Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a smaller set, so it may not have enough depth to impact Standard as the larger sets tend to do. However, the power-level in the top cards is there, and it will create new archetypes and revitalize old ones. This feels like a set that might not break out immediately (due to the inherent power of a Standard format with so many cards and sets), outside of a card or two, only to find a couple cards that make up the backbone of a top tier deck in a year or so.

I've enjoyed playing with the set now that it has been released on Magic Arena, and these are the cards that I think should be considered the best in the set.

Honorable Mention: Dream Beavers

This one isn't just a meme (though, this scene from the movie Wayne's World pops into my head every time I play the card)! Hitting on enters means it's practically a 1/1 flier with haste, and the scry is very relevant to smooth out your early game draws. Pairing this with some sort of blink or self-bounce effect (like Ninjutsu, Sneak, or ever Web-slinging) makes it an incredibly versatile little 1-drop. This has been one of my favorite cards in the set so far.

10. Sally Pride, Lioness Leader

The go-widest card in the set, and one I initially overlooked. This can create so many creature tokens that it can easily overwhelm your opponent, and one attack phase is usually enough to end the game. Earthbent lands aren't tokens, so, I look forward to pairing this with Standard All-Star Badgermole Cub.

9. Kitsune's Technique

This one was too cute the first time I saw it spoiled. What king of mill deck wants to run enough 1-drop creatures to consistently play this on turn two? In the future, I'm guessing a lot of them will.

It turns out that you can run just about anything you want if all you need to have a game ending combo in your deck is four of this and four of Riverchurn Monument, you can fill the rest of the deck out will cheap evasive creatures that can also bolster your deck (like the earlier mentioned Dream Beavers). Technique into Monument allows for a turn four kill, and it's worth building around to do this consistently.

8. The Ooze

When I first saw this, I'll admit, I glossed over it. A two-drop artifact for graveyard hate when both Soul-Guide Lantern and Ghost Vacuum are already in the format at a cheaper rate? Get in the bulk binder! And then, I played the card. Creating a Mutagen token changes combat, when you creatures are constantly threatening to grow.

If they kill your creature, you get the token back. If they bounce your creature, you get the token back. If they kill your Earthbending lands, you get tokens. All while managing the graveyard in a Standard format ripe with graveyard interaction cards. This is one to watch.

7. Raph & Leo, Sibling Rivals

I don't know why more people aren't talking about this card, because it is going to end a ton of games going forward. We've been playing Fear of Missing Out and hoping to get the bonus combat step for years now, and this one gives it to you without jumping through any hoops. Between the Boros Dragons and the Momo Drum decks, White is seeing a resurgence in Standard, and I could see this card becoming a focal point in the near future.

6. Leatherhead, Swamp Stalker

This card will most likely show up in sideboards as another way to combat decks that dabble in artifacts/enchantments, but it deserves main deck consideration as well. Hexproof on a 5/4 Trampling creature is a lot, especially against decks that try to one-for-one your creatures with removal.

The fact that you can remove any counter from it, not just the Hexproof counter, gives it added versatility, so it plays well with the myriad of counter enablers in the format (especially Requiting Hex). The four-drop slot in Green is cluttered at the moment, but this is a very strong card and should be considered.

5. Mutagen Man, Living Ooze

This one jumped out to me right away, because any card that lets you create an indeterminate number of game objects onto the battlefield has to be considered as breakable in some way. There will be many games where this will hit the board in the late game and immediately change the game.

This card can, and will, end games in Standard, and could find its way into multiple decks. The Mutagen tokens are a great addition to the token pantheon, and much more impactful than they look at first glance.

4. Super Shredder

This is going to be the headliner of the set for the immediate future, and it's kinda deserved. The card is undeniably strong, able to take over a game in a couple turns after it hits the battlefield, but there is so much hate in the format right now for creatures that have a Mana Value of 2 of less.

Still, this demands that hate, so if you pack enough power early game creatures in your deck, something's gotta slip through, and if it's Shredder, your opponent is in a tough spot. This should also see play in other Constructed and casual formats.

3. Krang, Master Mind

I've already lost what feels like a ton of games to Krang, Master Mind and I don't think I've had the card attack me once. It's so easy for artifact decks to dump their hand and cast Krang to refill their hand for the next round, or dig to answers. As a long-time player, I've been traumatized by cards with the words, "Affinity for Artifacts" on them and this one looks like it fits right in with cards of that power level.

Big words, I know, but this card is dangerous. This should see play in multiple formats, and may even revive the artifacts archetype in Standard, alongside other TMNT stand-outs Improvised Arsenal and Ravenous Robots.

2. Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11

When I first started turning this list over in my mind, I imagined Michelangelo was around the eighth or ninth best card in the set. Then as I started playing with it, the card slowly crept up the list, until I think it's ultimately the best creature in the set. There are just so many ways to put counters on creatures in the current Standard format, and this makes every one of them better.

Even if they kill Mikey immediately, you have the Mutagen token hanging around to be used in some capacity at a later date. Fitting for best Ninja Turtle (hey, it's my article, I can name Mikey the best Ninja Turtle and you can't stop me).

1. Cool but Rude

This one lives up to the hype. Like the Talent cards from Bloomburrow, the class cards in TMNT have the potential to shape the format. There are so many rummage and looting effects in Standard at the moment, that getting Cool but Rude to the second level can be a kill condition in-and-of itself.

Pairing it with Monument to Endurance is ridiculous, and will see multiple decks built around the combo. I don't think this straight up replaces Artist's Talent in Lessons, but it needs to be part of the deck in some manner. Both Rakdos and Grixis will take a look at this too, and I think it will drag at least one of those archetypes to the top tiers in Standard.

With Secrets of Strixhaven looming on the horizon, I don't know if we'll get the chance to really dive into the TMNT decks as much as we normally would for a new set. But, as we move into summer, I could see some of these cards slowly emerging and having a major impact on Standard.

Cowabunga it is!

You can find more of my Magic musings on Twitter/X @travishall456 and on Bluesky.