Raph & Leo, Sibling Rivals is a brand new legendary creature from the brand new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set. This pair of Green, angsty teens will provide an explosive turn of events during your combat step. The first time these turtles attack, you get an extra combat, and get to untap up to two creatures. Raph & Leo automatically become a great option for aggressive decks in Boros () looking to connect fists to players faces.

This effect isn't incredibly unique for this color combination. So.what makes Raph & Leo different from their competition and what would a deck with them at the helm look like? Let's dig into it.

Why Raph & Leo?

Isshin, Two Heavens as One is a classic combat centric deck in Mardu (). Notably this creature is the same mana value as Raph & Leo, and adds the extra color in Black that the turtle brothers lack. While Isshin is a powerful Commander, I feel that he has been a little overdone.

Raph & Leo also have the advantage of combat damage effects. While Isshin doubles attack triggers, Raph & Leo can do that by allowing up to two creatures to attack twice in the same turn, and also squeeze out extra value by playing combat damage triggers.

Karlach, Fury of Avernus is the other go to legend in Red that allows for this type of strategy. Karlach is a much more powerful creature that allows all of your creatures to get in two combats per turn, however, she does cost 5 mana to cast. Raph & Leo have a similar advantage to Isshin in that they are easy to cast and come down in the early game. This is perfect for a Boros aggressive shell that wants to put pressure on your opponents as fast as possible.

Applying the Pressure

My decklist down below that I crafted for this pair of turtles is hyper aggressive. There are a whopping 45 creatures in the list to help apply lots of pressure on our opponents life totals. Let's go over some of the key ones that will close out the game quickly if not removed.

Arabella, Abandoned Doll is one of the strongest pieces of agro that Boros has seen in recent times. This scary animated doll can drain your opponents life total in the blink of an eye. To help boost the power of Arabella's triggered ability and to add some power to the board there are a lot of creatures that create tokens when they attack in this list.

Jacked Rabbit, Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin, Hero of Bladehold, Leonin Warleader, and Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon are all creatures that make a small token army when they attack. With the help of Raph & Leo, we can untap some of these creatures to take advantage of their attack triggers to make even more tokens in a single turn.

Skyhunter Strike Force and Nadaar, Selfless Paladin will power up our team of misfit mutants to deal even more damage per turn. Battle Angels of Tyr starts to get absolutely insane when you can trigger Myriad multiple times a turn. The brand new Kinscaer Sentry from Lorwyn: Eclipsed works wonders in this deck by dumping creatures straight into play from our hand.

Keeping the Turtles Unharmed

Raph & Leo, Sibling Rivals need to attack to trigger, however, they can easily be killed in combat. Reconnaissance is a classic old school card to get around the dangers that combat can bring while still getting the desired attack triggers. Since the ability on Reconnaissance costs zero mana to activate, we can use this to get all of our combat triggers on our entire team without losing them in clogged boardstates.

Dolmen Gate and Iroas, God of Victory work in very similar ways, but still allow the creatures to deal damage. Rogue's Passage, Access Tunnel, and Escape Tunnel are all lands with the ability to give Raph & Leo evasion to move past blockers unnoticed. Utility lands such as these are extremely valuable in this kind of strategy and it is great that we have gotten more options over time.

Pushing for the Win

Once our board is well established with lots of creatures it is time to push for a win. There are a couple of ways to do that included in this list. The first of which is casting a larger creature with a powerful attack trigger and using it to overwhelm your opponents with value.

Goldlust Triad and Etali, Primal Storm are some of the go to powerful game ending creatures for combat matters decks. Everyone loves the tension an Etali trigger causes, so let's just simply double it. Delina, Wild Mage can be a win condition with the right amount of luck on your side. Thundering Raiju is also a classic combat finisher that I have included.

If these massive threats aren't enough to take the victory, there are a couple of other tricks this turtle pair has. Great Train Heist and Combat Celebrant are classic extra combat spells that might give you the final push you need to win. Firebender Ascension, Delney, Streetwise Lookout, and Windcrag Siege can double attack triggers, including Raph & Leo's, which will provide multiple extra combats a turn.

There are a couple extra ways to close out the game, but I will let you find those on your own. If you need some help brewing here is my list:

Raph & Leo Classic Boros | Commander | Nigel Kurtz

• Commander (1)
• 1 Raph & Leo, Sibling Rivals

• Creatures (45)
• 1 Acolyte Hybrid
• 1 Agrus Kos, Spirit of Justice
• 1 Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon
• 1 Arabella, Abandoned Doll
• 1 Aurelia, the Law Above
• 1 Auron, Venerated Guardian
• 1 Battle Angels of Tyr
• 1 Brazen Collector
• 1 Breeches, Eager Pillager
• 1 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
• 1 Bruse Tarl, Boorish Herder
• 1 Bruse Tarl, Roving Rancher
• 1 Caparocti Sunborn
• 1 Captain Lannery Storm
• 1 Combat Celebrant
• 1 Delina, Wild Mage
• 1 Delney, Streetwise Lookout
• 1 Etali, Primal Storm
• 1 Firemane Commando
• 1 Generous Plunderer
• 1 Giggling Skitterspike
• 1 Goldlust Triad
• 1 Hero of Bladehold
• 1 Inferno Titan
• 1 Iroas, God of Victory
• 1 Jacked Rabbit
• 1 Kinscaer Sentry
• 1 Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
• 1 Laelia, the Blade Reforged
• 1 Leonin Warleader
• 1 Lightning, Army of One
• 1 Nadaar, Selfless Paladin
• 1 Overlord of the Boilerbilges
• 1 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury
• 1 Professional Face-Breaker
• 1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
• 1 Robber of the Rich
• 1 Sandstorm Crasher
• 1 Skyhunter Strike Force
• 1 Smellerbee, Rebel Fighter
• 1 Sophina, Spearsage Deserter
• 1 Tectonic Giant
• 1 Tersa Lightshatter
• 1 Thundering Raiju
• 1 Witch Enchanter // Witch-Blessed Meadow

• Instants (5)
• 1 Great Train Heist
• 1 Legion Leadership // Legion Stronghold
• 1 Path to Exile
• 1 Lightning Bolt
• 1 Wear // Tear

• Sorceries (6)
• 1 Blasphemous Act
• 1 Sundering Eruption // Volcanic Fissure
• 1 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki
• 1 Firebender Ascension
• 1 Reconnaissance
• 1 Windcrag Siege

• Artifacts (10)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Boros Signet
• 1 Dolmen Gate
• 1 Fellwar Stone
• 1 Fire Diamond
• 1 Lightning Greaves
• 1 Liquimetal Torque
• 1 Marble Diamond
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Talisman of Conviction

• Lands (33)
• 11 Mountain
• 9 Plains
• 1 Access Tunnel
• 1 Battlefield Forge
• 1 Clifftop Retreat
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Escape Tunnel
• 1 Exotic Orchard
• 1 Furycalm Snarl
• 1 Inspiring Vantage
• 1 Needleverge Pathway // Pillarverge Pathway
• 1 Rogue's Passage
• 1 Rugged Prairie
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 1 Sunbaked Canyon

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That wraps up looking at Raph & Leo, Sibling Rivals. Even if you aren't a TMNT fan, you can still appreciate the fun of playing an aggressive Boros deck. I hope this article helps you see the potential of some of these brand new legends in Commander.

See you on the battlefield!

-Nigel