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Commander Nexus
  1. Commander Nexus
  2. Commanders
  3. Leonardo, the Balance

Command zone

Leonardo, the Balance

Leonardo, the Balance

Legendary Creature — Mutant Ninja Turtle

Leonardo wants a deck that makes an army of small creatures and attacks with all of them. It has partner, so it can share the lead with a second partner commander.

  • Mana cost3 genericwhite
  • All five colors ()
  • Power / toughness3 / 3
  • RarityMythic

Whenever a token you control enters, you may put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control. Do this only once each turn.

whiteblueblackredgreen: Creatures you control gain menace, trample, and lifelink until end of turn.

Partner—Character select (You can have two commanders if both have this ability.)

Build a deck with Leonardo Find it in the app

Themes

Cards That Fit Leonardo, the Balance

Picked for what they do in Leonardo's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Leonardo's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Sol RingOpen the full glossary

plan6

The 6 Cards

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The 6 Cards

plan6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Leonardo, the Balance

explain how Leonardo works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary

Wizards of the Coast 27 Jan 2026

An effect that checks whether you control your commander is satisfied if you control one or both of your two commanders.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Jan 2026

Both commanders start in the command zone, and the remaining 98 cards of your deck are shuffled to become your library.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Jan 2026

If something refers to your commander while you have two commanders, it refers to one of them of your choice. If you are instructed to perform an action on your commander (e.g. put it from the command zone into your hand due to Command Beacon), you choose one of your commanders at the time the effect happens.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Jan 2026

If your Commander deck has two commanders, you can only include cards whose own color identities are also found in your commanders' combined color identities. If Donatello, the Brains and Splinter, the Mentor are your commanders, your deck may contain cards with blue and/or black in their color identity, but not cards with red, green, or white. (If Leonardo, the Balance is one of your commanders, your deck may contain cards with any color or combination of colors in their color identity, regardless of who your other commander is.)

Wizards of the Coast 27 Jan 2026

Once the game begins, your two commanders are tracked separately. If you cast one, you won't have to pay an additional {2} the first time you cast the other. A player loses the game after having been dealt 21 damage from any one of them, not from both of them combined.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Jan 2026

To have two commanders, both must have appropriate partner abilities as the game begins. Losing the ability during the game doesn't cause either to cease to be your commander.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Jan 2026

You can have two commanders if each one has "Partner—Character select." You can't mix and match them with cards that have other partner abilities.

7 rulings, all written by Wizards of the Coast. Read the originals on Gatherer ↗

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Leonardo, and what they share.

Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryWUBRGPlayers write colors as letters: W for white, U for blue, B for black, R for red, G for green. Blue is U because B was already taken by black.TokensToken decks fill the battlefield with small creatures made by their cards, then attack with all of them or make them all bigger at once. A token is a creature (or other object) that a card creates, not a card from your deck.Open the Tokens pageToken PayoffRewards you for making or having tokens: counting them, copying them, or making every one of them bigger. These are the cards that turn a lot of small creatures into a way to actually win. Anointed Procession, Trostani, Selesnya's VoiceOpen the Token Payoff pageOverrunMakes your whole team bigger at once, usually with trample or another way past blockers. It turns a big group of creatures into a winning attack. Craterhoof Behemoth, Akroma's WillOpen the Overrun pageETB PayoffRewards you whenever your permanents enter the battlefield. It either gives you something for each arrival or makes their 'when this enters' abilities happen twice. Impact Tremors, PanharmoniconOpen the ETB Payoff pageCounter EngineAdds +1/+1 counters over and over rather than once. A counter here is a small permanent marker that raises a creature's power and toughness for good. It is not a counterspell, which is a different thing entirely. Something that adds them every turn makes your whole board bigger and keeps it that way. Hardened Scales, Corpsejack MenaceOpen the Counter Engine pageAggroAggro decks play cheap creatures early and attack every turn, trying to knock opponents out before their bigger plans come together.Open the Aggro pageMana SinkGives you somewhere useful to spend spare mana, usually through an ability you can activate again and again. Rogue's Passage, Mind StoneOpen the Mana Sink page+1/+1 CountersPuts +1/+1 counters on creatures, permanently raising their power and toughness. Unlike a temporary boost that wears off at end of turn, these markers stay put and stack up over a long game. Hardened Scales, The Great HengeOpen the +1/+1 Counters page+1/+1 Counters+1/+1 counter decks put small markers on their creatures that make each one permanently bigger, and keep adding more every turn. Each +1/+1 counter adds one to a creature's power (the damage it deals) and toughness (the damage it can take).Open the +1/+1 Counters page