude travel with grappling cables, and gets more powerful with the more gadgets she has. Basically, she's the Zendikar version of Batman, except she's not a man and presumably doesn't have deep psychological parental issues that result in an animal-themed alter-ego. [card]Akiri, Line-Slinger[/card] has first strike and vigilance and gets […]

[card]Reyhan, Last of the Abzan[/card] is one lonely (and angry) warrior khan. As her comrades die around her, she rallies strength from their sacrifice and inspires the rest of the troops under her command. That inspiration is a fluid that flows from the fallen to the survivors in her presence. Whenever a creature you control […]

Just for fun, try going into an IKEA, buying a few things at random, then dumping all the parts in one pile and throwing away the instructions. See what you come up with, Ludevic-style. Kraum. Two heads. Three arms. Ten eyes? When it comes to body parts: waste not, want not. For starters, [card]Kraum, Ludevic's Opus[/card] is […]

[card]Thrasios, Triton Hero[/card]. This guy. I know plenty of Simic-loving players who would gladly use this guy as a backup partner, just for access to the blue green colors, and using him as a mana sink in the background behind whoever their actual favorite partner happens to be. Is it possible to design a deck where this guy […]

Note the flavor text on the cards [card]Pillarfield Ox[/card] and [card]Ondu Greathorn[/card]. "May starving fleas birth a thousand generations on your stubborn hide, cow!" "May your horns get lodged in an Eldrazi's bony face, ornery brute!" -- Bruse Tarl, Goma Fada nomad [card]Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder[/card] is brash, abusive, unapologetic, and may or may not […]

I've been looking forward to writing this article. Along with [card]Vial Smasher the Fierce[/card], this partner was the most immediately appealing to me. [card]Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper[/card] is a combat-ready commander that enjoys jumping into the fray and gives you an amazing benefit as a result. Let's look at each part of the card in […]

Who knew that necromancy didn't need the color black? I didn't know that. Apparently, if you add alchemy then you can raise those dead bodies Gitaxian-style, with strange mixtures and fluids and not a single ritual sacrifice to be seen. [card]Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist[/card] is an odd character. He can potentially help any player on the board […]

He is the Peter Pan of Magic, because he can convince the rest of the children that they can fly. They can't really fly, but they think they can. It's because of the hallucinogenic mushrooms he found on the island and then fed to the rest of the kids, just like in Peter Pan. You don't […]