Genghis FrogGenghis Frog | Art by Zoltan Boros

The new set may be about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT), but today we’re only focusing on one of those words. Many of the cards were printed in the last few years, so they’re not teenage; we’ve already talked about Ninjas; and Turtles will get their own day in the sun (before they return to the ocean); so today we’re going to look at Mutants.

This Genghis FrogGenghis Frog Commander deck tech will attempt to combine the various incarnations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with existing Magic mechanics to create an amalgam worthy of being called a Mutant Commander deck.

Mutant History

While individual Mutants existed early in Magic’s design, they didn’t really hit their stride until the introduction of the Simic Combine in Dissension. The various incarnations of Simic () have always explored controversial experiments in Biology. These experiments have been shown in the form of +1/+1 counters, both reshaping the power and toughness of creatures as well as sharing abilities like Experiment KrajExperiment Kraj.

One would think that Ikoria would have brought back the Mutant creature type, given that the set saw the introduction of the controversial and complicated mutate mechanic. Ironically, however, mutate has little to do with Mutants. Instead, we’re going to focus on a different ability, which combines the Simic Combine’s abilities with the new Mutagen tokens: modified.

Modified became a named mechanic in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, although it functionally already existed. Cards are considered modifed if they are equipped, enchanted, or adorned with counters, the latter of which we are going to focus on. We’re going to use these different modifications to turn our Mutants into gigantic threats.

But how do we make this feel like a Mutant deck instead of a generic counters deck? And how do we turn playing around with dice into a winning position?

What Does Genghis FrogGenghis Frog Do?

Genghis FrogGenghis Frog is one of my favorite types of commanders: a two-drop creature that makes the other cards in the deck better. It is aggressively costed as a 1/3 for , and trample makes it a good subject for modification.

It’s a deceptively strong commander, as it facilitates the counters strategy with its triggered ability and can win the game by ingesting more and more of that delicious Mutagen.

And that triggered ability is what makes the whole deck work.

Whenever Genghis FrogGenghis Frog or another Mutant enters, we create a MutagenMutagen token, which can be sacrificed to put a +1/+1 counter on a target creature, which we do not have to control (but likely will). This means that it's essentially a three-mana 2/4 trampler which only grows as we make more Mutants.

Like a point guard in basketball, Genghis is capable of scoring wins on its own, but is also capable of distributing the counters and dishing out assists to our other creatures, which makes it a great, if initially tiny, leader.

But what do our other Mutants look like? And how does Genghis get them to work together?

Key Cards for Genghis FrogGenghis Frog

Many Mutants care about modifying creatures by adding counters to them that alter their power and toughness. This began with the graft mechanic in Dissension, where creatures enter with counters and can give them to new creatures when they come out. It continued in Fallout, with nuclear radiation accounting for the modifications, and comes to a head in TMNT with Mutagen tokens.

Mikey and Donnie are the two Ninja Turtles we have access to, and several of their incarnations work with what we do. In particular, Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11 makes another Mutagen when it enters and adds a counter each time we put one on a creature. Donatello, Way with MachinesDonatello, Way with Machines gets a counter whenever an artifact enters, which includes all of our Mutagen tokens. He’s also a flying threat, giving us much-needed evasion.

Benthic BiomancerBenthic Biomancer draws us a card whenever it gets a counter, working well with all of the counters our Mutagens spread. Merfolk SkydiverMerfolk Skydiver, on the other hand, is another flying threat that also proliferates our counters, making our board modified to truly radical levels.

But what are we doing with all these counters?

Skatewing SpySkatewing Spy gives all of our modified creatures flying, while Ray Fillet, Man RayRay Fillet, Man Ray turns our extra counters into card draw, while also making Mutagens. And did I mention that both of them are Mutants?

Both Hardened ScalesHardened Scales and Doubling SeasonDoubling Season allow our humble Mutagens to add extra layers of modifications, building our board to humongous levels. These abilities stack and work with Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11 to juice our creatures to levels beyond even Spinal Tap’s amps (which also go to 11).

While it doesn’t work with the modification theme, our removal does still fit the Mutant concept. The removal we’re packing is all designed to turn opposing creatures into other creatures, kind of like the negative effects of genetic splicing. Many of these cards are good anyways, but they have a more playful role here than just being stock removal spells with a solid rate.

Rapid HybridizationRapid Hybridization turns a creature into a Frog Lizard, while PongifyPongify turns it into an Ape instead, both funny mental images.

Our lands are discreet sources of advantage, playing along with the counters theme. Karn's BastionKarn's Bastion proliferates our counters, while Novijen, Heart of ProgressNovijen, Heart of Progress puts a counter on each creature that entered on a given turn. The Bastion gives our whole board a boost, while Novijen gives us something to do with our excess mana.

How Does This Genghis FrogGenghis Frog Commander Deck Win?

The main route to victory is to load up counters on our board, especially on evasive threats. Our commander has trample, and we have a few ways to grant evasion. The neat thing about our strategy, however, is that there’s no limit to how huge our creatures can get.

With counter additions and multipliers, like Branching EvolutionBranching Evolution, we can threaten huge swings quickly. The OzolithThe Ozolith gives us resiliency, making it so that our board-building isn’t undone by an unfortunate removal spell.

Speaking of removal spells, our deck is a bit susceptible to them. Because we build our threats up over several turns, games without The OzolithThe Ozolith can devolve into grinds, especially if our few removable threats are offline. This is where the Dissension Mutants come back in; many of them grant abilities to all creatures with counters, which allows us to make our whole board evasive for big turns.

Cytospawn ShamblerCytospawn Shambler is a grafting creature from the Simic Combine that lets us grant trample to any creature with a counter on it that we control for the price of a green mana apiece. Sphere GridSphere Grid is an enchantment from Final Fantasy that gives our creatures counters for connecting in combat, and then grants creatures with counters both reach and trample.

Both of these cards help make sure that our modified creatures don’t just get chump blocked (blocked by smaller creatures to avoid the player taking damage) ad infinitum.

Genghis Frog Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Mutants have been around for a while, focusing on modifications more so than the eponymous mutate mechanic. The different incarnations work together to make a synergistic deck designed around counters and sharing abilities by embracing their shared mutations and modifications. Magneto would be proud.

In fact, Magneto might be part of this strategy sooner than later, with a Marvel Super Heroes set coming up later this year!

But how would you build Mutants? And what do you think the Marvel set will bring to the strategy?