{"id":17202,"date":"2016-07-15T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2016-07-15T08:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ygorganization.com\/?p=17202"},"modified":"2016-07-15T06:14:58","modified_gmt":"2016-07-15T06:14:58","slug":"ninjad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ygorganization.com\/staging\/?p=17202","title":{"rendered":"Creative Deck Strategy: The Shadow Proclaimation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hiding in plain sight? That’s the job of members of this\u00a0archetype.\u00a0One may even call it an Art form…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Props to those who got the reference of this article’s title. Oh, and look at the cute Ninja Goats.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Introduction:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Welcome to another CDS article, and this edition will be focusing on a Warrior-type archetype that likes to masquerade as other types. Originating with a series of monsters that activated when flipped face-up, the theme has had many different revivals over the years and across multiple anime series. From gaining a set of support for the Ninjitsu Arts, specifically\u00a0Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo,\u00a0<\/strong>to gaining support for\u00a0Synchro Summoning, specifically through the Karakuri Ninjas, and subsequently Xyz Summoning, through the Armor Ninjas combined with\u00a0Upstart Golden Ninja,\u00a0<\/strong>the theme has seen evolution over the course of the history of the TCG like no other. Even more recently, the theme has recieved new support in the form of the Twilight Ninjas. After so much support, you would think that duelists could be innovating with this diverse archetype, but in fact, the theme has remained rather stagnant in terms of attempted builds. For example, there was Ninja Control,\u00a0featuring Ninjitsu Art of Super Transformation\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0White Dragon Ninja,\u00a0<\/strong>a\u00a0trap-focused strategy designed to stop\u00a0the opponent with an indestructible\u00a0Safe Zone<\/strong>. With the Xyz Era came a new iteration, Dino Ninja using Jurrac Guaiba\u00a0<\/strong>to help make Evolzar Laggia\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Evolzar Dolka<\/strong>\u00a0to hamper the opponent’s effects.\u00a0<\/strong>Another iteration of the theme was Apex Ninja, featuring\u00a0Ninjitus Art of Transformation,\u00a0<\/strong>Mist Valley Apex Avian,\u00a0<\/strong>and sometimes even\u00a0Dark Simorgh<\/strong>\u00a0to negate and disrupt your opponent’s plays.\u00a0<\/strong>This variant even got revived with the release of Pendulums, since wide pendulum scale ranges works well for summoning Apex Avian back from the hand.<\/p>\n

\"\"But despite all of those\u00a0control and disruption strategies, how many of them could be considered meta?\u00a0The correct answer there is none of them. They had a bit of time in the limelight, but outside of a pretty WCQ mat in 2012, they haven’t created\u00a0too much of a competitive splash. So why haven’t duelists tried to break away from the conventional control framework for the theme? Sure, Ninjas have access to these controlling cards, but they have so much potential elsewhere as well. Today’s article is all about doing just that – using the Ninja archetype in an innovative way to craft\u00a0a fast-paced aggressive and advantage-based strategy. After all, they do boast one of the best archetype ‘Stratos’ equivalents in the form of Ninja Grandmaster\u00a0Hanzo<\/strong>. The strategy has a simple goal: abuse the free searching each time Hanzo\u00a0is Summoned,\u00a0then\u00a0turn that pure advantage into solid field presence. Remember, you get a\u00a0Ninjitsu Art when it is Normal Summoned, and then you get a Ninja whenever it is Special Summoned. So if we build the strategy with enough Summoning power to abuse all of this searching, you can really have a solid search engine for the deck. But Hanzo is not alone in its duty.\u00a0Twilight Ninja Shingetsu,<\/strong>\u00a0another in-theme searcher,\u00a0<\/strong>is the star when it comes to searching when it is destroyed. So instead of just having an ‘active’ searcher, you also have a ‘passive’ one at your disposal. Also, two Shingetsu also form a ‘Hopper Lock’, made famous by\u00a0Watthopper\u00a0<\/strong>back in the day. While this stall tactic may not be as effective today, it probably will be\u00a0able to stall for a turn or two, and Shingetsu even searches a new Ninja for you if your lock is taken down by\u00a0Dark Hole\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0Raigeki.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"So we got the search power equivalent to one of the top decks once you add in generic Warrior-type support, otherwise known as\u00a0Reinforcement of the Army,\u00a0<\/strong>but do we have the Summoning power at our disposal? Yet again, the newest Twilight Ninjas are about to pull through for our archetype. Introducing\u00a0Twilight Ninja Getsuga, the Shogun,\u00a0<\/strong>the official boss monster of Aggressive\u00a0Ninjas. Whenever he is in attack\u00a0position, simply use his effect, turn him to defense, and then Special Summon 2 Ninjas from your Graveyard with no strings attached. To put how powerful this monster can be into perspective, imagine what happens when you use his effect to summon 2 Hanzo from your Graveyard. Both of them activate upon summon, adding 2 additional Ninja monsters to your hand. That is a +4 swing in card advantage, plus you already have 2 Level 4 monsters on your field, ready to perform an Xyz Summon. Even if you only use his effect to summon back 2 Shingetsu, you still are getting the ‘Hopper Lock’ out of the deal. Or should I call it the Ninja Lock now? The best part is, if Getsuga sticks around, you can simply use his effect again on the next turn. But wait, there is more! You have another effect that\u00a0Special Summons a ton\u00a0of Ninja monsters to the field, and this alternative is\u00a0Senior Silver Ninja.\u00a0<\/strong>Whenever he is flipped face-up, you get to Special Summon ANY number of Ninja monsters from your hand or Graveyard. So yes, he can be considered\u00a0the in-theme version of Soul Charge<\/strong>. The only downside to his effect\u00a0is that he Special Summons in face-down defense, so you would have to then later Flip Summon Hanzo in order to get your\u00a0free\u00a0searches. But 4 free monsters can\u00a0definitely be worth that trade-off.<\/p>\n

\"\"Now I am sure you are sitting there wondering when I will bring up the catch. Because if these monsters are as\u00a0powerful as I say, they should have already had some sort of impact on deckbuilders. Well the only catch that I can think of is that the Shogun is a Level 8 monster and must be Tribute Summoned or Special Summoned somehow. You unfortunately cannot rely on Pendulum Summoning here, but the good news is that he can be Tribute Summoned by using only 1 Ninja monster as tribute. Good thing we have an in-theme ‘Cyber Dragon<\/strong>‘ equivalent that gets itself to your field without wasting your turn’s Normal Summon. Introducing\u00a0Earth Armor Ninja,\u00a0<\/strong>that forgotten Level 5 Ninja that was only ever used to manipulate levels with the other Armor Ninjas for the Xyz Summon of\u00a0Number 12: Crimson Shadow Armor Ninja\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0Blade Armor Ninja.\u00a0<\/strong>Sure, he has a very bland effect. But there is absolutely no problem in running a searchable tribute fodder monster if he is able to bring out your amazing boss so effortlessly. It also serves as tribute fodder for your Senior Silver Ninja<\/strong> as well as any other 1-tribute Ninjas that you choose to run, such as\u00a0Red Dragon Ninja,\u00a0<\/strong>Twilight Ninja Nichirin, the Chunin,\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0Blue Dragon Ninja.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"I’m touching on all of these powerful Summoning methods via Effect monsters, such as from Graveyard or from the hand, but could there be other methods designed to\u00a0Special Summon Ninjas? Of course, because we can always choose to bring\u00a0them straight out of the deck as well! This purpose falls to our Ninjistu Art Trap cards, the cards that help to make the Ninja archetype unique. Not only do they each have effects upon initial activation, but they also stick around once resolved\u00a0as they are mostly\u00a0continuous Trap cards.\u00a0Ninjtisu Art of Transformation\u00a0<\/strong>lets you trade a Ninja for a Winged-Beast, Beast, or Insect-type monster from your Hand or Deck with a Level up to 3 more than your tributed Ninja. This includes the in-theme\u00a0Red Dragon Ninja\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Black Dragon Ninja,\u00a0<\/strong>both of which can be powerhouses when used correctly. Red allows you to start limiting your opponent’s draws, returning Set cards back to the top of the deck for them to re-draw on the next turn. As for Black, it turns your large pool of Ninjas in-hand or spent Ninjistu Arts on your field into monster removal! On the other side of the aisle, you have\u00a0Ninjistu Art of Super Transformation\u00a0<\/strong>that lets you trade a Ninja AND a monster on your opponent’s side of the field for a Dragon, Dinosaur, or Sea Serpent-type monster from your Deck with a Level up to the combined Levels of the sent monsters. This includes the in-theme\u00a0Blue Dragon Ninja\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0White Dragon Ninja,\u00a0<\/strong>both of which have specific applications. Blue boasts a quick effect that negates an opponent’s monster’s effects and prevents it from attacking for the turn at the hefty cost of a Ninja and a Ninjitsu Art in your hand. As for\u00a0White, it protects all of your Spell and Trap cards from being destroyed.<\/p>\n

\"\"Those two options may be the more commonly recognized\u00a0Ninjitsu Art cards, but there is one more that gives our Aggressive Ninjas the final bit of Special Summoning prowess that it needs –\u00a0Ninjitsu Art of Duplication<\/strong>.\u00a0By trading a Ninja from your field, you get to Special Summon a number of Ninja monsters from your deck with total combined Levels equal to or less than the tributed Ninja’s Level. So if you tribute a Hanzo, you get to Special Summon another Level 4 Ninja or multiple Level 1 Ninjas, all straight from your deck. While this doesn’t seem all that special at this point in time, let’s start talking about the combos unlocked with this card. If you have Duplication and\u00a0Earth Armor Ninja,\u00a0<\/strong>simply Special Earth with its effect, use Duplication to bring out Hanzo (and potentially a Level 1 Ninja in face-down defense if you choose to run it). Hanzo then activates, adding Getsuga to your hand. After that,\u00a0Tribute Summon Getsuga using your Hanzo. Then, by using the effect of Getsuga, Special Summon back your Hanzo and Earth Armor Ninja, and then add your free Ninja from the deck to the hand. So starting with a Trap and a monster, you ended with a Ninja search, Hanzo, Earth, and Getsuga on your field, a face-up Ninjistu Art, and potentially a set Level 1 Ninja. The simple version of this combo is to Normal Summon Hanzo, add Duplication, use Duplication in your opponent’s Standby Phase to summon a second Hanzo straight from your deck. This second monster gives you a free Ninja to your hand as well. Duplication also has an additional use, specifically when you have a Getsuga that your opponent threatens to destroy or negate. Simply tribute it away with Duplication and bring out another Getsuga or 2 Level 4 Ninjas from your deck; (Insert puff of smoke) <\/em>threat\u00a0dodged. Duplication also lets you trade any of your Level 6 Ninjas for another Level 6, or you could even bring out multiple Karakuri Ninja mdl 339 “Sazank”<\/strong>, set and ready to remove your opponent’s monsters from the field.<\/p>\n

Of course you have additional Ninjitsu Arts at your disposal as well, ranging from draw power and destruction immunity to ATK\u00a0reduction, monster removal, and attack negation. At the end of the day, you have a ton of options. That is what Aggressive Ninjas is all about, abusing the insane search power and wide berth of the Ninja archetype to search out whatever answer you need, then continuing to generate even more free card advantage. Eventually, your opponent just won’t be able to continue trying to keep up. I think I’ve spent enough time talking about the potential of this deck, so let’s get into the Key Cards, shall we?<\/p>\n

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Key Cards:<\/strong><\/p>\n