It eschews the 1-of mantra of cards to do something different
Brandon : Okay, I can try looking something up
It costs two to move characters there (not horrible) but once there they gain the incredibly powerful double combo of Ward and Evasive, making them virtually invulnerable
These are only three of the recent sets as well, and it hardly takes into account cards like Monastery Swiftspear from The Brothers' War or the new Slickshot Show-Off from Outlaws of Thunder Junction for a couple more powerful options
Aaron chose a one-shot (which ended up in the set lowered in cost and renamed Tome Scour) while Devin chose a repeatable creature
Elrond, Lord of Rivendell Marcy: I don't know if I love Elrond as a commander, as I think he works better as a piece in a Galadriel / Arwen scry Elf style deck, but even without being in an Elf themed deck, Elrond is a pretty solid card that just produces good value