Miscellaneous Cards To Pick up To Go With TMNT
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is low on my list of properties I think would work in a Magic: The Gathering set, but regardless of how inappropriate Donatello duking it out with Cloud Strife might seem, new sets mean new mechanics to build around, along with new opportunities to stay on top of price movements. And as far as these two categories go, this set’s definitely not lacking.
So personal dislike of Universes Beyond aside, here are some of my miscellaneous selections for cards to pick up before the upcoming TMNT set.
Picks for the Sneak Mechanic
As a fan of ninjitsu, I'm excited to see a mechanic in such a similar vein make an appearance. Anything that rewards aggressive combat tends to be fun, so I’m looking forward to playing with sneak, the new mechanic from TMNT that allows you to return an unblocked attacker to its owner's hand in exchange for playing a spell for a lower cost, which must be done on the declare blockers step.
What’s fun about sneak is that, unlike ninjitsu, there is a cycle of noncreature spells you can sneak in as well, opening up loads of fun opportunities with new cards such as
So what are some of the best ways we can guarantee our creatures can get in unblocked, allowing for maximum abuse of the new mechanic? Well one way is to just completely remove the option to block with
Like many powerful cards, Bedlam is simple, but effective. The enchantment says creatures can’t block; it’s as simple as that. And it serves as the perfect way to guarantee your side of the board can get through.
Do you have to worry about the backswing from all of your opponents’ creatures? Of course, but if your deck is aggressive enough, or if you’re just willing to take the risk, this is a notable inclusion in your sneak deck. It’s not the cheapest, clocking in at just under $10, but considering the
What if you’re not running red and need to get through? Well lucky for you there are a slew of cheap, effective, unblockable attackers at your disposal. The first one that comes to mind is a verifiable classic due to its hexproof ability, and that’s
So while it may seem a bit steep, if you want to bling out your sneak deck, it may be a good idea to pick these up before the price eventually increases, as it’s been holding steady above $5 for around six years now.
Another great pick for any sneak-based deck, assuming you’re in the color, is
While Changeling Outcast itself cannot block, it can easily be recast after using your sneak spell, allowing you to repeat the process each turn if you have one mana available afterwards. This is a purely offensive creature, and in the right decks, such as
These can be found for around a buck, with retro/etched foils for around $7… again, not the worst entry price if you need a basic one or are foiling out your deck.
| Bedlam | ||
| Bedlam | ||
| Invisible Stalker | ||
| Changeling Outcast | ||
| Changeling Outcast (Rainbow Foil) | ||
| Changeling Outcast (Retro Frame) (Foil Etched) |
Typal Picks
I’ve already discussed
While Teenager is not a creature type (yet), Ninjas and Turtles are, and there are some cool cards from outside TMNT that can help bump these types up a notch.
The first and most notable addition I can think of for any Ninja-based decks would have to be
Continuing the theme of deceptively simple but powerful cards in this article, this is one that can provide a decent amount of card draw in aggressive decks for the low cost of just two mana. Being both black and blue can make this somewhat difficult to slot in just any Ninja deck, but if you’re in those colors and you’re running Ninjas this should be an auto-include.
Its toughness isn’t the worst for two mana, giving you opportunity to swing in with it multiple times early-game. And even if you hit with it once and have it hang back while other Ninjas do the dirty work, it’s still generating value.
All in all this is just a great typal card that has seen a limited printing, and it’s also worth noting that at the time of writing, both the regular retro foil and the etched retro foil versions go for under $2, which is less than half the price of a regular foil from the first
Next up is
Taeko can only be found in
Its extremely scarce printing and relevant subtypes make this an easy grab for the right price, which I would say is right now, as it’s currently sitting at half the price of its all time high of $22 in October 2025, and is already showing trends of moving upwards.
And lastly I'd like to focus on Rats, a less prevalent creature type that gets some new cards in TMNT such as
If you're one of the people running these decks, you might want to do yourself a favor and pick up copies of
Both of these are inexpensive despite only having one printing each, due to their niche application, but they're still worth picking up. I don't anticipate these will rise in price soon, or at all, but tech-wise they are underrated cards to keep an eye out for.
| Ingenious Infiltrator | ||
| Ingenious Infiltrator (Retro Frame) (Foil Etched) | ||
| Taeko, the Patient Avalanche | ||
| Echoing Return | ||
| Secret Salvage |
Pixel Art Picks
For the final portion, I'd like to briefly take a moment to recognize the collectors out there who enjoy certain art styles, treatments, etc, and collect all cards of that type. There's Japanese art style collectors, stained glass collectors, and many more, but one art style that I, along with many others, are bound to begin collecting now is the pixel art style.
Pixel art in Magic: The Gathering cards has been around since a
Starting a pixel collection can be pricey though, with the many of the Secret Lair basic lands topping over $20 themselves, so I would say if you're interested in starting a collection with this style to grab the cheaper cards while they are still relatively inexpensive. Foil
So again, if you think you might be interested in pulling the trigger on this style, now’s the time.
| Serum Visions (030) | ||
| Search for the Frozen Esper - Nature's Claim (Showcase) | ||
| Solve the Equation (0886) | ||
| Sol Ring (0910) |
In Conclusion
Look, TMNT is not my bag, and that's okay. Not every set is going to be a slam dunk for everyone, and maybe this is just one that I'll enjoy from the sidelines. But if you're interested in building around anything mentioned in this article, it's always best to pick these cards up sooner rather than later, as with every new set comes a new opportunity for these to gain value, and you don't want to be paying $25 for a Taeko down the road if you can avoid it.
As for me, I’m just counting the days until Secrets of Strixhaven, and hoping whatever Universes Beyond gets announced next is outside of New York City.
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Jason Cominetto
Jason is a longtime lover of Magic, falling in love with the game at Seventh Edition, as well as an EDH enthusiast for both casual and competitive metas alike. He's also a screenwriter with a produced feature and plans to proceed with many more creative projects in and out of film. His favorite card is Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary, but he firmly believes that Mana Drain is the best card.