Raphael's TechniqueRaphael's Technique | Art by Andreas Zafiratos

Are you a die-hard Yuriko, the Tiger's ShadowYuriko, the Tiger's Shadow cEDH fan? Well, if you are, then boy oh boy is Magic's newest set going to be a blast to pick through. If not, then don't worry, there's still some interesting picks here for all sorts of folks. A universal tutor, an instant-speed combo piece, a new riff on ninjutsu...plus plenty of Mutants, Turtles, and pizza for everyone.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is just around the corner, and although it definitely isn't as big a shakeup for cEDH as, say, Lorwyn Eclipsed, it's still bringing with it plenty of new toys for the competetive meta - especially for the fringe, niche, and low-color favorites.

Curious? Let's dive in to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cEDH set review.

Honorable Mention: All the Cards for Yuriko, the Tiger's ShadowYuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

Yuriko, the Tiger's ShadowYuriko, the Tiger's Shadow may not be winning tournaments with the same frequency or dominance of, say, Blue Farm, but it is a solid and popular build with a devoted fanbase.

The game plan is pretty simple: play very cheap creatures, replace them with Ninjas via the ninjutsu ability later down the line, then flip over some spells with massive mana costs thanks to Yuriko's combat trigger (Whenever a ninja you control deals combat damage to an opponent, reveal the top card of your library and put it into your hand. Each opponent loses life equal to that card's mana value.)

So, why does this set matter for Yuriko? Well, the name is a huge giveaway: This world full of Mutant Turtles is also full of Ninjas and Ninja support cards. Turtle LairTurtle Lair is an untapped land that can add mana of any color in order to cast your Ninjas while also guaranteeing that there is always an opening for a creature to connect, while Splinter, Hamato YoshiSplinter, Hamato Yoshi is exactly the cheap, aggressive Ninja threat that Yuriko is dying to get its hands on.

Beyond these two cards, there are a handful of other cheap Ninjas from across the set that may make their way into Yuriko (Oroku Saki, Shredder RisingOroku Saki, Shredder Rising, for example), but if I had to pick two cards, it's these.

White

Turtles ForeverTurtles Forever

Alrighty then, on to rest of the list! Starting off with white, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has given us a card that is just going to get better over time: Turtles Forever.

For , Turtles Forever is an instant that has you search your library (and/or outside the game, but that part isn't available to Commander players) for exactly four legendary creature cards with different names, then reveal them. An opponent chooses two of them, which you get to put into hand. The rest are shuffled into your library.

Turtles Forever is a niche support card that, in the right (color restricted) decks, can be the linchpin for finding anything from significant value to entire combos. Sure, this will never be played in a deck that can run either IntuitionIntuition or Gifts UngivenGifts Ungiven, but, for the folks out their running low-color white decks, Turtles Forever is absolutely a card to keep an eye on.

Even if it can't grab a combo on its own right now, Magic prints so many legendary creatures set after set that this card is bound to gain access to more cool tools as the game evolves.

Blue

Sewer-veillance CamSewer-veillance Cam

Moving on to blue, our first pick is a card that, while likely confined to only one deck for the foreseeable future, does give rise to another instant-speed combo. It's Sewer-Veillance Cam.

So, let's start off with the card itself. For , Sewer-Veillance Cam is an artifact with flash that, when it enters or leaves the battlefield, allows you to tap or untap target creature. You can also pay and sacrifice it to draw two cards.

As for the combo, let's review our old buddy Urza, Lord High ArtificerUrza, Lord High Artificer. For , Urza is a 1/4 legendary Human Artificer creature that, when it enters, creates a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature that gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control. Additionally, Urza has ": Shuffle your library, then exile the top card. Until end of turn, you may play that card without paying its mana cost," as well as "Tap an untapped artifact you control: Add ."

With Urza and the Construct it creates in play, this opens up a compact, instant-speed combo requiring only two other cards: Sewer-veillance Cam and either Retraction HelixRetraction Helix or Banishing KnackBanishing Knack. Here's how:

1. Cast your spell of choice (Helix or Knack) on the Construct token. This requires that the Construct is not summoning sick.
2. Cast Sewer-veillance Cam. When it resolves, hold priority in response to its enters trigger (which you'll put onto the stack targeting the Construct). Immediately tap it and the Construct using Urza's ability in order to add .
3. Let the enters trigger resolve, which will untap the Construct. Tap the Construct to return Sewer-veillance Cam to your hand.
4. Sewer-veillance Cam's leaves trigger will be put onto the stack and resolve, untapping your Construct.
5. Rinse and repeat, adding infinite which you can then funnel into Urza's ability.

Does MachinesDoes Machines

Next up is the first card out of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that I can actually imagine seeing some play beyond one die-hard deck and only the most color-restricted of game plans, and that's Does Machines.

For , Does Machines is a Class enchantment that, when it enters, causes you to mill two cards, draw two cards, then discard two cards. For , it can be leveled up to Level 2, which triggers an ability that causes you to return up to two target artifact cards from your graveyard to your hand.

Finally, for , it can be brought to Level 3, at which point it gains the ability "At the beginning of combat on your turn, put three +1/+1 counters on target artifact you control. If it isn't a creature, it becomes a 0/0 Robot creature in addition to its other types."

So, moving through the levels, the most important thing here is that you never actually have to level this card up in order to trigger the most relevant ability on it. Norman OsbornNorman Osborn is a deck that loves to discard cards, as is The Master of KeysThe Master of Keys (my own deck of choice, where I'll most definitely be testing this card out). 

Card selection isn't exactly the name of the game in cEDH, but a double-loot effect (plus some incidental mill) is a pretty solid line of text for two mana.

Speaking of two mana, level 2 is another worthwhile investment in plenty of situations. Bring back the cards you discarded the turn earlier, or The One RingThe One Ring that just got countered, or even just the Lion's Eye DiamondLion's Eye Diamond you milled. Again, none of this is game breaking, but it is relevant in just enough scenarios to be worth considering.

Finally, level 3. Honestly, this part of the card is essentially irrelevant in cEDH. Evaluate Does Machines by the first two levels, not the third.

Black

Splinter's TechniqueSplinter's Technique

Finally, we come to a card that has some real legs in cEDH - from fringe decks all the way to the top brass. It's Splinter's Technique.

For , Splinter's Technique is a sorcery that lets you search your library for a card and put that card into your hand. Alternatively, you can cast Splinter's Technique for its sneak cost. (Sneak is an alternate cost which you can pay instead of paying a spell's mana cost, provided that you also return an unblocked attacking creature you control to its owner's hand. You can only do this during the declare blockers step, and casting a spell with sneak ignores timing restrictions).

At its best, Splinter's Technique is essentially a second copy of Demonic TutorDemonic Tutor, a card that has already come to define cEDH's black toolkit. Just attack with, say, your Rograkh, Son of RohgahhRograkh, Son of Rohgahh (a -cost cEDH staple that already has menace, mind you), bounce it to pay for the sneak cost, and voila! You've just earned yourself a two-mana discount.

Red

Raphael's TechniqueRaphael's Technique

On to our second card with sneak, let's take a loot at Raphael's TechniqueRaphael's Technique.

For , Rapheal's Technique is an instant with sneak that lets each player choose whether they want to discard their hand or not. Those that do get to draw seven cards.

Wheels have an altogether fraught history in cEDH. Some decks swear by them, churning through hands at a breakneck pace and looking to cards like Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune as essentially a draw-seven, no strings attached. Other decks are more wary of the risk that an ill-fated wheel can give an opponent exactly the new seven cards they needed to win the game.

That all said, for the decks out there that do like to risk it all in the hopes that a fresh seven is just what they need, then Raphael's Technique is another option to pick from.

Green, Multicolored, and Colorless

It seems there's always one color that draws the short end of the stick whenever a new set comes out and ends up without anything new to test. Unfortunately for green this go around, it just happened to be that color. Likewise, there's nothing worth discussing from the set's multicolored or colorless cards. Better luck next time.

Wrap Up

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles didn't do much for the top decks in cEDH, but I'd say that's a good thing. Low-color decks with minimal support got a solid injection of new cards, especially Yuriko and Urza. Splinter's Technique is the standout, for sure, but it's far from the format-buster that Hexing SquelcherHexing Squelcher was.

All in all, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a totally fine set for the format. Here's to hoping we see some more Ninjas at the table in these coming months.

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