Cowabunga!Cowabunga! | Art by Thomas Chamberlain-Keen

Many new set reviews dig into the minutiae of the cards and which ones in particular stand out. In this column I'm going to take a more holistic look at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (TMNT) set overall and judge how good the set is for Commander fans.

I've been playing multiplayer Magic since 1994 and EDH/Commander specifically since 2007, so I'm drawing from decades of experience in my evaluation. I will emphasize that I very much favor the social aspect of Commander over the competitive side of the Commander Brackets, and my takes are coming from that perspective.

Universes Beyond sets can be a little tricky since so many of the vibes are going to be tied up in how much or how little you like the IP the set is designed around. While TMNT isn't my jam personally, I do love Commander and find many of the cards interesting as Magic game pieces regardless of the flavor.

Excellent Reprint Value!

As Commander fans, it's always nice to see reprints of both format staples and oddball cards that don't really see play anywhere else but have gotten quite expensive, and the TMNT products bring a good number of them to the community. First we'll take a look at the Source Material cards - these can be randomly found in Play Boosters, Collector Boosters, and the Draft Night bundle.

Doubling SeasonDoubling Season has been reprinted a ton over the years, but it's such a powerful card in token decks, +1/+1 counter decks, and planeswalker decks that demand remains high, so any reprint helps.

This is the first reprint of Trouble in PairsTrouble in Pairs, a powerful enchantment many white decks would want to run, so having more floating around is welcome. ShadowspearShadowspear is a powerful artifact that slots into just about any Commander deck, and while it's been reprinted a few times, the price for one is still quite high.

This will be the first reprint of All Will Be OneAll Will Be One outside of Secret Lair, and its price tag is quite high due to demand for this powerful enchantment. Rhythm of the WildRhythm of the Wild is just an uncommon, but it's quite popular in Commander and is good to have more copies around.

Arcbound RavagerArcbound Ravager is another welcome reprint for artifact creature decks.

My eyes popped when I saw how much Ashcoat of the Shadow SwarmAshcoat of the Shadow Swarm costs; it's a mythic from Jumpstart 2022 and has never before been reprinted. And to further juice Rat deck lovers is Plague of VerminPlague of Vermin, also reprinted for the first time.

For Mutant deck fans, also reprinted for the first time, is Cytoplast ManipulatorCytoplast Manipulator.

Waves of AggressionWaves of Aggression, Sword of Sinew and SteelSword of Sinew and Steel, and Teleportation CircleTeleportation Circle are also reprinted here for the first time, and all are quite nice for Commander.

Umezawa's JitteUmezawa's Jitte has had some limited reprints, so getting some more in circulation is awesome. The surveil lands are worth their weight in gold for competitive formats and Commander, so it's nice to see the Undercity SewersUndercity Sewers reprint. And high-power Commander fans will be happy to see a reprint of Underworld BreachUnderworld Breach.

Each TNMT Pizza Bundle comes with a pack with two cards randomly chosen from six reprints, and three of them are quite nice to see.

Commander's PlateCommander's Plate and Food ChainFood Chain are high powered Commander cards, and Sword of Hearth and HomeSword of Hearth and Home is not too shabby either.

There are a few reprints of note from the Commander deck. Heralds of the ShredderHeralds of the Shredder is a reskin of VigorVigor, which has gotten a bit pricey in recent years. And Wave GoodbyeWave Goodbye gets its first reprint since it first showed up in a Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander precon.

It's always awesome to see one of the battle lands get reprinted, and as a Golgari () fan I love to see Undergrowth StadiumUndergrowth Stadium!

Is TMNT Fun?

I'll have to give this a mixed review in terms of fun; a big part of your experience will be tied into your feelings about TMNT specifically and Universes Beyond in general. If you're a fan of the Turtles, then you're going to find this set loads of fun; if you're not a fan of the Turtles, and aren't a fan of Universes Beyond products, then you'll likely skip this set.

But if you're agnostic, like me, there are a decent number of cool cards that can spice up your decks and lead to some epic game plays. The cards with partner - character select offer a great variety of deckbuilding options across different color combinations much like other cards with the partner mechanic.

The heavily featured sneak mechanic is tied to attacking, and I find that encouraging players to attack more leads to more interactive and fun games of Commander.

If you find adorable cards fun, TMNT has more than a few, like Prehistoric PetPrehistoric Pet! And we even have artwork of characters playing Magic: The Gathering on a Magic: The Gathering Card on Lessons from LifeLessons from Life.

A Lot of Legends in TMNT

As we've come to expect from Universes Beyond sets, there are a ton of new legendary creatures due to all the main characters having a bunch of different versions. A whopping 103 of them!

I was pleasantly surprised to see most of them falling within the 3-5 mana value range, with a fair number of six mana or higher.

Budget-minded Commander fans will be happy to see uncommon and even common choices among the 103 legends.

Number of Color Combos Among Legends in TMNT

What about Commander color distribution? There are a surprisingly large number of monocolored commanders, though five have partner - character select, and Bebop, Skull & CrossbonesBebop, Skull & Crossbones and Rocksteady, Mutant MarauderRocksteady, Mutant Marauder partner with each other. Mono-blue has a significant lead in numbers, with red in second place, and we even have a colorless commander choice in Krang, Utrom WarlordKrang, Utrom Warlord.

All ten two-color combinations are represented with legends in the set, but when it comes to three colors there's only an Esper () choice with Splinter, Radical RatSplinter, Radical Rat for Ninja fans.

We also get some five-color commander options from the Turtle Power! precon, and while you can certainly use them to jam a bunch of TMNT cards, they are also open enough to go in different directions.

Leonardo, the BalanceLeonardo, the Balance cares about tokens and flooding the battlefield with creatures, while Heroes in a Half ShellHeroes in a Half Shell could lead a Mutant or Turtle deck rather than a Ninja deck.

Cards in TMNT for Underexplored Themes

Food

Outside of Turtle decks, the main thing that really jumped out at me are the ton of cards that support Food strategies! Unfortunately a lot of the art on these cards is downright gross, but if you can stomach it, there are new toys for the strategy.

It's neat that some of these Food cards have effects attached to them: Anchovy & Banana PizzaAnchovy & Banana Pizza destroys target creature; Guac & Marshmallow PizzaGuac & Marshmallow Pizza has flash and gives a target creature +2/+2 until the end of turn and you untap it. Of note for Commander: this could work on an opponent's blocking creature too!

And then there's Spicy Oatmeal PizzaSpicy Oatmeal Pizza which deals four damage to any target, but you take three damage too - it is quite spicy!

Omni-Cheese PizzaOmni-Cheese Pizza draws a card and offers a choice of either color fixing or gaining life. Ninja PizzaNinja Pizza makes your Food cards and tokens into virtual Treasures, and makes a Food each turn. Ice Cream KittyIce Cream Kitty is a Food creature that is an expensive sacrifice outlet to draw a card.

Speaking of gross, the art for Pizza Face, GastromancerPizza Face, Gastromancer is particularly disturbing, especially since I was teased with that moniker during one year in high school I suffered from acne. Its disappear triggered ability is neat for generating +1/+1 counters on either an artifact creature or animating an artifact and giving it the counters.

Courier of ComestiblesCourier of Comestibles is a neat niche tutor for Food cards, which gets a nice boost in this set with the "spell" Foods. Dimension X PizzasaurDimension X Pizzasaur is another Food creature that gets better the more counters you have on permanents when it enters.

Party DudeParty Dude is easy to level up, and should draw you a bunch of cards if an opponent is going hog wild with Treasure tokens. Michelangelo, the HeartMichelangelo, the Heart produces +1/+1 counters and Food tokens.

I can't remember the last time I saw PutrefyPutrefy played, but Tainted TreatsTainted Treats has a little upside if you're playing Food synergies.

I'm not sure if anyone is going to be making a five-color Food deck, but if you do you unlock Everything PizzaEverything Pizza for it, along with the adorable Lita, Little Orphan AmphibianLita, Little Orphan Amphibian and Featherbrained FilcherFeatherbrained Filcher.

Mill and Puns

I wouldn't say mill strategies are exactly underexplored, but it got a powerful new tool in Kitsune's TechniqueKitsune's Technique since it can be cast very cheaply with its sneak ability.

And if you happen to want to build a Commander deck full of puns, this set seems to have an above average number of them!

Overall Set Complexity and Strength

This set is slightly above average in terms of complexity, with a lot of it inherent in the sneak ability cards. Sneak seems the same as ninjutsu at first glance, but it's an alternate way to cast the card with sneak, while ninjutsu is a way to put the card onto the battlefield. If it's a creature you cast with sneak, it enters tapped and attacking, just like the creature that enters with ninjutsu.

But because you're casting the card with sneak, the ability can be put on noncreature spells. This can add a bit of confusion for newer players due to sorcery spells that you can cast at instant speed with sneak during your attack step.

This set also has a truckload of cards that add +1/+1 counters to creatures, which in my experience can get rather cumbersome to manage on a complicated battlefield - especially if you run out of dice.

I wish that Wizards of the Coast designers had dug a little deeper on a lot of these cards and gone in different, less traveled directions.

My impression of TMNT is that the power level is just about right. I don't see any cards that look busted and destined for the Game Changers list, nor are there a bunch of must-have cards that should immediately slot into a bunch of decks, which should be a relief to people who aren't fond of Universes Beyond sets.

Personally, I'm glad to not see many legends that just reward you for playing Magic without much effort. Instead, it will take deckbuilding decisions to unleash the power of these commanders.

Conclusion: Grade C+

I'll give this set an overall grade of C+ even though I think it's generally well designed and executed. Universes Beyond turns off a significant portion of the Commander community, and this particular IP is set in our modern-day "real world," which another slice of the community finds out of step with the overall flavor of the in-universe Magic sets.

Having such a major set turn off so many people pulls the overall grade down compared to most sets within the Magic universe. I feel like this IP would have been better received as a separate product, like Warhammer 40,000 or Doctor Who.

I also really dislike having so many versions of the same character, which makes it difficult for opponents to know which version you're playing without explaining the card each time. I find it leads to "new commander exhaustion" for Commander fans. This is a problem with many of the Universes Beyond sets generally, and I'd like to see this design choice corrected in the future.

How would you grade the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set and products? Let me know in the comments below (be polite!).

Read More:

The Best New Commanders in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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