Magic: The Gathering content creator The Command Zone gave an exclusive reveal of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Commander deck on February 18, and not only is it filled with strong, flexible cards that could fit into a wide range of decks, it's also got what is perhaps the best manabase we've ever seen for a five-color precon.
Seriously, the difference between Turtle Power and Lorwyn Eclipsed is night and day (or Lorwyn and Shadowmoor) - at least when it comes to the lands.
Looking through the decklists, Lorwyn Eclipsed's five-color precon deck Dance of the Elements has a total of nine multicolor lands that can enter untapped, and many of these can only cast creature or elemental spells.
On the other hand, Turtle Power has a whopping 15 multicolor lands which enter untapped (if you count Fabled Passage, which can fetch any color), and it has some bloody good ones for that matter.
For instance, the deck has the Gruul and Golgari bond lands, which come in untapped if you have more than one opponent. These are currently 10-20 dollar lands in their cheapest form. It also comes with City of Brass, which can tap for any color and also goes for $20.
It's also very noticeable to me that, whereas the Lorwyn decks were both focused on fun but niche strategies, the Turtles deck is about tokens and +1/+1 counters - two of the most prevalent themes in Commander.
That means the deck is full of new cards that would work well in an extremely wide range of decks - cards like High Score, Arcade Cabinet, and Level Up which I could see becoming valuable staples.
The deck also power creeps several good effects. Irma Part-Time Mutant is one of the best, most mana-efficient clones ever printed, while Continue? is a far stronger version of Brought Back. Again, cards like this have the potential to see play in a wide range of decks.
Thanks to the UB tax, the MSRP is higher on the Turtle Power deck than the Lorwyn precons, so I suppose this just means Wizards is giving you something extra for your money. But still, as someone who just bought the elementals deck, looking at that deluxe Universes Beyond mana base is pretty galling.
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