New Experience Counter Tech Revives Stinker Precon Commander

Last updated on November 14, 2025

Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas | Illustration by Jason Chan

The PlayStation Secret Lair drop took us all by surprise, and the cards from it have been performing quite well. Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima has been the most popular Commander of the bunch, causing countless ninja synergies to skyrocket in price.

Today, however, we've got two other commanders from the drop causing market mayhem. We're here to talk about Atreus, Impulsive Son and Kratos, Stoic Father. These partner commanders wield the new version of partner that only allows them to partner with each other (unless they print other cards with Partner-Father & Son, that is). They both want one simple thing, to stack a specific type of counter that only shows up every now and again: The experience counter.

Experience Counters? Sounds Weak.

Otharri, Suns' Glory | Illustration by Marta Nael

You can think of experience counters like experience points in a video game. The more you get, the more powerful you can become. Atreus, Impulsive Son draws you more cards the more experience counters you have, and Kratos, Stoic Father helps you scale your board up with +1+1 counters.

But what are the best ways to get experience counters in Jeskai? And what are the best payoffs? Well, one of them hails from what is widely regarded as the worst 2015 Commander precon, Wade into Battle. We're talking about Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas.

Is Kalemne Actually Horrible?

Fblthp, the Lost | Illustration by Jesper Ejsing

For , you get a 3/3 with double strike and vigilance. Not bad! It also stacks experience counters whenever you cast a creature with mana value 5 or greater. That's…a little bit tough. You'll have to wait to capitalize on its triggers until the turn after you cast it. Unless you've got some serious cost reduction on the board, having to spend 5 mana per turn to buff your commander by a measly 1 power is not very good.

However, in the 99 of Kratos & Atreus? Kalemne works like a charm.

Kalemne in the 99

Birgi, God of Storytelling | Illustration by Eric Deschamps

Kratos, Stoic Father gets experience counters whenever you attack with one or more gods, or whenever a god dies. There are currently 9 playable playable gods in Jeskai with mana value 5 or greater, there's some solid synergy there if you're thinking of building god typal. Kratos and Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas are quite a threatening pair on the board together, providing universal buffs to each other and the rest of your creatures.

Kalemne's Spike

Smothering Tithe | Illustration by Mark Behm

For whatever reason, Kalemne's supply is absolutely minuscule on TCGplayer. At the time of writing, there are only 48 copies of its Commander 2015 printing for sale, and just 32 of its Commander Anthology II printing. Perhaps tons of copies are sitting in unopened precons?

Microscopic supply is always a big factor in spikes like these. A month ago, the card was sitting at a measly $2, fated to chill forever in the multicolored section of your bulk bin. However, once players discovered its potent synergy with two commanders from a crossover with one of the most infamous video games of all time, copies started moving.

The cheapest near mint copy at the time of writing is going for $16.99, with the rest hovering around the $20 mark.

So What'll Happen With Kalemne's Price?

Rules Lawyer | Illustration by Sean Murray

First off, nothing beats doing your own research. It's hard to say what'll happen here. Kalemne, Disciple of Iroas hasn't been reprinted in nearly 10 years, and it's long overdue. Experience counters will only continue to become more viable as we get more and more proliferate cards. Unfortunately we don't get much good proliferate in white or red, with the notable exception of cards like Metastatic Evangel.

It's likely that Kalemne stays a solid pick for Boros, Jeskai, and Mardu 99s. Supply on this one is in the pits, and its synergy with two mega popular new commanders, is causing it to see significant hype right now. We'll just have to see if Atreus, Impulsive Son and Kratos, Stoic Father can stand the test of time.