I built this Ninja deck and it seems to work...

[TheCasualOblivion]

I've been working on the project of building a Ninja-themed deck that functions, and I've finally had some success. Its a creature based attack deck that doesn't bother with evasion. The deck is based on this scenario:

My opponent has a 2/2 Creature in play. I have Ninja of the Deep Hours, Man-O'-War and a Blastoderm. I have a bunch of cards in hand, all my land untapped, and my opponent believes I have a Ninja in hand. I attack with everything. What do you block?

Creatures (32)

Non-Ninja (16)
4 Basking Rootwalla
4 Erg Raiders
4 Man-O'-War
4 Blastoderm

Ninja (16)
3 Skullsnatcher
4 Ninja of the Deep Hours
4 Throat Slitter
3 Higure, the Still Wind
2 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni

Artifacts (8)
4 Shuriken
4 AEther Vial

Land (20)

3 City of Brass
2 Thran Quarry
1 Undiscovered Paradise
4 Yavimaya Coast
2 Salt Marsh
2 Waterveil Cavern
4 Forest
2 Swamp

Some Comments:

1. Shuriken is one of the stars of the deck. Its basically useless to have more than 1 in play, but 4 in the deck gets you them more often. Shuriken + Ninja = bad time for your opponent.

2. Aether Vial goes a long way into offsetting the tempo lost from Ninjutsu.

3. Mistblade Shinobi is somewhat useless without evasion, and that's why I dropped it. I replaced it with Skullsnatcher who Vials out nicely and can throw the Shuriken well. The Man-O'-Wars do the job of the Shinobi, and I can gate them back to my hand with Ninjutsu to use them again. AEther Vial again helps.

4. Higure and Ink-Eyes come out reasonably easy, and can wreck the whole game once they get out. I prefer to Ninjutsu them so I get a free hit with them.

5. I went with Blastoderm, Erg Raiders and Basking Rootwalla because for what they are, they really give my opponent problems with the choice of blocking them or not. Blastoderm + Ninjutsu is really nice, especially with a Vial with 4 counters. Blastoderm never needs to fade out, and its always a TOUGH decision on whether to block it or not. You block it, and its bad. You don't block it, it hits for 5 and its bad. Or you don't block it and I ninjutsu something and its bad. The Rootwalla is also good for that, either gate or pump it.

6. This deck is built to look like an aggressive attacking deck, but it doesn't "seem" to play that way. It attacks most every turn, and always takes the posture of coming after the other deck, but it "seems" to play more like a control/disruption deck, with all sorts of tricks and gimmicks. However it "seems" it really is an aggressive attack deck in the end. A thinking man's attack deck.

7. One of the keys to the deck is that at times, you must consider your Ninja expendible. Its worth attacking with everything and letting your Throat Slitter die if you have another in your hand you're going to Ninjutsu this combat.

8. The deck plays differently every game, which makes it fun. Sometimes its a power attack led by Blastoderm. Some games I get Higure out and make Throat Slitter unblockable every turn. Other games I get a Shuriken and 2-3 Ninja and start throwing the thing like crazy. Multiple paths to victory.

This deck has held up well against my other decks I've tested it against so far. It hasn't even lost yet, though I haven't thrown my best at it yet. It's been winning so far, and its won every game because of the Ninja.

 

[Limited]

Have you tried playing the Discard Ninjutsu one? Obi-Wan Shinobi or something like that..
This looks like a solid deck and I was really wandering if it could make the cut.. Seems to me the two card discard could really impact early game..

 

[TheCasualOblivion]

You basically summed up why it didn't make the cut. The two discard would really help the early game. With 4 mana to Ninjutsu it out, its not exactly early game, and this deck doesn't really have room for mana acceleration.

An update on further testing on the deck: I've continued testing it and it has continued to beat the living crap out of my other decks... Until my R/B fast creature/burn deck beat it 3-0. I'm looking forward to the cards I ordered on Ebay arriving so I can actually build this for real. I haven't really found any fault with it yet either. It might use a bit more mana, but that's about it. This deck plays weird and interesting. It attacks every turn like an aggro deck, but instead of dealing 20 damage, as it attacks again and again it gains more and more control of the game. Then it deals lethal damage.

 

[Limited]

Crystal clear on Obi Wan. Thanks!

I wonder how it will fare in multiplayer.. in my playgroup an attacking creature might get killed by another player (not the defending one) if it brings you some clear benefit... Ninja's might be big targets..

 

[TheCasualOblivion]

That depends. Lets say I say "I'll attack you with Throat Slitter, but you get to pick what it kills."

Still this deck only really works when it's attacking on all cylinders. A multiplayer Ninja deck is probably possible, but it isn't this deck. Blastoderm sucks in multiplayer for one.

 

[jorael]

Just had to say it: blastoderm doesn't suck in multiplayer. Doing 15-20 damage (with haste) or killing several creatures that chump-block is good. With enough aggression in a deck, a good four-drop like this is excellent. It can only attack 3-4 times, but that is more than a targetable fattie with several opponents packing a hand full of removal

it also has great synergy with stuff like Kavu Lair, Death Match, Wirewood Savage, Breath of Daarigaaz and any kind of graveyard recursion.

 

[TheCasualOblivion]

Blastoderm

it also has great synergy with stuff like Kavu Lair, Death Match, Wirewood Savage, Breath of Daarigaaz and any kind of graveyard recursion.

It also has great synergy with Ninja. I've been arguing Blastoderm + Ninja is a natural match ever since the mechanic came out. Ninja gate Blastoderm, and gating Blastoderm is good. Blastoderm is inherently a threat, Ninja can extend the threat, especially with AEther Vial.

 

[jorael]

And right you are Blastoderm works with any 'gating' creature. Hmm, yes ninjutsu actually IS the same as gating. Instead of a creature in allied colors (B or U for cavern harpy) ninjutsu requires an unblocked creature. It is part of the cost of ninjutsu, so it not exactly the same, but it makes me wonder if we will see more kinds of 'gating' mechanisms in the future....

 

[mythosx]

why no ornothopter?

 

[TheCasualOblivion]

why bother. This deck is meant to attack turn after turn. Ornithopter might work to gate in a ninja, but after that, the ninja is on its own. Blastoderm, Erg Raiders and Basking Rootwalla are dangerous in their own right. Having them attack alongside Ninja helps the ninja I already have out continue to be effective, by continuing to attack every turn with everything. Ornithopter does not do this.

 

[Gizmo]

Another use of Ninjas is to put them alongside other saboteurs already.

Attack with Ophidian - choose not to deal combat damage - Ninjitsu in my Ninja and draw another card. That sort of thing.

 

[Mikeymike]

Another use of Ninjas is to put them alongside other saboteurs already.

Attack with Ophidian - choose not to deal combat damage - Ninjitsu in my Ninja and draw another card. That sort of thing.

Gizmo, when you refer to 'saboteurs' do you mean creatures that 'deal combat damange OR give off some kind of effect'?

TCO, very good looking deck. My only possible suggestions are Serendib Efreet, and/or a 187 "kill a critter" to give Ink-Eyes some tasty targets.

Limited, I caught that Obi-Wan joke! It got a hearty chuckle out of me...but don't get cocky, I'm known for having a terrible sense of humor

 

[TheCasualOblivion]

I hadn't even thought of Serendib. I have four of them, and its one of my all time favorite creatures. I could smack myself.

 

[Notepad]

Why would you want to use Serendib Efreet? You'd basically be losing out on the life loss each turn. If its real speed you want, you should use the other fading beastie, the 2/3 for a single G. It comes out faster than Erg, is easier on your primary mana base, oh, and attacks on turn two which makes it possible to start yanking out ninjas much faster. The fading, like the Blastie, is offset by the ninjas. Even if it fades out, a 2/3 dropped on turn one is a mighty nice play. Attack every turn, you say? Why not do that as early as possible?

Cannot remember what its name is, though.

Awesome deck, though. I just have issues with the mana. Three colors with 20 land, seems like it ain't too reliable, but if you've tested it out, cool.

 

[Istanbul]

Skyshroud Ridgeback, Notepad.

 

[TheCasualOblivion]

Serendib--This deck plays like a control deck, and slowly establishes control of the game. My life total isn't very important, and If it gets bad, Ninjutsu can put Serendib back in my hand. Highly considering cutting the Man-O-Wars for this.

Skyshroud Ridgeback--Thought of using it, along with the 2/2 Blue Flying Fader. Ridgeback isn't as big an upgrade over Rootwalla/Erg Raiders as Blastoderm is an upgrade over pretty much anything. I've been playing this deck, and sometimes Ninjutsu doesn't happen. The Ridgeback isn't dangerous if not gated. Blastoderm causes havoc no matter what happens.

Mana-Have not had mana problems yet. With all the Non-Basic Land, the deck packs 14 sources of green, 14 sources of blue, and 12 sources of black. It works just fine.

 

[Force of Will Smith]

Looks like a good aggressive build, though the manabase gives me a headache.

I agree you could drop the erg raiders, except they're one of the beefiest 2cc with very little drawback. If you weren't running throat slitters, and skull snatchers, i'd say remove them entirely.. but that black early game is what lets you toss out a ninja to equip a shuriken to.

I would just cinch up the mana base so you know what to expect, other than that a fading, beefy, ninja deck seems like a good idea to me.

 

[TheCasualOblivion]

Erg Raiders can be removed, I've thought of replacing them with Riptide Mangler:

Riptide Mangler
1U
Creature-Beast
0/3
1U: Riptide Mangler's power becomes target creature's power.

It may look weaker on paper, but I like how it complicates things like the Basking Rootwalla does. Its main purpose is more to be a threat than actually deal damage, and I think it might do that better than Erg Raiders.

I haven't really had any serious mana problems yet. I could probably figure out a better mana situation, but what's there is optimal for the land I have. Skullsnatcher being a 2/1 bear and equipping Shuriken keeps him in the deck.

 

[Mikeymike]

I like Riptide Mangler a lot - a whole lot - but I'm not crazy about it in this particular build.

First, its taking mana away from Ninjitsu, or I should say Ninjitsu would takes its mana. It also adds up to the 2 mana you are trying to hold open for the Shuriken's

Second, the largest targetable you have in your deck is 2 5-power Ink Eyes. Now granted you can activate it off your opponents creatures as well, but I feel like you aren't going to be maximizing his effectiveness if you aren't going to be the one setting up a fat power for him (that doesn't sound right).

I do like the combat tricks he does though, I see your point there. Hmmm, give me a bit to think about this one...will look for a creature that does 'free' combat tricks.

 

[TheCasualOblivion]

Riptide Mangler's ability is an instant. You play it if it gets blocked, to kill stuff. Having a printed 0 power, it makes it tempting to not block. I'm considering it for the questions it forces my opponent to ask himself, the true point of this deck.

I don't worry about Ninjutsu costs, since I either play Ninjutsu and gate the Mangler, or it gets blocked and I can use its ability. There's no reason to need both. The shuriken is more of a before combat or instead of combat thing, and I don't expect it to matter much either. The Rootwalla works the same.