Magic: The Gathering made waves when they revealed their roadmap for 2026, as not only did we get new in-universe sets like Lorwyn Eclipsed and Reality Fracture, but we also got first looks at new Universes Beyond sets like Marvel Super Heroes and The Hobbit. There was one set left to reveal though, and Wizards of the Coast has now revealed that the mystery set will bring a beloved 90s franchise to one of the biggest games around, and it’s a set that could easily leave Magic’s much talked about Spider-Man set in the dust.
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Wizards of the Coast had teased one additional Universes Beyond set for 2026, and now we know that set will be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. As you can see in the first look images below, Magic: The Gathering’s latest crossover set will feature Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo, as well as numerous versions of each in a range of styles. In fact, the Turtles Forever card even features four different artistic versions all on one card.
Outside of the main four Turtles, the set will also include coveted allies like Splinter, April O’Neil, and Casey Jones, but don’t worry, because villains are also well-represented. So far, there are cards for Krang, Shredder, Bebop, Rocksteady, Baxter, Super Shredder, and the Rat King, with more characters hopefully being shown off soon.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Will Likely Soar Past Spider-Man for Three Reasons
After looking at the currently revealed cards for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set, three main points stand out in comparison to the much-discussed Spider-Man set, and these are all areas where Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has a chance to soar where Spider-Man seems to have stumbled. The first is how Turtles is much more Magic-adjacent when compared to Spider-Man, which might be genuinely unexpected when you first think about it.
On the surface, both take place in the present day and both are based in New York City, so comparisons immediately begin to form. That’s really where the comparisons end though, as despite its present-day setting, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is much more rooted in fantasy than Spider-Man is, just in terms of the characters alone. Most of Spider-Man’s roster is made up of humans in costumes, and half the time, they aren’t even superheroes. Meanwhile, the four leads of TMNT are mutant Turtles, and they battle it out with rampaging Rhinos and Boars, maniacal pink tyrants, and genius scientist insects. It’s just a very different beast.
This should also extend to the roster of creatures and Artifacts in the set, an area where Spider-Man sorely lacked. As present in the Lands cards, I’m perfectly fine with having some fun with the IP, and I’m already loving the Pizza-themed lands of the Turtles set, but so far, that seems locked to only the Lands. What I don’t want to see is what happened with Spider-Man, in which we got epic Artifacts like a Bagel, a Passenger Ferry, and a Subway Train. We also got grand creatures like a City Pigeon and the Daily Bugle Reporters, as well as Enchantments like Rent Is Due. To say it was an underwhelming allotment would be really underserving it.
In the cards we’ve seen, we already have a better Artifact right off the bat with Mutagen, and this should be a sign of things to come when you consider who the set is built around. Between the technology of Dimension X and the genius IQ of Donatello, Baxter Stockman, and Krang, it should be relatively easy to come up with a host of unique items, technology, and concepts to use as Artifacts and Enchantments.
As far as building your dream Turtles set, Wizards is making that relatively easy right out of the gate with a pre-built Commander Deck, and that’s in addition to the normal Boosters, Bundles, and Draft Sets. They even went and created a Turtle Team-Up Bundle to allow for four players right out of the box, and the Pizza Bundle is nothing if not on brand. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is off to a great start in Magic: The Gathering, and it has the potential to be one of the coolest Universes Beyond sets of next year.
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