The nostalgia factor is strong with this one. Magic: The Gathering is diving deep into 1980s pop culture with its latest release, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the accompanying “Turtle Power!” Commander deck is a love letter to both the franchise and the video games that cemented its place in many childhoods. Melissa DeTora, Senior Game Designer at Wizards of the Coast and lead designer of the deck, spoke about the process, revealing a surprisingly detailed effort to capture the essence of the Turtles beyond just the characters themselves.
DeTora’s personal connection to the Turtles is evident. She and her brother were avid fans of the cartoon and collectors of all things TMNT, a sentiment that clearly informed the design process. But it wasn’t just about recreating the surface-level appeal. The team, led by DeTora, recognized the challenge of representing the entire TMNT universe within a single Commander deck, avoiding the pitfall of pitting the Turtles against each other.
The solution? A five-color deck, with each Turtle and Splinter receiving their own monocolor identity. This allowed for a broad representation of characters and color identities within the TMNT universe. However, the team wanted something more – a “memorable hook” to differentiate the deck from the main set. That hook turned out to be the Turtles’ iconic video games.
DeTora detailed a brainstorming session dedicated to identifying key tropes from the TMNT video games. The list is a delightful trip down memory lane for anyone who grew up battling the Foot Clan on a console or in an arcade: instant-kill electric seaweed, Roadkill Rodneys, hordes of Foot Clan soldiers, recurring bosses like Bebop, Rocksteady, Shredder, and Krang, and, of course, the ever-present cry of “Pizza time!” Even more specific details like shell shock (the visual effect when a Turtle is hit with electricity), Mousers, sewer surfing, and rescuing April or Splinter made the list.
Beyond the TMNT-specific elements, the team also identified broader video game tropes: inserting coins, the dreaded “Continue?” screen, character selection, bosses flashing red when low on health, game over screens, combo attacks, high scores, leveling up, and even stacks of quarters. These details weren’t just flavor text; they became the foundation for the deck’s mechanical theme.
Initially, the team considered typal themes – building the deck around Mutant, Ninja, and Turtle creature types. However, they found this approach didn’t align well with the video game flavor and lacked sufficient existing cards for reprints. Artifacts, tied to Donatello’s tech skills, were also ruled out as too narrow a focus. Sneak and disappear mechanics, while resonant with the Turtles’ ninja skills, proved too difficult to execute in a way that would be accessible to new players.
they landed on +1/+1 counters as the core mechanic. This represented the act of leveling up and gaining power, a common theme in video games, and could be implemented across all five colors, crucial for a five-color deck. The challenge then became how to represent the player’s choice of Turtle – a key element of the arcade games – within the Commander format.
The initial idea was ambitious: a “Character Select” mechanic that allowed players to reveal up to five cards before the game, combining their color identities to determine the deck’s overall color identity, then selecting two as their commanders. While appealing in concept, the mechanic proved problematic. It required significant rules support, bent the established Commander color identity rules, and, crucially, was too wordy, limiting the creative potential of the cards themselves.
The team ultimately scrapped the “Character Select” mechanic in favor of a partner variant, assigning a five-color ability to one of the Turtles. While a departure from the original vision, it allowed for a more streamlined and playable experience.
The final deck is filled with nods to the TMNT universe, both from the cartoon and the games. Cards like Irma, Part-Time Mutant, capture the quirky supporting characters, while Bebop and Rocksteady are represented as a partner pair, reflecting their inseparable dynamic. Even seemingly minor details, like the Exploding Barrel – a common element in beat-’em-up arcade games – find their way into the deck, adding layers of flavor, and nostalgia.
DeTora emphasized that the goal wasn’t just to create a functional Commander deck, but a tribute to the franchise that resonated with her childhood. The “Turtle Power!” deck appears to achieve that, offering a playful and engaging experience for both longtime Magic: The Gathering players and fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The complete decklist is available on the Wizards of the Coast website, and the cards can be viewed in the Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Card Image Gallery.
