Every Partner Variant (We Think)

Partner commanders in Magic are straightforward in concept: two legendary creatures that can share the command zone. In practice, Wizards has created at least ten different versions of this mechanic, each with its own pairing rules.

Icarian now handles all of them correctly.

More Than Just “Partner”

When we started implementing partner support, we thought we knew what we were getting into. The original Partner keyword, “Partner with” for specific pairs, maybe Friends Forever from Stranger Things. Done, right?

Not even close.

Here’s the full list:

Partner: The original. Tymna and Thrasios can pair with any other Partner card.
Partner with: Specific named pairs only. Will Kenrith can only partner with Rowan Kenrith.
Friends Forever: Stranger Things characters. Will the Wise pairs with Eleven, Mike, or any other Friends Forever card but not with regular Partner cards.
Choose a Background: Baldur’s Gate commanders that pair with Background enchantments.
Background: The enchantment half of Choose a Background pairings.
Doctor’s Companion: Doctor Who companions that pair with Time Lord Doctors.
Doctor: Time Lord Doctor creatures (the other half of Doctor’s Companion).
Partner — Character Select: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Raphael pairs with Leonardo, Donatello, or Michelangelo.
Partner — Survivors: The Last of Us. Ellie and Joel.
Partner — Father & Son: God of War. Kratos and Atreus.

The Secret Lair variants will undoubtedly be the ones that make us have to update this all sooner rather than later . They use the generic “Partner” keyword in the card data, but the actual pairing rules are encoded in the card text with variants like “Partner—Survivors” or “Partner—Character select.” Each group is isolated—a Ninja Turtle can’t partner with Joel, even though they both technically have “Partner.”

What This Means for You

Deck validation works. If you try to pair incompatible commanders, Icarian will flag it. Clara Oswald needs a Doctor, not Thrasios.

Partner suggestions are filtered correctly. When you’re building a deck and need to choose a second commander, you’ll only see valid options. Pick Kratos, and you’ll be offered Atreus not the entire pool of Partner commanders.

This works everywhere: the deck wizard, the deck builder, commander search. No special cases you need to remember.

We Might Have Missed Some

Here’s the thing: We found these variants by digging through card data and rules text. Secret Lair products keep coming, and Wizards isn’t shy about creating new partner variants for crossover sets.

If you find a partner type we’re not handling correctly, let us know. There might be a Street Fighter or Final Fantasy variant we haven’t encountered yet. The system is built to be extended—we just need to know what’s out there.

The Details Matter

This is the kind of feature that doesn’t make for exciting screenshots, but it’s exactly what a collection manager should handle. You shouldn’t have to remember that Friends Forever cards can’t pair with regular Partner cards. You shouldn’t have to manually filter your commander search to find valid Background enchantments.

The app should just know. Now it does.

Ready to build a partner deck? Get started with Icarian.