Friendly reminder that the Dregg betrayal between Mona Lisa and Raph only happened because of Armaggon hacking into their ships systems and discovering their “love mail” and telling Dregg about it.
Magic The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Part 4 (21/01/2026) - Black Rares & Mythic Rares
Sorry for no post yesterday! I will make up for it with 2 posts today :) First up, all the Black rares and mythics!
Armaggon is a cool pull! And yeah, Black makes perfect sense!
8 mana for a 9/6 is very slightly behind rate, but to such a degree that it most likely won't ever matter. His abilities are:
Flash, so you don't need to cast him on your turn... but you need to keep up 8 mana for him. However, there is a reason. Also, flavorful, since this guy can just kind of come up out of nowhere.
When Armaggon enters, destroy up to three target creatures. So this is why he has Flash. You can destroy things on instant speed. 8 mana for 3 creature removal is not too bad, especially on a creature, but... it is still 8 mana you need to keep up.
So this card is a hard recommendation for any format... if you are casting it normally. You will literally never get to 8 mana in 60 card formats and by the time you get there in commander, you are in danger of actively dying at anytime. However, how about we do a little cheating? We can reanimate this with things that bring stuff from your graveyard to the battlefield for way less mana. In that case, this might genuinely see play in both 60 card formats and commander. Still though, don't run this as your commander. This is trash as your commander. It's funny exactly once, then it dies and you have to pay 10 mana and will die on the inside.
Next up, The Cloning of Shredder!
A Saga? In the same set as Classes? ...Interesting!
So Sagas work that you put a lore counter on it when it enters and then after your draw step/at the beginning of your main phase and then it triggers the ability of the respective number's ability. For this one in specifically (and most Sagas), you sacrifice it after it hits 3 lore counters and the ability has resolved. 6 mana for:
1 lore counter: Exile target creature card from your graveyard. Create a token that's a copy of it, except it isn't legendary and is a Mutant in addition to its other types. So you can exile creature from your graveyard, get a copy of it that isn't legendary (so it doesn't die to the legendary rule) and becomes a Mutant. Neato, multiple uses of your creature.
2 & 3 lore counters: Create a token that's a copy of card exiled with this Saga, except it isn't legendary and is a Mutant in addition to its other types. So... you get 2 more copies of the card you exiled with this Saga. Meaning you can get 3 Shredders... or whatever else. That's pretty good, getting 3 uses out of your creature in your graveyard is very nice.
If this fully resolves, this is very very nice. If this gets blown up early, it becomes way worse, but even then, if you exile a high mana value creature with this and get at least one use, that's not too terrible. If you are able to cheat this in, this might see play in 60 card formats to copy something like Armaggon above to be able to kill 9 creatures in total and have 27/18 in terms of stats. In commander? This is a party starter. Go nuts with copying something like Armaggon... funny how he's a good example for this. Become the threat >:)
Let's go to our business meeting with Madame Null, Power Broker!
Madame Null! :D Yup, she certainly is a Black creature, very shrewd and pragmatic.
3 mana for a 1/3 is pretty bad. However, she will make up for it. Her abilities are:
Deathtouch, so she can block very well and will take things down with her if she does die when blocked. Very nice.
Whenever another creature you control enters, you may pay life equal to its power. If you do, put that many +1/+1 counters on it. So you can basically double its power and also buff its toughness for a bit of life. Quite nice.
For 60 card formats, she is gonna be hard to use. You will need lifegain to counter act the life loss you will suffer, but... it's not impossible that this will see some play in some niche deck. Especially as a way to make your hasted creature that much more powerful when it enters. For commander? Definitely good as a role player in the 99 of a pretty aggressive deck. Also not bad as your commander, since Black absolutely has some nice ways to get life back. Paying life is a lot less of an issue for commander due to higher starting life.
Next up... Ninja Teen?
"Splinter taught them to be ninja teens." I'M NOT angry about Leader's Talent not committing to THE BIT. NOPE, not at all. Also, fun call to make this Karai, very nice.
Another class, so let's get to it.
3 mana to get whenever a creature you control leaves the battlefield, each opponent loses 1 life. A bit expensive, but about on rate for this type of effect. Neat.
2 mana to level up to level 2 and get creatures you control +1/+0 and have menace. Cool, so also a way to get aggressive with your creatures.
1 mana to level up to level 3 and get creature cards in your graveyard have sneak {3}{B}. You may cast creature spells from your graveyard using their sneak abilities. So... you get infinite recursion, since this doesn't place finality tokens on them. That's... really freaking good. A bit expensive on the cost, so get some cost reduction going, but really good to keep it going.
6 mana for all the abilities is actually really good. This is definitely a big threat to keep on the battlefield. Use this in any aggressive decks that also have Black in them. For 60 card formats it will be hard to get use from, but for the life drain alone it might get use. For commander, just what I said before about aggressive decks with Black in them.
Next up: Rat King, Verminister!
Hell yes, a classic villain! And in his IDW comic incarnation! Let's gooooooo! Absolutely a Black character, so good call.
2 mana for a 1/1 is definitely behind rate, but not terribly so for a 2 drop. His abilities are:
At the beginning of your end step, if a permanent left the battlefield under your control this turn, create a 1/1 black Rat creature token and put a +1/+1 on Rat King. So this is wild. Every time a permanent (not specifying nontoken!) leaves, you get a rat and make Rat King bigger. Very good ability, especially if you have ways of sacrificing your permanents, doubly so if you can do that on the first turn Rat King is down.
Tap Rat King and sacrifice three Rats: Return target creature card and all other cards with the same name as that card from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped. So this goes crazy with Rat Colony and Relentless Rats. Makes me wonder if we'll get either of those reprinted in this set or a new one. Otherwise, good for constructed, not good for commander.
Rat kindred, though any sacrifice heavy deck can make use of him, since he will make sure you will always at least have one body to sacrifice. In 60 card formats, I think he will see some play, but not a lot since you need to put him in and sacrifice something on turn 2 to get immediate use out of him. In commander? Rat kindred. Either as commander or in the 99. Nothing much to say. The rat kindred players saw him and were already able to place him perfectly into whatever rat deck they wanted. Also, mandatory listening whenever you play a rat deck:
Next up, Savanti Romero, Time's Exile!
Also a great pull! I would've made him Dimir (Blue/Black) probably, since he does manipulate time, but Black does make a good amount of sense.
5 mana for a 4/4 is behind rate, but not unreasonably so. With Trample, he can also start punching pretty quick. His ability is that at beginning of combat on your turn, put a +1/+1 counter on Savanti Romero. Then you draw X cards and lose X life, where X is the number of counters on Savanti Romero. So he's a Phyrexian Arena that gets bigger and starts drawing you more and more cards. That's pretty sweet, plus it makes it so that he's actually on rate if you cast him during your first main phase for 5, since he immediately generates value.
For 60 card formats... probably too slow. He might get some amount of play, especially if some formats slow down a bit, but mostly as a draw engine rather than a combat threat. For commander? This is a tough one. Because I do think he's on that level of mana that you really hate it if he gets removed. However, he is a draw engine in the command zone and he can get scary. I honestly think he can work as either the commander or in the 99. Start punching and threaten life totals quickly, though.
Let's next look at Shark Shredder, Killer Clone!
What a pull from the Mirage comics! So dope to see Shark Shredder be represented in this. Also, yes, he would be Black, similar to regular Shredder.
4 mana for a 4/4 is right on rate, so good job. His abilities are:
Sneak for {3}{B}{B}. One more mana than just regular casting him... okay, that's weird. I'm sure there is a reason.
First strike. Okay, so he will hit before most other creatures. Neat, but not a reason for it to be more mana than regularly casting him.
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. OH. Okay, yes, that explains it. So you sneak him in for 5, he slaps faster than anyone else, then you steal one of the creatures from their graveyard and those slap them at regular speed. That's... sick. Also a cool reference to the character, since he did kidnap people twice to draw out the turtles and try and kill them.
For 60 card formats, I think he's just kind of dead in the water unless you can guarantee winning the game on the spot, which isn't impossible. 4 damage from Shark Shredder + whatever damage from the creature you still isn't negligible. Maybe as a sideboard piece. For commander? Theft is the name of the game and this will just be another piece in those decks. As your commander... maybe, but it will suck for it to get removed and then you need to pay more mana just to get another creature from someone's graveyard, since Shark Shredder will absolute paint a giant target on its back if there are even remotely good creatures in graveyards.
Second to last for this post, South Wind Avatar!
Snake-Eyes! Also from the comics, we're probably seeing all of the Four Winds in the set. Sick! I don't know if Black is necessarily the best fit for him, but with his abilities being to make you remember your worst memories... yeah, it makes some sense.
4 mana for a 3/4 is very slightly below rate, but nothing terrible. His abilities are:
Deathtouch, so he's great for blocking. Very nice. Also, snake :)
Whenever another creature you control dies, you gain life equal to its toughness. So he gives you life for having creatures you control dies. Alright, sounds good for sacrifice or aggressive decks.
Whenever you gain life, each opponent loses 1 life. So you want incremental life gain, since it doesn't care how much life you gained, just that you gained life at all.
So... sacrifice decks are definitely good for him, specifically Aristocrats decks. Aggressive decks are also good. For 60 card formats... hard maybe. 4 mana is a lot, but it can be another way to make life gain into damage. For commander... yeah, Aristocrats decks will certainly not mind this card at minimum, probably even quite like it. Gain life, deal damage.
Last but not least for this part: Splinter's Technique!
Splinter is being primarily displayed as Black, but we'll get to him specifically during multicolor. TL;DR for my thoughts: correct. With the set being heavily inspired by the IDW comic, that Splinter is straight up Black as a color.
Anyway, 4 mana to search your library for a card, put that card into your hand and then shuffle. You can also sneak it in for 2 mana. This is a straight up tutor. A really good tutor. This is Demonic Tutor if you sneak it in, which is a really good card. It is Diabolic Tutor if you do, which is significantly worse, but still not bad.
For 60 card formats, probably not gonna do much. It is generally your 5th (through 8th) copy of card, which is nice, but only if you really need a specific card, which is less good than you might think. For commander though? Absolutely gonna be a staple into a lot of decks to double up on tutor effects. Really really good.
And that's it for the Black rares and mythics! I will see you later today for Red! Thank you for reading! o/
She's got her own style, but ties thematically with the other TMNT's masks and wraps. She's bald, but has the braid. She's flat-chested, but definitely femme. There are more innovative mutant/alien designs, but this visual of Venus makes my heart sing.
ALSO SO SO DEEPLY IMPORTANT TO ME:
Winny Mouse. Also designed by Sophie Campbell. Based on our deceased friend and fellow TMNT fanatic, Winnychan. The character has Winny's rainbow hair and works in Mutant Town in the IDW TMNT series.
#16. Who's your favorite villain?
I am of two minds.
On one hand, Karai 2007 is capable, calculating, and delightfully mercenary. She's a goddamn boss and accomplishes everything she sets out to do in the 2007 film. She's a razor sharp blade that you'll never see until it's far too late. Also her hair is immaculate.
I wish these two actually met. Not because I think they would be friends or brothers, but because they would HATE each other so much. They would be fighting and battling for Dregg's attention and approval and who is the better asassin. They would probably anhilate a bunch of aliens and other kinds of creatures just to prove who is the better asassin.
