What’s New
The Alliance mechanic is a triggered ability word first introduced in Magic: The Gathering’s Streets of New Capenna set. It has recently returned in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universes Beyond release. Alliance is designed to reward players for playing or generating multiple creatures, making it a core feature for go-wide strategies in both Standard and Commander formats.
Alliance was originally themed for the Cabaretti family in New Capenna, representing the social, party-centric aspect of the set. Its return in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set marks the first time the mechanic has appeared outside its debut plane, showcasing its flexibility and appeal for new archetypes and properties.
Configuration at a Glance
- Alliance appears as an ability word on select creatures in Streets of New Capenna and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set.
- Triggers whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control.
- Commonly found on creatures that support token, go-wide, or synergy-based strategies.
- In the TMNT set, Alliance is featured on both legendary and common creatures, adding value to mass creature spells and token generators.
- Works especially well with cards that create multiple creatures simultaneously or repeatedly.
Key Inserts & Parallels
- Alliance is not a parallel or insert, but a mechanic featured on multiple cards across different rarities.
- Notable Alliance cards in Streets of New Capenna include Gala Greeters, Devilish Valet, and Rumor Gatherer.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set features Alliance on cards like Raphael, Tough Turtle and Lita, Little Orphan Amphibian.
- No special serial-numbered or color variants directly tied to the Alliance mechanic are listed in official product details.
Autographs & Relics
- No autograph or memorabilia content is directly associated with Alliance cards in either Streets of New Capenna or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set.
- Alliance cards can appear in premium treatments such as foil, extended art, or showcase frames depending on the set, but these are not specific to the mechanic.
Streets of New Capenna Alliance Cards
- Gala Greeters - Elf Druid; choose one of three effects for each trigger: +1/+1 counter, tapped Treasure, or gain 2 life (each mode once per turn).
- Devilish Valet - Doubles its power until end of turn with each Alliance trigger.
- Rumor Gatherer - First trigger each turn: Scry 1; second: draw a card (max one card per turn).
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Alliance Cards
- Raphael, Tough Turtle - Deals 1 damage to an opponent whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control.
- Mighty Mutanimals - Grants +1/+1 counters to your team with each Alliance trigger.
- Lita, Little Orphan Amphibian - Legendary creature; choose +1/+1 counter, Food token, or Scry 1 with each trigger (can trigger on every player’s turn in multiplayer).
Collector Notes
- Alliance triggers whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, including tokens and creatures returning from the graveyard.
- Multiple Alliance triggers can be stacked; the active player determines the order on the stack.
- Works well with mass token producers (e.g., March of the Multitudes) and token doublers (e.g., Mondrak, Glory Dominus; Anointed Procession).
- Cards with Alliance can appear in various premium versions depending on the set but are not short-printed or super-short-printed solely due to the mechanic.
- Alliance is especially effective in Commander and multiplayer formats due to the ability to trigger on every player’s turn.
- Design inspiration for Alliance came from the social, party-like atmosphere of the Cabaretti family in New Capenna, and it was adapted for the Turtles after initial testing of other mechanics.
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