When Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow was revealed, I completely adored the card immediately. I've been itching to get back into Legacy, and while it may not be a card that can survive the format- I am certainly going to give it a try. This list is "budget", and by "budget" I mean that I cannot afford Underground Sea. While It sucks that I am poor, I will happily run Watery Grave in it's place until I can perhaps afford an upgrade or two.
I'll explain a couple of the things I noticed in play testing, and playing a couple games with proxies.
Creatures!
Baleful Strix - 4
This card is amazing. People are not likely to block it, (especially early) which means dropping this turn two with a Yuriko in hand, nearly guarantees that'll you trigger Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow. While also returning Baleful Strix to your hand. That's free damage, and an extra draw.
Ninja of the Deep Hour - 2
This is quite strong, I am even tempted to somehow move up to three. They're not legendary, and they obviously trigger Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow while also drawing an extra card. They have a CMC = 4, which means that you can also throw it on top of your deck with Brainstorm / Ponder, and hit your opponent for four with a Yuriko trigger, while realistically only costing two to put into play.
Snapcaster Mage - 2
I'm actually not quite sure about this in the build. It can be strong, as an example, before damage with an attacking Yuriko, you can Brainstorm to provide your top deck with further damage. Though with a low count of worthwhile instant targets, I think it loses a lot of the value it holds in other decks. I often find myself casting it on turn two, (opponents turn) and hoping it can swing in on turn three to bring out either Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow or Ninja of the Deep Hour.
Spellstutter Sprite - 4
Another amazing card. Just like Baleful Strix, if I could add more, I would. You're always putting this out on turn two (if available) and bouncing it back with a Ninjutsu trigger the next turn.
Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive - 1
I'm on the edge with this card. She is amazing at getting Yuriko through, giving Baleful Strix, and other P/T 1 creatures in the build a little extra evasion. Though I may over think people blocking. At the same time T2 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive, T3 Swing, Brainstorm(put something big on top), Yuriko Ninjutsu (Damage, Draw) T4 Tetsuko, making Yuriko unblockable-- that can be fun while also pumping up the card advantage.
Vendilion Clique - 2
I don't really thinkn I need to explain this one. Fairy, Draw, Evasion? While It does cost three, It's never a bad idea to bounce it to a ninjutsu.
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow - 3
This card is amazing. I don't really need to explain it. The only reason I don't run four, is that she's Legendary. I may end up changing this.
Force of Will - 4
"Free" counter spell that can hit the opponent for five damage with Yuriko's trigger. Good old damage. Gotta love it.
Misdirection - 2
"Free" protection spell that can hit the opponent for five damage with Yuriko's trigger. I might bump the count up to three. I'm not really sure. Once more: Good old damage. Gotta love it.
Murderous Cut - 2
Helps Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow get some damage in. While also hitting the opponent for five with her trigger. It's somewhat easy to cast since you have so many cantrips, and fetches. This might be moved down to 1, I'm not sure. Two can be a bit clunky, but it's so nice to always have one to toss on top of the deck.
Sorceries!
Ponder - 4
We have only one, but it's a good one. Ponder helps shuffle, and stack the deck with damage. While also getting our lands early.
Enchantment!
Bitterblossom - 2
Eh. It's alright. I don't want to remove it- I wish it allowed me to attack on turn three when I play it on turn two. That's all. It's amazing when you're stuck on the fairy plan.
Land!
I'll only explain the one important one.
Mutavault - 3
This card is amazing. It's not only a fairy, it can be a ninja for Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow tigger's. Amazing!
Hey, thanks so much for the write up! Love the build and have been tinkering with Yuriko ever since she was spoiled. A few comments on your list. I think you are on the right track with the 1 of Tetsuo. It acts as a nice flex slot while also help getting in that unlockable damage from Yuriko and snapcaster. Another card you might want to consider that the standstill version was playing is Cloud of Faeries as it both turns on spellstutter sprite and is a flier herself. Maybe even add in the 1 of Umezawa's Jitte as playing cloud of faeries into Jitte on turn 2 is quite gross. Cards I'm unsure of snapcaster, bitterblossom, and ponder.
I think you definitely want 4 mutavault as well as maybe going up to 3 or even 4 ninja of the deep hour since drawing a card and getting a trigger for Yuriko is nice. Also, have you tried the build with Standstill yet? I think it could be really powerful but it might be too slow.
Other than that, I think the list looks really cool and I look forward to hearing about it and trying it out for myself. Thanks!
Hey, thanks so much for the write up! Love the build and have been tinkering with Yuriko ever since she was spoiled. A few comments on your list. I think you are on the right track with the 1 of Tetsuo. It acts as a nice flex slot while also help getting in that unlockable damage from Yuriko and snapcaster. Another card you might want to consider that the standstill version was playing is Cloud of Faeries as it both turns on spellstutter sprite and is a flier herself. Maybe even add in the 1 of Umezawa's Jitte as playing cloud of faeries into Jitte on turn 2 is quite gross. Cards I'm unsure of snapcaster, bitterblossom, and ponder.
I think you definitely want 4 mutavault as well as maybe going up to 3 or even 4 ninja of the deep hour since drawing a card and getting a trigger for Yuriko is nice. Also, have you tried the build with Standstill yet? I think it could be really powerful but it might be too slow.
Other than that, I think the list looks really cool and I look forward to hearing about it and trying it out for myself. Thanks!
Hey! Thanks for the reply.
You're right, Cloud of Faeries sounds pretty amazing. I'm not quite sure how I missed that card during my build. How many would you recommend? I'd almost think you'd want four, and replace the questionable Snapcaster Mage, and bringing the questionable Bitterblossom with it. It's really nice that you can cast it turn two, while also holding up a Spellstutter Sprite.
Cloud of Faeries is also definitely worthwhile bouncing back to your hand, and has evasion as opposed to Snapcaster Mage. I'd say 3/4 are definitely wanted. Perhaps as you mentioned a very worthy inclusion of Umezawa's Jitte. (It also has flavour with Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive, and this deck is all about flavour)
I have been noticing a trend where I draw double Mutavault hand (and need to mulligan immediately), It could be bad luck- but I'm comfortable with keeping it at three for the time being. I will likely end up testing four eventually.
I'm not quite sold on Standstill, It's a great card, though I am worried it could end up slowing down the deck. The other problem is figuring out a cut. It's possible you'd cut the Ponder. It's definitely worthwhile testing, perhaps when I play in a locals on Wednesday I'll test it out through the sideboard. Swapping the Ponder and Standstill between each game. I'll have to auto forfeit those games(Yuriko Proxy), but my opponents will still play it out and let me test my deck. (They really want me to come back to Legacy)
I'm here thanks to unity, with just one suggestion right now. Why aren't you running a card like Gurmag Angler? That card flipped off of Yuriko can be a DEVASTATING blow to your opponent.
I'm here thanks to unity, with just one suggestion right now. Why aren't you running a card like Gurmag Angler? That card flipped off of Yuriko can be a DEVASTATING blow to your opponent.
I was using Gurmag Angler in my original build. One of the reasons It was removed, is that it quickly became a card that was simply in the deck to deal damage with Yuriko. More often than not, I couldn't actually cast it- and when I had the ability to I was already winning, or had won.
This deck is consistently dealing about (When Yuriko is damaging turn 3);
T3: 2~6 Damage
T4: 3~6 Damage
T5: 9~16 Damage
While a couple damage can be the difference between a game won, and a game lost, I didn't see Gurmag as actually worthwhile in the deck. I wanted a card that either had an ETB trigger, or the ability to progress the top deck further. I may end up testing one or two in the future, since a deck is never truly ever perfect. Though right now, my experience is that the card was simply dead outside of Yuriko's Trigger.
The numbers below reflect changes made in suggestions by Unity24.
3 Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow (3) Damage
2 Vendilion Clique (3) Damage
= 4 Cards that deal (3) Damage (Realistically, since 1 Yuriko will be on the field to trigger the effect.)
Edit; It's also not a fairy or a ninja, it doesn't work well with either of the other themes. (Helping counter with spellstutter, or triggering Yuriko)
My sideboard is still a work in process. I'm still not quite sure what else I'd need.
Round 1: Burn -- Match:(2 - 1) Record: (1 - 0)
I've discovered that my matchup against burn is quite decent. I've only ever lost a single match against burn thus far, and won about eight matches. The Mausoleum Wanderer,Judge's Familiar and counter spells tend to cause their count to always be a little bit off.
Round 2: Elves -- Match: (2 - 1) Record: (2 - 0)
While my Judge's Familiar, and Mausoleum Wanderer weren't that strong, they still allowed turn two ninjutsu. Spellstutter Sprite, and other counter effects were strong. We always seemed pretty equal in terms of creatures on board. So long as I kept a counter spell in hand, I was always managing to stay ahead. The one game that I lost, I forgot I had a wanderer on field when he used Natural Order. He was hoping I'd forget about it, which I did. Otherwise, I was 2 - 0.
Round 3: Burn -- Match: (1 - 2) Record: (2 - 1)
This is the loss I took against burn, my first loss. Game one was strictly his way, game two went strictly mine. While game three was extremely close. I was down to about six life, and sadly got double fire blasted while I had a Umezawa's Jitte, True-Name Nemesis, and 2 Baleful Strix on board. My attack that turn was lethal, he took the chance and was right- I didn't have a counter.
Round 4: Prison -- Match: (0 - 2) Record: (2 - 2)
This one was rough. I lost game one to a turn one Blood Moon(They went first), with all fetches in hand. Game two, was roughly the same. I managed to get my one island out, and the rest were fetches and didn't draw into another basic. It was rough. It didn't help that he managed to Chalice of the Void on 1, and Chalice of the Void on two right after Blood Moon.
Gurmag Angler is still questionable. I'm really not happy with it. It works really well with Delver decks, but this deck doesn't seem to produce the graveyard that those Delver decks can. It's also not something you can usually return to your hand with Ninjutsu. The deck needs more cards that can either be Ninja'd, or counters. I'm tempted to put Misdirection back into the deck in Gurmag's place. Misdirection is a really strong card game one. It's unexpected, and very easily switched out for better cards during sideboarding. This fact makes me more comfortable, since sideboarding is really hard.
It is possible that if you added wraith cycling and a couple of death's shadow you could even hybridise your idea with ub Death's shadow? That would make it easy to cast Angler, and give a reason to use watery graves. You may end up with a worse DS build on the surface, but you may end up with one that does not keel over to chalice and one that has plenty of high cc cards you need for insta damage, whilst enabling you to play the Ninitsu cards you want. DS is not midrange, your list is, but Ninjitsu sort of synergises with reanimated street wraiths getting bounced and recycled when DS is down. Looking at the list you have lots of midrange elements which is why your bin won't fill quickly- Jitte hardcast for example take some doing, TNN is midrange too,some DS style action might make the deck explosive for t3/4 wins. The midrange cards like Jitte seem to antagonise the fill the bin for Angler plan.
If you don't then I would suggest like many midrange decks in the format, the t2/3 comhbo decks will be hard to control with counters and no discard, and right now Leyline of the Void is where you want to be board wise.
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It is possible that if you added wraith cycling and a couple of death's shadow you could even hybridise your idea with ub Death's shadow? That would make it easy to cast Angler, and give a reason to use watery graves. You may end up with a worse DS build on the surface, but you may end up with one that does not keel over to chalice and one that has plenty of high cc cards you need for insta damage, whilst enabling you to play the Ninitsu cards you want. DS is not midrange, your list is, but Ninjitsu sort of synergises with reanimated street wraiths getting bounced and recycled when DS is down. Looking at the list you have lots of midrange elements which is why your bin won't fill quickly- Jitte hardcast for example take some doing, TNN is midrange too,some DS style action might make the deck explosive for t3/4 wins. The midrange cards like Jitte seem to antagonise the fill the bin for Angler plan.
If you don't then I would suggest like many midrange decks in the format, the t2/3 comhbo decks will be hard to control with counters and no discard, and right now Leyline of the Void is where you want to be board wise.
I actually have a near perfect record against sneak and show thankfully, due to my Judge's Familiar effects and my Sakashima's Student. I won a game by putting Baleful Strix into play with his Show and Tell, attacking, (he didn't block) and then Ninjutsu in Sakashima's Student copying the Emrakul, the Aeons Torn he put into play. While I didn't have the annihilate trigger, I still hit him for lethal with the 15/15 student. I also ended up winning one of the games with four Mausoleum Wanderer in play. He'd try to bait me with his cantrips, and couldn't even cast anything.
I'm not quite sure about my matchup against Reanimator though.
I had considered the Death's Shadow build, but it's not really that great combined with Ninja. You want to be able to cast a creature turn one, to assure that you get a turn two Ninjutsu trigger. Death's shadow can't really be played turn one. I do like the suggestion though, since I had actually considered it at one point. (Since I can't afford Underground Sea)
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4 Baleful Strix
2 Ninja of the Deep Hour
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Spellstutter Sprite
1 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
2 Vendilion Clique
3 Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow
4 Brainstorm
4 Fatal Push
4 Force of Will
2 Misdirection
2 Murderous Cut
Sorcery: 4
4 Ponder
2 Bitterblossom
Land: 20
4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
3 Watery Grave
3 Mutavault
4 Island
2 Swamp
I'll explain a couple of the things I noticed in play testing, and playing a couple games with proxies.
Creatures!
Baleful Strix - 4
This card is amazing. People are not likely to block it, (especially early) which means dropping this turn two with a Yuriko in hand, nearly guarantees that'll you trigger Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow. While also returning Baleful Strix to your hand. That's free damage, and an extra draw.
Ninja of the Deep Hour - 2
This is quite strong, I am even tempted to somehow move up to three. They're not legendary, and they obviously trigger Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow while also drawing an extra card. They have a CMC = 4, which means that you can also throw it on top of your deck with Brainstorm / Ponder, and hit your opponent for four with a Yuriko trigger, while realistically only costing two to put into play.
Snapcaster Mage - 2
I'm actually not quite sure about this in the build. It can be strong, as an example, before damage with an attacking Yuriko, you can Brainstorm to provide your top deck with further damage. Though with a low count of worthwhile instant targets, I think it loses a lot of the value it holds in other decks. I often find myself casting it on turn two, (opponents turn) and hoping it can swing in on turn three to bring out either Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow or Ninja of the Deep Hour.
Spellstutter Sprite - 4
Another amazing card. Just like Baleful Strix, if I could add more, I would. You're always putting this out on turn two (if available) and bouncing it back with a Ninjutsu trigger the next turn.
Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive - 1
I'm on the edge with this card. She is amazing at getting Yuriko through, giving Baleful Strix, and other P/T 1 creatures in the build a little extra evasion. Though I may over think people blocking. At the same time T2 Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive, T3 Swing, Brainstorm(put something big on top), Yuriko Ninjutsu (Damage, Draw) T4 Tetsuko, making Yuriko unblockable-- that can be fun while also pumping up the card advantage.
Vendilion Clique - 2
I don't really thinkn I need to explain this one. Fairy, Draw, Evasion? While It does cost three, It's never a bad idea to bounce it to a ninjutsu.
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow - 3
This card is amazing. I don't really need to explain it. The only reason I don't run four, is that she's Legendary. I may end up changing this.
Instants!
Brainstorm - 4
It's amazing, and it helps increase your damage triggers with Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow.
Fatal Push - 4
Amazing, helps give Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow some needed evasion.
Force of Will - 4
"Free" counter spell that can hit the opponent for five damage with Yuriko's trigger. Good old damage. Gotta love it.
Misdirection - 2
"Free" protection spell that can hit the opponent for five damage with Yuriko's trigger. I might bump the count up to three. I'm not really sure. Once more: Good old damage. Gotta love it.
Murderous Cut - 2
Helps Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow get some damage in. While also hitting the opponent for five with her trigger. It's somewhat easy to cast since you have so many cantrips, and fetches. This might be moved down to 1, I'm not sure. Two can be a bit clunky, but it's so nice to always have one to toss on top of the deck.
Sorceries!
Ponder - 4
We have only one, but it's a good one. Ponder helps shuffle, and stack the deck with damage. While also getting our lands early.
Enchantment!
Bitterblossom - 2
Eh. It's alright. I don't want to remove it- I wish it allowed me to attack on turn three when I play it on turn two. That's all. It's amazing when you're stuck on the fairy plan.
Land!
I'll only explain the one important one.
Mutavault - 3
This card is amazing. It's not only a fairy, it can be a ninja for Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow tigger's. Amazing!
I think you definitely want 4 mutavault as well as maybe going up to 3 or even 4 ninja of the deep hour since drawing a card and getting a trigger for Yuriko is nice. Also, have you tried the build with Standstill yet? I think it could be really powerful but it might be too slow.
Other than that, I think the list looks really cool and I look forward to hearing about it and trying it out for myself. Thanks!
UB Faeries
U Taking Turns
BGW Abzan Midrange
EDH Decks
MonoU Sakashima the Impostor and the Clone Army
UG Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
Dralnu, Lich LordUBR Kess, Dissident MageHey! Thanks for the reply.
You're right, Cloud of Faeries sounds pretty amazing. I'm not quite sure how I missed that card during my build. How many would you recommend? I'd almost think you'd want four, and replace the questionable Snapcaster Mage, and bringing the questionable Bitterblossom with it. It's really nice that you can cast it turn two, while also holding up a Spellstutter Sprite.
Cloud of Faeries is also definitely worthwhile bouncing back to your hand, and has evasion as opposed to Snapcaster Mage. I'd say 3/4 are definitely wanted. Perhaps as you mentioned a very worthy inclusion of Umezawa's Jitte. (It also has flavour with Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive, and this deck is all about flavour)
Possible Additions:
+ 3 Cloud of Faeries
+ 1 Umezawa's Jitte
Possible Subtractions:
- 2 Snapcaster Mage
- 2 Bitterblossom
I have been noticing a trend where I draw double Mutavault hand (and need to mulligan immediately), It could be bad luck- but I'm comfortable with keeping it at three for the time being. I will likely end up testing four eventually.
I'm not quite sold on Standstill, It's a great card, though I am worried it could end up slowing down the deck. The other problem is figuring out a cut. It's possible you'd cut the Ponder. It's definitely worthwhile testing, perhaps when I play in a locals on Wednesday I'll test it out through the sideboard. Swapping the Ponder and Standstill between each game. I'll have to auto forfeit those games(Yuriko Proxy), but my opponents will still play it out and let me test my deck. (They really want me to come back to Legacy)
I'd like to add another Ninja of the Deep Hours but it's tough to find a cut.
Possible Addition:
+ 1 Ninja of the Deep Hours
Possible Subtractions:
- 1 Murderous Cut
What are your thoughts?
FULL TIME FAERIES
Selvala
I was using Gurmag Angler in my original build. One of the reasons It was removed, is that it quickly became a card that was simply in the deck to deal damage with Yuriko. More often than not, I couldn't actually cast it- and when I had the ability to I was already winning, or had won.
This deck is consistently dealing about (When Yuriko is damaging turn 3);
T3: 2~6 Damage
T4: 3~6 Damage
T5: 9~16 Damage
While a couple damage can be the difference between a game won, and a game lost, I didn't see Gurmag as actually worthwhile in the deck. I wanted a card that either had an ETB trigger, or the ability to progress the top deck further. I may end up testing one or two in the future, since a deck is never truly ever perfect. Though right now, my experience is that the card was simply dead outside of Yuriko's Trigger.
The numbers below reflect changes made in suggestions by Unity24.
You have:
4 Force of Will (5) Damage
2 Misdirection (5) Damage
1 Murderous Cut (5) Damage
= 7 Cards that deal (5) Damage
3 Ninja of the Deep Hours (4) Damage
= 3 Cards that deal (4) Damage
3 Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow (3) Damage
2 Vendilion Clique (3) Damage
= 4 Cards that deal (3) Damage (Realistically, since 1 Yuriko will be on the field to trigger the effect.)
Edit; It's also not a fairy or a ninja, it doesn't work well with either of the other themes. (Helping counter with spellstutter, or triggering Yuriko)
The current list has been changed into this.
4 Baleful Strix
2 Gurmag Angler
2 Judge’s Familiar
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
2 Sakashima’s Student
3 Spellstutter Sprite
3 True-Name Nemesis
3 Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow
Artifact: 2
2 Umezawa’s Jitte
Instant: 12
4 Brainstorm
3 Fatal Push
4 Force of Will
1 Murderous Cut
4 Ponder
Land: 19
4 Flooded Strand
4 Island
1 Marsh Flats
4 Polluted Delta
2 Swamp
3 Watery Grave
1 Shizo, Death’s Storehouse
2 Engineered Plague
2 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Diabolic Edict
2 Echoing Truth
2 Spell Pierce
2 Faerie Macabre
My sideboard is still a work in process. I'm still not quite sure what else I'd need.
Round 1: Burn -- Match:(2 - 1) Record: (1 - 0)
I've discovered that my matchup against burn is quite decent. I've only ever lost a single match against burn thus far, and won about eight matches. The Mausoleum Wanderer,Judge's Familiar and counter spells tend to cause their count to always be a little bit off.
Round 2: Elves -- Match: (2 - 1) Record: (2 - 0)
While my Judge's Familiar, and Mausoleum Wanderer weren't that strong, they still allowed turn two ninjutsu. Spellstutter Sprite, and other counter effects were strong. We always seemed pretty equal in terms of creatures on board. So long as I kept a counter spell in hand, I was always managing to stay ahead. The one game that I lost, I forgot I had a wanderer on field when he used Natural Order. He was hoping I'd forget about it, which I did. Otherwise, I was 2 - 0.
Round 3: Burn -- Match: (1 - 2) Record: (2 - 1)
This is the loss I took against burn, my first loss. Game one was strictly his way, game two went strictly mine. While game three was extremely close. I was down to about six life, and sadly got double fire blasted while I had a Umezawa's Jitte, True-Name Nemesis, and 2 Baleful Strix on board. My attack that turn was lethal, he took the chance and was right- I didn't have a counter.
Round 4: Prison -- Match: (0 - 2) Record: (2 - 2)
This one was rough. I lost game one to a turn one Blood Moon(They went first), with all fetches in hand. Game two, was roughly the same. I managed to get my one island out, and the rest were fetches and didn't draw into another basic. It was rough. It didn't help that he managed to Chalice of the Void on 1, and Chalice of the Void on two right after Blood Moon.
Gurmag Angler is still questionable. I'm really not happy with it. It works really well with Delver decks, but this deck doesn't seem to produce the graveyard that those Delver decks can. It's also not something you can usually return to your hand with Ninjutsu. The deck needs more cards that can either be Ninja'd, or counters. I'm tempted to put Misdirection back into the deck in Gurmag's place. Misdirection is a really strong card game one. It's unexpected, and very easily switched out for better cards during sideboarding. This fact makes me more comfortable, since sideboarding is really hard.
If you don't then I would suggest like many midrange decks in the format, the t2/3 comhbo decks will be hard to control with counters and no discard, and right now Leyline of the Void is where you want to be board wise.
I actually have a near perfect record against sneak and show thankfully, due to my Judge's Familiar effects and my Sakashima's Student. I won a game by putting Baleful Strix into play with his Show and Tell, attacking, (he didn't block) and then Ninjutsu in Sakashima's Student copying the Emrakul, the Aeons Torn he put into play. While I didn't have the annihilate trigger, I still hit him for lethal with the 15/15 student. I also ended up winning one of the games with four Mausoleum Wanderer in play. He'd try to bait me with his cantrips, and couldn't even cast anything.
I'm not quite sure about my matchup against Reanimator though.
A friend of mine recommended that I put 2 Reanimate in the Gurmag Angler slots. I'm considering it, and Misdirection.
I had considered the Death's Shadow build, but it's not really that great combined with Ninja. You want to be able to cast a creature turn one, to assure that you get a turn two Ninjutsu trigger. Death's shadow can't really be played turn one. I do like the suggestion though, since I had actually considered it at one point. (Since I can't afford Underground Sea)