Magic: The Gathering's TMNT Commander Deck Is a Video Game Homage Packed With Classic Characters

Magic: The Gathering is simply a large game, but there’s nary denying that Commander has go its astir fashionable format - and Wizards has released a upland of preconstructed decks for players who privation to leap close in.

When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles acceptable was primitively announced, it felt similar we’d beryllium getting 1 Commander platform per Turtle, Heroes vs Villains, oregon immoderate different combo, truthful I was peculiarly amazed erstwhile Wizards said it’d beryllium cramming cognition and pizza arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable into a single, 100-card deck. Having seen conscionable immoderate of the cards included, though, I’m impressed.

Magic’s New Turtle Power Precon Looks Awesome

I should preface this ‘precon preview’ with an mentation that successful our behind-closed-doors look astatine the caller Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set, Wizards revealed astir a twelve cards from the Turtle Power precon - but determination are much reveals to come.

That means we’ve not been capable to spot however the platform plays, but we bash cognize that your Commander of prime tin beryllium immoderate of the Turtles, 2 of them partnered up with the Partner ability, oregon each 5 with the Heroes successful a Half Shell card.

There’s thing genuinely revolutionary astir this modular attack (swapping Commander precons to usage different Legendary Creatures wrong them arsenic their person is portion of the amusive of the format), but having 5 options for Turtles means that nary 1 is near behind.

That includes the likes of Splinter (who has the Partner mechanic, too), but besides members of the TMNT’s rogues assemblage similar Baxter, Fly successful the Ointment, Leatherhead, Iron Gator, and, of course, Shredder, Shadow Master.

There are besides immoderate amusive nods to the gaming past of the awesome foursome. Electric Seaweed from the hard-as-nails NES crippled makes an quality to onslaught fearfulness into gamers of a definite age, portion different cards notation the squad’s emotion of arcade machines, similar High Score and, uh, Arcade Cabinet.

Will the platform play well? We’ll person to hold to find out, but successful presumption of cramming arsenic overmuch property into a azygous precon arsenic possible, I deliberation Wizards of the Coast whitethorn person conscionable nailed the assignment.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles acceptable launches connected March 6, with preorders already disposable for the Turtle Power precon.

Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer successful tech, gaming and fittingness seen astatine Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and galore more. He's a large instrumentality of Magic: The Gathering and different collectible paper games, overmuch to his wife's dismay.