For the most part, the themes in this set are only lightly supported, meaning you can still craft a strong deck by focusing on curve, efficient removal, and raw card quality without leaning too heavily into synergy
In a few cases, the adamant ability may replace the base effect with something better
Generally, the Commander Format Panel wanted to identify cards that create unfun play experiences
Its commander, Teval, the Balanced ScaleTeval, the Balanced Scale, manages to enable a graveyard strategy with a small ramp subtheme to help power out the Dragons that it and every other Tarkir: Dragonstorm precon wanted to include a least a few of
Quoting thegamer, the cards are are selected based on their gameplay and story value, and in particular how each character relates to the overall narrative of the set