Table of Contents
Whether you like it or not, Universes Beyond is here — at least for 2026.
Our first expansion is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or TMNT. If I had a penny for every time we’ve gone to New York City, I’d have two pennies. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. I might even get a third penny, as Marvel Super Heroes is coming in the summer and will likely be set around the Avengers — who are also based in New York.
Anyway, it’s time to wipe off those greasy fingers, order a pizza, and settle in.
This is going to be my top 10 picks from the set. I’m only covering the main set — no Special Guests or Commander cards.
This list is in no particular order, and it definitely has a Commander lean to it. That’s my main format — and the one I know best.
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1: Renet, Temporal Apprentice
https://scryfall.com/card/tmt/50/renet-temporal-apprentice
My first card is [[Renet, Temporal Apprentice]]. This card is going to be obnoxious in Limited.
Not only are you getting a 4/3 with flash for five mana, but if your opponent only played permanents on their turn, you get to undo all of that. It nearly gives you a [[Time Warp]] — except you’re also left with a body.
It works even better if tokens were made. They’ll still be returned, but since tokens can’t exist outside the battlefield, they’re gone forever.
If you use Renet as your commander, it’s going to be very telegraphed. However, it might buy you time. Your opponents may not want to overcommit in fear of you bouncing everything, allowing you to set up ahead.
2: Ninja Teen
https://scryfall.com/card/tmt/67/ninja-teen
[[Ninja Teen]] is a [[Bastion of Remembrance]]-style card, but we’re trading the life gain and token for more utility.
Not only does [[Ninja Teen]] trigger on leaves the battlefield rather than just dies, but it’s also a Class card. That means you can keep putting mana into it to unlock additional abilities.
The real bonus comes from the level 3 ability, which gives all your creatures in the graveyard Sneak {3}{B}. It also allows them to be cast from the graveyard with Sneak. So your creatures don’t stay dead, letting you bring back key pieces if they’re removed.
You can even combine it with [[Embalmer’s Tools]] for an added discount.
At its base level, I’m mostly looking at this as a three-mana drain card that’s an enchantment — and therefore harder to deal with. I think [[Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER]] decks are going to love this card.
3: Raphael, the Nightwatcher
https://scryfall.com/card/tmt/103/raphael-the-nightwatcher
A quick rules note about Sneak, as this is the first Legendary Creature with Sneak on my list — and therefore can be your commander.
Sneak is still casting your commander, so it is subject to Commander tax. This is different from [[Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow]] and Commander Ninjutsu. While they look similar, they’re worded differently.
Ninjutsu puts the creature onto the battlefield. Sneak casts the card. That means you can still counterspell a card cast with Sneak.
I do think we’re going to see more of Sneak. It’s a less limiting keyword, without being forced into Ninja flavour, and there are far fewer shenanigans you can pull off with it.
Sneak can only be used during the declare blockers step. With Ninjutsu, you can activate it after damage, in the end of combat step, to reuse enters triggers and more.
4: Shark Shredder, Killer Clone
https://scryfall.com/card/tmt/73/shark-shredder-killer-clone
[[Shark Shredder, Killer Clone]] was one of the first leaks shown. It appeared as a Prerelease promo — but in the Lorwyn Eclipsed kit instead. This blunder was followed by more cards appearing in the wrong kits, with Wizards eventually just releasing all the mythics and rares from the set far earlier than expected.
So, thanks to the QA department at Wizards, we got some very early spoilers.
Shark Shredder itself is a nasty card. At base level, it’s a four-mana 4/4 with First Strike. Annoying to deal with, but nothing special. It’s the triggered ability that earns it a spot on this list:
“Whenever Shark Shredder deals combat damage to a player, put up to one target creature card from that player’s graveyard onto the battlefield under your control. It enters tapped and attacking that player.”
It even has Sneak, letting you reliably get the trigger the first time.
The key part here is First Strike. [[Shark Shredder, Killer Clone]] deals damage in the First Strike damage step. The trigger then goes on the stack, and you drop in a creature. As long as that creature doesn’t have First Strike, it will deal its damage in the regular damage step.
If the creature entering has Double Strike, it will still only deal damage in the regular damage step — because we’ve already passed the First Strike damage step.
So you get a creature and immediately hit your opponent with it. Stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself.
And it’s not like black has access to hand disruption to force discard. Or a plethora of removal spells. Not at all.
5: Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11
https://scryfall.com/card/tmt/121/michelangelo-weirdness-to-11
[[Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11]] is my next pick — although the only weird thing about it is the name.
Michelangelo is basically [[Hardened Scales]] on a creature. More importantly, he’s Legendary. That means he can be your commander, giving you consistent access to this effect. He even comes with a way to kick-start it thanks to the Mutagen token.
Adding an extra counter isn’t a new thing for a commander. We already have [[Caradora, Heart of Alacria]] and [[Pir, Imaginative Rascal]]. While you do lose a colour by playing [[Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11]], you gain a turn of speed since he only costs two mana — plus the aforementioned Mutagen token.
Even if you don’t use Michelangelo as your commander, another copy of this effect is always welcome. It’s about reaching that critical mass.
I could also see this showing up in Standard — particularly in Simic Ouroboroid decks — as a way to go even bigger. Realistically though, I see it more as a sideboard option to pivot into a midrange plan, since it only really works with [[Badgermole Cub]] or [[Ouroboroid]]. And it’s not even that good with Badgermole.
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6: Sally Pride, Lioness Leader
https://scryfall.com/card/tmt/24/sally-pride-lioness-leader
I see [[Sally Pride, Lioness Leader]] — as the name suggests — leading a Commander deck.
She can enter and immediately make an army. Unfortunately, it’s limited to non-token creatures. Otherwise, things could get very abusive with flicker effects, creating an exponentially larger board.
Even with that restriction, I think she’s still very playable. You just need to build your deck around cheap creatures, then use cards like [[Raise the Past]] to rebuild after the inevitable board wipes.
I could also see Sally helming a [[Hare Apparent]] deck. She won’t create extra tokens from the Rabbit tokens themselves, but she will from the actual Hares.
It’s also the second ability that makes me want to try this. Putting a +1/+1 counter on your board whenever she attacks means that, if left unchecked, you’ll quickly have a double army of Rabbits and Mutants ready to be buffed.
7: Ravenous Robots
https://scryfall.com/card/tmt/106/ravenous-robots
[[Ravenous Robots]] is more of a speculative pick. I’m looking at this one for Standard, potentially alongside [[Pinnacle Emissary]].
You could go full Izzet, or mostly mono-red and splash to hard-cast [[Pinnacle Emissary]] after the Warp. There are plenty of cheap artifacts in Standard right now, especially with Edges of Eternity in the mix.
Alternatively, you could go bigger with [[Simulacrum Synthesizer]] and buff the Constructs with the extra tokens. [[Simulacrum Synthesizer]] even triggers from [[Pinnacle Emissary]] — both on the Warp and the true cast.
The real question is speed. Can this keep up with the current top decks?
I do think there’s a deck here — it’s just a matter of how well it performs. At worst, it’s a fun FNM build, and at current prices it looks relatively cheap to put together, especially if you’re not running the Simulacrum Synthesizer version.
8: The Ooze
https://scryfall.com/card/tmt/177/the-ooze
[[The Ooze]] is basically [[The Ozolith]] at home.
It’s a way to “preserve” counters from your creatures. [[The Ozolith]] does this more cleanly by storing the counters on itself and moving them at the beginning of combat.
The Ooze, instead, creates a Mutagen token and forces you to pay {1} to get the counter back. That makes it better in strategies that add extra counters — like [[Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11]].
This is likely going to be the budget option for The Ozolith, which is sitting around £20–25 at the time of writing.
9: Raph & Mikey, Trouble Makers
https://scryfall.com/card/tmt/167/raph-&-mikey-troublemakers
[[Raph & Mikey, Trouble Makers]] is my next pick. This is another knockoff version of a powerful card — [[Etali, Primal Conqueror]].
Etali gets you four cards, one from each player. Raph and Mikey only get you one from your deck. However, the upside is that it’s always a creature — and it enters tapped and attacking.
While I prefer Etali’s raw value, Raph and Mikey offer an interesting alternative. Especially if you use them as your commander, as you can build your deck entirely around them.
You’d want to run mostly noncreature ramp to get them out faster, then fill the deck with large haymaker creatures to drop in for free. The Eldrazi titans immediately come to mind, along with other nasty creatures that have powerful enters-the-battlefield effects.
This could also be a very cool shell for [[Oath of Druids]].
10: Splinter’s Technique
https://scryfall.com/card/tmt/80/splinters-technique
My final card is a banger: [[Splinter’s Technique]].
This is basically [[Demonic Tutor]] at home. It’s the same effect for four mana — and if you Sneak it, it effectively costs the same.
Any conditional tutor is powerful. This will be a strong budget alternative to Demonic Tutor, and it may even have some upside if you’re returning a creature with a strong enters-the-battlefield effect that you want to replay.
There isn’t much more to say. Tutors are powerful in EDH — especially the cheaper ones.
Final Thoughts
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has brought a lot of new cards — and some very strong ones at that.
There are also plenty of cards that feel more deck-specific, such as [[Kitsune’s Technique]] in a Mill deck, [[Rat King, Verminister]] in card limit break decks, and [[Splinter, Radical Rat]] in a Ninja build.
[[Turtles Forever]] could even see play in a legends-matter deck, especially if we get the wish board change that people have been speculating about.
This set is packed full of powerful new effects, so be sure to grab some boosters or commander decks before they sell out. You can get them, and all things Magic: The Gathering, at Gathering Games.
Thanks for sticking with me — good luck, and remember to have fun!
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