Hello, and welcome back to Metagame Mentor, your weekly guide to the top decks and latest Constructed developments on the path to the Pro Tour. The upcoming round of Regional Championship Qualifiers, running from April 2 through August 2, features Modern as the designated format for in-store Constructed events, with beautiful promo cards for participants and Top Finishers.

To set the stage for these RCQs, last week's article offered a Modern format primer, including a metagame snapshot and an overview of the top decks. But Modern never stands still, and each new set introduces fresh tools and subtle shifts. To help you get up to speed on the format, this week I'll highlight the most impactful Modern additions from the latest set, Magic: The Gathering® | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and I'll explore the decks that have begun to adopt them.

Most-Played Cards from Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has unleashed a wave of potent new options in Modern, invigorating both established and emerging archetypes. To pinpoint the most-important additions, I analyzed over 1,500 successful tournament decks over the past month. My dataset drew from Magic Online lists from nearly every scheduled event in March, as well as a selection of tabletop events as detailed in last week's format primer.

Below is an overview of the ten new-to-Modern cards that have seen the most play across the decklists I reviewed.

By the raw numbers, Casey Jones, Vigilante leads the pack, with a cluster of artifact-centric cards close behind. To better understand how all these new cards are reshaping the Modern metagame, let's explore the archetypes that have incorporated them most successfully.

Casey Jones, Vigilante in Jeskai Blink

2 Arena of Glory 1 Thundering Falls 1 Steam Vents 4 Consign to Memory 1 Elegant Parlor 2 Ephemerate 4 Galvanic Discharge 3 Scalding Tarn 1 Meticulous Archive 4 Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd 4 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury 1 Wrath of the Skies 4 Quantum Riddler 4 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer 2 Sacred Foundry 1 Hallowed Fountain 4 Flooded Strand 1 Snow-Covered Mountain 1 Snow-Covered Plains 4 Solitude 3 Casey Jones, Vigilante 4 Arid Mesa 1 Island 1 Riverpyre Verge 2 March of Otherworldly Light 2 Wrath of the Skies 1 Surgical Extraction 1 Force of Negation 2 High Noon 2 Mystical Dispute 4 Obsidian Charmaw 2 Strix Serenade 1 Teferi, Time Raveler

Casey Jones, Vigilante [7J3LR0nEjqR4rpu6XCDfSR]

Jeskai Blink remains one of the most-played archetypes in Modern, and the average list over the past month has featured roughly one copy of Casey Jones, Vigilante. The card fills several valuable roles. First, when played on turn three, you effectively get to draw and discard three cards, which lets you escape Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury as early as turn four. This line does require a bit of good fortune, as it hinges on discarding Phlage at random, but the payoff can be tremendous.

Another powerful and important interaction involves Consign to Memory. When Casey Jones enters, the game creates a delayed triggered ability for your next upkeep that forces you to discard three cards at random. This trigger can be countered by Consign to Memory, allowing you to keep every card you just drew!

In the late game where your hand is empty, Casey Jones, Vigilante shines as an excellent topdeck. Jeskai Blink is packed with cheap cards and instants, so you can frequently deploy all three freshly drawn cards before being forced to discard them. From there, Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd can blink Casey Jones to keep the value engine humming. If you also control Quantum Riddler, then Casey Jones will let you draw a fourth card, compounding the advantage.

While many Jeskai Blink lists still rely on Fable of the Mirror-Breaker or Teferi, Time Raveler as their preferred three-drop, Casey Jones, Vigilante offers a compelling mix of power and synergy, and it's making a notable impact on the archetype. Misplacedginger, for example, won a Modern Challenge on Magic Online with the list shown above, and more players have been exploring the card.

New Artifacts for Izzet Affinity

4 Engineered Explosives 4 Fiery Islet 1 Island 4 Kappa Cannoneer 3 Krang, Master Mind 4 Memnite 3 Metallic Rebuke 4 Mishra's Bauble 4 Mox Opal 4 Pinnacle Emissary 1 Pithing Needle 2 Ravenous Robots 1 Shadowspear 1 Shivan Reef 4 Sink into Stupor 1 Skateboard 4 Spirebluff Canal 1 Springleaf Drum 1 Steam Vents 2 Tormod's Crypt 4 Urza's Saga 1 Vexing Bauble 2 Welding Jar 3 Damping Sphere 2 Emry, Lurker of the Loch 2 Force of Negation 2 Galvanic Blast 1 Hurkyl's Recall 1 Metallic Rebuke 1 Mystical Dispute 3 Whipflare

Izzet Affinity gained a wealth of new tools from the newest set, with lists featuring roughly one copy of Krang, Master Mind; one copy of Skateboard; and one copy of Ravenous Robots on average. Capriccioso, for example, showcased the strength of these additions with multiple copies in this Challenge-winning list.

Krang, Master Mind [6ZawCW79t5wItCMHau5eWk]

In a deck that floods the board with artifacts via Pinnacle Emissary and Mox Opal, reaching six artifacts is well within reach, while quickly emptying your hand in the process. At that point, Krang, Master Mind becomes a two-mana 7/4 creature that draws four cards upon entering the battlefield. It's reminiscent of Thought Monitor, but with a dramatically higher upside, making Krang a powerful payoff and an exciting new option for Izzet Affinity.

Skateboard

Urza's Saga decks such as Izzet Affinity, Izzet Metalcraft, and Emry Station have traditionally included a single fetchable Lavaspur Boots to grant haste to a freshly created Construct token. A typical sequence might involve a turn-two Urza's Saga, creating a Construct on turn three andfour, then tutoring up an Equipment to apply immediate pressure.

Since the release of Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Skateboard has become more than three times as popular as Lavaspur Boots. This shift suggests that most Urza's Saga players prefer tapping an opposing blocker over granting ward 1. In practice, the two cards are quite similar, as +1/+0 and haste remain the key attributes, but tapping a blocker for a crucial turn can prove decisive in tight damage races.

Ravenous Robots [35bAMXLYb7gAFCOXBgUkjo]

Ravenous Robots is far from a universal inclusion, as most Izzet Affinity lists over the past month have favored Weapons Manufacturing instead. Both red two-drops serve a similar role, generating a flurry of artifact tokens to supercharge threats like Kappa Cannoneer. However, where Weapons Manufacturing typically needs support from cards like Claws of Gix to convert Munitions into meaningful effects, the 1/1 Robot tokens from Ravenous Robots can attack and block on their own.

Moreover, Ravenous Robots grants haste to all of your creature tokens, not just the ones it creates. This can significantly accelerate your clock when producing Constructs through Urza's Saga or Drones through Pinnacle Emissary. Whether Ravenous Robots ultimately deserves a slot in the deck remains to be seen, but early results were promising, and the synergy potential is unmistakable.

Sewer-veillance Cam in Emry Station

3 Cori-Steel Cutter 4 Emry, Lurker of the Loch 2 Fiery Islet 1 Flame of Anor 3 Grinding Station 1 Island 4 Mishra's Bauble 1 Mountain 3 Mox Amber 4 Mox Opal 1 Otawara, Soaring City 2 Preordain 3 Retraction Helix 4 Scalding Tarn 4 Sewer-veillance Cam 1 Skateboard 1 Soul-Guide Lantern 2 Spirebluff Canal 2 Steam Vents 4 Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student 1 Thundering Falls 3 Unholy Heat 4 Urza's Saga 2 Vivi Ornitier 3 Blood Moon 3 Consign to Memory 2 Fire Magic 2 Force of Negation 1 Mystical Dispute 1 Pithing Needle 1 Shadowspear 1 Strix Serenade 1 Vexing Bauble

Sewer-veillance Cam

Sewer-veillance Cam has found a home in various Emry, Lurker of the Loch decks, where it enables intricate infinite combos alongside a sacrifice outlet and a Mox. Its most prominent home is an archetype that I've labeled Emry Station, which has grown to roughly one percent of the winner's metagame since the release of Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Using Pugface's Top 4 list from a recent Magic Online Challenge as a reference, the core loop operates as follows:

1. Tap Mox Amber or Mox Opal for blue, then sacrifice it to Grinding Station to mill the opponent.
2. Tap Emry and use the blue mana to cast Sewer-veillance Cam from your graveyard. When it enters, it untaps both Emry and Grinding Station.
3. Tap Emry to recast the Mox from your graveyard. When it enters, Grinding Station's untap trigger goes on the stack. In response, activate Grinding Station to sacrifice Sewer-veillance Cam, untapping Emry.
4. Repeat for infinite mill.

Even without Grinding Station, there are alternative infinite loops available. For example, the list above includes the unusual Retraction Helix, which can grant Emry the ability to return Sewer-veillance Cam to your hand. With two Mox Opal and clever usage of the legend rule, you can repeatedly replay them to generate infinite prowess triggers, letting you win through Cori-Steel Cutter or Vivi Ornitier.

In Izzet Affinity, you can use Arcbound Ravager as your sacrifice outlet, removing the need for Grinding Station. As a result, some Izzet Affinity players have begun incorporating Emry and Sewer-veillance Cam into their decks. While only a small percentage of Izzet Affinity players have included the new card, its floor is still respectable: Sewer-veillance Cam is always a cheap artifact that enables Mox Opal, taps opposing blockers, and provides additional cards. It is, at the very least, a compelling and versatile option.

Leonardo, Cutting Edge in Leonardo Combo

3 Agatha's Soul Cauldron 4 Birthing Ritual 3 Brightglass Gearhulk 4 Flooded Strand 4 Guide of Souls 3 Haliya, Guided by Light 1 Haywire Mite 1 Heliod, Sun-Crowned 2 Idyllic Grange 4 Leonardo, Cutting Edge 2 Lush Portico 4 Marsh Flats 4 Ocelot Pride 3 Plains 3 Ranger-Captain of Eos 3 Solitude 1 Starfield Shepherd 4 Temple Garden 2 Walking Ballista 4 Windswept Heath 1 Young Wolf 2 Boromir, Warden of the Tower 3 Damping Sphere 2 Gaddock Teeg 1 Pithing Needle 1 Soul-Guide Lantern 4 White Orchid Phantom 2 Wrath of the Skies

Leonardo, Cutting Edge [6hY0lw742a5RT3NWH1QawI]

The remaining additions from Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have seen only modest adoption in Modern, but several players have found success with Leonardo, Cutting Edge. Aspiringspike, for instance, finished second in a Modern Challenge with the list shown above, which is capable of a combo kill as early as turn three.

The combo unfolds like this: Deploy Leonardo, Cutting Edge on turn two, followed by Agatha's Soul Cauldron on turn three. Cast Walking Ballista for X=0, sending it directly to the graveyard, where the Cauldron can immediately exile it. Put a +1/+1 counter on Leonardo, Cutting Edge to give it Walking Ballista's activated abilties. By removing the counter, you can ping your opponent for one, gaining life in the process, which puts another +1/+1 counter on Leonardo. The loop sustains itself, resulting in infinite damage.

Brightglass Gearhulk, Birthing Ritual, and Ranger-Captain of Eos provide reliable access to Walking Ballista. Even when the combo doesn't come together, the deck can pivot into a fair aggro plan, where Leonardo rapidly grows due to the steady life gain from Guide of Souls. Leonardo, Cutting Edge resembles a smaller Ajani's Pridemate with lifelink. In a long, grindy game, sneaking in Leonardo to return an unblocked Brightglass Gearhulk or Solitude lets you reuse their enters abilities, adding another layer of value. All in all, Leonardo, Cutting Edge has opened the door to this clever Modern deck.

Slash, Reptile Rampager in Izzet Wizards

2 Arena of Glory 3 Counterspell 2 Expressive Iteration 2 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker 4 Flame of Anor 2 Flare of Denial 2 Flooded Strand 3 Island 3 Lightning Bolt 4 Mishra's Bauble 1 Mistrise Village 1 Mountain 2 Polluted Delta 2 Preordain 4 Scalding Tarn 2 Sink into Stupor 2 Slash, Reptile Rampager 2 Snapcaster Mage 2 Spell Snare 3 Steam Vents 2 Subtlety 2 Thundering Falls 4 Thundertrap Trainer 4 Unholy Heat 3 Consign to Memory 1 Damping Sphere 2 Dress Down 1 Engineered Explosives 1 Flusterstorm 1 Lightning Bolt 2 Mystical Dispute 1 Stone of Erech 1 Surgical Extraction 2 Third Path Iconoclast

Slash, Reptile Rampager [32BcPFR7EbfCkiPUL4SLCs]

Five-drops rarely make the cut in Modern, but Slash, Reptile Rampager delivers enough impact to demand attention. When given haste with Arena of Glory, it can attack for 7 damage right away while also creating a 2/2 creature that immediately pings the opponent for 2 damage. Few cards at this mana value can swing a damage race so decisively.

SvenSveeterSven has incorporated the card into an Izzet Wizards shell, notching multiple Magic Online Top 8 finishes over the past month. If Slash remains on the battlefield, tokens generated by Thundertrap Trainer or the back face of Fable of the Mirror-Breaker will also trigger its damage ability, turning each into an additional source of pressure. The result is a rapidly accelerating clock that can seize control of the game in short order.

uper Shredder in Dimir Shadow

3 Cling to Dust 4 Death's Shadow 4 Fatal Push 1 Island 4 Marsh Flats 4 Mishra's Bauble 1 Misty Rainforest 4 Moonshadow 4 Nethergoyf 4 Polluted Delta 4 Quantum Riddler 4 Sheoldred's Edict 4 Street Wraith 3 Super Shredder 2 Swamp 4 Thoughtseize 2 Undercity Sewers 4 Watery Grave 4 Break the Ice 3 Consign to Memory 2 Graveyard Trespasser 3 The Meathook Massacre 3 Vexing Bauble

Super Shredder [51QkhWrrjIIceQajX5Ny1J]

Super Shredder has yet to post major results, with Chase00111's 14th-place finish in a 68-player Challenge standing as one of the few notable showings. Even so, in the right shell, it threatens to grow at a remarkable pace for a two-drop.

Every Mishra's Bauble, fetch land, or spot-removal spell puts a +1/+1 counter on Super Shredder. Even a warped Quantum Riddler getting exiled will trigger it. Combined with Super Shredder's menace, this rapid growth translates into an extremely fast and difficult-to-block clock, making Super Shredder a quietly potent addition to the Dimir Shadow archetype.

Does Machines in Izzet Land Destruction

4 Boom // Bust 1 Aether Spellbomb 4 Cleansing Wildfire 4 Darksteel Citadel 4 Does Machines 2 Force of Negation 2 Island 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Mishra's Bauble 1 Mountain 1 Pyrite Spellbomb 4 Scalding Tarn 1 Shadowspear 4 Silverbluff Bridge 1 Sink into Stupor 4 Soul-Guide Lantern 3 Steam Vents 2 Subtlety 2 Tale's End 4 Tishana's Tidebinder 4 Urza's Saga 4 Consign to Memory 1 Elixir of Immortality 3 Fire Magic 2 Force of Negation 1 Pithing Needle 2 Price of Freedom 2 Stern Scolding

Does Machines

While Does Machines also appeared in an Emry Station list and an Izzet Metalcraft deck in my dataset, it truly stood out with four copies in this inventive Izzet Land Destruction deck. Wutup took that list to a 10th-place finish in a 69-player Challenge. The key interaction in this deck is to target your indestructible lands (i.e., Darksteel Citadel and Silverbluff Bridge) with value spells like Cleansing Wildfire and Boom // Bust.

In this deck, Does Machines serves as a win condition. Its first stage provides milling and looting, often stocking your graveyard with artifacts. You can then bring those back, effectively letting you draw two cards. But level 3 is where the fun starts. At the beginning of combat on your turn, you can transform a Darksteel Citadel or Silverbluff Bridge into an ever-growing Robot creature, which is difficult to remove and poised to overwhelm your opponent. Whether that engine is fast enough for Modern remains an open question, but it undeniably adds an intriguing tool to the format's expanding arsenal.

Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers in Five-Color Creativity

3 Archon of Cruelty 4 Arid Mesa 1 Blood Crypt 2 Bloodstained Mire 3 Dwarven Mine 1 Elegant Parlor 4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker 4 Galvanic Discharge 4 Indomitable Creativity 1 Jetmir's Garden 4 Leyline Binding 1 Lightning Bolt 1 Mountain 3 Pawpatch Formation 1 Plains 2 Prismatic Ending 1 Raph and Mikey, Troublemakers 3 Reprieve 1 Sacred Foundry 3 Scalding Tarn 2 Spell Snare 1 Steam Vents 1 Stomping Ground 2 Teferi, Time Raveler 1 Thundering Falls 2 Wooded Foothills 3 Wrenn and Six 1 Xander's Lounge 3 Brotherhood's End 4 Consign to Memory 4 High Noon 1 Rest in Peace 2 Surgical Extraction 1 Veil of Summer

Raph and Mikey, Troublemakers [SM8NTzwzH6k5nINue6krM]

The final new card that I'd like to highlight is Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers, which has found a home in Five-Color Creativity. As shown in Corkyboyy's 4th-place Challenge list, players typically run a single copy because they never want to hit duplicate copies of the legend. But most of the time when casting Indomitable Creativity, you're hoping to hit Raph & Mikey, Troublemakers unless your opponent has a Solitude ready.

The seven-drop can attack immediately and put Archon of Cruelty onto the battlefield. The Archon enters tapped and attacking, dealing an extra 6 damage in the air. You also get Archon's sacrifice, discard, and drain effect when it enters, though it won't trigger a second time because it was never declared as an attacker. Compared to a traditional list with four copies of Archon of Cruelty, this update effectively lets Indomitable Creativity add a free 7/7 trampler with haste at least a quarter of the time, which may help boost this deck back into the spotlight.

What's Next for Modern?

Boros Energy remains the deck to beat in Modern, but the format continues to evolve month by month. Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has delivered meaningful upgrades for Jeskai Blink, Izzet Affinity, and a range of emerging or fringe archetypes. It will be fascinating to see which of these strategies can break through in the upcoming Regional Championship Qualifiers, where a skilled player familiar with their deck's intricacies can make any Modern list succeed.

The upcoming round of Modern RCQs will begin on April 4, and you can find an event near you by checking with your local game store or visiting your regional organizer's website. These RCQs qualify players for Modern Regional Championships held in September or October 2026, which in turn feed the first Pro Tour of 2027. Before then, Modern will take center stage at Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering | Marvel Super Heroes at MagicCon: Amsterdam on July 17–19, 2026. Exciting times are ahead for the Modern format, so grab your deck, learn it inside and out, and maybe we'll see you on the big stage next!