Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver | Art by Winona Nelson

In cEDH, there are three things to consider when it comes to picking a commander. First and foremost, what colors does it give you access to? Second, what resources does it produce? And third, what combos does it enable? Strong commanders typically hit two of these considerations dead on without much difficulty.

For Tymna, despite not enabling a combo, the power generated through colors and resources alone is enough to push this card into the uppermost echelons of cEDH.

What Does Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver Do?

For , Tymna is a 2/2 legendary Human Cleric creature with lifelink, partner, and the triggered ability “At the beginning of each of your postcombat main phases, you may pay X life, where X is the number of opponents that were dealt combat damage this turn. If you do, draw X cards.”

In cEDH, where players really only play small creatures that they like to keep around — Esper SentinelEsper Sentinel, Birds of ParadiseBirds of Paradise, etc. — Tymna usually draws two, if not three, cards per turn cycle. Not enough to warrant play in the ninety-nine (or ninety-eight) of most lists, but absolutely enough card advantage to warrant thorough command zone consideration.

Moving to the part of Tymna that breaks cEDH, it’s time to talk about color identity and the partner mechanic. White and black are two of the stronger colors in cEDH, granting access to NecropotenceNecropotence, Ad NauseamAd Nauseam, SilenceSilence, Esper SentinelEsper Sentinel, and a whole host of tutors and combo pieces.

Partner, meanwhile, means that Tymna’s color identity is additive, not set, so whenever you see Tymna, you know that Orzhov is just the baseline for what’s coming.

Key Cards for Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver

Unlike commanders such as Rograkh, Son of RohgahhRograkh, Son of Rohgahh or Thrasios, Triton HeroThrasios, Triton Hero, which are played in part due to their support card roster, Tymna doesn’t actually have any key cards. For a while, players tried out cards that made a couple evasive tokens — Loyal ApprenticeLoyal Apprentice, for example — but that phase of Tymna support has largely died off.

Instead, Tymna gets played because the baseline — play a pile of cEDH’s best cards and draw a few of them turn after turn — is a solid strategy in its own right. So, to sum it up, Tymna’s key cards are Orzhov’s key cards: the strategy-agnostic powerhouses dominating every cEDH deck with access to them.

Key Partners for Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver

Kraum, Ludevic's OpusKraum, Ludevic's Opus

No article discussing Tymna would be complete without mention of Kraum, Ludevic’s Opus — the card which, when partnered with Tymna, completes the best deck in all of cEDH. Providing access to every color but green, Blue Farm is a midrange deck that combines black and blue’s card draw, white’s silences, and red’s ramp to dominate top tables.

So, why Kraum and not another Izzet partner? Well, Kraum is basically a five-mana version of Tymna – a resource engine that needs no support and is comfortable to sit back drawing massive amounts of cards, turn after turn (although with a different trigger condition, as Kraum draws a card whenever an opponent casts their second spell each turn).

Thrasios, Triton HeroThrasios, Triton Hero

Next up, another resource grinding machine, although this is one that trades out the explosivity of red for the sustained ramp of green: Thrasios, Triton Hero.

For , Thrasios is a 1/3 legendary Merfolk Wizard creature with partner and “: Scry 1, then reveal the top card of your library. If it's a land card, put it onto the battlefield tapped. Otherwise, draw a card.”

As far as Tymna is concerned, this lines up two things: one, a creature to play the turn before you cast Tymna, guaranteeing you can immediately draw a card off of combat that turn, and two, an infinite-mana outlet in the command zone, which centralizes the deck around what green does best.

Dargo, the ShipwreckerDargo, the Shipwrecker

Last but not least, we have the fastest Tymna variant, and that’s the partner pair with Dargo, the Shipwrecker.

Despite having a whopping mana cost, Dargo rarely ever actually costs that much in practice, as this Giant Pirate costs less to cast for each artifact and/or creature you’ve sacrificed this turn — plus, you can sacrifice artifacts and creatures when you cast it, helping to discount Dargo then and there.

Dargo’s built-in discount opens up some interesting combos, primarily based around infinite sacrifice loops that can close out the game as early as turn one or two — often earlier than when Tymna is being cast. And still, none of this would be possible (or not as competitive, at least) without Tymna’s colors coming in to round out the deck.

Wrap Up

That’s a wrap on Tymna the Weaver — a humble commander that may not be an outlet or a combo piece, but absolutely shows just how valuable the partner mechanic can be when paired with the right colors and a sprinkling of card advantage.