Magic’s Turtle Team-Up makes the TMNT set the most beginner-friendly yet

Turtle Team-Up will let you learn the rules without the sting of defeat

Magic: The Gathering is one of the most successful and popular tabletop games in the world, but it’s also one of the most complex. Throughout the game’s 30-year history, Wizards of the Coast has come up with numerous ways to welcome new players to the game, like Starter Kits with preconstructed decks, the entry-level set Magic: The Gathering Foundations, and Beginner Boxes that present step-by-step instructions for learning the game. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set takes a new approach, using a cooperative game mode to make it easier than ever to teach the game.

All of the previous beginner sets have been ideal for siblings or groups of friends learning Magic together at the same time. Like with so many complex games, the easiest way to learn Magic is from a more experienced player who can walk you through it. But then, the vet is still almost assuredly going to crush the new player in their first match. A more experienced player can still lose if they get unlucky or their opponent’s deck uses an archetype their deck is particularly vulnerable to, but they’re going to have a huge edge considering their knowledge of the rules and many of the cards.

The Turtle Team-Up starter kit sidesteps that issue by letting two to four players work together to fight bad guys from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It contains a rules reference book to teach everything a group needs, making it at least as good as previous Beginner Boxes and Starter Kits. It can also let a veteran player take on the role of Master Splinter, welcoming new players to a training dojo where they all fight together instead of competing against one another.

Mechanically, Turtle Team-Up operates similarly to the Challenge Decks Wizards of the Coast introduced in 2013 for the Greek mythology-themed set Theros, where two to four players faced the hydra, a minotaur, or the god Xenagos. Turtle Team-Up players each have their own preconstructed deck – one for each of the Turtles – but they take their turns at the same time and share a life total. Their goal is to defeat a series of bosses like Shredder and Krang by reducing their life total to zero while weathering assaults from enemy creatures and event cards akin to sorceries or instants that often destroy players' creatures or force them to discard cards.

The mono-color decks are very simple – experienced players can easily handle more than one at a time and run the bosses if they want to up the challenge level. They introduce players to the set’s archetypes with Leonardo focused on the new alliance and sneak mechanics, Michelangelo on food and mutagen tokens, and Donatello emphasizing artifact synergy. Playing this mode will teach new players a lot of key principles since you need to maximize the value of your cards, avoid overextending in case of a board wipe, and keep some excess lands back to discard.

It’s not hard to beat the bosses, though some combinations can be quite nasty if they come out at the same time. For instance, Krang Dimension X Overlord lets the bosses play an additional card each turn and Saint Romero, Temporal Rogue lets the bosses play a card whenever one of their creatures deals combat damage to heroes. If you don’t burn those out quickly, you’re going to be overwhelmed. There are also some ways to add to the difficulty like adding extra bosses or giving their creatures haste.

Turtle Team-Up isn’t nearly as rich and complex as dedicated co-op card games like Sentinels of the Multiverse – you’ll see all the enemy cards in one or two games so replayability is going to be limited. The decks are built with co-op play in mind – cards like Splinter & Leo, Father & Son and Donnie & April, Adorkable Duo, which provide boons to two different players, are incredible in this format, but would be terrible in any competitive match. The box does come with four play boosters though, so players can tune things up and try some competitive play once they’ve got the basics down.

Universes Beyond sets have been extremely successful in tapping into existing fandoms and getting people to try the game. Beyond bringing a deep love of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to their latest set, Magic’s designers have found a new way to welcome those players that also fits well with the franchise’s story and flavor. Turtle Team-Up is the perfect way to share your love of Magic without subjecting newbies to the sting of defeat. You can start crushing them competitively once they’re already hooked.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Turtle Team-Up is available at local game shops and online. The game was reviewed using retail product provided by Wizards of the Coast. If you buy something from a Polygon link, Valnet Inc. may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.