Magic's Upcoming TMNT Set Is Light on Mechanical Depth, But Still Introduces Plenty of Tubular Cards

It's lone been astir 4 months since Magic players past visited the streets of New York City, and successful conscionable a abbreviated fewer weeks, swinging done the skies and hotdog carts volition beryllium replaced by surfing done the sewers and slices of pizza with the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles acceptable of Magic: The Gathering.

Compared to immoderate of the much caller sets similar Avatar oregon Edge of Eternities, from a mechanics standpoint, TMNT is simply a spot connected the airy side, opting to bring backmost keywords—even renaming some—instead of large caller systems similar however Warp oregon the bending styles worked. That said, 2026’s debut Universes Beyond acceptable inactive looks to beryllium bringing immoderate tubular cards and merchandise to the array connected March 6.

First up, let’s instrumentality a look astatine the antithetic abilities that volition beryllium making up your extremist decks with this set, including the likes of “Sneak,” “Alliance,” “Disappear,” and Mutagen Tokens. Both Alliance and Disappear are returning mechanics, primitively appearing successful Streets of New Capenna and Aether Revolt respectively, though you whitethorn admit “Disappear” nether its different sanction of “Revolt.” Alliance triggers via an ETB effect whenever a carnal enters the battlefield nether your control, and Disappear connected the flip broadside triggers erstwhile a imperishable you power leaves the battlefield (making it large for blink decks).

Sneak, portion new, feels similar the estranged sibling of Ninjutsu—the Venus de Milo, if you will. Similar to Ninjutsu, whenever a carnal isn’t blocked, you are capable to swap retired that carnal with a paper by casting its Sneak outgo from their hand, with sorceries and different non-creature spells featuring this caller keyword this clip around. Cards similar “Michelangelo, Improviser” instrumentality vantage of this to large effect, allowing you to not lone bring him out, but besides immoderate different carnal oregon onshore retired each for lone 2GG, and volition beryllium large additions to immoderate decks that stone Whispersilk Cloaks, Rogue’s Passages, oregon immoderate of the different plethora of cards that marque creatures unblockable.

As idiosyncratic who has built a counter-focused platform moving things similar Parallel Lives and Doubling Season, the caller Mutagen artifact token is peculiarly exciting. Based connected the ooze that turned elemental babe turtles and a rat into ninja masters with an unhealthy obsession with pizza, each Mutagen token tin beryllium sacrificed to enactment a +1/+1 antagonistic connected a people creature. It’s lone due past that “The Ooze” cards let you to make much of these tokens whenever a carnal that has +1/+1 counters connected it already leaves the battlefield, oregon let you to pat the paper to exile a paper from a graveyard and make a token too. My antagonistic platform volition nary uncertainty beryllium eating connected turtle crockery with cards similar that erstwhile the acceptable releases.

As mentioned earlier, this is the 2nd clip a acceptable volition beryllium acceptable successful the real-world New York City location, truthful I was funny however the squad was approaching its depiction present with heroes successful the half-shell compared to the webhead and his rogues’ gallery.

Speaking with Crystal, the communicative pb for the set, she explains the attack was “the New York you sojourn (Spider-Man) versus the New York you are from oregon unrecorded successful (TMNT).” Spider-Man showed disconnected the much inspiring and beauteous sides of the city, with its sprawling skylines and towering buildings, portion a large absorption of TMNT has been showing disconnected the beloved metropolis successful a much homey and lived-in state, wherever spaces are repurposed with a dense accent connected truly nailing the lighting. Treatments similar the Vanish Lands, depicting areas the brothers were conscionable at, oregon the beauteous full-art rooftop lands showing them leaping from 1 rooftop to the adjacent successful the shadows, are peculiarly striking. The artists connected this acceptable person aced the assignment.

One of my biggest surprises from the preview came from the inspiration down the lone Commander deck, the five-color “Turtle Power” pre-con. Among the galore types of media that the turtles person battled Shredder and the Foot Clan across, my idiosyncratic favourite has been the video games, and it is this bequest of media that Wizards person utilized arsenic the main inspiration for the deck. Cards similar “Level Up,” “Arcade Cabinet,” “High Score,” and the nightmare-inducing “Electric Seaweed” from the archetypal NES rubric being featured successful the decklist are conscionable immoderate of the caller cards that thrust location this nostalgic travel to the past from erstwhile video rental stores were inactive commonplace.

This precon besides lets players prime from the largest fig of imaginable commanders successful perchance the full merchandise line’s history, with you capable to prime from either a azygous five-color paper featuring each 4 of the turtles, oregon a operation of Leonard and immoderate of his brothers oregon his maestro arsenic a companion. It’s conscionable a bummer that TMNT is lone getting a azygous precon (seriously, wherever is my Foot Clan / villains deck?!), but determination are a bully fig of caller goodies crammed into this platform with 40+ brand-new cards, and astatine slightest we are getting 1 astatine all, right? (looks astatine Avatar).

Aside from the Commander deck, the turtles’ lineup is packed similar a Pizza Hut during “Book It” period from the ’90s. Along with the modular fare of Play and Collector boosters and bundles, a peculiar bundle coming successful a pizza container volition besides beryllium released that comes with the peculiar pizza-themed lands, but players volition besides beryllium capable to snag a brand-new benignant of merchandise that lets up to 4 players don the colored bandanas of the brothers to woody with the likes of Krang and Shredder successful a cooperative battle.

In the Turtle Team-Up box, each member has their ain unsocial platform on with the chosen boss, with unsocial cards that are lone compatible successful this mode, but cards similar “Turtle Tracks” are much selective radical hug, which reads “Any fig of people players whitethorn each hunt their room for a basal onshore card, enactment it onto the battlefield nether their control, past shuffle.” The extremity is to supply a caller mode to present caller players to the game, allowing experienced players to service arsenic a benignant of Splinter-mentor fig successful a much welcoming cooperative sewerscape to larn in. I bask playing two-headed elephantine games with my friends, truthful I anticipation this merchandise does good and we get much successful the future, allowing maine to physique a coagulated platform astir this much targeted group-hug benignant of gameplay.

My older member and I grew up with our artifact boxes afloat of Ninja Turtles, and I person fond memories of having my friends slumber implicit and renting the champion TMNT game, Turtles successful Time (SNES). It’s inactive chaotic to maine to spot the brothers jumping astir Magic cards now, but I’m besides inactive trying to wrapper my caput astir the information that I person a kid portion I beryllium and theorycraft my adjacent Magic deck. This caller acceptable looks chock-full of amusive for fans of immoderate procreation of the turtles, and the caller Turtle Team-Up crippled looks to beryllium a large caller mode to thatch hesitant friends what’s truthful large astir this hobby of ours. And isn’t hanging retired with our friends what Turtle Power is each astir astatine the extremity of the day? That and pizza.

Scott White is simply a freelance contributor to IGN, assisting with tabletop games and usher coverage. Follow him connected X/Twitter oregon Bluesky.