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Thread: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

  1. #81
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    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    How do you like playing with 4 Foundy?

    I really don't like drawing multiples but I always want to have one available when I play a Thopter or Outcast. I play with 3 Outcast, 3 Thopters and 3 Foundy.

    I've been on a green splash for some time now for Decay but I think that without W6 in the meta I might go back to straight UB or even experiment with Esper ninjas for some StP and SFM action. An idea that's floating in my mind right now is some sort of Trinket Mage package as a way to cut down on Foundry. Mage can grab Thopter or Foundry and we could play some Engineered Explosives mainboard. Obviously grabing some SB Needle and GY hate isn't bad either!
    Do you know what assuming does? It makes an ass out of you and me.
    Get it...? Ass, u, me?

    ... ffs I was trying to be funny...

  2. #82

    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    I really like having 4 foundry, although that might be due to my local meta being more control and less combo. When I do face combo (I'm including burn here) I've taken the approach of trying to get a foundry and thopter out as fast as possible to establish a clock. I've done a lot better against combo when I get the turn 1 thopter into a construct vs sitting back and trying to counter and land ninjas. Not sure if this is the right approach, but that's what I've been trying. If there was more combo in my meta I'd probably add back the 4th thopter and another thoughtseize.

    I've been liking the 2 color mana base due to how strong it is, blanking wasteland and PoP while being able to run back to basics. Some help vs planeswalkers would be nice though, white gives you vindicate or council's judgement if you really stretch it, red gives you bolt and pyroblasts.

    Not sure how I feel about SFM, equipment kinda nonbos with ninjitsu, although it can help after they're on the field, and batterskull is another angle of attack. Not sure how you build the deck with that package. Trinket mage is interesting. Personally I don't want to cut down on foundries, but trinket mage is a versatile tool. This is probably stupid, but what about running mage with a sideboard chalice? I've played games where I basically ignored opposing chalices, played my 0 or 2 cmc creature and activated ninjitsu. Chalice shuts off your foundries and cantrips, but can just win some games on its own. Mage into chalice is probably too slow, but who knows, might just be crazy enough to work!

    All that said, those are just my initial thoughts. I always like seeing experimentation, so definitely try out whatever you like and let us know how it goes!

  3. #83
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    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    @Smarm,

    If you want to make space for more cards in your list I suggest lowering your land count. With 8 cantrips, multiples basic lands and such a low curve I don't think you need more than 18 lands. 18 is just the right amount for 2 lands in your opener. In a straight UB list with SB B2B I would play something like 9-10 Fetches, 2-3 USea, 3 Islands, 2 Swamp. I personally started out with 20 Lands including 3 Wastelands then dropped the Wastelands and went for 18 and now I play 17 with a tiny green splash. Honestly the splash is so easy with such a high fetch count and the fact that this deck operates quite smoothly with only 3-4 basic lands in the deck. If I didn't play a green splash I would likely just play a red splash for a pair of KCommands mainboard and some SB Pyroblasts.

    About the Combo matchups, I trim down on Foundry. I like to use thopters as ninja enablers and I don't care about the speed of my clock but only the relevance of my cards and how fast and consistently I can get relevant disruption going. Anything that swings for 2 is enough in these matchups if you have steady cards coming in. With that said, Foundry is a vanilla clock that depends on another card to be good and to me that's not good enough against Combo decks. Obviously, all the foundries stay in against Depths.

    On a different note, if Oko makes a stand in control decks, I don't think straight UB will cut it. We suck at swinging into planeswalkers and Oko interacts with all our pieces. I think a splash for Pyroblast or Decay will be mandatory if you want to remain competitive in such a meta. I think Decay is still necessary for now...

    I went 17-0 in games with my UBg list during the W6 meta going through all of the top decks (4 RUG Delvers as the majority). I got 2 x 4-0 runs in 25 player weeklies, won a monthly going 6-0 including top4 and took down a small event 3-0. I can say with absolute certainty that this deck is a Combo slayer (played them all), has a great aggro matchup, and has the tools to take over control decks. The most difficult decks to beat are the ones that go big like Post decks because we have no Wastelands. Outcast goes a long way in these un-interactive, bomb-esque matchups.

    I am still unsure how I want to approach the meta without W6 but some things will have to change given that Grixis Delver with Pyro and Gurmag is a different animal than RUG. I also expect a return of Strix control decks and by the same token a rise in UW control. All the DnT, Infect and Elves deck will come back too so fighting aggro decks will be less linear than it was when Delver and friends reigned supreme.

    Here's my list for sharing:

    Creatures (18)
    3 Ornithopter
    3 Changeling Outcast
    4 Baleful Strix
    3 Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
    3 Ingenious Infiltrator
    2 Tombstalker

    Spells (22)
    3 Abrupt Decay
    2 Drown in the Loch
    2 Daze
    4 Force of Will
    4 Brainstorm
    4 Ponder
    3 Thoughtseize

    Other (3)
    3 Retrofitter Foundry

    Lands (17)
    4 Polluted Delta
    3 Verdant Catacombs
    2 Misty Rainforest
    2 Underground Sea
    1 Tropical Island
    1 Bayou
    2 Island
    2 Swamp

    Sideboard
    2 Plague Engineer
    2 Fatal Push
    2 Surgical Extraction
    2 Force of Negation
    1 Hydroblast
    1 Liliana's Triumph
    1 Grip of Phyresis
    1 Tormod's Crypt
    1 Crop Rotation
    1 Bojuka Bog
    1 Karakas


    All the cards I want to draw but not in multiples are restricted to 3 copies. This is why I didn't like playing with the full playset of Thopters, Outcast, Yuriko and Foundry even though they are engine-enablers. The fact that these cards have overlapping roles and combine to power up the engine is key when building an engine deck. This means you can have 6 enablers and 9 payoff but the nature of the cards are so different that you can combine a Thopter and Outcast with any Ninja for a much more powerful opener than say 2 Thopters or Outcasts and a Ninja. Foundry gains so much more versatility when you can churn out a 0-cost 4/4 or decide if you want to transform your unblockable changeling into a thopter or a construct if you can't enable your unblockable CA engine. 4 Thoughtseize was too much life loss and made some sideboard coverage more difficult and 2 were too few to reliably get TS openers. 4 Decays were clunky and were more difficult to support with only 2 green lands in the deck.

    The 2-ofs are the cards that are somewhat fringe but relevant to the deck which is why I never want to draw multiples. Avoiding to draw multiples therefore outweighs drawing one per match. Drown requires timing, is flexible but too clunky to want multiples. Tombstalker is a monster in a Strix-less meta with lots of Goyfs paired with Hexdrinker/TNN roaming about. I usually prefer the easier cost of Gurmag to Flying but in this deck the Stalker is often our grand finisher rather than an on-curve vanilla fatty simply because he is so much more difficult to stall (Plague Engineer, TNN, and Pyromancer). I definitely recommend using Stalker over Gurmag, especially in UB lists. The last crucial 2-of is Daze because our deck has a tempo element to it and having Daze potential when setting up an early ninjutsu is backbreaking. The psychological after-effect is also not to be neglected. Playing more than 2 copies is just asking for dead cards.

    Out of the SB I think Hydroblast takes a hit from the absence of W6. Pithing Needle was the card that I swapped in and out of the Edict slot so I might add it in instead of Hydro. Needle naming Oko seems appropriate now that I don't need to blast W6. Perhaps a Cage instead of Crypt might be a good idea if Elves make a comeback. The Crop package is quite good at making sure we have many angles of disruption against Depths, Hogaak, Reanimator and even Lands decks.
    Do you know what assuming does? It makes an ass out of you and me.
    Get it...? Ass, u, me?

    ... ffs I was trying to be funny...

  4. #84

    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    @Qweerios

    For a while i had Karakas as my 19th land but ran into a few games where it was in my opening hand and i needed a colored source, so I ended up cutting it for the 5th island. I'm on more of a midrange version of the deck (as opposed to tempo with outcasts and daze), so i want to hit land drops. All that said, I have considered trimming a land, so maybe i'll try out 18 for a while and see how it feels. Unfortunately i don't own the fetches/duals to splash a third color. Fully agree with you on the Oko point, if he becomes big in the new meta i'll have to figure out how i want to counter that. I hate swinging at walkers with ninjas, and Oko just wrecks everything in this deck. If i had the cards i'd probably splash red for pyroblasts, although abrupt decay and veil of summer make green pretty appealing. Veil is such a blowout and is a nice counter to hymn, if it comes back post W6. Any reason you don't run veils in your SB?


    Against non-depth combo i definitely understand taking out the foundries, without thopter it's just too slow. I always felt like ninjitsu for extra cards was just too slow and i only run 3 turn 1 enablers, but i also dont have a lot of reps against combo.


    With W6 banned i'm expecting more strix again, so i'm going to keep running the anglers for now. If TNN and pyromancer make a comeback i'll try out tombstalker, although plague engineer is a nice counter to those cards. I'll have to see how the local meta shapes up before i make a bunch of changes. For the SB, no W6 does decrease the need for hydroblast, but there's still UR delver, goblins, and burn. I like Cage since there's always someone on elves.

  5. #85
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    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    I don't think Outcast is a tempo card because it is inherently tempo-negative when paired with ninjas. High Thopter counts are more indicative of a tempo strategy because they allow you to deploy ninjas for their ninjutsu cost only. Outcast is more in the midrange category because it requires a ninja in play to shine as an additional card draw enabler that is also unblockable. When outcast is paired with Foundry it offers flexibility for a higher cost than say a Thopter.

    Similarly, Daze in this deck can play the tempo part but isn't meant to push the deck in a tempo direction. Any proactive blue deck with a curve dominated by 1-2 drops will benefit from a few copies of Daze because they will act as free Force Spikes the moment you hit 2 lands in play. By the same token, Infect playing a few Stifles and a Wasteland for Crop Rotation does not qualify them as having a mana denial strategy even though they might have a Stifle + Wasteland opener every now and then. Another example would be a UR deck packing Goblin Guide and Delver with a high burn count. That deck would surely benefit from 2-3 copies of Daze even though they play Guides and no Wasteland.

    I hadn't thought of Veil as a potential SB card and I will definitely try it out in the Hydroblast slot. I was looking for something against Control decks and this might be it.

    I would only play Cage over Crypt if I expected many Elves and Hogaak decks. Crypt tends to be better against Reanimator decks by virtue of its cost (combines with other plays and plays through Annex), Loam decks, and tends to blank Decay and Force of Vigor.

    Last sunday I went to a small monthly tournament of approximately 15 players. I kept my streak alive (now 22-0) going undefeated in the swiss, ID into top4, and winning top4. I got to play against Maverick, Burn twice and Show and Tell twice as well. Maverick was interesting and I felt really comfortable having Plague Engineers, and Grip + Decay to deal with equipments. Burn was surprisingly good with Foundry or Stalker backed up with all the counterspells. I was happy to have Decay against SnT postboard to deal with Defense Grid. I still can't handle Boseiju but the deck can deal with resolved permanents thanks to Crop, Karakas, Strix and Needle.
    Do you know what assuming does? It makes an ass out of you and me.
    Get it...? Ass, u, me?

    ... ffs I was trying to be funny...

  6. #86

    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    That's awesome, congrats on the finish! Wish i had the cards to try out your list, i love the crop rotation/karakas/bog package. One deck i forgot to mention that seems like its coming back in some form is miracles, so having decay to cleanly answer teferi and counterbalance would be nice.

    I didn't mean outcast itself is a tempo card, but from the lists i've seen online they only*show up in what i think is a tempo version of the deck. 4 thopters, 3-4 outcasts, 4 infiltrators, 3-4 yurikos, and 3 daze. Maybe i'm using the wrong term for the deck, but they're more all in on the turn 2 ninja as opposed to using the first turn or two for ponder/discard/spell pierce before activating ninjitsu.

    On the SB, how's grip of phyresis been? I know you said it was good against maverick, but its super narrow, especially*with access to decay to answer equipment or the germ token. Do you run into a lot of SFM in your area?

  7. #87
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    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    Quote Originally Posted by Smarm View Post
    That's awesome, congrats on the finish! Wish i had the cards to try out your list, i love the crop rotation/karakas/bog package. One deck i forgot to mention that seems like its coming back in some form is miracles, so having decay to cleanly answer teferi and counterbalance would be nice.

    I didn't mean outcast itself is a tempo card, but from the lists i've seen online they only*show up in what i think is a tempo version of the deck. 4 thopters, 3-4 outcasts, 4 infiltrators, 3-4 yurikos, and 3 daze. Maybe i'm using the wrong term for the deck, but they're more all in on the turn 2 ninja as opposed to using the first turn or two for ponder/discard/spell pierce before activating ninjitsu.

    On the SB, how's grip of phyresis been? I know you said it was good against maverick, but its super narrow, especially*with access to decay to answer equipment or the germ token. Do you run into a lot of SFM in your area?
    I see what you mean by tempo when you talk about decks that heavily support the ninja theme. To be fair, those decks are simply showing more commitment to ninjas than perhaps you are used to. Playing Ponder T1 or leaving mana open for Pierce is mostly a symptom of a lack of better plays while T1 Outcast is indicative of a proactive ninja play. Daze then naturally becomes a good choice of counterspell because of its cost rather than its effect. Without W6 everywhere, Outcast is a serious asset for our deck.

    My meta has dedicated DnT/Maverick players and the occasional Stoneblade. All these fair decks tend to have similar strategies that involve individually strong permanents that gain an insurmountable edge via equipments. Grip is a blowout and is one of the few clean answers to batterskull that I can play. Cards like Return to Nature stretch me further into green for a less impactful play against key decks that are tight matchups to begin with. Prior to Modern Horizons, ninjas had no chance outside of Jitte to beat these fair equipment decks. This is why I don't sleeve ninjas without a pair of Engineers and Grip acts as my Engineer#3.

    Now that you make me think about it, I might drop Edict and Grip and go straight for 3 Push and 3 Engineers if DnT becomes an issue.
    Do you know what assuming does? It makes an ass out of you and me.
    Get it...? Ass, u, me?

    ... ffs I was trying to be funny...

  8. #88
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    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    Broke my winning streak yesterday at a 15 players 4 round tournament. I went 3-1 losing R2 to BUG Control 2-1. I got to beat a very cool Ug High Tide deck, Burn, and GWb Maverick.

    I played my same list but with 3 Plague and 3 Push instead of Grip and Edict. I wish I had included a pair of Veils like you suggested Smarm for BUG because my opponent got so much value out of Veiling my TS and Hymning me back. This matchup needs a nudge because they likely play 2-3 Plague Engineer postboard on top of Oko and Hymn. Thopter is complete garbage against Strix and even maverick can wall it with a Birds of Paradise...

    I think it might be time to play 2-3 Okos of our own. Probably over Gurmag and Daze.
    Do you know what assuming does? It makes an ass out of you and me.
    Get it...? Ass, u, me?

    ... ffs I was trying to be funny...

  9. #89

    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    Yea, think I agree with you on oko. Doesn't really further the ninja game plan, but it's just such a pushed card there's almost no reason not to play it.

    Played last night running the same list I posted earlier with a spell snare in place of the changleing outcast. Ended 2-1-1, ID in the final round.

    R1. Turbo depths (2-0)
    Game 1 I'm able to hold of marit lage long enough to win with construct beats. Game 2 I had all the SB answers. Tyrant's scorn bounces the first lage. I get a clock going with another construct. Opponent plays another DD then tries to crop rotate. I'm holding a pair of FoW, brazen borrower, and another blue card. I go for the blow out and let it resolve. Opponent gets a stage and makes lage eot. I bounce the lage and end the game a turn or two later.

    R2. RUG lands (2-0)
    Game 1 opponent doesn't do much, I think he got stuck with some useless wastelands. I get ninjas out and build up too much of a board before opponent can do anything meaningful. Game 2 I force a turn 1 exploration, then spell pierce a turn 2 Sylvan library. I play a foundry and a thopter, opponent then plays an oko. Once again I think I get this win due to my opponent not being familiar with the deck more than anything I'm doing. Opponent makes a food instead of elking the foundry, then plays a Tabernacle, eot I make a construct. I pay the tax and kill oko over a few turns. Opponent plays a drop of honey, but I have endless servos to feed to the drop and close the game with the construct.

    R3. 5C control (1-2)
    Game 1 I have a nuts hand. Thoughtseize, thopter, yuriko, infiltrator, FoW, and a pair of lands. The hand pretty much plays itself... Thopter into yuriko, then into infiltrator drawing 4 cards. Game ended pretty quickly after that. Game 2 opponent plays a turn 3 strix, I play a liliana and tick up on the strix. I play protect the queen for a few turns until Lili is ready to ultimate, but opponent finds a decay after a bunch of cantrips. With Lili off the board things go downhill, opponent ends up with 3 plague engineers, shutting off servos, strix, and borrower, and kills me with them. Game 3 opponent has the answer to everything. He's on a 5c abomination and has discard, StP, pyroblasts, and veil of summer. There's some back and forth but opponent gets me twice with veil and I can't catch up.

    R4. Goblins (ID)
    Once again sleep wins. We split prizes and head home.

    Before the night started I wanted to try out 2 changeling outcast, but got there a little late and didn't have time to make the change. Kinda glad I didn't, every deck with black was running a bunch of plague engineers. For the decklist I'm going back to 4 ornithopter and 3 thoughtseize, dropping a land and the spell snare.

    Against control I'm not sure how I should sideboard. I've been taking out the thopters, but maybe I should be going for the explosive early turns?

  10. #90
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    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    I am still not 100% certain how I want to approach the Strix/Engineer Control matchup but here's what I've got noted down for control decks:

    Strix Control
    -3 Outcast -1 Swamp
    +3 Plague +1 Veil

    Miracles
    -1 Stalker -1 Bayou
    +2 FoN

    Stoneblade
    -4 FoW
    +3 Plague +1 Return

    Lands
    -3 Decay -2 Drown -3 TS
    +2 Surgical +2 FoN +1 Return +1 Crop +1 Karakas +1 Bog

    I updated my list to include 2 Oko and an 18th land. I trimmed on basic lands now that W6 is gone. I never really cared for the 3rd and 4th basic land against Delver decks. I ended up cutting the 2 Daze and a Tombstalker.
    Do you know what assuming does? It makes an ass out of you and me.
    Get it...? Ass, u, me?

    ... ffs I was trying to be funny...

  11. #91

    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    Qweerios, is that you listed in the GP Bologna decklist dump? If so, how did it go?

  12. #92
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    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    Quote Originally Posted by Smarm View Post
    Qweerios, is that you listed in the GP Bologna decklist dump? If so, how did it go?
    It's another user that wanted to try my list for the GP. We exchanged on some SB strategies and Thomas Dresder piloted the deck in Bologna. He went 7-2 on day1 and cashed out on day2. He cruised through many Delver decks, crushed several combo decks and struggled against the few control decks he encountered. He ended up 11-4-1 or something (he got shafted by a slowplayer aiming for a warning on d2). He admitted making a missplay costing him a game against Depths. The rogue factor of the deck had a huge impact according to him.

    We mostly discuss the splash and some of the flex slots. His takeaway from the tournament are:

    -The green splash is basically free and the Crop package is great.
    -Tombstalkers (and Gurmag) are dead post-W6 meta. Brazen Borrower is superior.
    -You likely want a few Brazen Borrower if you don't pack Decay
    -A pair of Oko (or maybe Leovold) should replace Stalker to shore the Control matchups.

    Going forward there is less incentive to play several basic lands. W6 is gone and small splashes bring a lot to the table in terms of flexibility and sideboard answers.

    You could say the deck is in a great spot. I believe this deck to be T1 material.
    Do you know what assuming does? It makes an ass out of you and me.
    Get it...? Ass, u, me?

    ... ffs I was trying to be funny...

  13. #93

    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    That sucks on the slow player, but congrats to Thomas on the strong finish! The list is pretty unique, figured you had to be involved somehow :)

    What's the reasoning for stalker and angler being dead, the rise of strix and StP? I guess the increasing number of brazen borrower hurts too.

    I agree with the deck being in a great spot, although i do want to see where these 4-5 color control abominations end up. At least for UB, its tough fighting through all the best 1 mana spells in every color.

  14. #94
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    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    Quote Originally Posted by Smarm View Post
    That sucks on the slow player, but congrats to Thomas on the strong finish! The list is pretty unique, figured you had to be involved somehow :)

    What's the reasoning for stalker and angler being dead, the rise of strix and StP? I guess the increasing number of brazen borrower hurts too.

    I agree with the deck being in a great spot, although i do want to see where these 4-5 color control abominations end up. At least for UB, its tough fighting through all the best 1 mana spells in every color.
    Tombstalker was basically a 5/5 Nemesis during W6. White removal and Jace were pushed out, Delver was at its peak and non-white control decks cut Strix for Engineer and W6. Now Strix is back with his buddy Oko along with white control decks.

    For straight UB I suggest Liliana the Last Hope against 4+c Strix decks.
    Do you know what assuming does? It makes an ass out of you and me.
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    ... ffs I was trying to be funny...

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    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    Hey guys.

    Hope someone is still reading this.
    I want to try out retroffiter foundry and brew up this list.
    Let me know your thoughts please


    Creature (22)
    4*Changeling Outcast
    4*Ornithopter
    4*Baleful Strix
    2*Fallen Shinobi
    4*Ingenious Infiltrator
    4*Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

    Sorcery (2)
    2*Thoughtseize

    Instant (14)
    4*Fatal Push
    4*Brainstorm
    2*Force of Negation
    4*Force of Will

    Artifact (4)
    4 Retrofitter foundry

    Land (18)
    1*Bloodstained Mire
    1*Flooded Strand
    1*Marsh Flats
    1*Misty Rainforest
    2 Verdant Catacombs
    4*Polluted Delta
    1*Shizo, Death's Storehouse
    3 Underground Sea
    2 Island
    2 Swamp


    Might tune down the strix or other creatures to add a murderous cut maindeck or ponder again.

  16. #96

    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    Hi, glad to see people still posting here. Here are my thoughts on the list.

    Fallen shinobi should be cut as it's too expensive, i'd only run it as a fun-of if i was playing in a casual setting. Similar thoughts for shizo, fun to try but doesn't do enough to warrant a spot. Black and artifact creatures are fairly common, especially ones that block well such as strix and plague engineer. Your only legend is Yuriko and changeling outcasts are already unblockable.

    I'd swap the FoN for daze since the first couple turns are super impactful with 4 ornithopter/4 changeling outcast. Daze gives you free counters you can use on your turn, which is usually when opponent is trying to use removal. FoN is probably better in the SB if you think you'll need them.*


    In this build i'm not sure i like thoughtseize in the main. I'd probably swap the 2 shinobi and 2 thoughtzseize for 4 ponder since you really want to get the ninja engine online. I'd probably also want a 3rd, or even 4th, daze in place of shizo or a fatal push (or both).

    Overall i think the list just needs to be a bit more focused. You're on what i would consider the all in build with 8 turn 1 enablers and 12 payoffs. Shinobi and thoughtseize take you off that track while ponder helps you set up the engine and daze protects it in the early game. Just my 2 cents, obviously anyone's free to disagree. Hope you get a chance to test it out, and let us know how it goes!

  17. #97
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    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    I played Ninjas for the first time since the banning of W6 at a local monthly tournament. I brewed a Grixis list the night before and wanted to give it a whirl. The turnout was fine but not great with approximately a dozen players so we only got to play 4 rounds and cut to top 4. Lucky for me I went 6-0 and claimed first place. The meta was combo heavy with Sneak n Show, Reanimator and Storm, and Control heavy with multiple SnowKo decks showing up including Miracles, Rip-Helm, and even a spicy Splinter Twin deck. There were barely any Aggro decks in sight with only one RUG Delver, Maverick, and Moon Stompy.

    Here's a quick summary:

    R1 Bye

    R2 2-1 vs. BR Reanimator
    I lost G1 but I won G2-3 with no-land openers that had 3-4 pieces of free interaction.

    R3 2-0 Sneak n Show
    I don't think they have a chance if we get to deploy a Ninja. This matchup is extremely favorable.

    R4 2-0 Maverick (with SB Pyroblast!)
    I won G1 with a double Thopter + Foundry opener and went on a rampage with 2x Constructs while they Wasted my lands. Postboard games are very favorable if we can secure our land drops. Abrade and Engineer did their job.

    Top4

    2-0 Sneak n Show
    2-0 Bant Miracles
    The Miracles games were very long and grindy but I was in control almost the entire game with a handful of counterspells, patiently deploying Strixes and Ninjas and getting wiped 3-4 times per game. Foundry, Blossom, backed by all the counterspells made this matchup quite enjoyable.

    Grixis Ninjas!

    3 Ornithopter
    3 Changeling Outcast
    4 Baleful Strix
    3 Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
    3 Ingenious Infiltrator

    2 Brazen Borrower // Petty Theft

    4 Lightning Bolt
    2 Drown in the Loch
    2 Daze
    2 Force of Negation
    4 Force of Will
    4 Brainstorm
    4 Ponder

    3 Retrofitter Foundry

    4 Polluted Delta
    4 Scalding Tarn
    1 Bloodstained Mire
    2 Underground Sea
    2 Volcanic Island
    1 Badlands
    2 Island
    1 Swamp

    //SB
    2 Plague Engineer
    2 Abrade
    2 Pyroblast
    2 Thoughtseize
    2 Surgical Extraction
    1 Tormod's Crypt
    1 Grafdigger's Cage
    1 Pithing Needle
    1 Dread of Night
    1 Bitterblossom


    Compared to my previous lists I decided to swap Thoughtseize and Force of Negation from the main and SB. The reasoning was that I expected a lot of Combo and Planeswalker Control decks and figured I would just be able to harcast FoN (which I did a lot). Bolts were quite useful but I did flood on them way too often given how little Aggro decks there were. Even if I did play against more aggro decks I don't think Bolt is the best answer here. The only changes I would bring to this list for now would be to cut the 4th Bolt for a 3rd Drown and to try to squeeze in a 3rd Pyroblast in the SB.
    Do you know what assuming does? It makes an ass out of you and me.
    Get it...? Ass, u, me?

    ... ffs I was trying to be funny...

  18. #98
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    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    In trying to improve my Ninja deck I'm looking at Liliana, Heretical Healer // Liliana, Defiant Necromancer
    She has great synergy with the Ornithopter / Foundry combo.
    Saccing the Ornithopter transforms her and with her -X ability she can put the Ornithopter back in play for the cost of zero Loyalty.

  19. #99
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    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    Had a game today with opening hand including Foundry, Thopter and Liliana.
    T3 went exactly like mentioned above already : play Liliana, sac Thopter for 4/4 Construct, activate Liliana and put Thopter back in play.
    Liliana took a Bolt the next turn. ;)

    She adds a very powerful extra dimension to this deck.

  20. #100
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    Re: Stilljutsu - UB Ninja Still

    Quote Originally Posted by Borg View Post
    Had a game today with opening hand including Foundry, Thopter and Liliana.
    T3 went exactly like mentioned above already : play Liliana, sac Thopter for 4/4 Construct, activate Liliana and put Thopter back in play.
    Liliana took a Bolt the next turn. ;)

    She adds a very powerful extra dimension to this deck.
    I don't think Liliana is were we want to be with this deck. Taping out 3 mana for a situational card that requires somewhat of a gimmick to activate isn't stellar to begin with. Even when things turn out for the best, flipped Lili isn't particularly impressive. In short the card you give up for Lili is likely better than Lili.

    I haven't been very active lately (vacation/training/life) with MtG since the banning of W6 but I did get to play a weekly recently with a great turnout. There were approximately 30 players and some new faces so that's always good news for my local Legacy scene. I played my Grixis list with some very minor tweaks in the main (-1 Bolt for +1 Drown, and -1 Island for +1 Fetch) and side (2 Plague/2 Abrade/3 Pyro/3 Thoughtseize/2 Surgical/2 Crypt/1 Cage). I managed to score another 4-0 ripping through a bunch of Oko decks.

    2-0 Bant Miracles
    I think this is the standard Bant + Pyroblast list. Veil of Summer is extremely strong and is really the card that makes this matchup difficult. I played the control role with my numerous counterspells while summoning a board position for value with Strix and Ninjas. Playing Draw-go with Foundry and a grip of counterspells is very strong against any Control deck.

    SB: -3 Ornit, -3 Bolt for +3 Pyro +3 Thoughtseize

    2-0 UW SnT+Mentor combo homebrew
    Boseiju is the only card I am worried about from SnT decks which is why I pack 3 TS in the SB. He did play Teferi which gave me a lot of trouble.

    SB: -2 Ornit -3 Bolt -3 Foundry for +3 Pyro +3 Thoughtseize +2 Abrade (For Mentor and potential SB Defense Grid)

    2-0 SnOko (no red)
    This was the most difficult Control deck to play against because he had Leovold, Plague Engineer and Abrupt Decay along with Veil, Oko, and even Teferi. All of these cards either negate our plan or run away with the game if left unchecked.

    -3 Ornit -3 Changeling for +3 Pyro +3 Thoughtseize

    I took out Ornit because it gets walled by Coatl and kept Bolt > Changeling because it automatically dies to Engineer and Bolt can answer Leo, Engineer and potentially Teferi/Oko

    2-0 UG Lands (Oko + EE and no PFire)
    Lands can always win by wasting all of our lands if we struggle to develop, win with a swift Lage if we can't find Petty Theft, or take the lategame with PFire or recurring Explosives if we can't apply pressure. This matchup appears unfavorable on paper but we have all the tools to shut down their engine if we can exile Loam or PFire via Extraction/Crypt/Negation and clog the board with Flyers or re-buy Petty Theft via Ninjutsu.

    -1 Ornit -3 Bolt for +2 Surgical +2 Crypt

    In the end Drown in the Loch was phenomenal as always. Foundry continues to be the main reason this deck is arguably top tier. 3 Bolts were much less clunky than the last time I played with 4 copies in a sea of Oko and Combo decks.

    Going forward the only changes I would consider for the mainboard are -2 Daze for a combination of Island#2, Negation#3 or Foundry#4. The most imminent changes I will are are to the SB by removing the 2 Crypts for a 3rd Surgical and a 2nd Cage. My reasoning is that Surgical is superior to Crypt against Loam and PFire engines which are serious threats to this deck. Having a 2nd Cage is relevant considering it is one of the most impactful pieces of GY hate against Hogaak decks (one of our worst matchups IMHO).
    Do you know what assuming does? It makes an ass out of you and me.
    Get it...? Ass, u, me?

    ... ffs I was trying to be funny...

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