by Johnny Cycles, March 2nd, 2026
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Hello! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles just released and there’s at least one card I’m interested in trying out! That’s right. It’s a Dragon. North Wind Avatar has a very unique enters effect that allows us to get a card from our sideboard and put it into our hand. Without doing an advanced Oracle search, I’ll wager a guess that there aren’t too many other creatures that do this.
Can a Karn, the Great Creator effect on a 5/5 flier give Izzet Dragons the toolbox they need to compete in Modern? I’m going to find out!
Counters shenanigans is one of my favorite strategies in almost every format I play. Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11 gives my Mono Green Landfall deck a Hardened Scales attached to a 1/1 that brings with it a Mutagen token. Untapping with this Mutant Ninja Turtle may be a lot to ask in Modern, but if we cast it with an extra mana up, we can turn him into a 3/3 the same turn, assuming we don’t have any other counters-matter synergies.
Of course, that’s not why we’re playing him. We’d much rather use that Mutagen token on one of our finishers.
Meanwhile, Mikey & Leo, Chaos & Order is another cheap threat that can keep our hand full of action. I’ve tried Terrasymbiosis in the deck, but at 3 mana, it’s very slow. Furthermore, we are often only technically putting a single counter on our creatures, two at most, so it’s unlikely we’ll draw that many more cards with the Edge of Eternities enchantment.
The main benefit of playing these cards is that we can snag them with Collected Company. Throw in Badgermole Cub and Mono Green Landfall may just have the explosive potential to finish off opponents without a giant Mossborn Hydra or Tifa Lockhart.
I’ve yet to put together a top 10 list from TMNT and I’m not sure I’ll manage it after taking last week off. I don’t like the direction Magic is going with sets like these, which makes me both less interested in them and less eager to make content about them. However, there are a few sweet cards from TMNT that I think could have an impact on the Modern meta. Meanwhile, Commander got a ton of powerful new cards…if you’re willing to put Ninja Turtles in your deck.
One group of cards I’d pick up my copies of now (assuming they’re still cheap) is the Class enchantment cycle. They’re all reasonably priced (mana-wise) and have powerful effects. We’ve seen their predecessors from Bloomburrow gain in price pretty steadily as players realized how good these cards are, especially in Commander, but in Modern as well.
Finally, I’ve been making more short videos that don’t make it on the schedule. I’ll continue exploring this avenue as a means to grow the channel and site.
Schedule
March 6th – Zemlyanin – Chapters 7 and 8
March 13th – Dragons in Modern – Izzet Dragons with North Wind Avatar
March 20th – Keeping Modern Janky – Mono Green Landfall with Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11
March 27th – Commander – TBD – TMNT Commander – despite my dislike of playing Ninja Turtles, this set does have some cards with unique abilities that sort of seem like they could fit with the flavor of Magic as I know it and love it. I’m going to pick one of these and build a deck around it.
The Usual Blurb
My goal is to publish an article between Wednesday and Friday every week. I am a stay-at-home dad of three with a part-time job, though, so there may be weeks that life gets in the way. Whenever possible, I’ll publish articles and videos when they’re ready. Published articles with edited game play are pretty time-intensive, hence the once-a-week-schedule. However, I’ll publish videos of unedited practice matches to my YouTube channel when I can and when it makes sense. Be sure to check there if you’re looking for a match but it isn’t yet on the site.
If there is a topic you want me to write about, a deck you want me to try out, or if you want less of one thing and more of another, let me know in the comments or email me: johnnycycles16@gmail.com. If you enjoy the site, please let your friends know via word of mouth or social media or messenger pigeon, if that’s your preference. This is a relatively new site that needs all the clicks it can get!
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About Me
I’m a former Russian literature professor who specialized in 19th-century Russian literature. I love Dostoevsky more than Tolstoy, but both will change your life. I’m currently a stay-at-home dad of three with a part-time job. I love fantasy fiction, mysteries, and horror movies. If you’re surprised at the length of my articles, hopefully my history as an academic plus my love of fantasy help explain it…
Thanks for reading! I look forward to reading your comments on my articles, Russian literature, or the best fantasy series ever written (Tolkien, Jordan, Sanderson?).
