I've spent the last four weeks building and play-testing 50/50 decks, the name I've given to this particular method of deck construction. In case you haven't looked at any of those articles and are jumping in here, let me start by giving a brief recap:

A 50/50 deck is a Commander-legal deck built with two Partner Commanders. Each Partner has a different color identity with no crossover (for example you can't combine a Mono-White one and a one).

Each half of the deck is a casual, Brawl-style 50-card deck based on one of the Partners. Every card in the 100 card deck must clearly slot into one of the two decks, with no confusion even from a novice player (in other words, no colorless cards [unless one of the Partners is colorless] and no multicolored cards which cross Partners - if you've got Red and Green, no cards, including Lands). This makes it very easy to split apart without having to wonder "wait, which half gets Arcane Signet?"

The idea is to have a single deck you can keep with you a lot of the time and fill a bunch of possible uses. Hanging in a coffee shop and there's a group playing Commander? You've got a deck. At a family reunion where you weren't expecting to play any Magic, but your little cousin wants to learn? You've got two decks ready to go, which can be played Brawl-style (with the Partner in the Command zone) or casually with the Partners shuffled in.

This isn't the deck you take to Commander night at your LGS, nor will it win any big tournaments. That's not the point. It's about having something small you can keep with you lots of the time - in your school backpack or bag for work, in your carry-on when you fly, that sort of thing - that allows you the opportunity to play when you otherwise wouldn't have your cards.

Curious? I recommend checking out the last four articles. I'm excited to build at least one and quite possibly all four of these in real life - I like the idea of having a deck I can keep with me that fills a bunch of needs.

• Going 50/50 in Commander - Thrasios & Toggo
• Going 50/50 in Commander - Komahl & Jeska
• Going 50/50 in Commander - Tana & Tymna
• Going 50/50 in Commander - Breeches & Malcolm

But chatting with my editor, I realized it's not as simple as "here's a deck built on Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator and Breeches, Brazen Plunderer." We've got eight 50-card decks here, and there's no reason you can't jam them together in different configurations. It can be a fun exercise in deck construction, and it is also a fun exercise in deciding how to play any particular combination to create a different experience.

(Three of them are Mono-Red, of course, so we won't be sticking those together, though you can do whatever you'd like.)

The first new pairing I tried was Breeches and Tymna the Weaver. Let's take a look.

Breeches & Tymna | Commander | Mark Wischkaemper

• Commanders (2)
• 1 Tymna the Weaver
• 1 Breeches, Brazen Plunderer

• Creatures (29)
• 1 Angrath's Marauders
• 1 Boarding Party
• 1 Brazen Freebooter
• 1 Breeches, Eager Pillager
• 1 Broadside Bombardiers
• 1 Captain Lannery Storm
• 1 Captain Ripley Vance
• 1 Captivating Crew
• 1 Coastline Marauders
• 1 Coercive Recruiter
• 1 Dire Fleet Daredevil
• 1 Enterprising Scallywag
• 1 Impulsive Pilferer
• 1 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
• 1 Lizard Blades
• 1 Plundering Pirate
• 1 Storm Fleet Arsonist
• 1 Reckless Fireweaver
• 1 Cruel Celebrant
• 1 Dauthi Voidwalker
• 1 Drana and Linvala
• 1 Elas il-Kor, Sadistic Pilgrim
• 1 Intrepid Rabbit
• 1 Iridescent Vinelasher
• 1 Liesa, Forgotten Archangel
• 1 Selfless Spirit
• 1 Starscape Cleric
• 1 Thornplate Intimidator
• 1 Warren Warleader

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

• Instants (9)
• 1 Abrade
• 1 Buccaneer's Bravado
• 1 Return the Favor
• 1 Untimely Malfunction
• 1 Anguished Unmaking
• 1 Dead Before Sunrise
• 1 Inkshield
• 1 Mortify
• 1 Secure the Wastes

• Sorceries (6)
• 1 Seize the Spotlight
• 1 Aerith Rescue Mission
• 1 Blot Out the Sky
• 1 Lingering Souls
• 1 Night's Whisper
• 1 Sign in Blood

• Enchantments (5)
• 1 Brazen Cannonade
• 1 Daring Piracy
• 1 Bastion of Remembrance
• 1 Blind Obedience
• 1 Phyrexian Arena

• Artifacts (8)
• 1 Cursed Mirror
• 1 Fire Diamond
• 1 Ruby Medallion
• 1 Orzhov Locket
• 1 Orzhov Signet
• 1 Talisman of Hierarchy
• 1 The Wind Crystal
• 1 White Auracite

• Lands (40)
• 17 Mountain
• 1 Arena of Glory
• 1 Castle Embereth
• 1 The Autonomous Furnace
• 4 Plains
• 3 Swamp
• 1 Caves of Koilos
• 1 Concealed Courtyard
• 1 Fetid Heath
• 1 Isolated Chapel
• 1 Midgar, City of Mako // Reactor Raid
• 1 Restless Fortress
• 1 Shadowy Backstreet
• 1 Shambling Vent
• 1 Shattered Sanctum
• 1 Shineshadow Snarl
• 1 Silent Clearing
• 1 Temple of Silence
• 1 Vault of the Archangel

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Playing against each other, I liked this pairing! The two decks feel reasonably matched, and while I think the nod would go to Breeches (especially if the Partners are in the Command zone) Tymna can hold her own with a decent draw.

Put together, it gets a little fuzzier. It still works, but the possibility of mana problems is quite real. It's a lot of Mountains, and you can wind up having way more Red than you can use. That said, it plays out like a funny Aristocrats build, except instead of tokens, it's mostly Pirates doing the dying. Tymna does a nice job of keeping cards flowing (a common problem with Red decks) and also encourages us to keep attacking with our Pirates, giving us even more incentive to drive our Pirates into the red zone.

The second one I thought would be really fun was Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator and Tana, the Bloodsower. Check this Temur () pairing out:

Malcolm & Tana | Commander | Mark Wischkaemper

• Commanders (2)
• 1 Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator
• 1 Tana, the Bloodsower

• Creatures (25)
• 1 Amphin Mutineer
• 1 Corsair Captain
• 1 Crafty Cutpurse
• 1 Daring Saboteur
• 1 Departed Deckhand
• 1 Dreamcaller Siren
• 1 Merchant Raiders
• 1 Pirated Copy
• 1 Prosperous Pirates
• 1 Sailor of Means
• 1 Siren Stormtamer
• 1 Slippery Scoundrel
• 1 Spectral Sailor
• 1 Tandem Lookout
• 1 Warkite Marauder
• 1 Halana and Alena, Partners
• 1 Keeper of Fables
• 1 Lizard Blades
• 1 Mycoloth
• 1 Ohran Frostfang
• 1 Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 1 Tendershoot Dryad
• 1 Thelonite Hermit
• 1 Thunderfoot Baloth
• 1 Witty Roastmaster

• Instants (15)
• 1 Brainstorm
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Hornswoggle
• 1 Lookout's Dispersal
• 1 Pongify
• 1 Rapid Hybridization
• 1 Abrade
• 1 Artifact Mutation
• 1 Beast Within
• 1 Chaos Warp
• 1 Giant Growth
• 1 Invigorate
• 1 Might of the Masses
• 1 Return of the Wildspeaker
• 1 Temur Battle Rage

• Sorceries (5)
• 1 Chart a Course
• 1 Preordain
• 1 Stolen by the Fae
• 1 Rampant Growth
• 1 Shamanic Revelation

• Enchantments (5)
• 1 Ophidian Eye
• 1 Call to the Kindred
• 1 Impact Tremors
• 1 Bravado
• 1 Snake Umbra

• Lands (40)
• 17 Island
• 1 Castle Vantress
• 1 Mystic Sanctuary
• 1 The Surgical Bay
• 7 Forest
• 3 Mountain
• 1 Cinder Glade
• 1 Copperline Gorge
• 1 Fire-Lit Thicket
• 1 Game Trail
• 1 Kessig Wolf Run
• 1 Mossfire Valley
• 1 Oran-Rief, the Vastwood
• 1 Rockfall Vale
• 1 Rootbound Crag
• 1 Temple of Abandon

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In this one, the 50-card matchup surprised me! I figured Malcolm would run over Tana, but Tana has a powerful mid-game and often was able to come back from way behind. One game Malcolm had Tana to 3 while Malcolm was still at 20, and in a single attack, with help from Embercleave, Snake Umbra, Bravado, and Impact Tremors, Tana did 24 damage in a single attack. Both decks play well, and Malcolm is far from hopeless.

As a Commander deck, this pairing is brutally effective. Malcolm's mana and card draw combined with Tana's sheer power makes for an amazing combination. In play-testing, I was often untapping on turn six with over a dozen Saprolings and a massive Tana. Sure, Commander can do better, but this deck isn't attempting to be super optimized, but rather be good at multiple things. That said, with an updated mana base I would play this deck at Commander night without hesitation.

I'd love to see anyone else's exploration in this space. If you are interested in this, please let us know at CSI - they can get a message to me if you write in! I'd be delighted to see what other pairings you come up with, whether it's using the ones I built or building your own.

Next week, we'll pivot to Edge of Eternities and head for the stars, but in the meantime, I hope you've enjoyed exploring deck-building like this. I've had a blast, and I expect I'll return to the format at some point!

Thanks for reading.