Why Magic replaced Raphael’s sai with a jitte

I’d been holding off on getting into Magic: The Gathering to avoid spending too much, but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover looked like it might change my mind. The art is striking and the cards draw on established canon, yet Wizards of the Coast made some weapon changes that feel primarily cosmetic.

On Feb. 17 the company posted a blog titled "Raphael's Jitte." A jitte is a lot like a sai, but typically two-pronged rather than the sai's three prongs. Wizards said Nickelodeon allowed them to develop a unique version of the Turtles, and this set leans into Master Splinter's traditional Japanese background, so the characters use what the company called "more traditional ninja weapons." Raphael carries a jitte, Michelangelo a kusarigama, Leonardo a ninjatō, and Donatello keeps his bō staff.

The change raises a few issues.

mtg, tmnt, raphael, jitte, sai, nickelodeon, wizards, master splinter, kusarigama, ninjato