The upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Magic: the Gathering set isn't the first time that mutants have appeared in the game. The 2020 set Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths was all about massive monsters mutating into calamitous threats. Ikoria even introduced a mechanic called 'mutate' to the game, that represents these terrifying transformations. So, given that the Ninja Turtle set is all about mutants, you might be wondering why this mechanic hasn't returned?
First of all, let's talk about how mutate works. When a creature mutates, it gets stacked either on top of or beneath another non-human creature that you control. The resulting creature has the name and stats of whatever card is on top of the stack, but the abilities of every single card in the pile.
Most creatures with mutate reward you the more times that you mutate them. For example, Cubwarden creates two 1/1 cat tokens with lifelink every time that it mutates, while Dreamtail Heron draws you a card every time a new creature is added to its pile. This leads to gameplay where you build up a massive doom stock containing a huge number of creatures that activate a variety of colorful abilities whenever another monster gets thrown into the mix.
So why did the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set choose not to reuse this previously explored concept?
In an article outlining how mechanics are made for Universes Beyond sets, Mark Rosewater, Magic's head designer, discussed why the decision was made not to bring mutate back.
He states, "The problem is that mutate is one of the most complicated mechanics we've ever made, and we've seen it confuse a lot of players."
Complexity is a particular concern in this set, Rosewater argues, because it is targeted at players who may not already be familiar with the game.
"Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has a lot of potential to bring in new players, especially younger players, so we felt that using a mechanic as complex as mutate was a poor fit."
Rosewater also feels that the old mutate mechanic simply doesn't reflect how mutation works in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe.
"In addition, mutate is about two things mutating together, which is not at all what the mutation in TMNT is about, so it was a poor fit for both mechanical and creative reasons."
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set instead represents mutation through mutagen tokens. These are artifacts generated by a variety of cards that can be sacrificed, for one mana, to place a +1/+1 counter on a creature.
Rosewater believes that mutagen tokens are a better fit for the set.
During testing for the set, he claims,"The mechanic was simple, played well, was flavorful, and did a good job of tying into other mechanical themes of the set."
What's your view? Are you hoping that mutate will one day return, or is it just too complex for its own good? Share your Ikoria takes on the Wargamer Discord.