Raphael, the Muscle
TMC · mythic · Released 2026-03-06
Power
Tier shown as baseline → best-case (in its ideal shell).
Derived from the 7 atoms below.
on rate
minor value alone
needs a shell
can take over a game
one mode
situational
easily answered
Commander Bracket
Archetypes
Roles
Risks
Mechanics
Typal
—
Structural
Rationale
Raphael is a 5cmc 4/4 that doubles all damage from counter-laden creatures and creates a Mutagen token on ETB; his Partner—Character Select ability allows a two-commander setup with another TMNT partner. He is a defining piece in counters-voltron and plus-one-counters strategies, as doubling combat damage from any counter-holding creature can be game-ending with even moderate counter stacking. He requires a board of creatures with counters to be impactful, making him weak in shell-agnostic builds.
Learnings (3)
The 'Double all damage' static ability applies to ALL counters (not just +1/+1 counters) — creatures with finality counters, stun counters, or any other counter type also qualify, though they rarely deal relevant combat damage.
tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6
Partner—Character Select is a variant of the Partner keyword specific to the TMNT set; both commanders must have the same Partner—Character Select text, restricting partner pairings to the TMNT character cycle only.
tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6
The Mutagen token he creates on ETB can itself be a creature with counters in the right shell, immediately enabling his own damage-doubling static the same turn he enters.
tagging · claude-sonnet-4-6
Popularity
- EDHREC rank: #8,531