Hello and welcome to my 2nd 60 card deck! This is intended for kitchen table. This deck relies on the Shadow mechanic to attack unblocked at the moment no one in my group uses this. It started off as a copy of Ninja-Faerie from mtgsalvation (please see link below) but it didn't fit my strategy. Unblockable creatures are good but there needs to be a benefit to returning them to our hands.
In my opinion and play experience, these are some of the issues in a ninja themed deck that I tried to address.
Ninjas are good when they ETB but some become sitting ducks afterwards without support
Ninjutsuing creates card disadvantage since we're switching 1 for 1
The bag of ninja tricks require a lot of mana (3+) to be effective
I started with single use support spells such as
Slip Through Space
, Aqueous Form,
Artful Dodge
, and
Veil of Secrecy
but I found these require specific situations for them to be good. I primarily used them on the ninjas but not having the ideal ninja such as Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni reduced their effectiveness. For example, I would prefer not use one on an Ornitopter.
Once the opponent figures out the tricks they will eliminate enablers & can easily overwhelm us due to card disadvantage
Heres an overview of my strategy/reasoning
Creatures:
Enablers: Should have a beneficial ETB effect
Ornithopter - Ninja deck staple
Thalakos Seer
- My budget alternative to Baleful Strix
Aether Swooper - Evasion & generates a 1/1 token to maintain board state
Please visit the mtgsalvation link below for a better analysis on the ninjas
Support:
Ambuscade Shaman
- ETB +2/+2 boost
Haunted Cloak - Haste but there are better options available - Just wanted to use my extras from SOI
Sai of the Shinobi - Cost only 1 & ETB +1/+1 boost
Sword of the Animist - Drop lands & +1/+1 boost
Behind the Scenes
- Intended to give skulk to 0-1 power creatures
Bident of Thassa - All creatures become
Ninja of the Deep Hours
Dauthi Embrace - For situations where you need to attack freely (Highly recommended for almost any black decks)
Spells:
Familiar's Ruse - Another ninja deck staple
Soul Manipulation - Counter creature spells & return 1 from my graveyard
Maybe:
Cadaver Imp
- Repeatable creature return from graveyard
Any cheap unblockable creatures that can enable Ninjutsu (e.g. Triton Shorestalker, Invisible Stalker,
Tormented Soul
, etc.)
Please let me know your opinion and any suggestions are appreciated! Glad to answer any questions as well. Thanks for looking!
Sources & ideas:
WOTC Gatherer
http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/deck-creation-modern/221768-modern-ninjas <=VERY GOOD SOURCE In depth analysis and plenty of opinions
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/ninja-assassins/
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/ninja-gaiden-mtg-edition/
http://magic.wizards.com/en/content/night-ninja-planechase-2012-edition-card-set-archive
