To the mods: The images posted are hosted on magiccards.info. This does not violate the image leeching rules for the forums. Thank you.
FaerieNinjaStill (hereafter FNS) is an interesting take on fish developed by me over a period of 6 months.
It has its root with an old extended deck, which used Ninjas + Ornithopter together to provide board control and card advantage. Starting with this concept, I realized that the mechanic of returning my creatures to my hand could be easily abused. Anything with a 'comes into play' 'enters the battlefield' effect would be awesome. Searching through recent cards, I stumbled upon Spellstutter Sprite and saw a very potent combination. Once I realized that one could Ninjutsu through Standstill, I found the final piece to the deck.
After much testing with this list, I realized that I was getting mana-screwed far too often and that I needed more ways to interact with the opponent. A friend of mine, Poppeleseed here on Salvation, suggested Daze. At first, I dismissed it out of hand (I need to hit my land drops to keep pressure on), but after some testing, I realized it was exactly what I needed.
One of the really nice things about FNS is that it's really easy to build cheaply relatively inexpensive. Here's an alternate take for those who cannot afford much:
Mutavault – It’s a Faerie when Spellstutter Sprite needs it to be. It’s also a Goblin and a Merfolk (Extremely relevant in today's metagame). Remember that it can tap to turn itself into a changeling.
Island – 15 of these is just about right; I’m testing with going back to 16. I never wanted Fetchlands here; the thinning just isn’t worth the vulnerability to Stifle and the loss of life.
Daze – Run 4 or 0 or go home. Boarded out on the draw, it will always catch opponents by surprise.
Force of Will – What blue deck doesn’t want to run 4 of these?
Standstill – This deck has many tricks, you will win your Standstill mirrors, period. Don't forget that you can Ninjutsu through a Standstill. Cloud of Faeries into Standstill on Turn 2 is one of the most powerful plays you can make.
Umezawa’s Jitte – I cannot stress enough how important this is. Almost all your creatures have evasion. Drawing multiples suck, I would never play less than two or more than three.
Ornithopter – Ninja enable extraordinaire. Also blocks [card="Goblin Lackey"]Lackey all day long, which is immensely helpful in the Goblins matchup. I'm down to three of these, now that we have Signal Pest.
Mistblade Shinobi – Why yes, I’d like to bounce your Phyrexian Dreadnought or your Tombstalker. This guy will slow down the opponent , remove random threats and make the opponent panic when you attack with an Ornithopter. You generally only get one hit out of these, they're very often boarded out.
Spellstutter Sprite – In this deck, I’ve gotten these to counter 6-drops. They also like to be returned to your hand with Ninjas.
Cloud of Faeries - Second best Faerie in the deck, these ‘free’ guys can also cycle through Standstill in a pinch.
Signal Pest - Formerly Zephyr Sprite, Signal Pest is significantly better. Often, you are attacking with 2-3 flyers, this guy gives them a clock, while also being evasive.
As for the sideboard, it’s pretty standard for this deck.
Annul is an underrated card that is blue’s answer to enchantments and artifacts. Stopping Engineered Plague and other problem cards for 1 mana is amazing.
Hydroblast is a goofy slot. I’ve used Echoing Truth here before; I’m not really sure what belongs here. I know I die to a lot of red spells (Pyroclasm, Fire/Ice), so I think this should be red hate.
Cards that didn't make the cut:
Aether Vial - Doesn't feel needed. So many of our creatures play through Standstill as is that it's barely needed. The ability to untap two lands with Cloud of Faeries or counter a spell (Spellstutter Sprite) would be nice, but the deck needs every threat it can land. More useful in the splashes.
Thalakos Seer - Shadow, a card drawn no matter how he dies, and major card advantage with Ninjutsu. It just ends up being really slow.
Saprazzan Heir - The opponent will almost never block this, making it a great candidate for Ninjutsu. Unfortunately, two mana on a 1/1 body makes it too weak.
Higure, the Still Wind – He's big, but way too often win-more. Still, I have won games with his help.
Matchups: Entomb Pox => 12-0-0 (100%)
- Me and a friend tested this one a lot. You put more permanents into play, can operate on two lands, and your Spellstutters deal with every threat they have. Relic in the board makes this cake.
Tempo Thresh => 2-10-0 (17%)
- This matchup hurts. They have Fire/Ice which two-for-ones you. They have Lightning Bolt, which kills every creature in the deck. And (in my friend's build), Grim Lavamancer. I can safely say that, if Grim hits the board, scoop. It'll save you time and effort. Even after board, you have a few Hydroblasts, they bring in Pyroblast and Firespout. The two games I managed to win were near-god hands and bad draws on my opponent's part.
I was playing against Burek, with Mono-Black control.
Game 1
I won the die roll (really helps this deck) and chose to go first.
I kept my opening hand (2x Island, 2x Spellstutter, 2x Jitte, Ornithopter)
I Spellstuttered his T2 Dark Ritual and his T3 Dark Ritual. I then dropped a Jitte and used it to kill his Dark Confidant. He dropped his own Jitte, killing mine. I dropped my second one the next turn, equipped, swung, and used it to kill a Nantuko Shade.
He drops his second Jitte (popular card). I play Mutavault, ninja in Higure, search for a NotDH and pass. He lays Tombstalker, but my Higure and unblockable friends drop him to 1. He checks his top card and we're on to game 2.
Game 2
I keep my 7 (2x Ornithopter, 2x Mothdust Changeling, Island, Standstill, NotDH)
He opens with Swamp, Thoughtseize (takes my Standstill) and says go.
I draw something irrelevant, go Island, Changling, Thopter, Thopter.
He drops Wasteland, Top, go.
I play another Changeling, go.
He drops a Dark Confidant.
I draw, play an Island, attack with everything. Ninja in a Deep Hours for Thopter, draw, replay the Thopter.
He drops a Jitte, equips it to Bob, hits me, says go.
I attack, he kills my Ninja with jitte counters, but I leave a Mothdust behind to block.
He attacks, I block, Bob dies, but he takes out all my attackers (leaving 2 Thopters)
He drops a Tombstalker. From there I just can't draw anything but land and he finishes me off.
Game 3
I keep a hand of 3x Island, Force of Will (first one I've seen in 3 games), Spellstutter Sprite, Cloud of Faeries, Standstill. This pretty close to a 'god' hand for this deck, and as you'll see, it just get sicker.
T1 is simply Island, Go.
His T1 is Swamp, Dark Ritual (which I Force, pitching Spellstutter).
T2 I draw another CoF (sick), drop an Island, 2x Cloud of Fey, Standstill.
He plays Thoughtseize, which breaks SS and draws me Island, Sprite, and NotDH. He takes Sprite (weird choice).
I draw another Cloud, drop it & Island, attack with Clouds, Ninja one for NotDH, draw my card (Shinobi) and pass
He goes Swamp, Dark Ritual, Dark Confidant, Nantuko Shade, Duress. (Damn) He gets nothing (only creatures in my hand)
I drop a land, play Cloud and Changeling, attack. He blocks the NotDH with Shade, I ninja in a Shinobi to bounce his confidant, then replay my Cloud and pass.
He drops a Wasteland (#2) and Confidant and passes.
I attack with everything, bounce his Confidant, drop a Thopter, and pass.
Wasteland #3 comes out and a Shade.
I attack with everything, he blocks the Shinobi with Shade (having only 2 black sources, he can't save it).
He then drops a Damnation, which hurts. I bin my creatures.
I drop a Standstill, reasoning that I have 4 Mutavaults, he has 4 Wastelands (of which he's seen three), and I can wait it out. Also, people tend to reflexively break SS without realizing that they can make me break it (I had fewer cards in library).
We play draw-go for 10 turns each. I hit one Mutavault (wasted) in all of that.
End of my turn, he does a Dark Ritual, breaks my Standstill. I drop Spellstutter (hand was at 9), then drop another (stupid mistake), then discard a daze. (Daze really didn't perform for me during these games).
He Damnations, which I have a Force for, then drops Tombstalker, Top, and Confidant (ouch).
My turn I drop Island, Thopter, Changeling, Jitte (equips), then swing all in. He blocks the jitted one, one of the counters goes to kill his confidant, and he's at 2.
His turn he drops Hyppie and wisely doesn't attack.
Mine I attack with Jitted Sprite, Thopter, and Changeling. He blocks the two fliers, and I have the NotDH to finish him off.
All in all, amazing games. Higure won me a game (which is awesome). I hope these illustrate how the deck's synergy can work.
However, I cannot afford FoW. So obviously I would be prepared to sacrifice that portion of this deck's competitiveness and build the deck anyways. What might you suggest in it's stead?
I'm thinking brainstorm would be prime here, as it is generally in any decks that utilize blue in this format. However, I also feel a second counter may be warranted instead. Obviously very little can replace FoW, but is there anything you might put in for a slightly more casual build (which would contain just about everything else).
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Piloting:
BW(G) Junkblade - Legacy
BW Vial Deadguy - Legacy
UWR Geist - Modern
UR(B) Delver - Modern
W(G) Death & Taxes - Modern
Oona, Queen of the Fae - EDH
In other news, crazy nitwits playing dress-up have also convicted the Hamburglar, the Cookie Crisp Crook, and the Frito Bandito of sundry snack-related thefts.
Seriously, what about this strikes you as remotely worthy of discussion?
However, I cannot afford FoW. So obviously I would be prepared to sacrifice that portion of this deck's competitiveness and build the deck anyways. What might you suggest in it's stead?
I'm thinking brainstorm would be prime here, as it is generally in any decks that utilize blue in this format.
I knew this would come up. Brainstorm is terrible here. You want to have as many threats as possible, due to them all being 1/1's. Not to mention that you'd have to start running fetches to make Brainstorm worth it. As Isamaru has explained before, Brainstorm does not belong in every blue deck.
Brainstorm doesn't really fit as well as it might look. The ninja gives you a more consistant card draw, and Standstill is a hosing for every deck (minus landstill, of course)
Writ of Passage might look jank, but it's absolute tech in this deck. "1U: Target creature you control is unblockable this turn" does beautiful things when combined with the Ninjas (or a critter wielding Jitte)
@Dissolution
Don't forget that Mutavault is also a goblin. Goblin King users, beware
I'm not sure if I really like Annul in the board, but I can't say for sure (as I've never tested this deck w/ sideboard). I might have to sleeve this up and bring it to thursday legacy. You know, for science
I would really, really like Aven Mimeomancer in this shell... A small splash should be manageable and he makes all creatures more aggressives, gives Ninjas Evasion and turns Goyfs or other fatties into tradeable Flyers.
I have a crazy list:
Mishra's can play around B2B, because an untapped Mishra can still trade every 3/3 and is not useless...
B2B is just gg in so many matchups... This list has a lack of faeries and cc-1 creatures... But it has still many many tricks and much carddraw.
I believe the deck has too much ninjustu outlets, but just a few ninjas to abuse, and barely few way to bounce'em back to another round, so stuck creatures out.
The deck shouldn't have more than 12 ninjustu outlets (4-of): Ornithopter, Zephyr Sprite and Spellstutter Sprite (M10 keeps taking me pants out, like on the other thread about this deck, guess i should record on my mind all cards).
Now a testing worth card: 2 Ronin Warclub, that will really improve the ninja's damage alongside their effects. Guess this then Jitte/Shuriken, what you guys think?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Now i lay you, down to rest, you'll never be more than second best" (Megadeth)
Only problem I have with this deck (which seems a lot like other fishbuilds I've seen) is even though you got all the cool tricks, you're still beating down with 1/1's and 2/2's. You really need to keep the entire opposing board cleared and that's harder then you make it seem, Speltutter Sprite is a very soft lock. Other then that it's a strong synergetic deck, it just kind of lacks a finishing move to me.
Jitte is MVP of this deck. Once it lands, if they don't have an answer, they lose.
Quote from Jak »
Vendilion Clique seems like a strong choice. Helps the faerie count, disruptive beater that has the cip ability, and has a nice evasive body.
If you're going for a 4-drop, try Higure. He's a game winner by himself.
Quote from Daemion »
I would really, really like Aven Mimeomancer in this shell... A small splash should be manageable and he makes all creatures more aggressives, gives Ninjas Evasion and turns Goyfs or other fatties into tradeable Flyers.
The only splash I have even considered is the green one, for Tarmogoyf and Krosan Grip in the board.
To everyone, this list has been up barely a day and I don't think there's been proper time to test it out. V3 has a lot of thought and playtesting behind it, I'd suggest trying it out before suggesting a dozen new cards / strategies.
but they reduce the provability to draw lands later...
lool i wrothe stifle in place of standstill xDDDDDDDD
roflmao, sorry
It's been common knowledge for sometime that the precentage it reduces it by is some where close to 0.01%, which is not even worth considering.
So in a format with Stifle, why would you risk the chance of having a fetch land stifled when you don't even have to run fetchlands in the first place?
I think that maybe creature/lands with evasion like Blinkmoth Nexus can be really useful, because I don't see how you get more creatures when Standstill is in play... You only can put intro play Ninjustu (and the number of creatures is still the same) or mutavault...
Keep in mind that you can attack with Mutavault, Ninjutsu it, and then replay it as your land for the turn. Blinkmoth Nexus isn't a bad idea, I just don't know if the fact that it's a 1/1 or the fact that it's not a Faerie hurts it more.
In other news, crazy nitwits playing dress-up have also convicted the Hamburglar, the Cookie Crisp Crook, and the Frito Bandito of sundry snack-related thefts.
Seriously, what about this strikes you as remotely worthy of discussion?
Yes but the deck has plenty of ninjutsu enablers. Mutavault lets you do tricks with the faeries which all happen to be ninjutsu enablers themselves.
That's the real relevant argument! The deck is plenty of enablers, why risk your mana base just to try to ninjutsu with a card that won't have evasion? i'd rather Wasteland on it, at least i slow them down while keeping my strategy, so a more reliable choice.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Now i lay you, down to rest, you'll never be more than second best" (Megadeth)
That's the real relevant argument! The deck is plenty of enablers, why risk your mana base just to try to ninjutsu with a card that won't have evasion? i'd rather Wasteland on it, at least i slow them down while keeping my strategy, so a more reliable choice.
While I agree with you on that, I'm just trying to keep in the argument on the posts above. They both have their upsides, and there both worth testing but I do personally think Mutavault is better if this is a matter of manlands. Mutavault allows for more disruption, it enables spellstrutter sprite to be able to counter alot more.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Thanks Mr.Stuff from High~Light Studios for the Sig
I think the real test right now is whether or not Writ of Passage is worth a slot, and if so, how many to run.
Also, if 15 islands works alright, versus 16. When I tested 14, it always felt to be too few, now with 16, sometimes I get flooded.
-T
3 Mutavault
4 Tropical Island
3 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
5 Island
Awsome deck! It has Goyf! And a necessary color, Green!
First, now we are full of fetch and duals, so wastelands and stifles no longer scares us.
You're right, Hierarch is far better then Ornithopter here, since when he goes unblocked, we can ninjutsu through him! 0 drop with Flying, MEH! It not even add mana! Without him we can't play Mistblade Shinobi for it's full cost on 2nd turn!
Also, we only need 1 card as first drop, we're filling with so many on that drop! Zephyr Sprite and Ornithopter, so bad cards! Who cares about playing ninjutsu on 2nd turn on an unblocked creature and recast it again for free? It's far better a card that can hit 3 mana on 2nd turn! That's the deck goal after all!
Another great add is Sower, then when we reach the 4th turn (if we hit all land drops, so we must stretch the mana base for something like 24 lands) we can steal their first turn Phyrexian Dreadnought, and not even get risky to take a single Daze for free, really nice!
Vial is key man! how nobody put that in? Sticking through Ninjustu, what for? We have vial, so we can go through Standstill without breaking it! Ninjutsu do that as well, but then you won't get style points!
Thx mate, really nice deck! Green seems a logical add to me, what about the rest of you guys? All cards seems a worth add: Goyf, Vial, Hierarch, Sower, Predator, fetchs and duals, isn't?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Now i lay you, down to rest, you'll never be more than second best" (Megadeth)
Awsome deck! It has Goyf! And a necessary color, Green!
First, now we are full of fetch and duals, so wastelands and stifles no longer scares us.
You're right, Hierarch is far better then Ornithopter here, since when he goes unblocked, we can ninjutsu through him! 0 drop with Flying, MEH! It not even add mana! Without him we can't play Mistblade Shinobi for it's full cost on 2nd turn!
Also, we only need 1 card as first drop, we're filling with so many on that drop! Zephyr Sprite and Ornithopter, so bad cards! Who cares about playing ninjutsu on 2nd turn on an unblocked creature and recast it again for free? It's far better a card that can hit 3 mana on 2nd turn! That's the deck goal after all!
Another great add is Sower, then when we reach the 4th turn (if we hit all land drops, so we must stretch the mana base for something like 24 lands) we can steal their first turn Phyrexian Dreadnought, and not even get risky to take a single Daze for free, really nice!
Vial is key man! how nobody put that in? Sticking through Ninjustu, what for? We have vial, so we can go through Standstill without breaking it! Ninjutsu do that as well, but then you won't get style points!
Thx mate, really nice deck! Green seems a logical add to me, what about the rest of you guys? All cards seems a worth add: Goyf, Vial, Hierarch, Sower, Predator, fetchs and duals, isn't?
This list is supposed to actually win, instead of dropping a bunch of sub-par ninjas, getting a combined 5 damage in there, and then losing because your only creatures are ornithopters.
Vial is amazing with Standstill. It lets you replay your creatures without breaking your own Standstill. Along with allowing the deck to do more cool stuff with spellstutter and cloud, but none of these are as important as running half-assed ninjas to stick to a theme.
Trygon and sower are just good in general. Goyf is huge, and is an actual win condition. Heirarch is in here because he is a good drop for a vial on one, he ends goyf stills, and he is immune to both stifle and wasteland when producing mana. Duals are in here because the deck is of two colors, and dual lands produce two colors. Fetchlands grab the aforementioned duals, or even basics if needed.
This list is supposed to actually win, instead of dropping a bunch of sub-par ninjas, getting a combined 5 damage in there, and then losing because your only creatures are ornithopters.
Mistblade Shinobi is hardly subpar, it gives your counters another chance to do their work, and resets of a lot of creatures that are 'cheated' in to play. And I don't see how your only creatures would be Ornithopers.
Vial is amazing with Standstill. It lets you replay your creatures without breaking your own Standstill. Along with allowing the deck to do more cool stuff with spellstutter and cloud, but none of these are as important as running half-assed ninjas to stick to a theme.
I tested Vial quite extensively, unfortunately, the deck has 4 zero-drops, 4 one-drops, 8 two-drops, 4 three-drops, and 4 four-drops. Not a great curve. I'd rather drop a Zephyr Sprite on Turn 1.
Trygon and sower are just good in general. Goyf is huge, and is an actual win condition. Heirarch is in here because he is a good drop for a vial on one, he ends goyf stills, and he is immune to both stifle and wasteland when producing mana. Duals are in here because the deck is of two colors, and dual lands produce two colors. Fetchlands grab the aforementioned duals, or even basics if needed.
All good reasons if you're running Thresh or UG CounterTop or Next-Level Blue or whatever you kids are calling it these days. Trygon is great, but I'd hate to Ninjutsu him to my hand and have to spend 3 mana to replay him. Hierarch has no evasion, and I need to attack with a lot of creatures every turn, not just one. Goyf, like I said above, might be worth a splash, but then again, what non-combo deck wouldn't have arguments for splashing Goyf?
Like in most ninja deck i think it was unanimous that jitte dosent work, when you ninjutsu wont it fall off the creature? Jitte is a godly equipment just donsent work with ninjas
Like in most Ninja decks, I think it was unanimous that Jitte doesn't work, when you Ninjutsu won't it fall off the creature? Jitte is a godly equipment just doesn't work with Ninjas
You are correct, if you attack with a creature equipped with Umezawa's Jitte, and then return it to your hand with Ninjutsu, it won't have done any damage, and thus no counters on Jitte.
The reason it's run is because you run a lot of 1/1 creatures, 12 of which have evasion, so you can rack up the counters on it and use them to finish off the opponent much more quickly. It's your answer to other weenie-swarm decks (Goblins, Merfolk) and it helps deal with other troubling creatures (Dark Confidant, Sower of Temptation).
-T
To the mods: The images posted are hosted on magiccards.info. This does not violate the image leeching rules for the forums. Thank you.
FaerieNinjaStill (hereafter FNS) is an interesting take on fish developed by me over a period of 6 months.
It has its root with an old extended deck, which used Ninjas + Ornithopter together to provide board control and card advantage. Starting with this concept, I realized that the mechanic of returning my creatures to my hand could be easily abused. Anything with a
'comes into play''enters the battlefield' effect would be awesome. Searching through recent cards, I stumbled upon Spellstutter Sprite and saw a very potent combination. Once I realized that one could Ninjutsu through Standstill, I found the final piece to the deck.4x Mishra’s Factory
14x Island
Spells
4x Familiar’s Ruse
4x Standstill
3x Umezawa’s Jitte
4x Ornithopter
4x Mistblade Shinobi
4x Ninja of the Deep Hours
4x Spellstutter Sprite
4x Cloud of Faeries
4x Mothdust Changeling
4x Thalakos Seer
1x Higure, the Still Wind
2x Writ of Passage
4x Mutavault
16x Island
Spells
4x Daze
4x Force of Will
4x Standstill
3x Umezawa’s Jitte
4x Ornithopter
4x Mistblade Shinobi
4x Ninja of the Deep Hours
4x Spellstutter Sprite
4x Cloud of Faeries
4x Mothdust Changeling
1x Higure, the Still wind
4x Mutavault
15x Island
Spells
4x Daze
4x Force of Will
4x Standstill
3x Umezawa’s Jitte
2x Writ of Passage
4x Ornithopter
4x Mistblade Shinobi
4x Ninja of the Deep Hours
4x Spellstutter Sprite
4x Cloud of Faeries
4x Mothdust Changeling
1x Umezawa’s Jitte
4x Pithing Needle
4x Annul
4x Relic of Progenitus
2x Hydroblast
4x Mutavault
15x Island
Spells
4x Daze
4x Force of Will
4x Standstill
3x Umezawa’s Jitte
2x Distortion Strike
4x Ornithopter
4x Mistblade Shinobi
4x Ninja of the Deep Hours
4x Spellstutter Sprite
4x Cloud of Faeries
4x Zephyr Sprite
4x Pithing Needle
4x Annul
4x Relic of Progenitus
3x Hydroblast
One of the really nice things about FNS is that it's
really easy to build cheaplyrelatively inexpensive. Here's an alternate take for those who cannot afford much:4x Mishra's Factory or Faerie Conclave
16x Island
Spells
4x Daze
4x Mental Misstep
4x Standstill or Ancestral Vision
Creatures
4x Signal Pest
4x Ornithopter
4x Mistblade Shinobi
4x Ninja of the Deep Hours
4x Spellstutter Sprite
4x Cloud of Faeries
4x Zephyr Sprite
4x Annul
4x Relic of Progenitus
4x Hydroblast
3x Boomerang
4x Mutavault
15x Island
Spells
4x Daze
4x Mental Misstep
4x Force of Will
4x Standstill
2x Umezawa’s Jitte
1x Sword of Fire and Ice
3x Ornithopter
3x Mistblade Shinobi
4x Ninja of the Deep Hours
4x Spellstutter Sprite
4x Cloud of Faeries
4x Signal Pest
4x Pithing Needle
4x Annul
4x Hydroblast
3x Surgical Extraction
Card Explanations:
White - Stoneforge Mystic is the main reason. Possibly Swords or Path. Aven Mimeomancer is cute, but ultimately useless. Run Distortion Strike if you want a power boost.
Black - Duress? Dark Confidant hurts too much with 3 and 4 drops.
Red - Fire/Ice and Lightning Bolt seem like they would help, but more creatures are usually a better option.
Green - Goyf, period. Just as merfolk splashes him, I can see a place here. Also, Nature's Claim or Krosan Grip in the board.
Tech Manager at MTGOSS <- I make MTGO bots!
Entomb Pox => 12-0-0 (100%)
- Me and a friend tested this one a lot. You put more permanents into play, can operate on two lands, and your Spellstutters deal with every threat they have. Relic in the board makes this cake.
Tempo Thresh => 2-10-0 (17%)
- This matchup hurts. They have Fire/Ice which two-for-ones you. They have Lightning Bolt, which kills every creature in the deck. And (in my friend's build), Grim Lavamancer. I can safely say that, if Grim hits the board, scoop. It'll save you time and effort. Even after board, you have a few Hydroblasts, they bring in Pyroblast and Firespout. The two games I managed to win were near-god hands and bad draws on my opponent's part.
More matchups to follow as I record them.
Tech Manager at MTGOSS <- I make MTGO bots!
I was playing against Burek, with Mono-Black control.
Game 1
I won the die roll (really helps this deck) and chose to go first.
I kept my opening hand (2x Island, 2x Spellstutter, 2x Jitte, Ornithopter)
I Spellstuttered his T2 Dark Ritual and his T3 Dark Ritual. I then dropped a Jitte and used it to kill his Dark Confidant. He dropped his own Jitte, killing mine. I dropped my second one the next turn, equipped, swung, and used it to kill a Nantuko Shade.
He drops his second Jitte (popular card). I play Mutavault, ninja in Higure, search for a NotDH and pass. He lays Tombstalker, but my Higure and unblockable friends drop him to 1. He checks his top card and we're on to game 2.
Game 2
I keep my 7 (2x Ornithopter, 2x Mothdust Changeling, Island, Standstill, NotDH)
He opens with Swamp, Thoughtseize (takes my Standstill) and says go.
I draw something irrelevant, go Island, Changling, Thopter, Thopter.
He drops Wasteland, Top, go.
I play another Changeling, go.
He drops a Dark Confidant.
I draw, play an Island, attack with everything. Ninja in a Deep Hours for Thopter, draw, replay the Thopter.
He drops a Jitte, equips it to Bob, hits me, says go.
I attack, he kills my Ninja with jitte counters, but I leave a Mothdust behind to block.
He attacks, I block, Bob dies, but he takes out all my attackers (leaving 2 Thopters)
He drops a Tombstalker. From there I just can't draw anything but land and he finishes me off.
Game 3
I keep a hand of 3x Island, Force of Will (first one I've seen in 3 games), Spellstutter Sprite, Cloud of Faeries, Standstill. This pretty close to a 'god' hand for this deck, and as you'll see, it just get sicker.
T1 is simply Island, Go.
His T1 is Swamp, Dark Ritual (which I Force, pitching Spellstutter).
T2 I draw another CoF (sick), drop an Island, 2x Cloud of Fey, Standstill.
He plays Thoughtseize, which breaks SS and draws me Island, Sprite, and NotDH. He takes Sprite (weird choice).
I draw another Cloud, drop it & Island, attack with Clouds, Ninja one for NotDH, draw my card (Shinobi) and pass
He goes Swamp, Dark Ritual, Dark Confidant, Nantuko Shade, Duress. (Damn) He gets nothing (only creatures in my hand)
I drop a land, play Cloud and Changeling, attack. He blocks the NotDH with Shade, I ninja in a Shinobi to bounce his confidant, then replay my Cloud and pass.
He drops a Wasteland (#2) and Confidant and passes.
I attack with everything, bounce his Confidant, drop a Thopter, and pass.
Wasteland #3 comes out and a Shade.
I attack with everything, he blocks the Shinobi with Shade (having only 2 black sources, he can't save it).
He then drops a Damnation, which hurts. I bin my creatures.
I drop a Standstill, reasoning that I have 4 Mutavaults, he has 4 Wastelands (of which he's seen three), and I can wait it out. Also, people tend to reflexively break SS without realizing that they can make me break it (I had fewer cards in library).
We play draw-go for 10 turns each. I hit one Mutavault (wasted) in all of that.
End of my turn, he does a Dark Ritual, breaks my Standstill. I drop Spellstutter (hand was at 9), then drop another (stupid mistake), then discard a daze. (Daze really didn't perform for me during these games).
He Damnations, which I have a Force for, then drops Tombstalker, Top, and Confidant (ouch).
My turn I drop Island, Thopter, Changeling, Jitte (equips), then swing all in. He blocks the jitted one, one of the counters goes to kill his confidant, and he's at 2.
His turn he drops Hyppie and wisely doesn't attack.
Mine I attack with Jitted Sprite, Thopter, and Changeling. He blocks the two fliers, and I have the NotDH to finish him off.
All in all, amazing games. Higure won me a game (which is awesome). I hope these illustrate how the deck's synergy can work.
Tech Manager at MTGOSS <- I make MTGO bots!
However, I cannot afford FoW. So obviously I would be prepared to sacrifice that portion of this deck's competitiveness and build the deck anyways. What might you suggest in it's stead?
I'm thinking brainstorm would be prime here, as it is generally in any decks that utilize blue in this format. However, I also feel a second counter may be warranted instead. Obviously very little can replace FoW, but is there anything you might put in for a slightly more casual build (which would contain just about everything else).
BW(G) Junkblade - Legacy
BW Vial Deadguy - Legacy
UWR Geist - Modern
UR(B) Delver - Modern
W(G) Death & Taxes - Modern
Oona, Queen of the Fae - EDH
I used to use Familiar's Ruse instead. It's jank as hell, but works with the theme and does silly things with Spellstutter Sprite.
I knew this would come up. Brainstorm is terrible here. You want to have as many threats as possible, due to them all being 1/1's. Not to mention that you'd have to start running fetches to make Brainstorm worth it. As Isamaru has explained before, Brainstorm does not belong in every blue deck.
Tech Manager at MTGOSS <- I make MTGO bots!
Brainstorm doesn't really fit as well as it might look. The ninja gives you a more consistant card draw, and Standstill is a hosing for every deck (minus landstill, of course)
Writ of Passage might look jank, but it's absolute tech in this deck. "1U: Target creature you control is unblockable this turn" does beautiful things when combined with the Ninjas (or a critter wielding Jitte)
@Dissolution
Don't forget that Mutavault is also a goblin. Goblin King users, beware
I'm not sure if I really like Annul in the board, but I can't say for sure (as I've never tested this deck w/ sideboard). I might have to sleeve this up and bring it to thursday legacy. You know, for science
And, once again, Congrats on top 8.
-Jon Poppele
Have any questions or concerns? Come take a dip in my pool.
I have a crazy list:
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Flooded Strand
10 Island
3 Plains
4 Ornithopter
4 Spellstutter Sprite
4 Thalakos Seer
4 Mistblade Shinobi
4 Aven Mimeomancer
4 Ninja of the Deep Hours
4 Aether Vial
enchantment
4 Standstill
3 Back to Basics
instant
4 Force of Will
Mishra's can play around B2B, because an untapped Mishra can still trade every 3/3 and is not useless...
B2B is just gg in so many matchups... This list has a lack of faeries and cc-1 creatures... But it has still many many tricks and much carddraw.
The deck shouldn't have more than 12 ninjustu outlets (4-of): Ornithopter, Zephyr Sprite and Spellstutter Sprite (M10 keeps taking me pants out, like on the other thread about this deck, guess i should record on my mind all cards).
And 12 Ninjas: 04 Ninja of the Deep Hour, 04 Mistblade Shinobi (vs aggro decks), 03 Walker of Secret Ways (knowing what to counter, boucing a ninja back to sneak it again, saving a ninja from removal in your turn. These are key usages of this card) and a singleton Higure, the Still Wind.
+ the counter core: 04 Daze, 04 Force of Will, 04 Standstill, 02 Stifle and 02 Spell Snare.
Now a testing worth card: 2 Ronin Warclub, that will really improve the ninja's damage alongside their effects. Guess this then Jitte/Shuriken, what you guys think?
Jitte is MVP of this deck. Once it lands, if they don't have an answer, they lose.
If you're going for a 4-drop, try Higure. He's a game winner by himself.
The only splash I have even considered is the green one, for Tarmogoyf and Krosan Grip in the board.
To everyone, this list has been up barely a day and I don't think there's been proper time to test it out. V3 has a lot of thought and playtesting behind it, I'd suggest trying it out before suggesting a dozen new cards / strategies.
-T
Tech Manager at MTGOSS <- I make MTGO bots!
It's been common knowledge for sometime that the precentage it reduces it by is some where close to 0.01%, which is not even worth considering.
So in a format with Stifle, why would you risk the chance of having a fetch land stifled when you don't even have to run fetchlands in the first place?
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane Studios for the amazing sig.
NO RUG: Primer
Tempo Thresh: Primer
Keep in mind that you can attack with Mutavault, Ninjutsu it, and then replay it as your land for the turn.
Blinkmoth Nexus isn't a bad idea, I just don't know if the fact that it's a 1/1 or the fact that it's not a Faerie hurts it more.
-T
Tech Manager at MTGOSS <- I make MTGO bots!
BW(G) Junkblade - Legacy
BW Vial Deadguy - Legacy
UWR Geist - Modern
UR(B) Delver - Modern
W(G) Death & Taxes - Modern
Oona, Queen of the Fae - EDH
Yes but the deck has plenty of ninjutsu enablers. Mutavault lets you do tricks with the faeries which all happen to be ninjutsu enablers themselves.
Currently Playing
WUBG Ravanger Affinity
WWWTheMightyQuinn
That's the real relevant argument! The deck is plenty of enablers, why risk your mana base just to try to ninjutsu with a card that won't have evasion? i'd rather Wasteland on it, at least i slow them down while keeping my strategy, so a more reliable choice.
While I agree with you on that, I'm just trying to keep in the argument on the posts above. They both have their upsides, and there both worth testing but I do personally think Mutavault is better if this is a matter of manlands. Mutavault allows for more disruption, it enables spellstrutter sprite to be able to counter alot more.
Currently Playing
WUBG Ravanger Affinity
WWWTheMightyQuinn
Also, if 15 islands works alright, versus 16. When I tested 14, it always felt to be too few, now with 16, sometimes I get flooded.
-T
Tech Manager at MTGOSS <- I make MTGO bots!
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Cloud of Faeries
3 Spellstutter Sprite
3 Ninja of the Deep Hours
3 Noble Heirarch
2 Sower of Temptation
2 Trygon Predator
4 Aether Vial
4 Standstill
4 FOW
4 Daze
4 Brainstorm
2 Jitte
3 Mutavault
4 Tropical Island
3 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
5 Island
Awsome deck! It has Goyf! And a necessary color, Green!
First, now we are full of fetch and duals, so wastelands and stifles no longer scares us.
You're right, Hierarch is far better then Ornithopter here, since when he goes unblocked, we can ninjutsu through him! 0 drop with Flying, MEH! It not even add mana! Without him we can't play Mistblade Shinobi for it's full cost on 2nd turn!
Also, we only need 1 card as first drop, we're filling with so many on that drop! Zephyr Sprite and Ornithopter, so bad cards! Who cares about playing ninjutsu on 2nd turn on an unblocked creature and recast it again for free? It's far better a card that can hit 3 mana on 2nd turn! That's the deck goal after all!
Another great add is Sower, then when we reach the 4th turn (if we hit all land drops, so we must stretch the mana base for something like 24 lands) we can steal their first turn Phyrexian Dreadnought, and not even get risky to take a single Daze for free, really nice!
Vial is key man! how nobody put that in? Sticking through Ninjustu, what for? We have vial, so we can go through Standstill without breaking it! Ninjutsu do that as well, but then you won't get style points!
Thx mate, really nice deck! Green seems a logical add to me, what about the rest of you guys? All cards seems a worth add: Goyf, Vial, Hierarch, Sower, Predator, fetchs and duals, isn't?
This list is supposed to actually win, instead of dropping a bunch of sub-par ninjas, getting a combined 5 damage in there, and then losing because your only creatures are ornithopters.
Vial is amazing with Standstill. It lets you replay your creatures without breaking your own Standstill. Along with allowing the deck to do more cool stuff with spellstutter and cloud, but none of these are as important as running half-assed ninjas to stick to a theme.
Trygon and sower are just good in general. Goyf is huge, and is an actual win condition. Heirarch is in here because he is a good drop for a vial on one, he ends goyf stills, and he is immune to both stifle and wasteland when producing mana. Duals are in here because the deck is of two colors, and dual lands produce two colors. Fetchlands grab the aforementioned duals, or even basics if needed.
Hopefully those explainations have been useful.
This is a completely different deck than FNS. You overlap by 31 cards (included blue staples such as Force and Daze and islands).
While I don't agree with Halted Asylum's tone, he has a point: you've just changed the entire point of the deck.
Mistblade Shinobi is hardly subpar, it gives your counters another chance to do their work, and resets of a lot of creatures that are 'cheated' in to play. And I don't see how your only creatures would be Ornithopers.
I tested Vial quite extensively, unfortunately, the deck has 4 zero-drops, 4 one-drops, 8 two-drops, 4 three-drops, and 4 four-drops. Not a great curve. I'd rather drop a Zephyr Sprite on Turn 1.
All good reasons if you're running Thresh or UG CounterTop or Next-Level Blue or whatever you kids are calling it these days. Trygon is great, but I'd hate to Ninjutsu him to my hand and have to spend 3 mana to replay him. Hierarch has no evasion, and I need to attack with a lot of creatures every turn, not just one. Goyf, like I said above, might be worth a splash, but then again, what non-combo deck wouldn't have arguments for splashing Goyf?
-T
Tech Manager at MTGOSS <- I make MTGO bots!
You are correct, if you attack with a creature equipped with Umezawa's Jitte, and then return it to your hand with Ninjutsu, it won't have done any damage, and thus no counters on Jitte.
The reason it's run is because you run a lot of 1/1 creatures, 12 of which have evasion, so you can rack up the counters on it and use them to finish off the opponent much more quickly. It's your answer to other weenie-swarm decks (Goblins, Merfolk) and it helps deal with other troubling creatures (Dark Confidant, Sower of Temptation).
-T
Tech Manager at MTGOSS <- I make MTGO bots!
Vendilion Clique is a 3 drop.
Sorry, was thinking of Mistbind Clique.
-T
Tech Manager at MTGOSS <- I make MTGO bots!