Heroes in a Half ShellHeroes in a Half Shell | Art by Victor Maury

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) previews have both been happening for a while and have very quickly concluded. As has been par for the course in recent Universes Beyond sets, there are a bunch of new legendary creatures that take time to digest and ponder their uses.

I'm here to help with that! I've got over 30 years experience playing multiplayer Magic, and nearly 18 years playing and writing about EDH/Commander. So I combed through the list and leveraged my expertise to highlight new legends that stand head and shoulders above the rest in terms of power, fun, or both.

I will note that I'm not very familiar with the TMNT IP outside of the broad themes that have bubbled up into the general pop consciousness. But I am a big fan of Commander, and am always excited about cool new commanders to build decks around.

So, put down that pizza and get ready - here we go!

Dark Leo & ShredderDark Leo & Shredder

I wrote up a deck tech around Dark Leo & ShredderDark Leo & Shredder (you can find it here), so if you're excited about the idea of an Orzhov () Ninja deck, be sure to check it out!

I appreciate having a non-blue option for Ninja decks, and Leo & Shredder gives us a very aggressive deck - giving attacking Ninjas deathtouch makes it very painful to block, and since many have combat damage triggers they'll be painful not to block. And don't overlook that big life drain potential when L&S deals combat damage to a player!

Donatello, Gadget MasterDonatello, Gadget Master

Being able to copy artifacts on each of our combats is pretty darn cool, so Donatello, Gadget MasterDonatello, Gadget Master earns a spot on this list. You can make this as powerful or as goofy as you want based on the sort of artifacts you choose to put in your deck. Blue has a ton of cheap creatures that are difficult or impossible to block, which should make that initial hit by Don very likely.

Me, I'd likely go for copying cards like Peter Parker's CameraPeter Parker's Camera or Strionic ResonatorStrionic Resonator to further copy Don's trigger ability, along with the classic draw artifacts like Ichor WellspringIchor Wellspring and Cryogen RelicCryogen Relic. Then there's Waterbending ScrollWaterbending Scroll and Idol of OblivionIdol of Oblivion for more card draw! Don can even act as land ramp if you sprinkle in some artifact lands like Darksteel CitadelDarksteel Citadel.

If you like the looks of this commander, be sure to check out Top 10 Artifacts To Copy With Donatello, Gadget Master!

Donatello, Mutant MechanicDonatello, Mutant Mechanic

Oh hey, here's another version of Don that made the list - Donatello, Mutant MechanicDonatello, Mutant Mechanic, a mythic rare that also does cool things with artifacts. Animating artifacts is a lot of fun and can lead to all sorts of shenanigans, and then adding +1/+1 counter synergies really kicks it up a notch.

Cards like Walking BallistaWalking Ballista and Hangarback WalkerHangarback Walker immediately spring to mind, swiftly followed by modular creatures like Arcbound ReclaimerArcbound Reclaimer and Arcbound RavagerArcbound Ravager. It's worth noting that Don's second ability works with throwing around any sort of counter from an artifact you control that's put into a graveyard from the battlefield, so that includes charge counters too!

I'm looking forward to seeing what crazy things people cook up with artifacts that have the station ability, like Dawnsire, Sunstar DreadnoughtDawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought!

If you like the looks of this commander, be sure to check out Donatello, Mutant Mechanic Deck Tech!

Krang & ShredderKrang & Shredder

Playing cards from opponents' decks is great way to play in-person Commander that scales awesomely with the power level of the pod you're playing in, and we have a sweet new commander for this strategy in Krang & ShredderKrang & Shredder.

Since K&S has blue in its color identity there are a ton of ways to activate its disappear triggered ability, particularly blinking cards like Ghostly FlickerGhostly Flicker, Essence FluxEssence Flux, and - whoa! - Displacer KittenDisplacer Kitten!

Throw in a bunch of various CloneClone cards and you'll have a deck that plays completely different each time you run it.

Mutagen Man, Living OozeMutagen Man, Living Ooze

At first blush, Mutagen Man, Living OozeMutagen Man, Living Ooze is a Hydra-like creature with upside, at a minimum hitting the battlefield and then adding X +1/+1 counters to itself with those Mutagen tokens. The first level upside is that you can instead crack those Mutagen tokens to add X +1/+1 counters to any target creatures - including those of your opponents if that works politically.

But the next-level upside is that middle static ability, which says that activated abilities of artifact tokens you control cost less to activate... and that's it. Usually with these sorts of cost reduction, there's a rider that says "this cannot reduce the cost less than " but that of course wouldn't do anything for the Mutagen tokens this card is designed to turbo-charge.

What's really fun is to think about peppering in other artifact tokens with activated abilities that cost at least a mana. For free there are MapMap, BloodBlood, and FeatherFeather (if you're running a multicolor deck) tokens. For just one mana there are ClueClue, FoodFood, LanderLander, and IncubatorIncubator tokens.

There are even Equipment tokens like RockRock, CragflameCragflame, SwordSword, Icingdeath, Frost TongueIcingdeath, Frost Tongue and Wasteland Survival GuideWasteland Survival Guide, though for some of these you'd need a multicolor deck.

Check out Making Tons of Tokens With Mutagen Man, Living Ooze for a full deck tech!

Raph & Leo, Sibling RivalsRaph & Leo, Sibling Rivals

I love extra attacks, and having it attached to a commander is really cool! Notably Wizards of the Coast (WotC) was incredibly careful with the design of Raph & Leo, Sibling RivalsRaph & Leo, Sibling Rivals, ensuring it can only trigger if it's the first combat phase of the turn, and not giving the Raph & Leo any sort of evasion or other keyword ability that makes it difficult to block.

You'll need other cards to help R&L not to get squished in combat, but you can certainly pair it up with other, more robust attackers, especially ones that have cool combat damage triggers or even attack triggers - Sun TitanSun Titan immediately springs to mind, which can also bring back a squished R&L from the graveyard.

Rat King, VerministerRat King, Verminister

Rat King, VerministerRat King, Verminister is notably one of the better commanders to lead a Rat deck that breaks the singleton nature of Commander by playing Relentless RatsRelentless Rats and/or Rat ColonyRat Colony. Its sacrifice ability is going to be quite bonkers getting back those Rats over and over again, triggering itself and any other death triggers along the way.

And since Rat King is so cheap to cast, it's going to be tough for your opponents to keep it off the battlefield.

Krang, the All-PowerfulKrang, the All-Powerful

So you're telling me that Krang, the All-PowerfulKrang, the All-Powerful simply wants you to draw cards and have a bunch of cards that trigger from drawing cards - what more could a blue mage ask for?

Cards like Faerie MastermindFaerie Mastermind and Scrawling CrawlerScrawling Crawler leap to mind, but what I'm really excited about is Homunculus HordeHomunculus Horde - who doesn't want a horde of Homunculi?

Splinter, Radical RatSplinter, Radical Rat

Splinter, Radical RatSplinter, Radical Rat is a powerful commander to lead a Ninja deck, and since it's color identity is Esper () you get access to all the powerful blue and black Ninjas that we all know and love, as well as the white Ninjas that populate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Many Ninjas have powerful triggered abilities, so doubling them is really potent, and Splinter's activated ability helps to ensure the best Ninja attacks past blockers.

Raphael, Tag Team ToughRaphael, Tag Team Tough

Here we have another commander with extra attacks attached! If you can get Raphael, Tag Team ToughRaphael, Tag Team Tough to deal combat damage to an opponent, you can potentially get extra attacks for each of your opponents. Raph has menace which helps, but I'd want some other ways to push through blockers, like Brotherhood RegaliaBrotherhood Regalia or EmbercleaveEmbercleave.

And don't forget to pepper in ways to give Raph haste so you can get the party started right away - cards like Enduring CourageEnduring Courage, The Fire CrystalThe Fire Crystal, and Gimli's Reckless MightGimli's Reckless Might!

Super ShredderSuper Shredder

Super ShredderSuper Shredder seems pretty simple at first glance, but its mythic rarity suggests it might be more powerful than expected. Its abilities are built to work well within Ninja decks since as a two-mana creature with menace it has evasion of sorts, and when Ninjas enter the battlefield there are often unblocked creatures that are leaving the battlefield.

But considering how many permanents leave the battlefield in a typical game of Magic, Shredder can grow quite quickly: from sacrificing Fetch lands and Treasure tokens, to all the various removal spells. That just gets exponentially more potent the more players are in the game, especially when you consider how many permanents might leave a game of Commander when an opponent loses.

Be sure to check out the Super Shredder Commander Deck Tech!

Heroes in a Half ShellHeroes in a Half Shell

Heroes in a Half ShellHeroes in a Half Shell isn't subtle, but if you're a huge fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IP and want to cram as many of those character cards into one deck, this is a powerful and flavorful option. It's notable that if you spread your attacks to more than one opponent you can get that card draw and +1/+1 counter trigger more than once per attack.

It's nice that Heroes has haste so even on an empty battlefield you can get in there and draw a card.

Michelangelo, On the SceneMichelangelo, On the Scene

I've long lamented that Weatherseed TreefolkWeatherseed Treefolk is on the Reserved List and thus won't ever be reprinted, but Michelangelo, On the SceneMichelangelo, On the Scene is even better and can lead a Commander deck!

The first two abilities mean that Mikey hits really hard, and gets scarier the longer the game goes on, and that last ability means that most destroy effects are only a speed bump to the beatdown. One of the first cards you'll want in the 99 of this deck has got to be Greater GoodGreater Good, no?

If you want to dig into what a Mikey deck might look like, check out Michelangelo, On the Scene Deck Tech!

Raph & Mikey, TroublemakersRaph & Mikey, Troublemakers

Raph & Mikey, TroublemakersRaph & Mikey, Troublemakers is a really cool commander that encourages you to build your deck in such a way that R&M's attack trigger will only hit huge monsters - you certainly don't want to suddenly get a Birds of ParadiseBirds of Paradise attacking.

Whichever are your favorite expensive mana creatures in Gruul () just pile them in your deck and have a ball! I'm not going to lie, an evil part of me wants to have the only creature in the 99 be Blightsteel ColossusBlightsteel Colossus.

Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers - Big Stompy Threats on a Budget presents a cool build for not a lot of money, so give it a read!

Shredder, Shadow MasterShredder, Shadow Master

If you like the life drain power of Dark Leo & ShredderDark Leo & Shredder but aren't looking to build a Ninja deck, there's a nifty mono-black option in Shredder, Shadow MasterShredder, Shadow Master. It's wild that it basically has a built-in myriad ability (like Dalek SquadronDalek Squadron) but worded in such a way that the copies are nonlegendary.

Whenever I have myriad going on I immediately reach for Sundial of the InfiniteSundial of the Infinite - you put the sacrifice trigger for the copies on the stack at the end of combat, and then simply end the turn... and keep the copies! In the meantime, you'll want to have ways to help ensure Shredder and maybe one or both extra copies deal combat damage to your opponents for that big life loss.

April O'Neil, HacktivistApril O'Neil, Hacktivist

April O'Neil, HacktivistApril O'Neil, Hacktivist is another Commander design that draws cards just for playing Magic, but at least it encourages you to diversify the types of spells in your deck to maximize the card draw. Casting April alone will at least draw you a card if it survives until your end step, but you'll want to hold onto zero-mana artifacts like Mishra's BaubleMishra's Bauble you can cast the same turn as April to draw two extra cards.

I'd look for spells that have multiple types to fill out the deck so that even if I cast just the one spell I'll draw two cards: artifact creatures such as Etherium SculptorEtherium Sculptor and Foundry InspectorFoundry Inspector seem like excellent choices given all the artifact synergies in mono-blue.

If you find this commander intriguing, be sure to check out April O'Neil, Hacktivist Commander Deck Tech!

Groundchuck & DirtbagGroundchuck & Dirtbag

Say hello to a new lightning rod commander, Groundchuck & DirtbagGroundchuck & Dirtbag! Your opponents will be highly motivated to kill off G&D before you get to untap your lands and have access to all that extra mana, which is why you'll also be running cards like Bear UmbraBear Umbra, Nature's WillNature's Will, or Sword of Feast and FamineSword of Feast and Famine that are hopefully already deployed so you can attack and untap your lands after casting the commander, or Seedborn MuseSeedborn Muse so you can untap on your opponents' untap steps.

Oh, and that's not even considering this is an 8/8 beating stick with trample for six mana!

Take a look at Build Big Green With Groundchuck & Dirtbag in Commander to dig deeper into this commander.

Raphael, Ninja DestroyerRaphael, Ninja Destroyer

I really love the combination of abilities on Raphael, Ninja DestroyerRaphael, Ninja Destroyer. Raph must be blocked if able, so you can use it to pick off smaller creatures of your opponents. And for your troubles you've got that enrage trigger to stack up red mana for a big finale post-combat.

Of course what's really cool is combining Raph's abilities with smaller damage-based creature sweepers like PyroclasmPyroclasm and Brotherhood's EndBrotherhood's End that won't kill off Raph but kill off potential chump blockers and instead leave behind larger creatures that Raph can attack into and knock off in combat, and with all that enrage mana you might even be able to cast Raph again from the command zone.

Imagine casting Blasphemous ActBlasphemous Act and getting a whopping thirteen red mana afterwards!

Which new commanders are you most excited to build around from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

More TMNT:

Stalking Artifacts and Enchantments in Commander With Leatherhead, Swamp Stalker

Shred Life Totals with Dark Leo & Shredder in Commander