At New York Comic Con, we got our first look at 2026’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set. While the flavor is a bit much for some MTG players’ tastes, there’s still a lot to look forward to. This Universes Beyond set seems to have some seriously powerful cards, for instance, which should make for great Commanders.
Out of the cards we’ve seen so far, Leonardo, Sewer Samurai seems like one of the most exciting. On his own, Leonardo is already a potent powerhouse, but when combined with a few tech choices, you can create nasty infinite combos.
Leonardo, Sewer Samurai
As a 3/3 with Double Strike for four, Leonardo, Sewer Samurai is also a pretty compelling MTG card. Factor in Sneak, which functions here like Ninjutsu, and you can potentially swing in an impressive amount of damage. That said, swinging in for six damage is one of the least interesting things you can do with Leonardo.
Instead, Leonardo, Sewer Samurai works best when you’re exploiting his final ability, which allows you to reanimate small creatures. Naturally, cards with powerful enters effects, like Loran of the Third Path, are ideal targets for this ability. Similarly, Recruiter of the Guard or Evangel of Heliod can provide fantastic value, even if you only reanimate them once.
This synergy makes Leonardo, Sewer Samurai a fantastic new Commander for a Mono-White Weenie deck. While he can’t reanimate engines like Mentor of the Meek or Welcoming Vampire, he can easily fuel their shenanigans. This alone makes Leonardo a Turtle worth paying attention to, but he gets even better still.
Thankfully, it’s fairly easy to break Leonardo’s reanimation ability since the Finalty Counters he provides can be removed. Cards like Power Conduit and Scholar of New Horizons are perfect for doing this, and both offer additional benefits alongside counter removal. Nesting Grounds has the same strength, as you can move Finality Counters from your own creatures to your opponents.
Creating Combos
Leaning into the theme of removing Finality Counters, Leonardo, Sewer Samurai can create infinite combos using cards like Solemnity. With Solemnity in play, creatures can be reanimated endlessly, which opens up spicy combo lines using Phyrexian Altar. Any one cost low-power or toughness creature, for instance, can be sacrificed and reanimated endlessly using these two cards.
Offering infinite enters and dies triggers, exploiting this combo is incredibly easy. With a Soul Warden on the board, you can get infinite life, while Altar of the Brood offers infinite Mill. Alternatively, using an Ornithopter as the sacrifice fodder will let you gain infinite mana, opening up even more options.
Outside of using Phyrexian Altar, you can just use Walking Ballista alongside Solemnity. By casting Ballista for X=0, it’ll sacrifice itself upon entry, allowing you to recast it endlessly. You’ll still need a win condition when going down this route, but reducing the required combo components is always worthwhile.
Thankfully, Leonardo’s Finality Counter-based combo also has some redundancy in the form of Hexavus. With a zero-mana creature in the graveyard, Hexavus can similarly facilitate an infinite loop of enters and dies triggers. Even without fully exploiting this card, having a repeatable one-mana counter-removing effect is always useful.
Leonardo in the 99
As much as Leonardo, Sewer Samurai has a lot of potential in Commander, he’s by no means perfect. His mono-white color identity is rather limiting, as it stops you from using potential wincons like Impact Tremors. Thankfully, Leonardo, Sewer Samurai isn’t just a one-trick pony, as he can perform admirably in the 99.
Due to his reanimation ability, Aristocrats seems like a compelling archetype for Leonardo. Sacrifice payoffs like Zulaport Cutthroat or Pitiless Plunderer are small enough for Leonardo to reanimate, giving the deck more consistency. Additionally, Leonardo can also reanimate sacrifice targets, giving the deck more fuel in a pinch.
If you’re committed to the combo side of things, Medicine Runner can replace Solemnity in a Selesnya deck. Admittedly, going down this route will dilute the combo’s efficiency quite a bit, as not having a core piece in the command zone is a worry.
All in all, Leonardo, Sewer Samurai seems like a very strong Commander card, and one worth keeping an eye on. While it’s unlikely to perform in any competitive format, there are plenty of places it can see play in Commander. Depending on what gets spoiled during the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles spoiler season, this card could get even stronger.
For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what gets revealed when spoilers start in February. At the very least, it looks like this set won’t disappoint from a power level perspective.
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