Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles releases on March 6th. Along with the main set, there’s also a Commander precon. However, the legendary creatures in that deck are far from the only options for fun and powerful TMNT Commanders. The main set is also chock full of new and interesting legendary creatures. I’ve sifted through all 72 of them and picked out the five that I think are the most exciting, and in this article I’ll discuss these new potential Commanders and the best way to build around them.
GROUNDCHUCK & DIRTBAG
Groundchuck & Dirtbag are one of the best ramp Commanders we have ever seen. While Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger can be even more potent since it also nerfs your opponents’ ability to produce mana, Groundchuck & Dirtbag bring along a much larger body and cost two less mana. Omnath, Locus of Mana is also pretty sweet, but isn’t quite as potent when it comes to mana production.
Doubling your mana is no joke, and having access to that out of the command zone can be super absurd. You can quickly ramp into this Ox Mole Mutant, and once you do you can go wild. In Green, there’s no shortage of incredible ways to utilize that mana.
Finale of Devastation is at the top of the list, but other Green X-spells like Genesis Wave and Green Sun’s Zenith can also thrive alongside this big legendary creature.
Groundchuck & Dirtbag also make it pretty easy to hardcast big scary Eldrazi, like Kozilek, Butcher of Truth and Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre.
Basically, if you’re looking for a new ramp Commander, you can’t do much better than Groundchuck & Dirtbag.
KITSUNE, DRAGON’S DAUGHTER
Kitsune is a lot wackier and less straightforward that Groundchuck & Dirtbag, but I think she looks like a lot of fun while also having tons of potential. Her “enters” trigger lets you exchange creatures, and in a multiplayer game of Commander there will be no shortage of ways to silly things, and even leverage her triggers for political purposes.
In addition to being a very political Commander, you can also turn her into a “Donate” Commander where you intentionally give your opponent creatures with super negative effects while also taking their best creatures. Making your opponent gain control of your Steel Golem or Grid Monitor is pretty hilarious.
Another option for Kitsune is to bounce the donated creatures so that you get them back. This can allow you to largely erase Kitsune’s downside, and her trigger will just become a mind control effect, and there are no shortage of bounce effects in Blue. Some of the best repeatable ways to do it include Crystal Shard and Tradewind Rider.
SUPER SHREDDER
Super Shredder’s ability to grow is incredible. He’ll get a +1/+1 counter no matter how a permanent leaves the battlefield. In other words, if any player sacrifices a permanent, destroys a permanent, bounces a permanent, or blinks a a permanent, Super Shredder gets a counter.
In a multiplayer format like Commander, Super Shredder’s ability to grow becomes even more potent. It’ll almost feel like playing with a creature version of Rhystic Study, in that you’ll constantly say something during everyone else’s turns. In this case, “Shredder gets a counter.”
While Super Shredder can just grow organically, that doesn’t mean you can’t optimize your deck to make him grow even more. The easiest way to pull this off in Black is to use symmetrical edict effects. For example, Accursed Marauder, Abyssal Gorestalker, and Barter in Blood are relatively unassuming cards that become completely absurd with Super Shredder in play.
SLASH, REPTILE RAMPAGER
Purphoros, God of the Forge has long been an excellent Commander for mono-red decks that make lots of bodies, but I think Slash might be even better. Like Purphoros, it does 2 damage to each opponent when a creature enters under your control.
Unlike Purphoros, Slash also has a built-in way to make a token. This means it can be a bit of an engine all on its own. Combining Slash with cards that can either repeatedly make tokens or make a whole bunch of tokens at once can result in your opponents’ life totals dropping precipitously.
This includes cards like Tempt with Vengeance, Songs of Totentanz, and Loyal Apprentice. The two X-token generators can just end the game on the spot in many situations, and Loyal Apprentice feeds you a steady stream of creature tokens that will pressure everyone at the table.
There are also no shortage of other Red cards that damage the opponent when a creature enters, and the more effects like that you can get on the board the better. They can be particularly potent when they themselves are creatures, since you’ll be able to trigger all the different damage effects when you play them.
While you’re going to want to use the aforementioned Purphoros, there are also cards like Agate Instigator, Witty Roastmaster, and Molten Gatekeeper. The Instigator is the spiciest of these, since Offspring means it’s also a way to create multiple bodies – making it both an enabler and a payoff for all the creature tokens you’re going to make.
MADAME NULL, POWER BROKER
I’ve saved what I think is the most interesting new Commander in the set for last. Madame Null gives you the ability to pay tons of life and buff your creatures while doing it. She essentially gives you the option of doubling the power and toughness of every creature you play, provided you’re willing to pay the cost.
While losing a bunch of life can certainly be a downside, the trick is to play creatures that can gain you that life back so that you offset the downside while still getting massive, threatening creatures. Basically, Madame Null is an amazing lifelink Commander.
Among the strongest cards that enable this kind of thing are Qarsi Revenant, Gwenom, Remorseless, and Morlun, Devourer of Spiders. The revenant gives you an aerial threat that comes with other keywords that make it even more effective as an attacker and blocker, Gwenom comes with an attack trigger that gets a lot better the bigger she is, and Morlun has the added bonus of immediately gaining you that life back since it does X damage to your opponent when it enters.
END STEP
I hope at least one of these Commanders interests you! What do you think is the most interesting or powerful Commander in this brand new set? Let me know over on Bluesky or X.
Jacob has been playing Magic for the better part of 24 years, and he especially loves playing Magic’s Limited formats. He also holds a PhD in history from the University of Oklahoma. In 2015, he started his YouTube channel, “Nizzahon Magic,” where he combines his interests with many videos covering Magic’s competitive history. When he’s not playing Magic or making Magic content, he can be found teaching college-level history courses or caring for a menagerie of pets with his wife.