It's not every day that we learn about how Magic: The Gathering card designs changed over time, but the principal game designer at Wizards of the Coast, Gavin Verhey, just dropped a bombshell about how we almost got another Eminence Commander in this year's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set.

The card in question would have been Heroes In A Half Shell, the WUBRG legendary creature designed as one of the five options to lead the deck as the face Commander. Given the restricted use of Eminence as a mechanic, it's interesting to know how we almost got what would be just the sixth official Commander sporting the keyword.

The Story Of Eminence So Far

In a video posted to TikTok on June 2, 2026, Gavin Verhey addresses a comment asking what he thinks about Eminence and how he would change it. Verhey notes that he is an expert on the mechanic, having led the Commander 2017 set, which includes four of the five Eminence cards:

  • Edgar Markov
  • The Ur-Dragon
  • Inalla, Archmage Ritualist
  • Arahbo, Roar of the World

Verhey points out that players are often critical of Edgar Markov's power but not of Arahbo, suggesting that Eminence may not be the overall issue but rather the creature type it is associated with, as Vampires are typically considered stronger than Cats.

However, it's then suggested that this power differential is because Markov generates Vampires when casting other Vampires, whereas Arahbo requires another Cat creature to already be on the battlefield to be effective.

Verhey outright states that Eminence is something "we [WotC] want to do sparingly," then highlights the only other instance of Eminence, which appears on Sidar Jabari of Zhalfir, who operates similarly to Arahbo but doesn't receive the same criticisms.

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Ninja Turtles With Eminence?

Verhey then goes to give an example of Eminence being a mechanic that needs to be used at the right time, in the right place, before revealing that "the backup Commander in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Commander deck, Heroes In A Half Shell, was originally an Eminence Commander."

He goes on to state that "it was that way for a while," however, the existing support for Ninjas across Magic made them rethink the decision. It's then stated that Heroes In A Half Shell being a WUBRG Commander also factored into the decision because of how The Ur-Dragon was designed, with Verhey claiming it is "one of the things I regret the most about it [The Ur-Dragon], it being five colors." This is because he believes that the current power of The Ur-Dragon derives from the fact that it uses all five mana colors. This has had a knock-on effect on all future Dragon-type Commanders, as designers feel the need to push them to be closer to The Ur-Dragon.

What Could Have Been

The TikTok video from Gavin Verhey is a fascinating watch for anyone who loves to hear more about Magic card design, and he is one of the best to ever do it, but it's eye-opening to think about how close we got to such a powerful mechanic being thrown on a Universes Beyond Commander.

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That's not to say that any mechanic should be excluded from use in a Universes Beyond set, but one as protected as Eminence, which is only printed on five cards since its introduction almost ten years ago, would have caused quite the discussion had it materialized on the Heroes In A Half Shell card.

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