The History of Turtles in Magic

In honor of Magic: The Gathering® | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I thought it would be fun to write an article all about the history of Turtle creatures in Magic. They go back almost to the beginning of the game, but in true Turtle form, took their time coming out. Today's article will trace their evolution.

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Arabian Nights (1994)

The first Turtle creature premiered in Magic's first expansion, Arabian Nights. Technically, Giant Tortoise wasn't a Turtle but a Tortoise. In fact, it's the only creature ever printed with the Tortoise creature type. It was changed to Turtle with the Grand Creature Update in 2007.

Turtles seem to have three basic top-down influences:

• They can be defensive due to their shell.
• They have two different forms, in and out of their shell.
• They're slow.

Giant Tortoise plays into the first two. It has two forms, one of which is very defensive. "While untapped" was meant to embody the Tortoise going into its shell, keeping it from being able to attack.

Legends (1994)

The next Turtle, Giant Turtle, came out just two sets later. It was also a giant version of a Turtle. This version continued the theme of being more defensive and, for the first time, used a mechanic that implied it was a slow creature. This card is a quaint reminder of how weak early creatures were. Nowadays, we allow to be a 2/3 with upside at common.

Portal (1997)

It took three years to get the next Turtle, Horned Turtle, and it was a vanilla creature in a beginner product. It wasn't even legal in tournament play when it came out. The Portal sets didn't become tournament legal until 2005. It's a simple, defensive creature.

Prophecy (2000)

It took another three years for the next Turtle, Vintara Snapper. It uses one of the unnamed core mechanics from the set, having all your lands tapped, to represent its defensiveness.

Chimeric Idol would eventually be changed to become a Turtle when animated, so I'm listing it here. This is one of the earliest Turtles to actually show up in competitive decks.

Judgment (2002)

The next Turtle came two years later. It made use of what we called the Nightmare mechanic. It was designed for Odyssey by Richard Garfield, but it didn't show up until Torment. We called it the Nightmare mechanic because we exclusively used it on creatures with the Nightmare creature type. It was the first time the Nightmare creature type appeared on creatures that represented actual nightmares. The one previous Nightmare was from Limited Edition (Alpha) and was a fiery horse, playing into the "mare" pun.

The Nightmare mechanic is an enters effect that removes one or more permanents or cards from a zone, usually the battlefield, and returns them when that creature dies. It was introduced as a core black mechanic that showed up in smaller number in black's allies, blue and red. Interestingly, the ability is now an evergreen ability in white.

Judgment's tweak on the Nightmare mechanic made it exile your own permanents or cards, mainly to give you a better rate on your creature. A 2/4 doesn't need a downside. I don't even think it needed it when this set came out, but it got one. Why is this a Turtle? I have no idea. It has defensive stats, but that's about it. It was the first Turtle card with a second creature type on it.

Worldwake (2010)

Another eight years passed before we printed the next Turtle. Eight years! I have no idea why it took us so long. In 2010, the game was seventeen years old, and we had seven Turtles (not counting Mistform Ultimus and creatures with changeling). That was the most shocking (though apt) thing about this dive into history: the slow rollout of Turtles.

We now get to the first Turtle I made. We were looking for cool landfall effects while designing Zendikar. I've always been a fan of power and toughness swapping, so I designed a landfall card that was 1/4 but became a 4/1 when a land entered play under your control. I liked the idea that the card could have two different functions and you controlled when you changed it. Landfall was nice because it allowed you to be aggressive on your turn but defensive on your opponent's turn.

Because I didn't just want the creature to get Shocked when you changed its power and toughness, I gave it shroud. Shroud was the precursor to hexproof. It kept anyone from targeting the permanent with shroud, including you. It seemed obvious as soon as I designed the card that it needed to be a Turtle. Calcite Snapper's design name was "Convertible Turtle."

The funny story about Calcite Snapper is that I mentioned on social media that I had designed a card called "Convertible Turtle," so every time a new set was previewed, my followers asked, "Does this set have 'Convertible Turtle?'" I eventually even had to talk about it in my column. Calcite Snapper would go on to see tournament play.

Khans of Tarkir (2014) and Dragons of Tarkir (2015)

Another four years went by before we got our first pair of Turtles, that is two Turtle cards designed together, although they show up two sets apart. The story of the Khans of Tarkir block was that the Planeswalker Sarkhan Vol returned to his homeworld of Tarkir and traveled to the past to save his beloved dragons (who had all been killed off in the current timeline). A new timeline was created where dragons reign supreme. Because Khans of Tarkir and Dragons of Tarkir represented the present in two different timelines, we wanted to do pairs of cards, one in each set that showed the different path of various creatures and items.

Meandering Towershell was basically an updated version of Giant Turtle. It's a large, high-toughness creature that gets to attack every other turn. Meandering Towershell uses exile, has islandwalk, is significantly bigger, and has a better rate for a creature.

Wandering Tombshell was the alternate reality where things didn't go so well for the giant turtle and it became a zombie. This is the second time a Turtle got a second creature type, and this is the first Turtle to appear in black. The Zombie version was far less powerful (a 1/6 instead of a 5/9), but it was dropped from a rare to a common.

Meandering Towershell became a running joke on Reddit where people would always post it, pretending it was the first preview from a new set.

Shadows over Innistrad (2016)

Two more years went by before our next Turtle. Silburlind Snapper was a noncreature enabler. You got a slightly better creature than normal with the restriction that it can only attack on turns where you've played a noncreature spell. I'm not quite sure why this is a Turtle. It's not defensively stated, doesn't have two states, and isn't flavored as being slow. I guess the flavor is it won't come out of its shell to attack unless you cast a noncreature spell.

Kaladesh (2016)

In 2006, for the first time since 1994, two different sets in the same calendar year had a Turtle in them. Thriving Turtle played into Kaladesh's main mechanical theme, energy. It has defensive stats, but it isn't super turtle-y.

Unstable (2017)

For some set (I don't remember which), I designed a card that could be both a 3/3 or a 1/4, whichever you wanted it to be at the time. Because the 3/3 felt like an Elephant and the 1/4 felt like a Turtle, I called the card "Elephurtle." "Elephurtle" didn't end up working in the rules, so I put it aside. Years later, I was making another Un- set. Unstable had a faction that mixed animal parts (The Crossbreed Labs), so a creature that was half-elephant, half-turtle was a perfect fit. We were going to keep the name "Elephurtle" until Kelly Digges, who was in charge of card names, came up with Shellephant. It's the first creature with an optional creature type. Go Un- sets!

Dominaria, Global Series: Jiang Yanguu & Mu Yanling, and Core Set 2019 (2018)

While 2018 wasn't an amazing year for Turtles, it does show a shift toward Turtles becoming a normal part of Magic's collection of creatures. If you need a simple vanilla or French vanilla creature with hexproof, the Turtle creature type is the go-to creative choice.

Ravnica Allegiance (2019)

The Simic like to combine creatures in their experiments. Adapt was the Simic keyword, so I believe this card was designed mechanically first, then we figured out what three creature types to put on it. I assume we picked Turtle because it was humorous and captured the defender flavor. While the Scuttlegator is tucked in its shell, it doesn't attack.

Throne of Eldraine (2019)

Magic was 26 years old and, for the first time, more than one card with the Turtle creature type was added in the same set. Three, no less! Mistford River Turtle wanted to be a creature that carried creatures on their back, and a giant turtle felt like a cool image. Steelbane Hydra came about because one of our conceptors drew a Turtle Hydra during worldbuilding and it looked cool, so we found a home for it. I believe Thunderous Snapper became a Turtle because we were looking for a good green-blue hybrid creature type, and Turtles had established themselves as green and blue. Mechanically, none of the cards are super turtle-y, but they show us starting to branch out with Turtle designs. We made things where Turtles are cool conceptually rather than limited to a small design space mechanically. This was also the first year where we printed four Turtles in a single year.

Theros Beyond Death, Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, and Commander Legends (2020)

This was an interesting year for Turtles. Of the four Turtles printed this year, two (Riptide Turtle and Aegis Turtle) were very basic, simple cards that just reinforce Turtles as becoming a core Magic creature type. Riptide Turtle was the first Turtle with flash. The other two (Yidaro, Wandering Monster and Archelos, Lagoon Mystic) demonstrated that Turtles have potential to be woven into far more complex creative designs. These are the first two legendary Turtles, and each demonstrates novel design.

Yidaro captures the slow Turtle cliché by creating a means to cast it for free if you jump through a hoop. Well, four hoops technically. Giant creatures with cycling had become a design staple, but Yidaro added an extra element. Instead of going to the graveyard, it gets shuffled into your library, so you can cycle it multiple times. If you do that four times, you get the creature on the battlefield for free.

Archelos was designed as the first Turtle commander. It plays into the flavor of having two forms by mechanically affecting the game based on whether it's tapped or untapped. This is a fun hook to build around. Both continue the ongoing tradition of finding different creature types to mix with Turtle. This was the second year with four Turtles.

Strixhaven: School of Mages, Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, and Innistrad: Midnight Hunt Commander (2021)

Quandrix Cultivator continued the fine tradition of green-blue hybrid cards being Turtles. Dragon Turtle was the second Turtle with flash. (I assume that's the Dragon part of the card.) It enters tapped to capture the slow part. Wild Shape lets you turn your creature into one of three shapes, and a 1/3 with hexproof is well-tread Turtle territory. Gorex, the Tombshell is the second black Zombie Turtle, but the first legendary one. This was the third year with four Turtles.

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Commander, Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate, and Dominaria United (2022)

When we first visited Kamigawa, there was an artifact called Shell of the Last Kappa which heavily implied the Kappa were all dead. In Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, we learned that the artifact was improperly named as the Kappa weren't quite as dead as the denizens of Kamigawa thought. One of the kappa, Kappa Tech-Wrecker, was a Ninja and the other, Kappa Cannoneer (in a Commander deck) was a Warrior. As we make more Turtles, you can see us expanding the types of effects they can get.

Colossal Skyturtle was the first Turtle with power greater than its toughness and yet another card cementing Turtles as a green-blue creature. It is also the first Turtle (along with Kappa Cannoneer) with ward. This is a natural extension of Turtles' long history with hexproof and shroud. Both of Dominaria United's Turtles are common creatures and pretty simple. Additionally, 2022 is the first year with six Turtles. They're starting to pick up steam.

March of the Machine, Wilds of Eldraine, and The Lost Caverns of Ixalan (2023)

Kogla and Yidaro is the first repeat of a Turtle character (well, half a repeat). March of the Machine had many legendary team-up cards with unlikely allies from each plane. The creature has access to one of two abilities. The first one references Yidaro and the second one Kogla. It's the first red-green Turtle. Blossoming Tortoise focused on lands, something new for Turtles. Bedrock Tortoise shares its hexproof to other creatures. Its second ability has traditionally been tied to another high-toughness green creature type, Treefolk.

In 2023, we dropped down to only three Turtles for the year, but it's interesting to note that every Magic Multiverse set has one.

Murders at Karlov Manor, Outlaws of Thunder Junction, Bloomburrow, and Foundations Jumpstart (2024)

The Pride of Hull Clade is a Simic-flavored card that extends two different ways in caring about toughness. Daring Thunder-Thief is the third Turtle with flash, but it again enters tapped to hit the flavor of being slow. Snapping Voidcraw is yet another Turtle requiring green and blue, but this one is playing in new space, adding mana. Fecund Greenshell is a giant Turtle and the first Turtle with reach. In Bloomburrow vision design, we toyed with the idea of Turtles being the green-blue creature type but ended up going with Frogs. As a consolation prize, we made a Turtle calamity beast.

Phantasmal Shieldback and Taeko, the Patient Avalanche were both in Foundations Jumpstart, playing in mostly novel space. Taeko, for example, was the first Turtle with a hybrid mana symbol on the card that's not green-blue.

Overall, 2024 had six Turtles for the year. It's interesting to note that every Magic Multiverse set has one except for Duskmourn: House of Horror. Also, every Turtle has at least one other creature type, many of which appeared alongside Turtle for the first time: Crocodile Elk, Rogue, Eldrazi, Elemental, Illusion, and Ninja.

Aetherdrift and Tarkir: Dragonstorm (2025)

Every Magic Multiverse set in 2025, save for Edge of Eternities, had at least one Turtle. Both Turtles in Aetherdrift were artifact creatures. Ambling Stormshell was the first Turtle typal creature.

Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™, Magic: The Gathering® | Marvel's Spider-Man, and Magic: The Gathering® | Avatar: The Last Airbender™ (2025)

Up until 2025, all of the Turtles came from Magic Multiverse sets, but last year demonstrated that Universes Beyond sets can contribute Turtles. Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY had Ancient Adamantoise, the largest Turtle so far. Magic: The Gathering | Marvel's Spider-Man had Spider-Ham, Peter Porker, the second Turtle typal card. Magic: The Gathering | Avatar: The Last Airbender had three Turtle creatures, the last of which, The Lion-Turtle, is the first legendary Turtle from a Universes Beyond set. That's 50 Turtle and Turtle-related cards in 32 short years.

Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2026)

The main set of Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has 29 new Turtles. To put that in context, the first 28 years of Magic only had 25 Turtles. It also has more Turtle typal cards in the set than existed before the set came out (okay, that number was only two, both of which came out in 2025, but still), including the most potent Turtle typal card ever made: Turtle Power, which grants +2/+2 to all of your Turtles.

What this all means for Turtle lovers is that Magic has finally caught up and given Turtles the spotlight they deserve. You can now make a Turtle Commander deck without having to play changelings. Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also pushes Turtles into new colors, expanding what it means to have a Turtle deck. I'm excited to see what Turtle decks will be created.

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Slow and Steady

That wraps up my history of Turtles in Magic. I hope you enjoyed the journey through the years. As always, I'm eager for any feedback, be it on today's article, any of the Turtles I discussed, or on Turtles as a creature type in general. You can email me or contact me through social media (Bluesky, Tumblr, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter).

Join me next week for another installment of Making Magic.

Until then, may you play as many Turtles as your heart desires.