Magic’s TMNT Cards Are Great—Except for Raphael

19 Feb at 15:59 Comment Views: 6

I have long practiced a form of self-imposed exile from the world of Magic: The Gathering, largely because I know my financial restraint would crumble the moment I tumbled down that rabbit hole. However, the recently unveiled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover nearly shattered my resolve. The illustrations are breathtaking, and the mechanics pay sophisticated homage to the franchise’s lore—for the most part. Wizards of the Coast, the architects behind Magic, have implemented several creative liberties that, while visually striking, seem to prioritize aesthetics over narrative necessity.

On February 17, Wizards of the Coast published a feature titled “Raphael’s Jitte.” For those unfamiliar with feudal Japanese weaponry, a jitte shares a profile with the sai—Raphael’s iconic armament—but with a key distinction: the jitte typically features a single side-prong designed for parrying sword blades, whereas the sai’s symmetrical three-pronged design is optimized for both trapping and piercing.

In detailing this shift—which sees three of the four brothers wielding non-traditional gear—the company revealed that Nickelodeon granted them the creative freedom to forge a distinct interpretation of the Turtles, akin to their stylized appearance in Fortnite. While the character designs remain largely faithful to their roots, it appears the classic arsenal didn’t align with this specific “new vision.”

According to the developer, this iteration of the brothers leans more heavily into Master Splinter’s traditional Japanese lineage, prompting them to adopt “more orthodox shinobi implements.” Raphael now carries the aforementioned jitte, Michelangelo has traded his nunchaku for a kusarigama (a sickle attached to a weighted chain), and Leonardo brandishes a straight-edged ninjatō. Donatello, however, retains his signature bō staff—presumably because there is no way to innovate on the timeless efficiency of a heavy stick to the cranium.

This pivot raises several questions, the most prominent being why the Turtles required a gear swap to honor their father’s heritage. The brothers have always shared a profound, if occasionally turbulent, connection with Splinter, and their reverence for his Japanese roots is baked into their very identity. They are, after all, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; their “ninja-ness” was never in doubt.

Furthermore, these alterations feel purely cosmetic. Equipping Raphael with a jitte doesn’t manifest a deeper familial bond any more effectively than his classic sai would. The same applies to Leonardo’s ninjatō, which is essentially a streamlined version of his standard curved daitō. Michelangelo’s kusarigama is the most defensible change, as the character has utilized it in previous media, such as the 2012 animated series where his nunchaku featured a hidden blade-and-chain transformation. Curiously, other cards in the set do depict Leo and Mikey with their original weapons, though Raphael is rarely afforded the same courtesy unless the art is sourced directly from co-creator Kevin Eastman.

The weapon overhaul suggests that Wizards of the Coast simply wanted to leave a unique mark on the IP, a sentiment they nearly admitted to. “We’re old-school fans and love that cool way Raph holds a sai, but for this set specifically we felt like the jitte was a better visual for exploring that complex emotional relationship Raph has with his father,” the blog explained.

Respectfully, that logic doesn’t quite track. Instead of deepening the lore, the jitte feels like a discordant note in an otherwise flawless symphony of fan service. Between the deep-cut references and the inclusion of characters spanning the franchise’s forty-year tenure, this set is a masterpiece for TMNT aficionados. Despite my gripes with the weaponry, the pull is too strong to resist. It’s the Ninja Turtles in Magic—how could I possibly look away?

The Magic: The Gathering – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles prerelease festivities kick off on February 27, followed by a worldwide retail launch on March 6. You can secure your preorder today.