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  3. Raphael, the Muscle

Command zone

Raphael, the Muscle

Raphael, the Muscle

Legendary Creature — Mutant Ninja Turtle

Raphael wants a deck that deals damage straight to its opponents. It has partner, so it can share the lead with a second partner commander.

  • Mana cost4 genericred
  • Red ()
  • Power / toughness4 / 4
  • RarityMythic

Double all damage that creatures you control with counters on them would deal.

When Raphael enters, create a Mutagen token.

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

Build a deck with Raphael Find it in the app

Archetypes
Themes

Cards That Fit Raphael, the Muscle

Picked for what they do in Raphael's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Raphael'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

Does what Raphael, the Muscle does6

The 6 Cards

Rulings for Raphael, the Muscle

explain how Raphael 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 damage dealt by a creature you control with counters on it is being divided or assigned among multiple permanents and/or players, that damage is divided or assigned before doubling. For example, if you attack with a 5/5 creature with trample and it's blocked by a 2/2 creature, you can assign 2 damage to the blocker and 3 damage to the defending player. Those amounts are then doubled to 4 and 6, respectively.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Jan 2026

If other effects modify how much damage a creature you control with counters on it would deal—by preventing some of it, for example—the player being dealt damage or the controller of the permanent being dealt damage chooses the order in which any such effects (including Raphael's) apply. If all of the damage is prevented, Raphael's effect no longer applies.

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

Mutagen tokens are a kind of predefined token. Each one is a colorless artifact with the artifact subtype Mutagen and the ability "{1}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature. Activate only as a sorcery."

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

Some spells and abilities that create Mutagen tokens require targets. If each target chosen is an illegal target as that spell or ability tries to resolve, it won't resolve. The Mutagen token won't be created.

Wizards of the Coast 27 Jan 2026

The damage is dealt by the same source as the original source of damage. The doubled damage isn't dealt by Raphael unless he was the original source of damage.

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.

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

Similar Commanders

Commanders that share the most with Raphael, 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 glossaryRPlayers write colors as letters: R for red.BurnBurn decks win by dealing damage straight to opponents with spells and abilities, rather than by attacking with creatures. Damage that hits every opponent at once counts three times over at a four-player table.Open the Burn pageDamage DoublerIncreases damage that is already being dealt, usually doubling it. It turns an attack that was survivable into one that is not. Twinflame TyrantOpen the Damage Doubler pageETB ValueDoes something useful the moment it arrives: an enter the battlefield ability, which players shorten to ETB. You keep that effect even if the card is removed straight afterwards, which is why these pair so well with flicker cards that make them enter again. Solemn Simulacrum, The One RingOpen the ETB Value pageToken MakerCreates one or more tokens. Different cards make very different ones: creatures Grave Titan, Treasures Smothering Tithe, Clues Tireless Tracker or Food Gilded Goose. This is one of our largest tags, so pair it with an archetype or theme when you are hunting a specific kind.Open the Token Maker page