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Welcome back!
Today we've got some Ninjas! One of my favorite parts of making lists of creatures is finding out all the facts about them. For example, the fact that there are only 47 Ninjas in the game, 22 of them came from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, eight of them came from Betrayers of Kamigawa, and eight of them came from Modern Horizons. That makes up 38 of the existing Ninjas, with the remaining nine coming from various other sets like Commander, Planechase, and the occasional Standard set. An interesting set note is that Ninjas were only present in Betrayers of Kamigawa, and not Champions or Saviors of Kamigawa.
Another interesting thing to note is that every Ninja is Sultai colored - Blue, Black, or Green - with the exception of a single, White Ninja: Blade-Blizzard Kitsune. Magic's Ninja inventory also includes two Ninja Turtles in the form of Kappa Tech-Wrecker and Taeko, the Patient Avalanche.
Let's begin!
Biting-Palm Ninja
Biting-Palm has been a big force in Pioneer, and before that, it was very popular in Standard as well. A 3/3 for three mana with menace is a great deal, but slapping a Thoughtseize onto it when it deals combat damage makes it a pretty formidable creature. I just really like ninjutsu as a mechanic. It feels really well-designed in that it takes some set up, it allows bluffing, it lets you return creatures to your hand if needed, and it helps you to get specific creatures in unblocked.
Dokuchi Silencer
This is basically the two-mana version of Biting-Palm Ninja with a two-mana ninjutsu ability on a 2/1 instead of a three-mana ability on a 3/3. That said, you don't have to remove any counters, but you do have to discard a creature card, but by doing so, you're basically turning that creature card into a removal spell that can kill any opposing creature or planeswalker, which is pretty strong. If needed, that also makes the Silencer a discard outlet for any sort of reanimating strategies.
Fallen Shinobi
Fallen Shinobi has been one of my absolute favorite creatures ever since it was printed in Modern Horizons. I've been perpetually disappointed that the card never found a true home in Modern, but I'll always be glad to ninjutsu it into play in Vintage Cube. And when you consider the types of spells you really want to be casting for free, it makes sense that it would find a home in the more powerful formats. It's not terribly exciting to be hitting something like an Azusa, Lost but Seeking in Modern if you're not even playing an Amulet deck, but hitting something like an Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or a Time Walk in Vintage Cube? Chef's kiss.
Higure, the Still Wind
Higure has earned his place on the list because of his inclusion in Standard Ninja and Simic Aggro decks back in 2006 that took advantage of attacking with creatures like Birds of Paradise or Erayo, Soratami Ascendant to get cards like Higure or Ninja of the Deep Hours into play and take advantage of their abilities. In Higure's case, his ability allows you both search for a free Ninja or make a Ninja unable to be blocked. Both of which are great if you've got a deck full of Ninjas.
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
Oooh, Ink-Eyes. What a cool Rat Ninja. As far as I can tell, Ink-Eyes doesn't see much play in any format really, Commander or non Commander, but she was a powerhouse back in the day, and still hovers above $10 in price right now. Back in 2005 and 2006, Ink-Eyes was in nearly every deck that could support her including top tier decks like Solar Flare, Demonfire, the Japanese Structure and Force deck, Greater Gifts, Viridian Rats, and Death Cloud. Even the Hand in Hand archetype had some versions with Ink-Eyes in the sideboard. And if you don't know some of these decklists, I highly recommend you Google them, as they're a beautiful part of Magic's history.
Ninja of the Deep Hours
Ninja of the Deep Hours might be the most played and well-known Ninja on this list. It saw play in any deck that could ninjutsu it into play, and not just in Ninja-based decks either. Doing its best Ophidian impersonation made it highly desirable in any deck that wanted to draw cards, or even any deck that just wanted a way to return its creatures to its hand in order to reap the benefits of recasting them, such as cards like Faerie Miscreant or Spellstutter Sprite.
Sakashima's Student
This dude is like $30! That's crazy for a clone, but it's only been printed three times, in small amounts, and while this has a mana value of four, you're often trying to cast it for its ninjutsu cost of two mana. Two-mana clones are pretty rare but almost always super popular, with the other notable one being Phantasmal Image, and the Student isn't nearly as sensitive as the finicky Illusion. Unfortunately, since the Student was only released in Planechase 2012, the Planechase Anthology, and as a The List card, it's only legal in Legacy and Commander, and you can probably guess which of those formats is responsible for its price tag.
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
I remember the days when Yuriko was a $20 card. That was before she had something like 11 different printings. She's been a Legacy roleplayer as a Ninja Dark Confidant for as long as I can remember, though, facilitating the Ninja deck in the format that includes such hits as Ingenious Infiltrator and Changeling Outcast. The latter is both unblockable on its own, is a Ninja on its own, and is also great for ninjutsu. Now the deck also plays cards like Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student and Psychic Frog. Anything to trigger Yuriko.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll catch ya next time!
Frank Lepore
