We all knew it was coming at this point. After being predicted by players and then leaked by a food truck, this set’s announcement was inevitable. At long last, that announcement has finally arrived, as Wizards has officially revealed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) MTG set.
Releasing in March of 2026, this set may be months away, but Wizards is being shy about revealing details. Today, alongside a bunch of new spoilers, Wizards has debuted a brand-new five-color Commander precon.
Turtle Power Commander Deck
Unsurprisingly, the TMNT MTG set has a Commander precon dedicated to the titular turtles. As a five-color precon, this deck is already a rarity that’s sure to be a hit with fans. Beyond its color identity, this deck also supports one of the most beloved archetypes in Commander, go-wide tokens.
Beyond just revealing the box art for this Commander deck, Wizards has gone ahead and revealed some details already. According to Wizards, this deck is going to have “one face Commander and five cards with the mechanic Partner.” Thankfully, these new Partner cards won’t break competitive Commander in half, as they use the fixed Partner variant, Partner – Character Select.
Keeping the excitement going, Wizards went on to debut all five Partner – Character Select cards appearing in the Turtle Power precon. On top of that, the face Commander for the deck has also been unveiled, and it’s a real doozy. While some of the cards’ mechanics remain shrouded in mystery, these cards already look seriously strong.
Heroes in a Half-Shell
Out of the box, Heroes in a Half-Shell is the face Commander for the Turtle Power precon. Notably, this card does not have the Partner – Character Select ability, so you can’t Partner up with any of the individual turtles. While this is perhaps a little disappointing, thankfully, the card is still more than powerful enough to consider for the Commander role.
On its own, a 5/5 with Vigilance, Menace, Trample, and Haste is a threat that opponents will have to worry about. Four unblocked swings can take an opponent out of the game, and the card only gets stronger over time. Each time it connects, Heroes in a Half-Shell gets a +1/+1 counter, and you draw a card, which is fantastic.
Beyond just buffing itself, Heroes in a Half-Shell cares about any Mutant, Ninja, and/or Turtle connecting for damage. In theory, this could make it a powerful five-color choice for typal decks built around these archetypes. For Ninjas, especially, who already have evasion and Ninjutsu, Heroes in a Half-Shell could be surprisingly powerful.
Leonardo, the Balance
As the established leader of the turtles, it’s no surprise that Leonardo, the Balance has the five color identity for the Partner cards. This makes him a mandatory choice if you’re going down the Partner – Character Select route. Thankfully, being pushed down this path is far from a bad thing, as his abilities are fantastic. Putting a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control for free is incredibly useful, even if it is limited by a once-per-turn clause.
Notably, in Commander, there are four turns in a cycle, and creating a token during each one should be trivial. With no end of support, it’s genuinely feasible to buff your entire board with four +1/+1 counters each turn cycle. If you manage this, you’ll easily have a sizable board of decent threats, which can turn lethal when activating Leonardo’s second ability.
The WUBRG ability cost may be somewhat intensive, but giving all your creatures Menace, Trample, and Lifelink makes them incredibly powerful. With all these abilities, blocking effectively will be nigh impossible, so it can easily facilitate game-ending swings. Even outside of the Turtle Power precon, Leonardo, the Balance might just become a favorite for Token-based Commander decks.
Donatello, the Brains
While we’ve not seen the entire decklist yet, Donatello, the Brains looks like the best option to Partner with Leonardo. When creating tokens, Donatello gets you Mutagen Tokens, albeit not always at a one-to-one rate. Still, extra tokens are always a good thing, and Mutagen Tokens aren’t half bad either.
Revealed in the card image gallery, Mutagen Tokens are new artifact tokens that can be cracked for one mana. When doing this, you get to put a +1/+1 counter on a target creature you control. While this can only be done as a sorcery, having a healthy supply of potential buffs is definitely powerful.
For better or worse, despite the token producing appearances, Donatello isn’t actually that good with Leonardo. He provides more value and potential buffs, of course, but you’re not getting extra bodies on the board. Unless you’ve got artifact animation, there’s a good chance these tokens will be surpassed by Leonardo’s counter production.
Even with this slight disconnect in mind, Donatello, the Brains is still a powerful MTG card. Thanks to all the token production in Commander, you can easily get a massive amount of Mutagen tokens. With enough mana, these could easily turn a creature into a major threat. At the very least, occasionally buffing creatures for one mana a pop is a pretty high floor.
Raphael, the Muscle
Much like Donatello, Raphael, the Muscle also creates Mutagen Tokens. Thankfully, this isn’t Raphael’s main focus, although the extra buffs provided by Mutagen Tokens are extra painful when Raphael is on the board. Tokens aside, Raphael, the Muscle is a very powerful MTG card that can pack a serious punch.
On his own, doubling the damage of creatures with counters on them is specific and requires a lot of work. When Partnered with Leonardo, the Balance, however, there should be no trouble at all. All you’d need to do is create a single token, and suddenly Raphael essentially doubles your damage.
Thanks to this ability, and Leonardo’s triggered ability, Raphael, the Muscle is another compelling Partner choice. He’s not cheap to cast, but he can easily facilitate game-ending swings once on the board. Getting to have that tucked away in the command zone is definitely a scary thought.
Michelangelo, the Heart
Not quite last but definitely least, Michelangelo, the Heart is also here. Offering slow counter and token production, Michelangelo isn’t terrible, but he’s a long way behind the other Turtles. At best, you’re getting a +1/+1 counter and a Food Token every turn, but that’s not without risk. Having to attack something, even if it doesn’t get through, means you’re likely always risking resources.
Thankfully, between unblockable creatures and those with Flying, attacking each turn isn’t impossible. Even when you do this, however, the power ceiling is pretty low unless you’re leaning into Food synergies. Potentially, this makes Michelangelo a better legend to build around, rather than helm this precon.
Splinter, the Mentor
Finally, Splinter, the Mentor unsurprisingly rounds out the quinquet of Partner – Character Select cards. Like Donatello, Splinter is entirely built around Mutagen Tokens, and the pair work quite well together, in fact. With both cards in play, you’ll get two Mutagen Tokens wherever a nontoken creature dies, which is rather compelling.
Sadly, with Leonardo doing such a good job of providing counters himself, these Mutagen Tokens may go uncracked in the precon. That said, in other archetypes, Splinter is a godsend. Within Artisocrats, for instance, he can synergize with all the creatures being sacrificed to create tons of Mutagen Tokens. These can then be used on the core Aristocrats cards, turning them into even bigger threats.
We’ll Know Next Year
Sadly, we’ve got a while to wait before Wizards of the Coast reveals any more information. In the Collecting article for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles MTG set, Wizards confirmed spoilers won’t start until February 10th, 2026. Currently, it’s unclear how long this spoiler season will last, but the four-month wait until then shouldn’t be too agonizing.
Thankfully, we’ve still got plenty to look forward to until that date rolls around. With Avatar: The Last Airbender and Lorwyn Eclipsed releasing beforehand, we’re not exactly short on content. As always, when more is revealed, we’ll have all the news right here, so watch this space.
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