Last updated on May 16, 2025
Aetherdrift may have all the cool vehicles and Tarkir: Dragonstorm all the cool dragons, but Final Fantasy x MTG is definitely the Magic set that's on fire and slamming pedal to the metal this year. We still have two weeks until Final Fantasy‘s reveals are over, but it's already blindingly obvious that Wizards of the Coast decided to go full tilt and slam as many banger cards as they could fit.
The new main-set cards are turning obscure draft chaff from two decades ago into market superstars; the Final Fantasy Secret Lair is full of certified bangers; and the Through the Ages bonus sheet is chock-full of EDH staples, from Atraxa, Grand Unifier and Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer to Brainstorm and Force of Negation.
And the impact from these Final Fantasy reprints is extending to Brawl, one of the most popular formats on MTG Arena. Through the Ages will very likely, and at long last, bring partner pairings into the Arena format thanks to Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder, reimagined as Final Fantasy XVI's Hugo Kupka (who is not really one of the good guys, as you may guess from the card art), and Tymna the Weaver as Cecil Harvey, illustrated by the legendary Yoshitaka Amano.
Tymna and Bruse Tarl need no introduction for tabletop Commander players: The weaver and the boorish herder have been around for nearly a decade since their original printing in Commander 2016. But Bruse and Tymna, disguised as Hugo and Cecil, will be brand-new on MTGA… and, more importantly, they'll become the “two” in “You need two to tango.”
A Match Made In Jeskai
Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder – Illustrated by Anthony Palumbo
Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder and Tymna the Weaver are not the first partner commanders to arrive at MTG Arena. That honor belongs to Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker, an Azorius commander who also debuted in Commander 2016 but who arrived at MTGA some months ago thanks to Bloomburrow.
As the first Brawl partner commander ever, Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker made quite the splash among Magic players – but as they say, one bird does not a spring make, and all by her lonesome Ishai is not too strong a commander.
But now, new partners have entered the Arena client!
On tabletop, Ishai, Ojutai Dragonspeaker has enough punch to be cEDH-viable when paired with Jeska, Thrice Reborn, who triples Ishai's punch and gives her access to red – which is exactly what a partnership with Hugo Kupka will bring to Arena.
“Bruse Tarl gives Ishai a source of double strike out of the command zone,” noted u/PhyrexianOilLobbyist a some years ago when discusing Ishai's optimal dance partners. “Red also gives access to extra-combat effects that can allow multiple kills per turn. Double strike speeds up Ishai's clock, and since the ability can target himself you have the option of loading up Bruse with equipment as a backup plan.”
Tymna the Weaver is an even bigger addition: one of the most popular partners commanders and arguably the #1 cEDH pairing when partnering with Thrasios, Triton Hero. She won't find her usual dance partner on MTGA, but either with Ishai as an Esper duo, or with Bruse as a Mardu pairing, she'll make quite a few waves in the Brawl pond.
Reading the Fine Print Explains the Fine Print
Bruvac the Grandiloquent – Illustration by Ekaterina Burmak
While Hugo Kupka's coming to Arena is extremely likely, let's point out two caveats here.
First, WotC could tweak how the bonus sheet is implemented on MTGA: They have done it in the past, although it really seems extremely unlikely to happen here. All cards from the Through the Ages bonus sheet are legal in FIN Draft and Sealed if you happen to find them in your pool. If they were to remove Hugo Kupka and Cecil Harvey from the pool, then MTGA drafts would be different from tabletop, which would be an extremely weird move.
Second, while WotC has already confirmed that the hard part is already done and the Partner mechanic is already coded into Brawl, there's been zero mention about how it could work.
Like in regular Commander?
Like in Duel Commander, in which you can only play one of the partners (even if you have both in the command zone)?
Or will Brawl have some specific rules for partners?
About this, there's zero official information.
More Brawl Game Changers
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow – Illustration by Yongjae Choi
Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder / Hugo Kupka and Tymna the Weaver / Cecil Harvey are far from the only Through the Ages card that will make a big Brawl splash. Thus far we've only seen less than 25% of what this bonus sheet will bring, but we already know of at least two Commander game changers that will make their way into Brawl.
First of all, we have Final Fantasy VII's Yuffie Kisaragi as a reimagined Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow. Which, no shade to Tifa or Aerith, but pretty much makes Yuriko the best Final Fantasy girl. Sorry, I don't make the rules here!
As one of most popular Dimir commander, both in general and cEDH, players expect Yuffie / Yuriko to go straight to Brawl's hell queue on day 1, as she'll very likely be one of the best commanders in that format, too.
But she won't be the lone newcomer in the hell queue, since Through the Ages will bring the one and only…
Urza, Lord High Artificer, the top-ranked blue commander, reincarnated as Terra Branford.
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