Top 20 Ninja Cards in Magic: The Gathering

There’s no disputing it at this point: Ninjas are the most- and best-remembered part of the original Kamigawa block. Even with close to 20 years of power creep and shifts in Magic design against them, Ninjas are still an iconic and popular creature type, with a huge number of players maintaining Ninja tribal decks to this day. 

What makes Ninjas so widely appealing? They definitely have cool art and flavor on their side, but their signature ninjutsu ability is also an absolute all-time-great mechanical innovation. It encourages aggressive use of the combat phase even from controlling decks, creates interesting mind games, and opens up avenues to play cards which would not be close to Constructed otherwise. It plays well with other Ninjas, as well as generating powerful unique interactions with all manner of other cards. Ninjutsu is my high benchmark for new combat-centric mechanics.

So now that we’re making our long-awaited return to Kamigawa, it’s only natural that Ninjas take pride of place as a central theme. To celebrate the swathe of game-changing new Ninja cards from Neon Dynasty, I present to you this list, ranking them alongside their most powerful predecessors to discover the most standout shinobi in all of Magic.

20. BITING-PALM NINJA

Not every Ninja is designed around ninjutsu, but those with the ability are invariably judged by how easily they can make it past blockers, and how powerful their payoff “combat damage to a player” trigger is. Unfortunately for Biting-Palm Ninja, its Thoughtseize-esque trigger is decidedly less valuable when it’s landing turn three or later. While it benefits from the massive statline creep typical of modern creatures, having to give up both the payoff trigger and its evasion after the first activation keeps it from being any higher on this list.

19. WALKER OF SECRET WAYS

This was one of the first Ninjas to be designed with the lessons of Kamigawa block in mind. An obvious weakness of those early Ninjas is that many struggle to get in after their initial ninjutsu hit. So, Walker of Secret Ways is designed to return them to hand for another easy ninjutsu. But due to a barely-there statline and the significant negative tempo of paying to bounce your own creature, the speedy Magic of 2022 has largely left Walker behind.

18. COVERT TECHNICIAN

Like most of the cards this far from the top of our list, Covert Technician is only at its best in specific situations, or when paired with the proper support. But at least here the ceiling is potentially quite high – even without using shenanigans to boost its power, you can deploy an immediate Lotus Bloom off the trigger. Being an artifact itself is always significant, and the cheap ninjutsu cost and high toughness mean this can’t be ruled out as a Constructed sleeper hit. We’ll just have to wait for someone to determine the ideal artifact payoffs.

17. SPRING-LEAF AVENGER

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty is giving us our first batch of green Ninjas, with Spring-Leaf Avenger as the headlining rare. Green is not the first color I associate with subterfuge, but if you frame it as an incentive to attack with creatures, then I suppose ninjutsu can be a green ability. The best Ninjas are always those with card advantage on their damage triggers, and while green is already overflowing with this sort of incidental card draw, Avenger could still sneak into some Standard lists. Taking six from an unblocked mana dork is scary stuff.

16. SILVER-FUR MASTER

WotC didn’t normalize this sort of non-legendary, uncommon “lord” in Standard sets until Lorwyn, so Ninjas in original Kamigawa block missed out. Silver-Fur Master finally fills that gap, but due to the nature of the tribe and its game plan, you’d prefer a way to give Ninjas evasion to this simple stat boost. Bigger Ninjas are harder to block favorably, and discounting some ninjutsu abilities helps, too, but this is going to have to fight for its spot even in Ninja-themed Constructed decks.

15. TATSUNARI, TOAD RIDER

PROS: Enormous stat-to-cost ratio if you can reliably create Keimi; Sultai commander option so you can play the new green Ninjas; synergy with other popular Frogs; many Ninja support cards are enchantments.

CONS: Not clear what archetype this is most at home in; can’t make other Ninjas evasive; SO MUCH TEXT!

14. KAITO SHIZUKI

While he lacks the creature type, Kaito Shizuki is absolutely a Ninja in design and flavor. He just also happens to have a Spark. Despite that unique power source and his mythic rare status, Kaito is one of the least-pushed Ninja rares in Neon Dynasty – which I think is a great thing! WotC has clearly worked hard to tune a three-mana planeswalker we can describe as “playable” rather than “forgettable” or “format warping.” Kaito’s phasing trigger basically guarantees two activations, even in decks that hate to block, and the combination of card draw and ninjutsu-enabling will always come in handy.

13. HIGURE, THE STILL WIND

Given the long-standing judgment that original Kamigawa was “underpowered,” some readers might be surprised how many of its Ninjas have stood the test of time. Higure may be a little over-costed and under-statted compared to his Neon Dynasty descendents, but those new printings also add power to his unique tutoring ability! Higure is the sole Ninja who can both grant evasion to his subordinates AND generate reliable card advantage with his own attacks; that package is worth paying a premium for.

12. PROSPEROUS THIEF

We’ve reached the point where Commander players commonly refer to “the Treasure meta,” and Unexpected Windfall can be a bona fide Standard staple. So it’s not controversial to rate Prosperous Thief among the more dangerous new Ninjas coming out of Neon Dynasty. A Treasure is still worth less than a draw, but we already have plenty of Ninjas who are great at the latter – adding the capability to generate mana advantage to go with that card advantage unlocks greater heights for existing Ninja decks. Note that this will only make one Treasure per damage step, even if multiple Ninjas go unblocked.

11. INK-EYES, SERVANT OF ONI

As cool as she is, Ink-Eyes struggles to find a home in any format. Commander rules get in the way of both her ninjutsu (which can’t be activated from the command zone) and her reanimation trigger (since your enemy’s best creature won’t stay in their graveyard). In other formats, most players are loath to pay this much for an effect they can’t fully control or even guarantee will have targets. But when it does fire off, it’s among the most backbreaking swings any Ninja can manage, turning an unblocked 1/1 into 10+ mana of creatures on the spot. And when you don’t have access to Griselbrand, it’s still one of the better ways to turn temporary reanimation into permanent advantage.

10. FALLEN SHINOBI

It’s a testament to the unreal power level of Modern Horizons that this card was so overshadowed in its set. Yes, it’s a little pricey for Modern, but no more than other control finishers like Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. So why is Fallen Shinobi such an afterthought, then and now? Again, the combination of high cost and unpredictable payoff just goes against the accepted logic of competitive Magic. Shinobi can’t fully whiff like Ink-Eyes, and it generates a lot of value – but without evasion or the ability to protect itself, value alone can’t break this into Constructed playability.

9. MISTBLADE SHINOBI

Another surprisingly high-powered inclusion from the original Kamigawa clan, Mistblade Shinobi boasts outrageous upside for (effectively) a one-mana common. Like most Ninjas from that set, Mistblade is extremely dependent on ninjutsu and outside support to enable its trigger. But if you can set that up, the free tempo swing you can potentially generate with every hit is incredibly dangerous – not least because setting your opponent back on board often snowballs into further successful hits. Just compare this to Neon Dynasty’s Moonsnare Specialist if you want further proof of its excellence.

8. THOUSAND-FACED SHADOW

Everybody seems to agree: Thousand-Faced Shadow is a seriously strong card. But I would be interested to see which part of the card people think that strength derives from. To me, it’s simply an evasive one-drop while being on-type and on-color for pitch effects like Subtlety, Force of Will and Force of Negation. The chance to “upgrade” into a late game Clone of sorts is nice, but much in the same vein as other one-drops with pricey active abilities – a luxury, theoretical insurance against low-impact top-decks in the late game. I could be wrong, but the timing and targeting restrictions seem too significant for it to be anything more.

7. NINJA OF THE DEEP HOURS

Ah yes, Ninja of the Deep Hours – or, as I like to call it, The Little Engine That Could. The ideal tempo threat of its day, Deep Hours still does precisely what any such archetype looks for in a threat. It comes down early (at least when you can set up ninjutsu) and then provides free card advantage so long as you can keep opposing blockers out of its way. While long since overshadowed in formats other than Pauper, Ninja of the Deep Hours is still a valuable tool for understanding the aims and needs of blue tempo everywhere.

6. KAPPA TECH-WRECKER

Good news, everyone: not only will Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty give Magic its very own Ninja Turtle, that Turtle is close to being the best Ninja in the whole set! Kappa Tech-Wrecker is impactful when ninjutsu’d in for the guaranteed trigger, and tricky to block well after that. Cheap deathtouchers are already essential sideboard tech for green decks looking to win the mirror, so when that card does double-duty as a Disenchant? Cowabunga!

5. INGENIOUS INFILTRATOR

Ninja decks are, by their nature, a feast-or-famine affair. Your game plan relies on turning one cheap ninjutsu hit into an avalanche of advantage, but that advantage is as fragile as your Ninjas themselves. WotC deliberately makes it hard to protect your Ninjas from removal and blockers, so the least we can do is maximize our snowball potential when the risks do pay off. As such, Ingenious Infiltrator’s ability to draw several free cards per combat puts it in the highest echelon of Ninja payoffs.

4. SAKASHIMA’S STUDENT

The undisputed #1 on the “Ninjas in need of reprints” list, Sakashima’s Student also manages to crack the Top 5 of this one. Its ninjutsu ability matches Phantasmal Image for Clone efficiency, but with a relevant upside (bonus Ninja typing) instead of the Illusion’s sacrificial weakness. There’s also a range of unique possibilities opened up by putting that Clone into play as an unblocked attacker – it’s almost like giving any creature in Magic ninjutsu. Imagine how cool that would be…

3. NASHI, MOON-SAGE’S SCION

Now we’re getting into the really heady stuff! The Neon Dynasty Ninja class raises the bar for explosive payoffs, and Nashi is prime among them. I had to reread this twice to make sure the trigger really does say “each player”! Not only is Nashi a cheaper, sleeker Fallen Shinobi, but the ability to freecast from YOUR library opens the potential for control, which hampers other big Ninja payoffs. The floor here is a free land or random spell; the ceiling is immediate victory – and it’s a ceiling you barely have to stretch to reach. Watch out!

2. SATORU UMEZAWA

The famed Umezawa family returns to Magic’s spotlight once more, and Satoru is working overtime to live up to the reputation of his ancestors. He’s a card advantage engine without needing to risk himself in combat, and quite a powerful one at that. And of course, the real draw of this card: you can give ANY creature ninjutsu, like some kind of blue-black Sneak Attack! It took the Magic community all of ten minutes to churn out memes of Griselbrand and Emrakul rocking Naruto headbands, but I don’t think so many people will be laughing when that scenario starts playing out across the table…

1. YURIKO, THE TIGER’S SHADOW

After those two incredible combo pieces from Neon Dynasty, the only way for our ultimate Ninja to improve is to provide an explosive win condition all by itself. And that’s more or less what Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow is known for, both in Commander and Legacy. To put things in perspective, the absolute floor for this card is to be an Ingenious Infiltrator that also rips free chunks out of your opponents’ life totals. When you throw in the immunity to Commander tax, the potential for library manipulation, the “each opponent” wording on the trigger, and the massive scaling when played with other Ninjas, you get the most fearsome tempo creature this side of Ragavan. Yuriko singlehandedly turns Ninjas from a novelty into a tier deck wherever she’s legal, and is sure to remain the figurehead of the tribe for years to come.

THESE NINJUTSU ABILITIES ARE GETTING OUT OF HAND!

Looking back across the scattered ranks of Ninjas, it’s almost a shame that such a fun and unique mechanic was attached to such a specific creature type. If the ninjutsu ability had been introduced in a different set, with different flavor and on different creatures, I wonder if it would have become another recurring mechanic, like cycling or convoke. It feels like perhaps the bad reputation attached to Kamigawa as a whole dragged some great cards down to undeserved obscurity.

But perhaps there’s a silver lining to that logic. This long-awaited return to Kamigawa wouldn’t be happening if players hadn’t been asking about it all this time, and I’m sure a lot of those requests came from Ninja fans. Would there be the same demand for Kamigawa if it were not associated with these beloved mechanics? Who knows? I would like to see the non-Kamigawan roster of Ninjas expanded someday, but for now, I’m just glad we can give this tribe and their home plane a second chance.