Standard Set Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles season is approaching. The first Universes Beyond partnership of 2026 brings a new 190-card set to the format, featuring the iconic characters from the Paramount/Nickelodeon franchise and memorable moments from the comics and animations.

For Standard, TMNT doesn't seem like a format-defining set at first glance. Perhaps due to the high-power level of the inclusions from Lorwyn Eclipsed or the excessive conditions required for some of the key cards to work, the new set will have a hard time establishing itself as one of the defining expansions of the Metagame.

That doesn't mean the potential for new staples and powerful cards is nonexistent. A dozen options are worth testing in the coming weeks and could surprise players with some innovative strategy or even push a less predictable archetype into Tier 1 status.

Increasing the power of cheaper evasive threats each turn is an essential way to amplify the clock for decks like Azorius Tempo. Agent Bishop, Man in Black offers that alternative. Additionally, he can work alongside Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11 and Ouroboroid in a strategy more focused on +1/+1 counters.

Leonardo, Cutting Edge guarantees three lifegain triggers in a single turn with his Sneak ability if you have Hinterland Sanctifier or any other creature that gains life on ETB. Furthermore, he grows quickly in those strategies and is, in many cases, a direct upgrade to the common two-drops that grow with lifegain in those shells.

The mythic version of the Leader has a slightly high mana cost and currently lacks enough interactivity to justify itself, since most X/1 or 1/X creatures in Standard today don't mesh well with the kind of effect you want to reuse repeatedly. It's worth mentioning because it could grow in the future if we get more powerful cards with those bodies.

Returning two highly relevant threats with a Spyglass Siren is another effect that shouldn't be underestimated with the Sneak from Leonardo's Technique.

Sally Pride, Lioness Leader might seem a bit win-more, but any sequence involving it alongside Badgermole Cub, a turn-one mana dork, and maybe an Ouroboroid means a hard-to-deal-with board without a sweeper. It might be worth testing.

Effects like Entreat the Angels and Decree of Justice saw play in their respective seasons in Control lists. Triceraton Commander doesn't seem like the kind of card that fits into more reactive decks, but I wouldn't dismiss it as a payoff for strategies that generate abundant mana or as a one-of to fetch with Formidable Speaker in Badgermole Cub lists during longer games.

Donatello's Technique turns any evasive creature into card advantage for a low cost. If it's a card that has some ETB value or a one-shot ability, it also lets you reuse that effect, making this spell an extremely versatile tool for Dimir Midrange and Azorius Tempo lists.

Mondo Gecko is a strange card to evaluate. In isolation, it's just a three-drop with plenty of hoops to jump through to protect itself and a pseudo-Vivid ability that generates card advantage. With the right setup, or with Leyline of the Guildpact in play, it can transform into a recurring source of card advantage that easily protects itself from spot removal. The middle ground between the two scenarios would already be enough to consider it as a potential sleeper.

There are some occasions where a Renet, Temporal Apprentice saves you from a loss or guarantees victory on the following turn when cast at the end step. Worthy of an honorable mention.

Copying Armaggon, Future Shark with Superior Spider-Man isn't a bad option, but Bringer of the Last Gift and Doomsday Excruciator are still more efficient if the goal is to win the game quickly.

There are many creatures like Armaggon that, if copied with The Cloning of Shredder, can take over the game. Six mana is a relatively viable cost in Standard, and even in Midrange decks, copying a bomb three times might be enough.

Removal spells that exile with few conditions are always welcome, even with the delay of a season and three ban lists. Death in the Family might not have the same room it would have had previously, but it's a healthy addition to Standard's answers package.

First Strike is the reason the Sneak mechanic is so powerful on Shark Shredder, Killer Clone: since it deals combat damage before other creatures, its ability triggers during the "first" damage step. The creature it returns will deal damage that same turn if it doesn't have First Strike, having an immediate impact on the board.

Returning a Spyglass Siren or Flitterwing Nuisance to bring back that threat you destroyed with a Shoot the Sheriff on the following turn can, almost literally, "steal" games in your favor. As a bonus, like other Sneak cards, Shark Shredder lets you reuse ETB effects.

Super Shredder doesn't work as well with discard effects and Monument to Endurance as Moonshadow has been doing. He might deserve some testing if we get more sacrifice-oriented archetypes in the future due to his ability to grow quickly, but he seems like material for formats with Fetch Lands and Mishra's Bauble.

Casey Jones, Vigilante refills the hand of red deck players while interacting with any effect that benefits from discard. It looks like sideboard material for aggressive lists that want an extra source of card advantage, and it could enable good interactions with Mayhem.

At level 2, Cool but Rude turns into a great complement, and reach for the more aggressive Monument to Endurance lists, especially those that have been running Moonshadow and Marauding Mako. It might be worth testing in Izzet Looting.

Pyroclasm has a place in the sideboard of some lists, and you usually don't want this type of effect in strategies that benefit from Sneak. However, Izzet Looting is a deck where most threats survive two damage or which has enough ETB effects or evasive creatures to test Jennika's Technique.

As Mono Red Aggro and similar decks become more based on creatures on the board rather than pumps and burn spells, Raphael, the Nightwatcher is as efficient as an Embercleave when it enters via Sneak, doubling the damage all attackers deal that turn. Worth testing, potential staple.

Between Pinnacle Emissary, Improvised Arsenal, Springleaf Drum, and the new Ravenous Robots, not to mention other cards like Legion Extruder, perhaps a more aggressive Izzet Artifacts deck is a new path that TMNT enables in Standard. The question is whether there are enough interactions and payoffs to make it competitively viable.

Leatherhead, Swamp Stalker interacts with +1/+1 counters, protects itself, and also has an efficient body-to-cost ratio. As a bonus, it serves as artifact and enchantment hate. It might earn slots as a one-of in Nature's Rhythm lists or become a sideboard piece.

Michelangelo is the new attempt to replicate Hardened Scales. Unlike previous cards, this one might actually work: you can find it with Nature's Rhythm and Formidable Speaker, and the green decks in Standard today are very interactive with +1/+1 counters.

At its normal cost, Michelangelo's Technique lets you dig eight cards deep into your deck to find two threats. Through Sneak, it provides an excellent alternative to Collected Company with a bit more flexibility in mana costs. Potential staple.

The cost of Transdimensional Bovine has an excellent follow-up with Llanowar Elves, and it provides two extra mana on the next turn. Alongside Badgermole Cub, it significantly accelerates your game plan. The 0/4 body doesn't do much, but I wouldn't dismiss a two-mana ramp spell for so easily.

Bebop & Rocksteady feels like a legendary Rotting Regisaur with the "bonus" of not always forcing you to discard. Today, we have several ways to capitalize on discard with Monument to Endurance and the new Cool but Rude, and a 7/5 body for three mana can apply enough pressure. Additionally, there are a dozen cards in Standard that benefit from both its sacrifice and discard effects, like Bloodghast or artifacts with leave-the-battlefield triggers.

Go Ninja Go interacts with Warp and Impending in the same way as Ephemerate and other "blink" effects. Ideally, it's also never a dead card, since you can use it as removal. The color combination doesn't help, but the potential is there.

The Last Ronin is the perfect setup for Midrange decks in grindy games. First, it clears the board of problems (unless the problem is Kaito, Bane of Nightmares), then it returns your biggest threat, and finally, it transforms that threat into something even worse. I believe the current format doesn't favor this type of card because non-Dimir Midrange decks are very much on the decline, but it's worth considering for a future environment.

Urban Evolution got a power creep. And it still doesn't seem enough to make it a Standard staple in today's season.

Potential long-term staple. Flexibility in the sideboard is a key element of Izzet decks in Standard today. None of them, perhaps, want four copies of North Wind Avatar, but you can't deny that a 5/5 for five mana with Flying that fetches any card from your sideboard on ETB is an incredibly powerful effect and guarantees dozens of possibilities and openings for archetypes in this color combination.

Although a bit slow without Haste (and it would be busted with Haste), Raph & Leo, Sibling Rivals enable explosive openings if you have quality creatures alongside cheap board interaction. Three mana is a decent cost for a small extra combat, and if combined with a Nova Hellkite and another big threat when it attacks, it can win games.

Between Warp costs, Evoke, Sneak, Web-Slinging, Airbending, and alternative costs like Ride's End, there are enough effects for Tokka & Rahzar, Terrible Twos to be considered a cheap threat in Mono Red Aggro lists.

Ghost Vacuum will still be the primary graveyard interaction in sideboards. However, as long as Ouroboroid remains a pillar of the Standard Metagame, there's room to consider The Ooze's complementary ability to round out the graveyard hate package. Other decks, like Mono Green Landfall, might also test the card for the same reason.

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!