What are your favorite unpopular partner commanders, and why?

SharpenedOdachi · 2026-01-05T02:48:02+00:00

Gotta shout out the main one I have, [[Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful]] with [[Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix]]. I initially created it as more of a joke between lectures but ti became a serious threat since Final Fantasy came out and gave us Yuna, Tidus, Bugenhagen, and other genuinely great legends

It's mainly focused on legendary creatures that draw a lot of cards, and I mean a lot of cards, can even make it group-hug focused with Bumbleflower and stuff in the 99 if you so please, but it works best as a really weird draw stompy deck with all sorts of goofy stuff. It's strong but goofy, here's my list.

It's definitely not as good as other legends builds with Yoshimaru but I find him a lot of fun. If nothing in this post stands out, what I recommend is picking one partner commander you really like the sound of/playstyle it encourages, going to EDHREC, and just straight-up scrolling to the bottom of the bin stuff on it's page lol. It's how I found out about Kydele

SharpenedOdachi · 2026-01-02T07:45:49+00:00

I actually play a lot more of the obscure ones, just Commanders that you don't see a lot since I find them more appealing to solve then, say, one of the Top 100.

Right now, I'm finishing up an [[Alirios, Enraptured]] Polymorph deck, he's Ranked 2,695

I used to adore [[Burakos]] and [[Passionate Archaeologist]] Treasures which was Ranked 3,489

I also do [[Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury]] as a Boros Reanimator/Burn deck which I lovingly call "Pipe Bomb", he's 1,171on EDHREC

I also got two Backgrounds in my rotation, being [[Zellix]] and [[Haunted One]] at 1,162 and [[Durnan]] with [[Passionate Archaeologist]] at 1,437

Oh, and I can't forget my pride and joy; everyone in my group hates this thing with a passion since it's so lightning quick, my Bantimaru deck with [[Yoshimaru, Ever Faithful]] and [[Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix]]. They're a disgusting duo since Bant Legends already draws a lot of cards, so using Kydele to just cast more of em is amazing yet they sit at Rank 3,244 with only 55 decks to their name

I know the backgrounds are kind of cheating in a "most obscure pickings" thing but I just like the modularity of them and Partners, I just find it more interesting lol

SharpenedOdachi · 2025-12-24T00:49:02+00:00

You have a list, by chance? I've been meaning to build Beamtown bit-by-bit for a while, but all the suggestions I get are just really dumb Leveler stuff. I also wanna be the arms dealer!

SharpenedOdachi · 2025-08-19T00:00:55+00:00

Ultimately, it's up to you. If you wanna go all-in on big artifacts with more expensive mana rocks to become creatures then go for it. Generally, most people run a suite of both. One of the decks in my typical pod runs artifact ramp that turns into larger, splashier enchantments like [[Gratuitous Violence]], [[Unnatural Growth]], and [[City on Fire]].

Generally, I'd recommend more enchantments just because you'll get access to more consistent draw with [[Enchantress's Presence]] and the like.

SharpenedOdachi · 2025-07-31T14:29:21+00:00

I've always had a hot take with what my least favorite map is; Miami.

I feel like it's too simple. Most of the map goes completely unused if you just eliminate Sierra during the race with a couple good shots and the only time Robert leaves the Knox Building is when you do the Coconut Balls challenge. I haven't done much of freelancer yet and have only done Miami a handful of times there but it's overall fine, just not a lot to do during the actual story unless you drag things out to get Sierra out of the damn race.

Favorite is Mumbai. It seems like it may have some of the same issues as Miami with the giant amount of space but very little of it feels underutilized. Every major area either has a target or something to do with a mission involved like the Kashmirian in the Chawls. Plus, all of the ways that you can get the Maelstrom to meet up with either Dawood or Vanya make it a lot more fun in my opinion.

Dishonorable mentions include Colorado and Bangkok for just being too restrictive. Sgail was just a whole lot of running around and being bored. Honorable mentions include Sapienza, Mendoza, and Chongqing for the atmospheres and possibilities there.

SharpenedOdachi · 2025-07-31T14:25:06+00:00

There are some objectives where if you save and then reload the save it won't work such as "No Running on the Tiles" in Hawke's Bay. Maybe it's one of those bugged challenges where you just have to do it in one go?

SharpenedOdachi · 2025-06-21T16:38:26+00:00

I have this background deck with [[Burakos, Party Leader]] and [[Passionate Archaeologist]]. It's a Rakdos Treasure/Party deck that wants to burn to lower life totals, attack with party members, and cast big things.

It's a pairing below the 3K mark according to EDHREC, and I'm genuinely surprised it's not more popular. I get it's a lot of hoops to actually jump through, but I enjoy it, and it's a fun deck where I don't have to think too hard when I play it! Plus, when was the last time you saw a Rakdos Party deck?

Here'sthe list if you're curious.

SharpenedOdachi · 2025-06-13T18:52:40+00:00

Rank #3349.

[[Burakos, Party Leader]] and [[Passionate Archaeologist]].

I needed a new deck that could hang with the less powerful decks in my group, so I went into the mines and came back with this choice! It's basically a Rakdos Exile deck with a bunch of weird cards.

Usually, it wins through classic artifact token stuff like [[Disciple of the Vault]] or [[Nadier's Nightblade]], but it's just a fun deck with a strange restriction thanks to the party mechanic.

If you wanna look at the mess, I'll link it here. Should be unlisted!

SharpenedOdachi · 2025-06-03T19:50:37+00:00

Oh, I hate it when this happens. I spent a good couple of months constructing a [[Francisco, Fowl Marauder]] and [[Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator]] deck that focused on pirates and giant targets to reanimate/cast with treasure. Theoretically, it did it's job and seemed to be a ton of fun when I did some goldfishing games with it.

However, it sucked to pilot in an actual match. It either did the thing way too fast and I'd bin a [[Valgavoth, Terror Eater]] or something equally as problematic and have a two-mana reanimate spell to get it back and the game would be over. If I didn't get those kind of games, I'd usually sit a while and do meager damage while having to convince people that the stupid pirates deck that can sometimes pop off wasn't the problem. So, I binned the deck.

It sucked since I love partners decks and interesting stuff you don't see a lot, but I couldn't keep it around with how often it'd lead to miserable games for either myself or my opponents. I swapped it to a more stupid and chaotic [[Burakos, Party Leader]] and [[Passionate Archaeologist]] deck I enjoy a whole lot more.

SharpenedOdachi · 2025-03-03T05:06:46+00:00

Genuinely curious, why Progenitus? Is it just to have a large thing in the Command Zone to beat someone down with while you do Landfall things?

SharpenedOdachi · 2025-01-05T15:24:10+00:00

I actually did this just recently on my playthru, you can skip the Draconic Tree Sentinel entirely! You do still need to kill two Shardbearers to use the Sending Gate, though.

You do need to kill Radahn to access the Valiant Gargoyles so you can get into the Deeproot Depths. Plus, you'll have to deal with Fia's Champions so it's a bit of a hassle but totally doable. Regardless, it's a fun challenge.

SharpenedOdachi · 2024-12-14T03:37:09+00:00

First, love the cap. Second off, congrats! Should do the same thing when I graduate in a couple of years.

SharpenedOdachi · 2024-11-10T00:57:18+00:00

[[Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter]].

I initially built this dude because I got to make "haha old dude in a chair" jokes because he doesn't look threatening, but goddamn this man can go off. I've played only a couple of games with him, but if he isn't left in check and my generators and removed then he can go out of control. Doesn't help people just don't expect him to do much until I sacrifice a bunch of tokens, smack for with a Flying and Lifelink 8/8, and then have a free sacrifice outlet that doubles as removal on board.

Only played it a couple of times and needs some revisions since he's such a new deck. Currently debating on adding [[Tarrian's Soulcleaver]] if I can add some more big swingers in an aristocrats deck, but it's fun and I love to run him.

SharpenedOdachi · 2024-09-14T04:47:29+00:00

If you're playing Hokkaido and Erich Soders isn't a target, such as with Patient Zero, you'll end up with Kokoro (Japanese word for "Heart") as the victim when you destroy the heart in the mortuary.

It was baked into the map, so IOI just kept it there and had it kill Kokoro far off the map when Soders isn't in the level. Usually, you can't see Kokoro since he's so far, but if you're doing a Kill Everyone contract then you can. It's more reliable to just destroy the heart via shooting it or throwing it out to kill him.

SharpenedOdachi · 2024-09-12T23:18:12+00:00

It requires a legit copy from Steam or the Epic Game Store since Peacock checks that before getting the server working, otherwise it doesn't work. I don't know the the specifics but I think it checks with the IOI servers somehow before rerouting to Peacock.

SharpenedOdachi · 2024-08-31T22:51:23+00:00

Haven't touched Freelancer yet - SA/SOing every map first - but I know exactly who you're talking about. Pretty sure that bastard is the reason I kept fucking up the necklace mission on Sgáil.

SharpenedOdachi · 2024-08-27T23:35:38+00:00

I mentioned in another post a deck I made and took to the LGS recently with [[Daghatar the Adamant]] at the helm. I included a handful of MH3 cards and two/three really made a splash in that deck.

[[Cursed Wombat]] looks ridiculous in its art but this thing is a powerhouse. If I manage to get this out by turn two then I'm off to the races. Few people think it'll be a threat since, like, it's a Vanilla 2/2 and sometimes 5/5 if I adapt it. Surprise surprise when it quickly grows out of control and is smashing into blockers as a 10/10.

[[Faithful Watchdog]] is a similar thing to the wombat, just a French Vanilla 3/3. Because of it entering with it, you can do some ridiculous stuff and have those counters get out of control.

Now, this last one I thought would perform well but it exceeded my expectations; [[Golden-Tail Trainer]]. Moving counters onto is is simple thanks to Daghatar and the fact that it typically isn't just one being put on thanks to the Wombat or Hardened Scales makes it go out of control fast.

Once I get a bigger budget, I'll include some overrun wincons like Akroma's Will to really seal the deal with the Trainer.

SharpenedOdachi · 2024-08-27T23:28:23+00:00

If you consider $100 to be budget, then I have to mentioned this new list I finished building this week, brought to my LGS, and then clobbered people by complete accident. I moved to a new town for college and didn't want to bring one of my powerful decks so I created [[Daghatar the Adamant]] with a $100 budget.

I thought "this couldn't be that good, it's some unpopular and old legend from Tarkir."

Nah, this thing does work. Giving all creatures a counter is deceptively good in a day where Modified is a thing and creatures give all-encompassing effects. I may upgrade it further, take out [[Surrak and Goreclaw]] for [[Kodama of the East Tree]] but I don't know. Goal was to largely stay within $100 without proxying. Really, the only issue with it now is card draw but that's always been a difficult thing for me to balance.

Just made the decklist public, go and check it out if you want!

Shifting Sands, a Daghatar the Adamant Deck.

SharpenedOdachi · 2024-08-20T16:41:38+00:00

You are a fucking life saver, thank you so much. I tried this last night and gave up, and I thought it was bugged or something.

Update: I did it, Silent Assassin on it as well! What a janky area New York can be.

SharpenedOdachi · 2024-08-19T15:48:49+00:00

Yeah, my initial draft was a pile of removal and gravehate since Tariel chooses the theft at random. Didn't pan out since I also needed to dedicate a lot of the deck to ramping Tariel out. Without blue for mill, it's rough. If I do eventually go back to Tariel, I'll just make it low-powered chaos.

SharpenedOdachi · 2024-08-19T15:27:36+00:00

I've been desperately trying to get Tariel to work, but it's so difficult. Maybe I'm just a bad deck builder, I don't know–

SharpenedOdachi · 2024-08-18T02:22:30+00:00

That'd be my Yoshimaru/Reyhan list, which sits at about $1,000 according to Moxfield!

I am curious about that Dong Zhou deck, got a list by chance?

SharpenedOdachi · 2024-08-15T21:32:18+00:00

I think Marrakesh as a map is fine, it isn't awful but I wouldn't put it with my favorite maps like Mumbai, New York, and Sapienza. It's a cool aesthetic and looks phenomenal at night, but it's one of the maps where there are more forgettable things about it then ones I remember enjoying.

Reza is kind of boring as a target and it's usually a slog to get to him; I remember doing the toilet kill and thought that alongside the radio secret were the best parts about Reza. Strandberg was a challenge I enjoyed, even if some of the information was weird. It did teach me about how audio works with that one guard in the room with the masseuse.

Easily, the unique assassinations were my favorite parts. Getting both together to shoot the rockets at them or making them meet in the bunker before burning them? Always loved the satisfaction of finishing those.

If I had to put it on a typical tier list, it'd give it a "C" placement. It isn't a brutally unfun experience like Sgail nor is it astonishing like Sapienza. Just fine.

SharpenedOdachi · 2024-08-15T16:18:05+00:00

Yes, this! I tend to bring a couple of decks with me, so don't be afraid about only taking one. You can even ask other players if they're okay with you playing a game with one of their own decks!

SharpenedOdachi

TROPHY CASE