Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
---------------------------------------------
The way I see this deck, it wants cards that can affect the top card like:
Brainstorm
Ponder
Mystic Speculation
Preordain
Mystical Tutor
Personal Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Imperial Seal
Viscera Seer
Sensei's Divining Top
Scroll Rack
Diabolic Vision
Thassa, God of the Sea
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Liliana Vess
The deck will also need a few alternative cost cards and such to be on top, like these:
Snuff Out
Force of Will
Misdirection
Murderous Cut
Tasigur's Cruelty
Beseech the Queen
Curtains' Call
Commit // Memory
Consign // Oblivion
and cards you want to use as a disguise for Yuriko like:
Ornithopter
Slither Blade
Mausoleum Wanderer
Hypnotic Siren
Faerie Impostor
Dross Hopper
Cavern Harpy
Baleful Strix
Dimir Infiltrator
Snapcaster Mage
Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
Spellstutter Sprite
Augury Owl
Spire Owl
Sage Owl
Quickling
Thalakos Seer
Merciless Executioner
Liliana's Specter
Silumgar Sorcerer
Parasitic Strix
Trinket Mage
Hostage Taker
Glen Elendra Archmage
Combo cards to make Yuriko insane:
Unnatural Selection
Arcane Adaptation
Xenograft
Conspiracy
Finally, a number of good stuffs to make it all work:
Demonic Tutor
Diabolic Intent
Cyclonic Rift
Dimir Charm
Damnation
Cryptic Command
Boompile
Oh, and some Acceleration:
Sol Ring
Dimir Signet
Darksteel Ingot
Commander's Sphere
Manas
Wasteland
Strip Mine
Dust Bowl
Mutavault
Phyrexian Tower
Volrath's Stronghold
Academy Ruins
Command Tower
Underground Sea
Watery Grave
Polluted Delta
Creeping tar Pit
Bojuka Bog
Leechridden Swamp
Shizo, Death's Storehouse
Tolaria West
9 Swamp
11 Island
So, here is a start. I did not really like ninjas back in Kamigawa block, so I have a lot more experience killing ninjas than playing them. I used to like stranding Ninja of the Deep Hours on the battlefield with a simple blocker, and I am concerned of the same thing happening to Yuriko. Does the deck need sacrifice stuff to get her back in the command zone? I realize that there is play with Doomsday, but that crap bores me.
Last edited by Finn; 08-10-2018 at 05:33 PM.
"Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."
"Politicians are like diapers. They should be changed often and for the same reason."
"Governing is too important to be left to people as silly as politicians."
"Politicians were mostly people who'd had too little morals and ethics to stay lawyers."
I think you'll be underwhelmed with Ornithopter...
I've seen buzz about the strength of:
Arcane Adaptation
Conspiracy
Xenograft
I'm thinking you'd want to treat this like Vial Smasher the Fierce and run stuff that has high CMC that can be reduced. Like for example:
Treasure Cruise
Curtains' Call
Dig Through Time
Avatar of Woe
Tombstalker
Gurmag Angler
Far // Away
Commit // Memory
Consign // Oblivion
That way, when your top card is a Treasure Cruise or whatever you're hitting everyone for 8. You could also run stuff with evoke.
Another random thought: Dauthi Embrace seems like it might be strong? Might let you get away from some of the otherwise "bad" Flying Men type creatures for your ninjutsu attacks. While we're on the topic of shadow, are any of the other shadow creatures playable here? They'll certainly be unblockable 99.9% of the time.
It might be too cute, but Hero's Blade would slip into Yuriko's hand when you activate the ninjutsu and speeds up the commander damage clock significantly.
Does Cloudstone Curio do anything here?
EDIT: As far as sacrifice outlets, maybe Dimir House Guard is worth a look? It transmutes for a couple of your other ninjas, and it also has some evasion.
Such helpful comments...
I left out Dimir House Guard for now. I don't have much of anything to transmute for, so he is overpriced. But you got me to stop being lazy and look for stuff to do that sort of thing and I found such a fun one: Silumgar Sorcerer. Other stuff too. Trying to include these ideas until I run out of space. I have to actually playtest this before I know anything. All just educated guesses right now. Thanks, guys.
EDIT: You can fetch Ornithopter with Trinket Mage or Tolaria West, btw. And if the deck is built well, it is always just going to be a means to spend for Yuriko.
"Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."
"Politicians are like diapers. They should be changed often and for the same reason."
"Governing is too important to be left to people as silly as politicians."
"Politicians were mostly people who'd had too little morals and ethics to stay lawyers."
Okay, so I put this together over the weekend and I have some observations to relate.
I started off using tutors to fetch up high casting cost cards to reveal with Yuriko. But I think that may have been a mistake. The best play may simply be to fetch up an enchantment to turn all your evasive tinies to become ninjas. As such, I have to really figure out if it makes sense to go all out to make this happen. Would you include:
Diabolic Tutor
Grim Tutor
Cruel Tutor
Lim-Dul's Vault
Mastermind's Acquisiton
Diabolic Intent
That also means that cards like Mystical Tutor and Personal Tutor are not as good.
In my initial testing, I had plenty of cards but I had trouble getting it all to come together to make the most of Yuriko. Clunky stuff with high costs sat in my hand. Every time she gets blocked and dies it takes an extra turn to get her back. Sacrificing her is good for this, but I do not aways have a good outlet for that. What would be a splendid trick would be to find a card that gives my opponents creatures fist strike as a drawback. Does such a card exist?
Also, I have found that board wipes are amazingly effective since Yuriko keeps coming back. Of course this means that yet another turn is wasted. I think the card is going to be crazy good if I can get the brew correct due to considerations of this sort where weaknesses can be turned into strengths. But she is possibly best in casual games than against a single opponent.
Any ideas to help?
EDIT: And importantly, All of the neat creatures may be unnecessary and need only be more of the unblockable type to make Yuriko work best. Not sure.
"Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."
"Politicians are like diapers. They should be changed often and for the same reason."
"Governing is too important to be left to people as silly as politicians."
"Politicians were mostly people who'd had too little morals and ethics to stay lawyers."
Aggressively searching for Scroll Rack might be your best bet in terms of value for Yuriko flips. Looks like you have most of the good Brainstorm effects already.
Sacrificing Outlets:
Ashnod's Altar
City of Shadows
Phyrexian Altar
Phyrexian Tower
Viscera Seer (less good but cheap and might be able to be ninjutsu'd
In terms of creatures, I'd at least play Vendilion Clique as well. I'm not a fan of just evasion creatures but I haven't tested the deck enough to know how much you need that.
Goblin Flotilla
Crab Umbra
Eel Umbra
They're okay-ish I guess. I think your best defense against 'answers' will be battling them on the stack.
Lim-Dul's Vault actually seems like tech in this list since you get to reorder your top 5, which potentially sets up multiple "hits" off of your general.
As far as the tutors, I always hesitate to include the 4 mana ones. In your deck specifically, you seem to want to be using your mana to make ninjutsu happen, so they might be even slower than they usually are.
You could run Power Matrix for that effect. It also has the random upside of making one of your dudes evasive if that's ever relevant.
Maybe you want Darksteel Plate? Stick it on one of your unblockable dorks, wrath, then ninjutsu Yuriko again? Could also get creative in the wrath department and run Inundate, which should spare the majority of your dudes.
Yeah, I was looking at Power Matrix. Probably too cute. Goblin Flotilla is definitely the card I was looking for though. Red. Gah.
The Umbras and the Darksteel Plate and stuff I think are largely unnecessary. You draw a bunch of cards and are bound to have some little dudes after the sweeper.
"Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."
"Politicians are like diapers. They should be changed often and for the same reason."
"Governing is too important to be left to people as silly as politicians."
"Politicians were mostly people who'd had too little morals and ethics to stay lawyers."
Figured I'd share my list here for Yuriko, maybe you could gather some ideas from it.
Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
Skullsnatcher
Mistblade Shinobi
Walker of Secret Ways
Ninja of the Deep Hours
Sakashima's Student
Higure, the Still Wind
Okiba-Gang Shinobi
Throat Slitter
Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
Silent-Blade Oni
Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive
Sygg, River Cutthroat
Flitterstep Eidolon
Inkfathom Infiltrator
Invisible Stalker
Nether Traitor
Deathcult Rogue
Marang River Prowler
Graceful Adept
Dimir Cutpurse
Typhoid Rats
Stealer of Secrets
Shadow Alley Denizen
Cutthroat il-Dal
Pharika's Chosen
Vela the Night-Clad
Guul Draz Vampire
Keeper of Keys
Deepchannel Mentor
Mist-Cloaked Herald
Slither Blade
Tormented Soul
Triton Shorestalker
Archetype of Imagination
Neurok Invisimancer
Deepfathom Skulker
Ruthless Ripper
Inkfathom Witch
Sun Quan, Lord of Wu
Baleful Strix
Cephalid Constable
Shuriken
Arcane Adaptation
Dimir Keyrune
Xenograft
Cloak and Dagger
Dauthi Embrace
Bloodforged Battle-Axe
Bident of Thassa
Dire Undercurrents
Throne of the God-Pharaoh
Coastal Piracy
Larceny
Sai of the Shinobi
Hero's Blade
Stormrider Rig
Ronin Warclub
Thought Vessel
Neurok Stealthsuit
Telepathy
Seer's Vision
Unnatural Selection
Conspiracy
Key to the City
Cover of Darkness
Reliquary Tower
Rogue's Passage
Shizo, Death's Storehouse
Creeping Tar Pit
Choked Estuary
Drowned Catacomb
Dimir Guildgate
Watery Grave
Sunken Hollow
Temple of Deceit
12 Swamp
12 Island
I realize the manabase could use some work, and it is a mostly budget build with a lot of creatures. But it should be fun for my local meta.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)