1 Out of 3 Confirmed Magic: The Gathering 2026 Commander…

With the release of Magic: The Gathering's Spider-Man Universes Beyond set firmly in the rearview and the last set for 2025 (based on Avatar: The Last Airbender) fast approaching, players understandably now have their sights focused on 2026 and beyond. As it just so happens, today brought the surprise reveal of Magic: The Gathering's last remaining set planned for 2026, and it's another Universes Beyond set based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The reveal serves to corroborate previous leaks indicating that TMNT would indeed be the final remaining set for 2026, but today's previews of the cards and full product line point to its commander deck being an obvious highlight for Magic's upcoming year.

From what we know so far regarding 2026's planned commander precons, there will be two available as part of the Lorwyn Eclipsed set in January along with the recently revealed "Turtle Power" commander deck as part of the TMNT set in March. Interestingly, the "Turtle Power" precon is the second of the three pre-designed decks to be in the multicolored/WUBRG color identity, and if past multicolored Magic: The Gathering precons are any indication, it may be an unmissable pickup for EDH players filled with staples for the format. Regardless of how players feel about the TMNT reveals so far, or even Universes Beyond in general, there's a lot of potential value in the "Turtle Power" precon that makes it hard to ignore.

The TMNT set is further evidence of Magic's increasingly cozy relationship with Nickelodeon properties, between the past SpongeBob SquarePants Secret Lair and the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

Magic: The Gathering's 'Turtle Power' Precon Has Potential to Be Packed With Commander Staples

Going into today's reveal, there were a lot of questions over what exactly a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universes Beyond set would entail, including how the property would fit within the larger confines of Magic: The Gathering in a way that made sense for the game. The glimpse we got today of some of the cards and the product line underscored the "Turtle Power" commander deck as a highlight thanks to its multicolored color identity, and without even having a decklist, it's obvious it could pack a ton of value into its price. There are 43 new-to-Magic cards in "Turtle Power", 6 of which are the commanders, which leaves 57 spots for valuable commander staples and lands in each mana color that could justify the deck's price on their own.

It doesn't hurt that the deck's face commander, Leonardo, has a new spin on the classic Partner mechanic with the other commander-eligible cards in the precon, which should make "Turtle Power" a fun spin on the multicolored archetype that sets it apart from the other precons for 2026 that have already been revealed. Lorwyn Eclipsed also has a multicolored precon, the "Dance of the Elements" deck, but what we know about that deck seems to point to it being mechanically unique when stacked up against its TMNT counterpart. And with Lorwyn Eclipsed getting the remainder of the planned shock land reprints, that leaves a lot of room for other valuable dual and fetch lands to make their way into the TMNT set.

The 'Turtle Power' Precon Could Be an Instance of Magic: The Gathering's History Repeating Itself

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Until there's an official decklist from Wizards of the Coast, any assumption about what may or may not end up in any of the upcoming precons for 2026 is pure speculation, but with that speculation also comes the precedent of how multicolored decks have been structured in the past. Two of the most expensive and sought-after precons are built around the Eldrazi creature type, with Modern Horizons 3's "Eldrazi Incursion" being a multicolored deck and Commander Masters' "Eldrazi Unbound" being colorless, and both of them have seen major spikes in value since their initial release. A lot of that value comes from the desirability of the Eldrazi cards they contain, but it's also important to recognize that there are incredibly valuable lands that make up each deck's mana base that have contributed.

Turtle Power Means Power For All Kinds of Decks

Should the "Turtle Power" precon be another instance of Wizards of the Coast giving players a preconstructed deck filled with either top-tier lands or essential staples for commander, there's every chance that it will inflate in value after its release. But even without a spike in the deck's value on the secondary market, "Turtle Power"'s multicolored identity almost assuredly makes it worth picking up to get lands of each color for anyone who primarily plays the commander format of MTG. The rising popularity of EDH has driven some of Wizards of the Coast's strategy for Magic: The Gathering's release schedule and increased frequency of Universes Beyond sets, and "Turtle Power" being packed with practical value could be a way to say "thank you" to the players.

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