Kentaro, the Smiling Cat
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Legality

Format Legality
1v1 Commander Legal
Archenemy Legal
Block Constructed Legal
Canadian Highlander Legal
Casual Legal
Commander / EDH Legal
Commander: Rule 0 Legal
Custom Legal
Duel Commander Legal
Highlander Legal
Legacy Legal
Leviathan Legal
Limited Legal
Modern Legal
Modern Beyond Horizons Legal
Oathbreaker Legal
Planar Constructed Legal
Planechase Legal
Quest Magic Legal
Tiny Leaders Legal
Vanguard Legal
Vintage Legal

Kentaro, the Smiling Cat

Legendary Creature — Human Samurai

Bushido 1 (When this blocks or becomes blocked, it gets +1/+1 until end of turn.)

You may pay (X) rather than pay the mana cost for Samurai spells you play, where X is that spell's converted mana cost.

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Takeno's Cavalry
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Devoted Retainer
Araba Mothrider
Kitsune Dawnblade

Elnxida on Cost Reduction Cards

4 months ago

I've noticed a few* omissions, namely effects that let you pay an alternate cost - which can be less than the regular cost (Zombie creaturess: Rooftop Storm) or reduced by other effects (Samurai: Kentaro, the Smiling Cat).

*Yeah, so I decided to do a proper search and it bloated into more than a "few"... Sorry for the wall of text, but here you go!

You've already got Fist of Suns and Jodah, but here are some less ubiquitous ones:

Echo: Thick-Skinned Goblin

Slowly Increasing 1/turn: As Foretold

Runes: Runeforge Champion

Fist of Suns and Jodah-like: Leyline of Mutation

Alchemy, Dragons: Sarkhan, Wanderer to Shiv

Pay life instead as Activated Ability: Marshland Bloodcaster

Alchemy, cards you don't own 1/turn: Grenzo, Crooked Jailer

From Exile 1/turn: Charred Foyer / Warped Space

Colorless 1/turn: Darksteel Monolith

Creature from exile 1/turn: Tlincalli Hunter

Conditional, Cycling: New Perspectives

Pay life instead 1/turn: Cramped Vents / Access Maze

Additionally, other regular omissions:

Flash: Cunning Nightbonder

Instants and Sorceries: Voracious Reader  Flip

Creature spells: Krallenhorde Howler  Flip, Honest Rutstein

One Giant: Invasion of the Giants

Target me! (auras, buffs, mutate): Spellwild Ouphe, Elderwood Scion

First Kicked: Vine Gecko

Historic: Ballad of the Black Flag

Not your turn: Geyser Drake

Aura and Equipment: Golden-Tail Trainer

Next Spell (honorable mention?): Hardened Berserker, Saheeli, the Giftedfoil

Pay counters instead: Mutated Cultist

Dragons: Nogi, Draco-Zealotfoil

Alchemy, Dinosaurs: Scalespeaker Shepherd (Not sure why is isn't linking, but I promise it exists)

Alchemy, from graveyard: Shellfish Scholar

Instants and Sorceries MV5+: Spectacle Mage

Prepared: Uvilda, Dean of Perfection  Flip

Undaunted keyword: Durnan of the Yawning Portalfoil

First instant/sorcery, conditional: Eluge, the Shoreless Sea, God-Eternal Kefnet

Alchemy, Goblin: Goblin Influx Array

Next instant/sorcery (honorable mention?): Maelstrom Muse

Face-down: Panoptic Projektor

Doctors: The Eleventh Hour

Cards from exile: Commander Liara Portyr

Next instant/sorcery, conditional: Elminster

Spells you don't own: Gonti, Canny Acquisitor

Baron_Pretzels on Mardu Samurai Tribal

2 years ago

I've got some ideas: Day of Destiny, Oathkeeper, Takeno's Daisho,Path of Ancestry, Godo, Bandit Warlord, Kentaro, the Smiling Cat, and Bushi Tenderfoot  Flip.

SOTC on isshin samurai tribal

3 years ago

Hey Breastiny, good to see other people brewing with Isshin!

I'd see about maybe running Kentaro, the Smiling Cat as a cheap mana-fixer, to ensure you never have the wrong colors. Fumiko the Lowblood is an excellent card here; your opponents are forced to swing, even with creature they don't want want to attack with. They will either attack other opponents (helping you win) or attack into a pumped-up Fumiko, which will lose them their creatures. In a true Samurai tribal deck, Nagao, Bound by Honor, Takeno, Samurai General, Konda, Lord of Eiganjo and Godo, Bandit Warlord can't be omitted.

As niche picks, consider Iizuka the Ruthless and Opal-Eye, Konda's Yojimbo. The former will put your foes on the back foot, as they never know when the double strike might come through. The latter provides defensive utility, especially late-game when you have access to more mana.

On the non-Samurai end of things, some Equipment that synergizes with Isshin seems like a good call. Sword of the Animist gets even better by fetching you 2 basics instead of 1, while Sigil of Valor and Reaper's Talisman double up on your other 'attacks alone' effects. Other Equipment improved by Isshin includes Argentum Armor, Delver's Torch, Moonsilver Spear Sword of Hours and Trepanation Blade. If you find yourself in need of additional (non-Samurai) cannon fodder, Captain's Claws and Sigiled Sword of Valeron will do in a pinch.

Hope this helps! Good luck :)

Necrosis24 on Looking For Inspiration

3 years ago

I think I would more or less do the same with the commanders you have laid out so I don't have much to offer there. Instead here are some deck ideas I have planned/currently working on:

Necrosis24 on Unique Commanders

3 years ago

libraryjoy Same I think Kamigawa has some pretty interesting commanders and great art. I think a Kentaro, the Smiling Cat deck that utilizes Maskwood Nexus and has only Wastes as lands as a restriction could be interesting.

FormOverFunction That is an interesting card I havent heard of Brine Hag before. I’m actually building a deck that utilizes Turn to Frog affects to basically make my opponents play vanilla creatures and that would fit in perfectly.

seshiro_of_the_orochi on Ninokun

5 years ago

Maybe for a little context: Kentaro, the Smiling Cat

Isao, Enlightened Bushi

And the awesome black one: Toshiro Umezawa

PockyWolf on Soul of the Samurai

7 years ago

Kentaro, the Smiling Cat was put in as a samurai creature card - I am looking for suggestions for replacements and/or other options on this deck build

Uragbonebreaker on Soul of the Samurai

7 years ago

why do you have Kentaro, the Smiling Cat when playing a mono white deck

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