While we didn’t get any Universes Beyond decks for Magic’s most popular format in the Spider-Man and Avatar sets, we’re being treated to Turtle Power for the TMNT set. Release day is March 6, but Amazon has knocked over $15 off the price already if you preorder today.
TMNT – Commander Deck – Turtle Power!
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The Turtle Power Commander Deck is currently down to $54.89, a fairly significant drop from its list price of $69.99, and a 22% saving overall. It’s even below the current market price at TCGplayer as well ($57.24), making this a certified bargain for Magic fans. If you were going to preorder anyway, there’s no better time to do it, and if the price drops further, then Amazon’s preorder price guarantee will adjust accordingly.
Wizards has the decklist live now, and the big focus is on teamwork, so you can have a pair of Heroes in a Half Shell to be your Commanders. We’ve not been able to see how the deck plays, but we do know that your Commander of choice can be any of the Turtles, two of them partnered up with the Partner ability, or all five with the Heroes in a Half Shell card.
There’s nothing truly revolutionary about this modular approach (swapping Commander precons to use other Legendary Creatures within them as their leader is part of the fun of the format), but having five options for Turtles means that no one is left behind.
That includes the likes of Splinter (who has the Partner mechanic, too), but also members of the TMNT’s rogues gallery like Baxter, Fly in the Ointment, Leatherhead, Iron Gator, and, of course, Shredder, Shadow Master.
There are also some fun nods to the gaming history of the awesome foursome. Electric Seaweed from the hard-as-nails NES game makes an appearance to strike fear into gamers of a certain age, while other cards reference the squad’s love of arcade machines, like High Score and, uh, Arcade Cabinet.
Will the deck play well? We’ll have to wait to find out, but in terms of cramming as much personality into a single precon as possible, I think Wizards of the Coast may have just nailed the assignment.
It’s also worth noting that both the Lorwyn Eclipsed decks are great, suggesting Wizards of the Coast is finding its groove after a couple of sets that launched without any.
For those totally new to Magic: The Gathering, Commander is the game’s most popular format, and these preconstructed decks (here’s the full list) are a big reason as to why – once you buy one, you can jump straight into a game.
For more on the game’s current set, Lorwyn Eclipsed, be sure to check out the chase cards you should be hunting for, and the best ways to use Mirrorform. There’s also discounts on TMNT Collector Boosters right now, which should be of interest to anyone wanting to chase the rarest cards going from the new set.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
