Considering Removing//replacing:
1. Accursed Marauder: Low impact
2.Augury Owl: Weak scry effect
3. Crypt Rats: Conflicts with our creature-based strategy
4. Bonder's Ornament: Too slow for higher power levels
5. Ophidian Eye: Inconsistent card draw
Introduction & Gameplan
This Pauper Commander deck revolves around the Ninjutsu mechanic, which is an activated ability that allows you to swap attacking creatures with more powerful ones from your hand. This creates a surprise element that can overwhelm your opponents. At the core of the deck is Silver-Fur Master, whose only purpose is its static ability: "Other Ninjas you control get +1/+1 and have unblockable." This buff makes your ninjas harder to block and ensures you can repeatedly use Ninjutsu without worrying about blockers.
The deck is built around synergies that deal incremental damage, draw cards through Ninjutsu, and disrupt opponents. By leveraging unblockable creatures, Ninjutsu, and evasive creatures, you can quickly build a commanding board presence.
The Heart of the Deck: Silver-Fur Master
Silver-Fur Master is the commander and provides a crucial static buff that makes your other ninjas unblockable and more powerful. This ability ensures your ninjas can consistently trigger Ninjutsu without the worry of being blocked. It’s important to note that Silver-Fur Master's ability is static, meaning it affects all of your ninjas at all times. This effect allows your ninjas to be more impactful, dealing substantial damage while protecting themselves from being blocked.
Early Game
In the early game, you should focus on setting up your board with evasive creatures that can trigger Ninjutsu. Creatures like Changeling Outcast, Soulknife Spy, and Mothdust Changeling are all perfect for triggering Ninjutsu. These creatures are cheap and unblockable, making them ideal for triggering the ability on the following turn.
Your priority should be to get Silver-Fur Master into play as early as possible. Ideally, this happens by turn two so that you can immediately start benefiting from the +1/+1 and unblockable buffs on your other ninjas. To support this, you should have access to mana sources like Arcane Signet, Dimir Signet, Chromatic Star, and Lotus Petal to ensure you can play your key creatures early and maintain the tempo.
Mid Game
In the mid-game, you should leverage repeatable tap-to-burn effects, such as Pestilence, to keep pressure on your opponents while enhancing the damage dealt by your ninjas. At this stage, you should have a strong board of unblockable creatures and be actively triggering Ninjutsu to swap in larger, more impactful creatures like Okiba-Gang Shinobi and Moonblade Shinobi. These creatures will disrupt your opponents by forcing discard or sacrificing creatures, further pushing your advantage.
Key Strategy: By now, you should be able to trigger Ninjutsu effectively with your unblockable creatures. Okiba-Gang Shinobi is one of the deck's best creatures, forcing your opponent to sacrifice creatures or discard cards each time it enters the battlefield via Ninjutsu. In addition, creatures like Ninja of the Deep Hours and Moonblade Shinobi will help you draw cards and keep up the pressure.
Late Game
By the late game, you should have dealt significant damage through your ninjas and be looking to close out the game. At this point, your opponent will have had more time to react, so it's important to stay flexible. Use your card advantage to find removal spells or finishers, and deploy your final ninjas to swing for the win.
Key Strategy: Ninjutsu creatures like Moonblade Shinobi and Okiba-Gang Shinobi can deal the final blows while stripping your opponents of their blockers or resources. With Silver-Fur Master buffing your creatures, your ninjas will become more formidable, making it easier to close out the game.
Mulligan Strategy
The goal for the mulligan is to ensure you have at least one unblockable creature and some mana acceleration. The best hands will feature Silver-Fur Master and other unblockable creatures to begin triggering Ninjutsu as soon as possible. If you don’t have ramp, it’s okay as long as you have an unblockable creature to begin triggering Ninjutsu early.
Key Cards to Keep: Silver-Fur Master is crucial, so if you draw it early, keep it. It is the deck's main engine, and having it in your opening hand can greatly increase the power of your ninjas. Changeling Outcast and Soulknife Spy are both great keeps because they enable Ninjutsu early. Mana sources like Arcane Signet, Dimir Signet, or Dark Ritual will help you get your key creatures into play earlier.
Cards to Mulligan Away: If you draw high-cost creatures like Gurmag Angler or Ulamog's Crusher, mulligan them. These creatures don’t help you in the early game, and you need to focus on getting your Ninjutsu triggers online as soon as possible. Excessive removal like Grasp of Darkness or Pestilence can be mulled if you’re looking for more proactive plays to get your Ninjutsu synergy going.
Swaps for Slower Metas
In slower metas, where your opponents likely have bigger threats, you can adjust the deck to become more controlling or resilient. This will ensure you can handle larger creatures or setups that demand a bit more attention.
Swaps-Out for Slower Metas: Aarakocra Sneak may be underwhelming in slower metas and can be swapped out for something with a more significant impact. Sneaky Snacker is a ninja that can be useful for Ninjutsu, but in a slower meta, you may want more impactful threats or better ways to disrupt opponents. Mana Leak is less effective in a slower meta where players have more mana available, so you might swap it out for cards like Dispel or Negate.
Additions for Slower Metas: Pestilence is an excellent board wipe in slower metas, where bigger threats may be dominating. Lórien Revealed is great for card draw, helping you stay ahead of the game. Reaping the Graves can provide vital recursion, bringing back key ninjas like Okiba-Gang Shinobi or Ninja of the Deep Hours.
Mana Curve & Color Distribution
This deck has a low mana curve, with the average mana cost being around 2.4. Most of the creatures in the deck cost between 1-3 mana, making it easy to get out your key creatures quickly and trigger Ninjutsu often. The mana base supports this by providing efficient mana fixing with snow-covered lands and utility lands like Dimir Aqueduct and Mystic Sanctuary.
Win Conditions
Ninja Synergy: The primary win condition relies on Ninjutsu. You can swap in evasive creatures, such as Okiba-Gang Shinobi and Moonblade Shinobi, to disrupt opponents and gain incremental card advantage or force them to discard cards.
Pestilence: This is your board wipe tool, helping to clear blockers and set up your ninjas for the final push.
Treasure Cruise: This provides a late-game card draw engine to ensure you’re not running out of action and can continue pulling ninjas for your Ninjutsu triggers.
Recent Swaps
Removed Capsize for being too slow.
Added Grasp of Darkness to help with more reliable removal in slower metas.
Statistics
Projected Win Percentage: 65% against aggro decks, 50-60% against midrange, 40-50% against control-heavy decks.
Average Mana Curve: 2.4
Win Conditions: Ninjutsu synergy, Pestilence for board wipes, Treasure Cruise for card draw.
