For example, you might combine Bolas's Citadel and Aetherflux Reservoir, giving you card advantage and life to offset the life loss, or maybe have reanimate loops using Chainer, Dementia Master and Gray Merchant of Asphodel
But there is another type of crystal worth mentioning, which is also important in the context of Magic: The Gathering
The deck focuses on building up mana acceleration to quickly unleash your army of enormous dinosaurs
Its an economical way to keep a set tighter while still representing many of the characters and dynamics TMNT fans want to see
Since it's relatively easy to keep on the battlefield (it can be played and bounced repeatedly), it's excellent as a creature that provides consistent card draw (a convoke enabler), and it's nice that it can even act as a mana dork in a pinch
While kindred decks have become less powerful in constructed over the past few years, players love trying to make them work