Leonardo, the BalanceLeonardo, the Balance | Art by Inkognit | Raphael, the MuscleRaphael, the Muscle | Art by Ryan Pancoast

Welcome back to another addition of Beyond the Multiverse! This time, we're covering a deck tech featuring one of the partner pairings from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ("TMNT") Commander precon.

On a personal note, I very much hope the deck is good for its hefty price tag, because there's only one, and I love having so many commander options in one precon. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. So, which pairing am I covering today? Leonardo, the BalanceLeonardo, the Balance and Raphael, the MuscleRaphael, the Muscle.

Amphibious Teamwork

The main gist of the quartet of Turtles is that they fight to save New York (where have we seen this location before? Anyone? Anyone?) from Shredder and the Foot Clan, among many other villains. In the case of our pairing today, Leo's the leader of the group while Raphael is the more aggressive one.

Ironically, these two are often at odds with each other.

However, no matter which pairing we go with, Leo is at the heart of the deck's plan. We make tokens (note that he cares about any token entering, not just creatures), and buff our board once each turn.

Then, when we're ready, activate his ability and do some serious damage. That will double with Raphael out as long as those creatures have counters on them.

Token Stratagem

While we need to focus on getting Leo out first, and protecting him, we also need a good amount of token makers to enable him. Making those on our opponents' turns is even better because we can then swing with a potentially beefy board on our turn.

This is where cards like Entrapment ManeuverEntrapment Maneuver and Deadly DisputeDeadly Dispute shine, because they can be used outside of our turn. Sadly, Leo will only trigger once each turn, no matter how many tokens we drop in at once. That's why we leave mana open up when we can, so we can make tokens and accelerate the game plan.

However, having a big board of tokens will mean our opponents will be doing what they can to impede us. Boros CharmBoros Charm and Heroic InterventionHeroic Intervention are among the various spells we can use to shield our permanents. Even if we're setback to the Stone Age, any given TMNT pairing will have enough token makers to bounce back, and this combination is no exception.

Even more so if we have repeatable producers like Hildibrand MandervilleHildibrand Manderville. All this establishes one half of the plan, but what of the other?

Counter-Offensive

Remember that Leo's trigger will buff creatures in the form of +1/+1 counters, meaning we could take advantage of them in various ways. One of these would be Fathom MageFathom Mage, which will draw us a card for each counter put on it.

Meanwhile, both Danny PinkDanny Pink and Bred for the HuntBred for the Hunt will give more cards if our creatures hit our opponents (assuming they have counters). On another note, the more counters are placed on Arwen, Weaver of HopeArwen, Weaver of Hope, the bigger our creatures will be when they enter, including tokens.

We also have a number of creatures that could benefit from the counters. Crimson CaravaneerCrimson Caravaneer will hit harder twice, and will be more difficult to block because of trample, making us more likely to make a token to trigger Leo. Atalan JackalAtalan Jackal, by getting big enough, will almost always guarantee some ramp.

In a similar vein, Knuckles the EchidnaKnuckles the Echidna will yield Treasures when he gets bigger. Meanwhile, Riders of RohanRiders of Rohan will be a consistent token maker, and those tokens will have trample and haste built into them. The bigger their numbers and buffs, the worse off our opponents are.

To top it off are Branching EvolutionBranching Evolution and Corpsejack MenaceCorpsejack Menace, which double our counters.

All of this (and the above section) will mean Raphael will double all the damage we'll deal. He also helps us along by creating a token when he enters.

Leonardo, the Balance and Raphael, the Muscle Commander Deck List

The Toppings

The deck list above does look like a pile of hot mess (kinda the same way I see Spellslinger decks, to be honest), but hear me out. Like I said, the point is to produce tokens for Leo to get his trigger(s) going. Instant-speed token makers are very desirable for this build, so I fit in as many as I could.

A weakness I could see is being overly reliant on Leo, but the deck needs him to work. How do we at least mitigate this problem? Nanogene ConversionNanogene Conversion and Quantum MisalignmentQuantum Misalignment both work to make sure Leo gets multiple triggers, or amplify Raphael's damage doubling effect to make our board positively lethal.

While Black Market ConnectionsBlack Market Connections can trigger to get us a token on our upkeep, Squirrel NestSquirrel Nest can be activated on an opponent's turn. Astrid PethAstrid Peth is frail when she comes out, but when she gets enough counters, we could attack with her and get a token each time we do.

With all the historic cards, both Aya of AlexandriaAya of Alexandria and Alistair, the BrigadierAlistair, the Brigadier can make an army of tokens for Leo to buff in no time.

Speaking of attacking, Captain Lannery StormCaptain Lannery Storm makes a Treasure token when we do so. Meanwhile, Staff of the StorytellerStaff of the Storyteller can give us a steady stream of cards if we can consistently make creature tokens.

Bonds That Transcend Universes

Not too much changes when we start incorporating in-universe cards. The main thing is that we get more token doublers, and some powerful token generators that can do so each turn.

Firstly, Tendershoot DryadTendershoot Dryad and Illustrious WanderglyphIllustrious Wanderglyph make tokens each turn, consistently triggering Leo, so we can get swinging with a big board. Token doublers like Mondrak, Glory DominusMondrak, Glory Dominus and Elspeth, Storm SlayerElspeth, Storm Slayer will be too good to ignore.

However, we have greater ability to clone/copy either of our commanders. One of the most prominent of these is Helm of the HostHelm of the Host. It's expensive to cast and equip, but we get a token each combat. We simply have to decide where we want more counters or more damage.

We also gain access to Mirror BoxMirror Box, Sakashima of a Thousand FacesSakashima of a Thousand Faces, and Mirror GalleryMirror Gallery. This trio of cards nullify the "legend rule," so we can copy our commanders as much as we like. Beware that, if these get destroyed, any legendary copies will be sacrificed via state-based effects. So, exercise some measure of caution.

Retreating Into the Sewers

And there you have it. This is just one possible pairing, and I look forward to see what the precon looks like. I'm willing to bet that, alongside Heroes in a Half ShellHeroes in a Half Shell, the partner pairings can all work feasibly in the command zone, too.

At the present, I'm thinking of making a new Universes Beyond-only deck in person, but I haven't decided if I will carry it out or not. That said, tune in next time when I experiment...with some personal twists and a shift in my (personal) color identity. You can expect my bio to be updated soon.

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