Retro Ninjas

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Greetings fellow sourcers!

This is a short primer for the relatively recent Ninja archetype that emerged from the Modern Horizons set. The advent of Ingenious Infiltrator and Changeling Outcast gave Ninjas the missing pieces to become a full-fledged deck. Ornithopter being the traditional cost-efficient way to drop ninjas onto the battlefield now has a worthy complement in the form of Outcast given the tribal aspect of the UB ninjas. Now that the ninjas and enablers are present, the deck can flourish.

Some brilliant mind figured out that Retrofitter Foundry patched nearly every hole in the strategy by virtue of turning puny enablers into intimidating constructs. When the ninja plan fails, you can now count on Foundry to give you Delver-esque aggressive board presence along with a steady stream of tokens against more control-oriented decks.

Ninja synergy core:

4 Ornithopter
4 Changeling Outcast
4 Ingenious Infiltrator
3-4 Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
3-4 Retrofitter Foundry

4 copies of Ornithopter and Outcast being the ideal setup for a T2 Ninja as it can net you 2 draws on T2 via a combination of both cards on T1. When 8 enablers isn't enough, 0-4 copies of Mothdust Changeling and/or Baleful Strix are commonly played. Mostdust is a worse version of Outcast while Strix is the slower, more value-oriented and standalone good card to complement your enabler suite by virtue of being inherently evasive, stalls the board when mounting a lead, and can see its draw ability bought back by a ninjutsu bounce. 3 copies of Yuriko is standard as most avoid the 4th copy because of its Legendary status. 3-4 copies of Foundry is reasonable given the slow nature of the card in multiples. However, the fact that it is both good early, late, and in multiples makes it a common 4-of.

Mandatory cantrip core:

4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder

Brainstorm is a no-brainer in Legacy but has added value as a damage output when combined with Yuriko triggers in order to put back high CMC cards on top of the deck. Having a healthy amount of manipulation available also helps assemble the right pieces for this engine deck with approximately 8-12 enablers and 10-12 payoff cards.

The rest of the cards tend to be aimed at disrupting the opponent. Here is a list of the most common pieces of disruption with their relative amount of copies.

Force of Will is likely the best piece of disruption available to this deck. It allows the draw engine to be enabled by countering timely removal, prevents it from falling behind by countering a win condition, and allows us to keep our lead by converting extra cards into free counterspells. It's high CMC is a welcomed bonus when trying to quickly close out a game with Yuriko.

Force of Negation is the next best thing after FoW for all the same reasons, just a little less versatile. Some added perks of FoN is the fact that it is more easily cast by taping lands and the exile clause is non-negligible when countering common engine cards such as Past in Flames, Life from the Loam, and Punishing Fire. 2-3 copies between the main and side

Daze is a great card to have on the play against removal spells when backing up T1 enablers + T2 Ninja plays. It works great as a surprise element but tends to fall off quickly given non-aggressive starts and our lack of mana denial. Most lists will play between 0-4 copies in the main.

Thoughtseize can be a strong complement to a counterspell suite in a combo-heavy metagame. It is a useful tool against removal spells when trying to setup a ninja against a wary opponent. It makes a great complement to a T1 Thopter play. Given the tempo-negative nature of the card, additional Daze and FoN copies are usually preffered. However, TS still sees play as a 0-3-of between the main and side.

Fatal Push is the removal of choice against any aggressive deck. Most decks pack between 2-4 copies in the main.

Murderous Cut can destroy any creature that Fatal Push cannot. It is mostly played for it's high CMC on a Yuriko trigger. Playing more than 1 copy opens you to the liability of not having enough cards in your graveyard to cast multiple copies.

Dismember is the middle ground between the pros and cons of Push and Cut. It has a higher CMC than Push for Yuriko triggers, can be cast for 1 mana at the cost of some life points, and tends to hit the same targets that Cut can hit over Push (Hooting Mandrill, Gurmag Angler, Reality Smasher). Even though the cost is more flexible than Cut, playing more than 1-2 copies can become heavy on the life loss.

Drown in the Loch tends to be both a hard counterspell and a hard removal spell at a solid CMC of 2. This card is a little more niche but offers a lot of flexibility. Most decks play between 0-2 copies given the clunky nature of CMC2 reactive spells.

Brazen Borrower // Petty Theft offers some unique disruption to the UB color combination as it is one of the few ways to profitably interact with non-creature permanents such as Chalice of the Void and Ensnaring Bridge for instance. It can be used as a tempo setback on creatures without incurring any card disadvantage and can even be recycled by bouncing it via ninjutsu. This card is a must against Marrit Lage decks.

Here are a few 5-0 League decklists:

Standard UB

3 Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
3 Changeling Outcast
4 Ornithopter
4 Ingenious Infiltrator
4 Baleful Strix
4 Retrofitter Foundry
1 Murderous Cut
2 Daze
3 Fatal Push
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
2 Thoughtseize
4 Ponder
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Underground Sea
1 Bloodstained Mire
2 Swamp
4 Prismatic Vista
4 Polluted Delta
5 Island
Sideboard
1 Karakas
2 Back to Basics
2 Force of Negation
2 Submerge
2 Plague Engineer
2 Liliana, the Last Hope
4 Leyline of the Void


Green splash for Oko and Decay by MomsBasementStreams

3 Oko, Thief of Crowns
2 Baleful Strix
1 Brazen Borrower
4 Changeling Outcast
4 Ingenious Infiltrator
4 Ornithopter
3 Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
4 Ponder
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Brainstorm
3 Fatal Push
4 Force of Will
4 Retrofitter Foundry
1 Bayou
3 Misty Rainforest
4 Polluted Delta
2 Snow-Covered Island
2 Snow-Covered Swamp
2 Tropical Island
2 Underground Sea
2 Verdant Catacombs
Sideboard
1 Assassin's Trophy
3 Force of Negation
2 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Plague Engineer
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Thoughtseize


Red splash for Arcanist and SB options by Itou Minoru. Definitely more on the fringe side.

1 Daretti, Ingenious Iconoclast
4 Changeling Outcast
3 Dreadhorde Arcanist
4 Ingenious Infiltrator
4 Ornithopter
3 Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
4 Ponder
1 Preordain
4 Brainstorm
3 Fatal Push
3 Force of Negation
4 Force of Will
4 Retrofitter Foundry
1 Badlands
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Island
4 Polluted Delta
1 Prismatic Vista
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Swamp
2 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
Sideboard
2 Abrade
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
2 Plague Engineer
2 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
2 Soul-Guide Lantern
2 Submerge
1 Tormod's Crypt