Ninjas first appeared in Magic: The Gathering's first visit to Kamigawa. Here's why they haven't been around and what they could do in Neon Dynasty.
Magic: The Gathering’s first visit to the Japanese folklore-inspired plane of Kamigawa is over 15 years old now and released to mixed reviews, and Wizards is returning to the theme in 2021. A lot of the issue was the formats it released into - Mirrodin, an artifact-heavy block was dominating Standard leaving not much room for experimentation with the new legendary cards. However, the flavor has been a hit with fans and the set has garnered a reputation for being a cult classic - since its release, Commander has become a much more popular format and the strange designs from the Kamigawa block fit right in.
In 2021, Wizards has decided to release a new set for MGT - the cyberpunk-themed Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, as a test run to see if the plane is popular enough for it to be a mainstay. With the return set far in the future, it might seem like many of its mechanics might not fit in with the new world. However, one tribe is already confirmed to be back, and that is the fan-favorite tribe of Ninjas.
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Many of the mechanics from Kamigawa were strange, like Splice onto Arcane and Soulshift, but Ninjas thrived due to their uniqueness. They were introduced in Betrayers of Kamigawa and have a unique playstyle thematically tied to stealth. With the newest planeswalker Kaito Shizuki making Ninja tokens, it seems the tribe will play an important role in the new game. Wizards of the Coast has seemingly been reticent to print ninjas for players to build Magic: The Gathering Standard decks with for numerous reasons, but now that they will be returning to Standard after many years, looking to the past might help people get a leg up on the strategies that might be present in the new format.
The Ninjutsu mechanic is even itself sort of strange. Essentially, once blockers are declared, a player can swap out an unblocked creature for a Ninja in their hand. Cards like Ninja of the Deep Hours, Ink-Eyes, and Higure, The Still Wind have some sort of effect when they deal combat damage to a player, meaning that players are rewarded for finding sneaky ways to attack. Since players are also returning a creature to their hand, those cards can be replayed to generate even more board presence and advantage. Unlike Hearthstone for fans of the game, these actions can be done while attacking at instant speed.
There’s an interesting push and pull once the ninjas are on the board, though. They are usually underpowered compared to other creatures of the same mana cost, but their effects are usually worth building around. Finding cards that make them unblockable or destroying other players’ creatures to get through is a simple but effective strategy to get ninjas to trigger their effects multiple times.
Because the name ninjutsu is so synonymous with Ninjas, Wizards of the Coast had limited the number of cards it could be printed on. However, there were three big surprises that showed Wizards knows the mechanic and tribe is popular. The first was the release of Planechase in 2012, which introduced two new ninjas - Sakashima’s Student and Silent-Blade Shinobi. After six years, the mechanic finally returned led by Yuriko, a new Legendary Creature for play in Magic's 100-card Commander format. Yuriko and Silent-Blade Oni were the only new ninjas printed in Commander 2018 and has seen play as far back as Legacy, but Modern Horizons finally brought focus to the tribe by adding eight new members including Ingenious Infiltrator and Fallen Shinobi.
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These cards were all printed in supplementary sets - none of these ever made it to Standard after Kamigawa. With Standard sets, Wizards of the Coast can design more ninjas due to the larger amount of cards, meaning that the tribe could legitimately double in size. There are currently 19 ninjas not from Magic’s Unsets, and with Neon Dynasty, there might be enough ninjas to finally build a Commander deck based solely around them.
The Ninja theme booster that was unveiled earlier this week revealed that there will most likely be ninjas in every color, meaning that many decks in MTG: Innistrad's current Standard will get to play members of the tribe. This proliferation across colors means that there are more possible strategies than if the tribe was just black and blue like it was in the past. A white Ninja could make aggressive white strategies better, comboing with Elite Spellbinder to replay its card-stealing ability. A red Ninja could work with Falkenrath Pit Fighter to get ninjutsu and advantage off early - same for green with Ascended Packleader. Although ninjas are aggressive and attack-oriented, there is still a lot of room for counterplay and fancy synergies. Combat becomes harder to analyze and players will have to think about possible combat tricks and instant-speed interaction before declaring blocks.
Kaito Shizuki is a planeswalker in MTG revealed in 2021 which plays with ninjas incredibly well - making unblockable Ninjas so players can ninjutsu in threats while also giving extra cards for dealing combat damage to opponents. It hints heavily that ninjutsu is coming back even though no cards with the mechanic have been revealed yet. With the history of Ninjas also being tied to its mechanics so tightly, there’s lots of reason to Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty already seems to have many incredible cards, but Magic: The Gathering’s tribal decks have been a staple of the game since its beginnings.
The theme and flavor for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty seems to be focused on the undercity and ninjas fit right in. Even for gameplay, Ninjas have seen competitive play in many formats beyond Standard, spanning back to Modern and Legacy. The current Magic metagame, even in the Heartstone-like Magic format Alchemy, is more control and midrange focused, so having ninjas to slip those opponents up might keep Epiphany and Dragon decks in check. Based on the available information, the set looks like it gives players who are interested in Dragons, Lands, and Legendary Creatures great cards in addition to the ninjas. Everything that made the original set great and unique seems to be back, making for an exciting experience that is made for Magic: The Gathering players new and old.
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Joshua Cole is a gaming writer for Screen Rant and a recent graduate of Emerson College with a BFA in Writing for Film and Television. He's taken that storytelling prowess and analysis and is applying it to gaming, where stories are aplenty. He's based out of San Diego, California, and when he's not writing, he's probably looking for another creative outlet in the form of playing Magic: The Gathering or Planet Coaster.