With the final Gencon of Celestial upon us, it’s time for Scorpion to win another one. This time around we’ll be discussing Ninja, one of the most fun Military decks in the environment.
Core Elements of the Deck
As I discussed in my previous article, Ninja have a lot of variety in how to play them- they can be a fast and consistent Blitz deck, more focused on the Midgame or just move around like a loon, giving your opponent headaches. Still, there are cards that are common to most Ninja decks
Dynasty
Shosuro Aroru xp2- The Ninja Clan Champ, Aroru is a terror to face. Taking one of the best Ninja Personalities available at the moment (Takaharu) and sticking an unstoppable Ranged 5 to him is certainly one way to make an effective Personality.
Yogo Rieko xp- Her Poison Token movement rarely comes up, even in Ninja, but the simple fact is that Open straighten is one of the most powerful effects in the game.
Bayushi Tsubaki- The ability to remove their biggest threat before your attack is strong, especially when you consider the amount of ways Ninja have to straighten Tsubaki to allow him to attack as well.
Bayushi Muhito xp2- It may be a rarely used kill action, but he’s the bounciest Ninja since Aroru xp. It’s not hard to abuse an action that punishes your opponents for playing the game.
Shosuro Nishu- He made the Ninja deck work when printed, and he’s still key. He allows Ninja to threaten Provinces solo, as well as being a cheap body for keyworded actions.
Fate
Shadow Plays- The fateside version of Nishu. The first action is game winning against attachment decks like Monkensai or Crab Heroes, but the second action is the one that sees the most use: pumping any Ninja (even Followers) means you can threaten Provinces out of nowhere.
Silent Rot- Although it requires set up, this card will terrifying your opponent every time he assigns a poisoned Personality.
Asset Denial- The best new trick for the Ninja arsenal, Asset Denial should mainly be used on the defensive: you move your Ninja from one irrelevant Province to another (or home), and then discard a Personality from your opponent’s Province.
Flawless Assassin- It puts the Spring in Springfield. Flawless is the key element to most of the Ninja movement tricks, as well as enabling the Poison token cards.
Deck Styles
Blitz Military:
Running out of HMD, this is one of the more consistent Blitz decks in the environment. Not only capable of taking a Province turn 2 (a prerequisite for Blitz), proper use of Dynasty discard mechanics means that you can hinder your opponent’s Personality production on turn 3. The deck’s big weakness is that if your opponent flips 2 Personalities on turn 3, you will generally lose the game, and sometimes you can’t discard enough to prevent that from happening.
Dynasty
Hidden Moon Dojo- A key element of the deck. Knowing exactly where to attack each turn means you never waste an attack knocking out a Border Village. Also allows insanely fun mind games with your opponent.
Bayushi Keirei/Shosuro Tsuji- The ideal turn 1 is one of these two and Nishu. Keirei is preferable, but Tsuji will do in a pinch.
Fate
The Silent Blade/Apprentice Shinobi/Night Watchers- Used primarily for the Force they provide, the Followers also make you immune to most Presenceless Defence in the game, locking out Settling the Homeless, and gaining the Force bonuses so that Shameful Injury and Creating Order don’t stop the attack.
Determined Force- Another way to stop Presenceless Defence, particularly Province Strength pumps. With Ebisu’s Guidance and Willing Spirits expected to see play in defensive decks, Determined Force’s stock has gone back up.
Hidden Moon Dojo
Border Keep XP
Bamboo Harvester
Dynasty (40)
Celestials (1)
1x Bayushi’s Guidance
Events (2)
1x Untouchable Escort
1x Under Siege
Holdings (11)
3x Geisha House
3x Wooden Barricade
3x Barley Farm
2x Travelling Peddler
Personalities (26)
1x Yogo Rieko xp
1x Shosuro Aroru xp2
1x Shosuro Toson xp2
1x Bayushi Muhito xp2
1x Bayushi Tsubaki
3x Shosuro Nishu
3x Bayushi Keirei
3x Shosuro Tsuji
3x Shosuro Sogetsu
3x Shosuro Shigemasa
3x Yogo Rieko
3x Soshi Hirotsugu
Fate (40)
Strategies (28)
3x Shadow Plays
3x Strike from the Shadows
3x Determined Force
3x Walk in Shadows
3x Silent Rot
3x Hidden in the Shadows
3x Asset Denial
2x Shuriken and Smoke
2x Near Miss
1x A Game of Dice
1x Subversive Whispers
1x Creating Order
Followers (12)
3x Flawless Assassin
3x Apprentice Shinobi
3x The Silent Blade
3x Night Watchers
The key to this deck (like all Blitz decks) is the turn 2 attack. Turn 1 use BK to flush everything that isn’t a Nishu or a 7-8g Ninja. Don’t worry that you’ll be discarding away your Uniques, they’re generally only going to be made turn 4 anyway. On turn 2 attach as many Followers as required, remembering to take into account Nishu and Shadow Plays. Look at their face-down Provinces, hope they’ve only got two Personalities in there and then attack. Discard whatever Personalities you can using Strike/Asset Denial and then take a Province.
It is essential you keep the pressure on. In an average game your opponent should never get more than 3 Personalities out, and hopefully less than that. If you stumble even once that can cost you the game- if your opponent makes two Personalities in one turn that will usually result in you losing.
Midgame Battle Military:
This deck concentrates on playing high amounts of battle actions, seldom relying on the movement that is so characteristic of Ninja. The loss of the movement means the deck is less likely to get a blowout win in the early game, but your ability to win battles is second to none. It’s particularly effective against Lion, who aren’t accustomed to losing important battles.
Fortress of Blackened Sight
Border Keep
Bamboo Harvester
Dynasty (40)
Celestials (1)
1x Bayushi’s Guidance
Events (2)
1x Crossing the Forbidden Sea
1x The War of Dark Fire
Holdings (14)
3x Geisha House
3x Border Village
3x Barley Farm
2x Travelling Peddler
1x Kitsune Den
1x Stolen Merchandise
1x Dark Oracle of Fire
Personalities (23)
1x Yogo Rieko xp
1x Shosuro Aroru xp2
1x Bayushi Muhito xp2
1x Bayushi Tsubaki
3x Shosuro Nishu
3x Shosuro Shigemasa
3x Shosuro Tsuji
3x Bayushi Arashii
3x Shosuro Takuma
2x Shosuro Sogetsu
2x Takaharu
Fate (40)
Strategies (33)
3x Shadow Plays
3x Strike from the Shadows
3x Silent Rot
3x Asset Denial
3x Shuriken and Smoke
2x Sundering Strike
2x Walk in Shadows
2x Hidden in the Shadows
2x Mysterious Ailments
2x Black Hearts, Red Blades
2x Out of Nowhere
2x Justly Earned Victory
2x Smoke Cover
1x Creating Order
1x A Game of Dice
Followers (5)
3x Flawless Assassin
2x Night Watchers
Items (2)
2x Blowdarts
This deck focuses on early production, bringing out two holdings on turn 1, and ideally two on turn 2. In swings in like a regular deck, avoiding smaller fights when necessary, but with the eventual goal of forcing your opponent into a big battle, where the deck’s high amount of kill actions and other combat tricks should prove decisive. The deck relies on Fortress for defence (8PS), fate manipulation and a last resort battle action.
Ninja Tricks Military
Finally, this deck is a mix of the two previous, and my personal favourite. Although originally based on a list by Dave Russell, a lot of the cards in here are ones I play out of personal taste, and some may seem like odd choices. Utilising HMD for the discard to help get some tempo in the game, the deck relies on movement to get around its opponents, but runs the cards needed to win fights that matter. The deck is capable of blitzing if required (e.g. against Dishonour), but prefers a more sedate pace.
Dynasty
Hidden Moon Dojo- Hidden Moon Dojo is my favourite Scorpion SH of the arc. It’s most definitely under-powered, but the ability to play mind games with your opponent is what L5R is all about.
Shosuro Takuma- <3 Takuma. Poison tokens are bad, but Takuma makes them annoying. The fear of him setting up Silent Rot will keep people from assigning on a regular basis.
Fate
Black Hearts, Red Blades- Another card I absolutely love. A run away action that is also card draw, it’s primarily used to trigger Flawless and allow one army to suddenly be in multiple locations at once.
Retribution- Although a dead card against certain matchups (Honour, Dishonour), it’s so powerful against Military it’s worth 2 slots in this deck. Even if you can’t take the Province, using a Strike from the Shadows to discard their only face up Personality is astounding.
Hidden Moon Dojo
Border Keep XP
Bamboo Harvester
Dynasty
Events (1)
1x Crossing the Forbidden Sea
Celestials (1)
1x Bayushi’s Guidance
Holdings (14)
3x Geisha House
3x Border Village
3x Barley Farm
2x Travelling Peddler
1x Stolen Merchandise
1x Dark Oracle of Fire
Personalities (24)
1x Yogo Rieko xp
1x Shosuro Aroru xp2
1x Shosuro Toson xp2
1x Bayushi Muhito xp2
1x Bayushi Tsubaki
3x Shosuro Nishu
3x Shosuro Tsuji
3x Bayushi Keirei
3x Bayushi Arashii
3x Shosuro Takuma
2x Shosuro Sogetsu
2x Takaharu
Fate (40)
Strategies (31)
3x Shadow Plays
3x Strike from the Shadows
3x Silent Rot
3x Asset Denial
3x Shuriken and Smoke
3x Walk in Shadows
3x Hidden in the Shadows
3x Black Hearts, Red Blades
2x Spirit of the Shadows
2x Retribution
1x Sneak Attack
1x Creating Order
1x A Game of Dice
Followers (8)
3x Flawless Assassin
3x Apprentice Shinobi
2x Night Watchers
Rings (1)
1 Ring of Water
As I said above, this is less an exact style of deck, and more one refined to personal style. Although I tend to spend less time playing Ninja compared to Dishonour, it’s nice to break out a Military deck from time to time, and as much fun as my Magistrate deck is, this is just easier to use.
The main trick is being fully aware of the strength of HMD, knowing when and where to attack, and when you need to take a Province and when you need to run away. Ninja is a decktype where you truly get back what you put in- anyone can play a Ninja deck, but a great player can make it sing. And after the first time you attack with a lone Nishu and then Strike/Shuriken their only defender, others will realise how head wrecking Ninja can be.
Hopefully these lists will give you an idea of ways to go with Ninja. For Gencon in particular I don’t think Ninja are a great choice, but only because of their insane weakness to Dishonour- otherwise I would recommend them in a heartbeat.
Discuss the article in our Article Discussion Forum