Everyone’s favourite heroes in shells meet the world of strategy and spell-slinging in one of the most unexpected crossovers Magic: The Gathering has pulled off yet. In the latest Universes Beyond release, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles leap from the sewers of New York straight onto the tabletop, bringing their attitude, teamwork and love of pizza into the long-running card game from Wizards of the Coast.

It’s a crossover that sounds wild on paper, but once you start opening packs, it somehow feels right at home. Regardless of whether you have been playing Magic: The Gathering or used to get up on Saturday morning to watch Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael fight crime, this set is built on pure nostalgia mixed with some clever mechanics.

We were sent over some goodies to take a look at, with the first being the Magic: The Gathering – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Bundle, priced at $130 AUD, which is designed to be an all-in-one package that will give you a full slice of this crossover, regardless of whether you are a long-time Magic fan or just jumping into some turtle-powered chaos. The bundle includes nine Play Boosters, with each booster containing 14 cards that can include anything from commons right up to rare or even higher cards, with at least one foil guaranteed in every pack and even a tiny chance of pulling a foil borderless mythic rare if luck is on your side.

Alongside the boosters, you also receive 30 basic lands, which are split between 15 traditional foil and 15 non-foil, with several featuring full-art rooftop designs that looked sweet. To round off the bundle, you also get an oversized spindown life counter, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles themed storage box, and reference cards, which makes it feel like a proper collectors’ package rather than just a handful of packs.

The next pack bundle we got to check out was the Magic: The Gathering – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtle Power Commander Deck, priced in at $125 AUD, is built for players who don’t want to mess around and jump straight into the action with Commander being the most popular format in Magic, with a fully ready-to-play deck right out of the box. This set lets you choose your turtle by teaming up with characters like Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo and even Master Splinter.

You get to use partner-style mechanics to mix and match your leaders and shape your own playstyle at the table. Inside the bundle, you get a complete 100-card Commander Deck, including 43 brand new cards which are made specifically for this set, alongside 10 double-sided token cards to keep track of abilities and effects during play. It also comes with a custom deck box, a strategy insert that helps you learn how the deck works, and a reference card for quick rule checks, making it a great pickup for both experienced Commander players and anyone wanting a fun, themed deck ready to battle straight away.

Wizards were also kind enough to send us over some Collector Boosters, which are priced at $72.95 AUD each, along with a couple of the Play Boosters, which are valued at $12.95 AUD each. The Collector Boosters are easily the flashiest way to experience the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle set, as each pack is loaded with 15 cards, which include multiple rares or mythics, which are traditional foils and full-art land, plus the chance to pull some seriously special variants.

These packs can include surge foils, borderless cards, and even the ultra-rare headliner cards featuring all four turtles, illustrated by the original co-creator Kevin Eastman. With as many as 9 to 12 foil cards in a single pack and several high-rarity pulls guaranteed, these boosters are the perfect addition aimed at collectors who want the most premium cards. We also opened a couple of the Play Boosters, which are the more traditional packs and sit much cheaper than the others, but still bring in plenty of excitement.

Each Play Booster includes 14 cards with at least one guaranteed foil, along with a mix of commons, uncommons, and the chance of rares. These packs are designed with playing in mind, so it’s the perfect pack to build your deck.​

One of the coolest parts of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set is the introduction of new mechanics that really lean into the theme instead of just reskinning existing cards. The standout here is the “Sneak” mechanic, which lets you play creatures more unpredictably, catching opponents off guard and fitting perfectly with the idea of the Turtles striking from the shadows before the Foot Clan knows what’s happening.

Alongside that is the use of Mutagen Tokens, which allow you to power up your creatures over time by stacking +1/+1 counters, turning your team into a growing force that feels stronger as the match goes on. It adds a sense of fun and momentum to the game, especially in Commander.

To wrap it all up, the Magic: The Gathering – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover feels like one of those collaborations that shouldn’t work on paper, but absolutely does once you start cracking packs and playing. The set leans heavily into nostalgia. The Bundle is a great all-around picking, the Commander Deck is perfect for jumping straight into the chaos, the Collector Boosters bring that premium collectors feel to the set, and the Play Boosters help build your decks so you can become unstoppable. The artwork, references and overall theme stay true to TMNT while still feeling right at home in the Magic universe.

Written by: Hayden Nelson