Esper did in fact have a minor graveyard element
to its cards - recall things ilke Time Sieve and
Salvage Titan - and Silas Renn takes it to a
whole other level. Even maindecking cards like
Fracturing Gust doesn't help as much as it
should when he's around, especially when he's
your commander. My evaluation of the partner
keyword in general is not yet fully formed, but
to me it seems particularly good in this guy's
case because his abilities lend themselves well
to white's equipment-based mechanics.
The new “partner" commanders are a bit weaker
than the normal commander of their type, but
they make up for it by being able to synergize
and work well in a multitude of decks. Silas
Renn does well in any artifact-heavy deck, of
which there are many; being able to cast
artifacts from your graveyard is useful (and it
gets better if SIlas Renn has something like
double strike, enabling you to cast two in one
turn), and he punishes creatures if he's unable
to get through (thanks to deathtouch).
Less a powerful standalone and more a powerful
synergy piece, SIlas Renn can fit into any
number of Commander decks. If you're considering
Esper, Grixis, or four-color Artifacts, Silas
might well be your man.
