Magic: The Gathering’s TMNT Turtle Power Deck is Amazing, Here’s Why I Love It

Unlike the ill-fated Marvel set from last year, there’s a single Commander precon here, and while we may not have been sure what to expect before launch, it turns out it’s actually pretty great (with the caveat that you should be looking to find it at MSRP or lower).

Here’s why Turtle Power is worth picking up, whether you’re a new player or you’re just looking for some great new cards.

What Makes A Good Precon in Magic?

There are a few key considerations when picking up any deck. What does the deck intend to do as its playstyle, and does it execute on that vision? Are there any desirable reprints? Are there new cards that you’d want to use elsewhere?

In all of those areas, Turtle Power does a pretty good job. We’ll comment on how fun it is to play (and the myriad ways to do so) shortly, but for now, there are some decent reprints here.

Naturally, the value will drop as soon as players have picked up Turtle Power, but Fabled Passage, Wave Goodbye, Assassin’s Trophy, Vigor, and Steelbane Hydra are cards that would have been pricey had they not been included here.

For new cards, Continue is an awesome low-cost recursion instant that brings you four creatures back from the graveyard following a board wipe, while Krang, the All-Powerful, gets you double draw triggers and counters.

All in all, there’s plenty of value here in both new cards and reprints, but the real appeal is in how the deck plays.

Swappin’ Shells

Commander Decks have multiple Legendary creatures inside, if you want to swap out your leading favorite for someone else, but Turtle Power goes a step further.

There are six borderless foil cards that cover the Turtles individually, Splinter, and then Heroes in a Half Shell as the team comes together. That means you can swap them around as you see fit, but there are plenty of other Legendary Creatures to use as a Commander, too.

That means you can rotate elements of the deck to fit your playstyle, or try out new cards to find some synergies, while the Partner mechanic lets you play a pair of Commanders.

That’s a LOT of potential combinations (29 possible Commanders in total). Baxter, Fly in the Ointment gives cards with tokens flying, for example, and we can see that being useful in all manner of decks, while Shredder’s ability to slash life totals makes him ideal for ‘Group Slug’ decks.

There’s so much modularity here that with something like the Starter Collection from Foundations, you could use this as a deckbuilding tool that lets you swap in as few or as many cards as you feel comfortable with.

It doesn’t hurt that the mana base here is strong – like, really strong. City of Brass will take the plaudits for being an otherwise expensive card, but there are plenty of land options, including bond lands.

You could, if you have the collection for it, potentially make a couple of decks from the Turtle Power deck – at a major drop from the Avatar set’s $109.99 Commander Bundle.

Lack of Turtle Power?

The two drawbacks to the Turtle Power precon are its price of $69.99, which is a markup over what you’d have paid for the (excellent) Lorwyn precons), and the fact that it’s perhaps less powerful than other decks we’ve had in recent months.

Its real strength is in being able to swap out components as you see fit, but it’s hard not to feel like it’s perhaps not quite as cohesive as a five-color deck as Lorwyn’s Dance of the Elements.

Have you ordered Turtle Power? Will you consider picking it up? Let us know in the comments.