Always looking for suggestions, so fire away!
Deck Theme
With the end of one of my favourite childhood anime series, Naruto, approaching fast, I've been rewatching the series from the beginning. And watching the show's ninja warriors fighting reminded me highly of the Jeskai monks. Although while I was younger I had hated Neji Hyuga, one of the show's antagonist-turned-ally, going back and watching the show as a young man has helped me relate to his anger that was directed at his helplessness. It definitely made me more fond of the character. The card
Singing Bell Strike
reminded me of the Hyuga clan's Kekkei Genkai, or special fighting style, the Byakugan. So, in honour of Neji, here's a deck based around his badass fighting style!
C-C-C-Combos and Mechanics!
After a bit of thought, I decided that white blue would best represent Neji's style. The Byakugan's ability to control the flow of the opponent's chakra (their body's energy) by hitting hidden nodes located in certain parts of the body, controlling their flow of energy and abilities. Sound familiar? I thought so. So, let's dive right into them, shall we?
Combo Set #1: Battlefield Thaumaturge + Curse of the Swine
or Battlefield Thaumaturge
+
Glimpse the Sun God
The "Thurma-Derp" was a card that I quickly dismissed as a junk rare. "What was I going to do with a card like that? Blue is not in my play style," I had thought to myself one day after opening a pack. But after seeing the devastating combo of Battlefield Thaumaturge + Curse of the Swine
quickly changed my mind. The Thaumaturge reduces the cost for a spell for each other creature it targets by 1 colourless mana. This allows you to basically target any amount of your opponent's creatures and turn them into 2/2 Boars for two blue mana. Need I say more?
Battlefield Thaumaturge
+
Glimpse the Sun God
allows your prowess creatures to hit your opponent directly, and can prove to be a game ender. Cheeky ninja move, wataaaaaaa!
Mechanic #1: Slow 'em down!
Coming from a normally aggro player, this sounds so strange, but hey, I'm willing to try!
Nyx-Fleece Ram is an excellent turn 2 staller that also gains you life. Win-win! An excellent blocker to stop early-game fatties or hasty buggers definitely helps. F#*k your Goblin Rabblemaster and your
Savage Knuckleblade
!
Mechanic #2: Prowess
The Jeskai's new ability is pretty sweet when combined with cheap spells. Using the Jeskai's aerial ace,
Jeskai Windscout
and a few cheap spells like Gods Willing or Aqueous Form allows you to fly over your opponent's defenders and give him a +1/+1 counter to boot!
While the Windscout is only a 2/1, Pearl Lake Ancient is an absolute tank. Need to punch through for some serious damage? He's your man. Swing with that bad boy and watch your enemy crumble.
