Thrasios, Triton HeroThrasios, Triton Hero | Art by: Josu Hernaiz

Mistake is a word thrown around often in the game of Magic: The Gathering. What could truly qualify as a mistake in a game that has been around for 31 years?

Maybe something like the storm mechanic or perhaps the Reserved List. Who's to say, truly? Me. I'm the one who decides what is and isn't a mistake in the context of this article.

As the one with the power to decide, my first decree is: *The partner mechanic was a mistake.

With my second decree: My first decree comes with a giant asterisk.

Trip to the Past

A small history lesson for those who may have joined the format well after 2016. The original version of the partner mechanic appeared in the Commander 2016 preconstructed decks.

The theme of these decks was various four-color combinations. You may know them for introducing some of the most absurd commanders ever to grace the format.

While the face commanders are their own bucket of worms, it was the backup commanders that turned the format on its head.

The partner mechanic lets you have two commanders in the command zone, provided both have the word "partner" printed on them. A well-known pairing is Tana, the BloodsowerTana, the Bloodsower, paired with Tymna the WeaverTymna the Weaver.

From a first-look perspective, there's not much that's impressive about either of these creatures. While they work well with one another, coming from the same precon will do that, and both want you to deal combat damage for minimal value; nothing seems crazy about them.

Honestly, this is how most of the original partner creatures look. A slew of dual-colored creatures with medium to good effects, but specifically outside of Thrasios, Triton HeroThrasios, Triton Hero not broken.

What's the Problem with Partner?

Simply put, it was all too easy. From having a nine-card starting hand to easy access to just about every card you could ever want.

The original swath of partners led to decks that became open-ended and directionless. Everything was just the best mix of "good stuff" of "four-color" soup decks using the best combo pieces at the time to value out a table.

This was a pre-bracket system, pubstomping was more regular at tables and conventions, and some format boogeymen were still legal / coming to print in a few years.

These color combinations were also extremely popular, leading many players to use partner pairings. Popularity aside, they might be the only option available to a player not wanting to run a five-color commander like AtogatogAtogatog.

Take the Yore-Tiller color combination . If you decide against running Breya, Etherium ShaperBreya, Etherium Shaper in the command zone, and you don't have a play group allowing you to Rule Zero in Yore-Tiller NephilimYore-Tiller Nephilim, you have to play a partner pairing of some kind.

Of the 11 possible pairings you can play with these colors, 8 are made up of the original partners. It is even worse for the likes of Glint-Eye, .

They only got a single partner pairing that isn't from the Commander 2016 precon, bringing their total combinations up to eight.

I hold none of this against the designers involved with the precons, mind you. Making a commander for all four of the four-color combinations is a daunting task. Many of the same issues that designers face when building a deck in these colors apply here.

You have almost limitless options, but every dial you twist and every knob you turn is too much or not enough. Everything becomes too silly or too strong.

These problems weren't just found in the lower-power tables, trust me. I don't play cEDH myself, but I talk to people who do and consume a fair bit of content around the format.

Partners were and might still be a problem there. Decks such as Blood Pod, Blue Farm, and Yoshi-Thras all spawned fully or in part from the original partners being printed.

The Asterisk

I did say that my first decree of partners being a problem came with an asterisk, and here it is. Only the original two-color pairs were the problem.

The designers realized they struck gold, in a sense, with the partner mechanic, even though it might be a bit unfair.

You get two commanders with separate tax numbers and separate commander damage tracking. You can build some fascinating decks with this mechanic.

And they came hard and heavy with reworks and twists on the partner mechanic.

Partner with: Specific combinations of creatures

Choose a Background: A legendary creature paired with a legendary enchantment - Background.

Friends Forever/Doctors Companion/Survivors/Father & Son/Character Select: All of these allow combinations based on both creatures having a specified text that allows the pairing to be legal.

The Biggest Fix

While all of these variations on the original mechanic helped limit the power of what you could build, the simplest fix was to cut a color. Every iteration of the partner mechanic tends to have the new combinations max out at three colors.

Some outliers exist, but the reason that the player base has less of an issue with cards like Pir, Imaginative RascalPir, Imaginative Rascal and Toothy, Imaginary FriendToothy, Imaginary Friend or Toggo, Goblin WeaponsmithToggo, Goblin Weaponsmith and Ardenn, Intrepid ArchaeologistArdenn, Intrepid Archaeologist is the lack of colors in the combination.

Limiting the colors provides guardrails and restrictions for the deckbuilders. While not every mono-colored partner was made equal, looking at you, Krark, the ThumblessKrark, the Thumbless, and Sakashima of a Thousand FacesSakashima of a Thousand Faces.

No one ever had a problem when I paired Sakashima with Sengir, the Dark BaronSengir, the Dark Baron, and my companion Gyruda, Doom of DepthsGyruda, Doom of Depths. You thought a seven-card hand was good, but I was rocking ten to start the way Dr. Richard Garfield intended.

Wrap Up

To answer the question at hand, was the partner mechanic a mistake? Simply put, yes, it was. It was too strong when making four-color combinations, and there isn't much that can be done to fix it.

The bright side is that over the years, the designers have more or less figured out how to implement the partner mechanic in a way that yields less problematic designs.

Obviously, there remain some outliers.

The issues are few and far between. The real tragedy is that we, as players, are less likely to see four-color commanders because they're so difficult to make. Making a creature that fits inside four of the five colors of the game is no small task.

This is one big reason why the Nephilim are constantly asked to get errata making them legendary, or are houseruled into decks via Rule Zero.

While I hope they find a way to bring more four-color combinations to players, even if it's not what I'm looking for, the cards are pretty cool. I also hope they keep iterating on the partner mechanic.

I myself am looking to build a Gut, True Soul ZealotGut, True Soul Zealot and an Agent of the Iron ThroneAgent of the Iron Throne deck.

But what do you think about the partner mechanic? Do you believe it was a mistake? Do you think the newer versions are good fixes? Who or what is your favorite partner pairing? Let me know here or wherever you can find me online.