The official release of MTG TMNT is right around the corner, and like many other Universes Beyond sets, there are a lot of cards that are perfect for Commander play. In addition to the wealth of new Commanders coming our way, there are a variety of sweet support cards for the 99. In particular, MTG cards like The Ooze have a ton of potential with a wide range of decks. While it looks pretty basic on the surface, there’s a surprising amount of depth to this upcoming artifact.
MTG The Ooze
At a baseline, the goal with The Ooze is to pair it with cards like Endless One and Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate that can accumulate a lot of +1/+1 counters. In a similar vein to The Ozolith, The Ooze pays you off every time one of those creatures leaves play. This makes it much easier for you to rebuild in the face of removal.
The difference, however, is that instead of storing the counters to redistribute on a later turn, The Ooze floods the board with Mutagen tokens. Obviously, with no other synergies present, the fact that cracking each Mutagen token requires you to pay mana can make The Ooze feel a bit clunky in comparison. Fortunately, there are plenty of different ways to maximize the mass token production that this legendary artifact provides.
First and foremost, The Ooze synergizes perfectly with cards like Leonardo, the Balance and Krenko, Baron of Tin Street that reward you when your tokens enter or leave the battlefield. From there, cost reduction effects like Mutagen Man, Living Ooze help you convert each Mutagen token into +1/+1 counters without having to invest mana. Similarly, Arcbound Ravager, Krark-Clan Ironworks, and other artifact sacrifice outlets let you generate extra value or mana from your excess tokens.
To amplify Mutagen Token synergies even further, Commanders like Danny Pink reward you for putting +1/+1 counters on creatures one at a time. On top of all of these synergies, it’s important to note that The Ooze even has utility as a graveyard hate piece. Being able to get extra value out of your disruption is a huge boon in Commander. Throw in cards like Seedborn Muse that can untap The Ooze turn after turn, and you’ve got quite the value engine on your hands.
Potent Combos
Interestingly, The Ooze also helps create some cool infinite combos. By sacrificing a creature with a +1/+1 counter to Ashnod’s Altar with The Ooze and Quina, Qu Gourmet in play, for example, you’ll get a Mutagen and Frog token. With two mana now floating, you can use one to sacrifice the Mutagen token, growing the Frog. After this, sacrificing the Frog will give you two more mana, while creating a new Mutagen and Frog token.
Creating infinite mana, as well as offering infinite enters and leaves the battlefield triggers, this combo opens up all manner of win conditions. While this is the flashiest option with The Ooze, it also has a near-infinite synergy with Clock of Omens. Alongside a token doubler, like Anointed Procession, you can exile every card in each graveyard.
By using The Ooze to exile a card from a graveyard, you’ll get two Mutagen Tokens, thanks to the doubler. These can then be used to untap The Ooze using Clock of Omens. This process can then be repeated for every card in each graveyard, leaving you with a huge number of Mutagen Tokens, which can be lethal with Mirkwood Bats in play.
Ultimately, this legendary artifact looks powerful enough to make a splash in a multitude of Commander decks. Whether you want to dabble with exciting combo finished or simply use the card as a token maker, The Ooze should have no problem pulling its weight.
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