Any haste-enabler outside of red is an exciting prospect in my book, and Merry and Pippin' Abzan commander color identity gives you access to a lot of lifegain, tokens, and creature synergy
On the opposite side, you want to go for Transmute Artifact, Fabricate, and Whir of Invention when you have a spell that combos with an artifact
I have no idea why they went for creatures wearing hats specifically, but Id like to believe that Wizards just wants to stir a fuss and get players to fight over whether or not soldier helmets count as hats
If you don't put an art sticker on the permanent because you don't have any available, the outside person should rate the card's existing art
This lets you mix and match Thrasios, Triton Hero with whatever other partner creature and gives you a ton of flexibility with your deck building