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13 months ago ::
May 22, 2012 - 7:36PM
#21
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Date Joined:
Jun 20, 2006
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I am disappointed. Why oh why isn't the new ninja a legend!? I really want a b/u ninja legend to command my ninja commander deck! Preferably one with ninjutsu that works from the command zone. I don't want some random wizard chick at the head of my ninja forces- I could have done that with the cards I already have. The ninja deck had been at the top of my "must buy" list, but now I am not so sure. With over half the cards spoiled, it makes me think the ninja of my dreams won't be in this set.
Well, there really isn't a better Commander for a Ninja deck than Vela. She's absolutely nuts with it.
Either the creative department really messed up, or that guy isn't from Kamigawa. All the Kamigawan oni were kami. They had the creature type "demon spirit" and the classic floating energy orb thingies. They had the wierd aesthetic of the kami, as seen on Seizan, Perverter of Truth  's giant head and Kuro, Pitlord  's floating hipbone. That demon looks pretty ordinary for a kami.
I came here to vent this exact problem. They really dropped the ball on this one. I can kind of accept an Oni Ninja, but it absolutely has to be a Spirit.
Yes, Vela is good in a ninja deck, but she isn't a ninja! I am disappointed because she doesn't fit my theme. I play Ramirez de Pietro as the commander for my pirate deck, not because he works well with the other pirates, but because he fits the tribal theme. I want a ninja to command my other ninjas, not some wizard. As far as flavor goes, Vela leaves a lot to be desired for the ninja deck.
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13 months ago ::
May 22, 2012 - 7:50PM
#22
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Date Joined:
Jun 20, 2006
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Silent-Blade Oni is actually similar in form to Gutwrencher Oni  and Painwracker Oni  < /span>  . The only issue is the lack of the sprirt creature type and the associated floating objects.
As for the lack of a legendary UB ninja, while they could have made one, Ninjutsu does not work particularly well with commanders. The commander they did give works quite well with ninjas since it gets your creatures through and hurts your opponent every time something leaves the battlefield. Both abilities have a very strong synergy with Ninjutsu that the general given seems perfectly fine.
The easiest fix for ninjutsu on a legendary ninja commander is to just design it with the built-in ability to bounce itself to your hand after you get it into play. This would be a very powerful effect for any ninja to be sure, making it worthy of legendary status. He would not even need a secondary ability, as the fact that he could ride in on the back of any unblocked creature at any time to deal commander damage would be amazing!
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13 months ago ::
May 22, 2012 - 7:56PM
#23
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Date Joined:
Aug 25, 2006
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A Ninja commander could work if, instead of normal ninjutsu, it just had "[cost], Return an unblocked attacker you control to its owner's hand: Put this card onto the battlefield from the command zone tapped and attacking."
One problem with this, though, is that it bypasses the extra cost for subsequent castings, and it'd be too complicated to get the card to actually count the number of times it's been cast/ninja'd into play.
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13 months ago ::
May 22, 2012 - 8:16PM
#24
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They could just make a legend that is ninja in name only. One that doesn't have Ninjutsu in any form. Obviously this isn't ideal, but it neatly dodges all of the issues with Command Zone Ninjutsu.
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13 months ago ::
May 22, 2012 - 8:28PM
#25
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Date Joined:
Jun 21, 2010
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I don't like the idea of a ninja being a General anyway. What is this, Naruto? Ninjas are about surprise; how is it surprising, that a ninja face-up in the command zone, going ninjitsu into play from an unblockable creature (unblockable because if it's not everybody would block it unquestionably), with full-information accessible to all players at all times, of what is going to happen? That's not a ninja at all. And again, more specifically, why would there be a ninja overlord? Ninjas don't have ninja masters, they have employers... people like Vela seem a whole lot more flavorfully correct to me than some demon ninja dictator.
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13 months ago ::
May 22, 2012 - 8:51PM
#26
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Date Joined:
Jun 20, 2006
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I don't like the idea of a ninja being a General anyway. What is this, Naruto? Ninjas are about surprise; how is it surprising, that a ninja face-up in the command zone, going ninjitsu into play from an unblockable creature (unblockable because if it's not everybody would block it unquestionably), with full-information accessible to all players at all times, of what is going to happen? That's not a ninja at all. And again, more specifically, why would there be a ninja overlord? Ninjas don't have ninja masters, they have employers... people like Vela seem a whole lot more flavorfully correct to me than some demon ninja dictator.
I am not sure I agree. One of my favorite fictional ninjas (and arguably one of the most recognizable) is the Shredder from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He ran a giant clan of ninjas called "The Foot" as I recall, and he wasn't all that into being stealthy considering the shiny armor he wore, he was about kicking tail with cool ninja moves. Seems to fit well with the whole ninja commander theme to me.
As to the idea that people are going to always block your stuff because they know the ninja is coming, well, they have to consider the cost of blocking and what combat tricks you have. For instance, deathtouch creatures might make them decide to take the hit instead of losing a blocker.
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13 months ago ::
May 22, 2012 - 10:02PM
#27
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I don't like the idea of a ninja being a General anyway. What is this, Naruto? Ninjas are about surprise; how is it surprising, that a ninja face-up in the command zone, going ninjitsu into play from an unblockable creature (unblockable because if it's not everybody would block it unquestionably), with full-information accessible to all players at all times, of what is going to happen? That's not a ninja at all. And again, more specifically, why would there be a ninja overlord? Ninjas don't have ninja masters, they have employers... people like Vela seem a whole lot more flavorfully correct to me than some demon ninja dictator.
QFT
Ninjas may work in tandem, but I really have to agree that the commander position isn't very suited for a ninja. If we were to get a legendary ninja for that position, I think it should be low mana cost, low P/T, and efficient, without being amazing. Something like:
UB
Legendary creature - ninja turtle
Ninjutsu 2UB
When _____ deals combat damage to a player, you may return up to X creatures you control to your hand where X is the damage that player took this turn.
_____ may be played for its Ninjutsu cost from any zone (exile, graveyard, commander, hand).
1/4
Nothing groundbreaking. If you put him in and he's the only creature to get through any damage, you're only returning one. You could choose your commander, so he won't get killed. Lots of options.
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