Jumpstart is a new Limited format that leaps past deck construction and lands directly into games. You mash two packs together, shuffle, and square off on the kitchen table. Each pack has a distinct theme, and it's especially delightful to find synergies between the packs in your deck.

For instance, say one of your packs is Goblins. After attacking with Goblin Instigator, after no blocks are declared, you tap and ninjutsu Ninja of the Deep Hours. That was no mere goblin but a master of disguise. You then draw your card and can later replay the goblin to create a bonus token.

What's that you say? There isn't any Jumpstart pack featuring ninjas? Perhaps so, until now. *Cue dramatic music.*

Ninjas, Blue Whisper Clan | Jumpstart | AE Marling

• Creatures (9)
• 1 Cloudskate
• 1 Faerie Seer
• 1 Mistblade Shinobi
• 1 Mist-Syndicate Naga
• 1 Moonblade Shinobi
• 1 Neurok Invisimancer
• 1 Thalakos Seer
• 2 Ninja of the Deep Hours

• Instants (1)
• 1 Curfew

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Smoke Shroud

• Artifacts (1)
• 1 Shuriken

• Lands (8)
• 7 Island
• 1 Vivid Creek

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Your goal when playing ninjas is to slip a creature past your opponent's defenses. Once a creature isn't blocked, you can swap it with a ninja and gain a benefit, such as returning a creature to an opponent's hand with Mistblade Shinobi. This works best when you have evasive threats that you can replay for little mana.

If this were a dedicated Ninja deck, Ornithopter would be a great inclusion. Since your theme will be mixed between two packs, Faerie Seer will more often be better. You can regain its scry ability every time its recast. The advantage is even greater with Thalakos Seer; its rare leaves-the-battlefield trigger is downright devious with ninjutsu. A shadow creature might as well read as unblockable, which is downright spooky in a night full of ninjas.

I also included a creature with vanishing, Cloudskate, to illustrate another potential advantage of returning your own creature to your hand. You could also play Riftwing Cloudskate in this slot to try to double-dip on its ETB trigger.

In a ninja deck, any small flier is good. If you've been waiting for a chance to play Flying Men, include them. Cloud Pirates is also a fun card, as is Vivid Flying Fish. These are also options if you wish to downshift the pack's power level. Though I don't anticipate it being a problem, if you decide you need to weaken this pack for balance, you can include any of the following flavorful cards over their more powerful counterparts: Infiltration Lens, Phantom Ninja, Walker of Secret Ways, Launch, or Cloak of Feathers.

And if you need to increase the power of the pack, look to Distortion Strike and Zephid's Embrace. If you own a Higure, the Still Wind, you can certainly add him, though it wouldn't be a power increase over Mist-Syndicate Naga. A single bite from that snake ninja can doom your opponent. That must be some potent venom.

Speaking of doom and venom, ninjas also come in Black. This color has fewer options, and a few of them are more expensive than I wanted. Instead I designed a cheaper pack, without all the ninjas I wanted but two rares in recompense.

Ninjas, Black Noon Clan | Jumpstart | AE Marling

• Creatures (11)
• 1 Azra Smokeshaper
• 1 Bone Shredder
• 1 Changeling Outcast
• 1 Dirge Bat
• 1 Okiba-Gang Shinobi
• 1 Oona's Prowler
• 1 Skullsnatcher
• 1 Throatseeker
• 1 Will-o'-the-Wisp
• 2 Ninja of the New Moon

• Instants (1)
• 1 Blood Curdle

• Lands (8)
• 7 Swamp
• 1 Vivid Marsh

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This deck technically has more ninjas than the Blue Whisper Clan, if you count the changeling and Skullsnatcher. I'm not excited about the rat dealing combat damage, but returning a creature to my hand with ninjutsu can be a major advantage if it is Bone Shredder or Dirge Bat. The latter you can even mutate onto a ninja, get the destroy trigger, and then attack with a flying ninja bat. What more could you want?

Of course, I wished to play with Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni and Throat Slitter, but they're expensive and hard to find. If you own them, by all means play them. Then I would suggest lowering the power level of the pack by replacing Bone Shredder with Dusk Legion Zealot. To balance it downward further, you could also remove a rare such as Oona's Prowler. That would be a shame, though, as it presents your opponent with a perilous choice. If they discard a card to salve the faerie rogue's sting, you can then ninjutsu in a Ninja of the New Moon to lop off their head.

I love the idea of a ninja sneaking into an opponent's fortress and then slicing them in two with a katana. Not subtle, true, but forceful, and very Black.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Will-o'-the-Wisp. Originally printed as a rare, this was one of the flavorful cards in Magic's beginnings. It was reprinted as an uncommon, and that's how I'm counting it. In this pack it can lead opposing attackers into the bog or can flit closer with its blinking lights and turn out to be really a ninja.

Though I adore the rares I chose, I should mention Abyssal Persecutor and Herald of Torment are also good choices. Ninjutsu can help you remove your demon from play, once your opponent is reduced to zero, and the Herald of Torment can both swap out for a ninja then bestow it with flying.

You could create another Black pack of ninjas with those rares, but I am content letting the tribe remain uncommon with two packs. Not every Jumpstart theme has the card variety to justify so many packs. As I wished to craft four every week, I searched for two rare themes to fill out the last two. Naturally, I couldn't resist a good opportunity for a prismatic pack.

Scarecrows | Jumpstart | AE Marling

• Creatures (11)
• 1 Fang Skulkin
• 1 Farmstead Gleaner
• 1 Hoof Skulkin
• 1 Lurebound Scarecrow
• 1 Rattleblaze Scarecrow
• 1 Scrapbasket
• 1 Scuttlemutt
• 1 Watchwing Scarecrow
• 1 Wild-Field Scarecrow
• 1 Wingrattle Scarecrow
• 1 Reaper King

• Artifacts (1)
• 1 Moonglove Extract

• Lands (8)
• 1 Forest
• 1 Island
• 1 Mountain
• 1 Plains
• 1 Swamp
• 1 Buried Ruin
• 1 Evolving Wilds
• 1 Terramorphic Expanse

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It's easy to accuse scarecrows of being brainless, but the rickety artifact creatures are interesting in the context of Jumpstart. Watchwing Scarecrow and many others will have different abilities depending on what pack they're paired with. Yes, in isolation the scarecrows are a bit flimsy, but they're easier to cast in Limited, where color screw often decides games. And the five-color mana base will enable your other pack as well.

As much as your opponent may wish otherwise, Scarecrows are scary, mainly because of Reaper King. The other scarecrow rare I wanted to play, Scarecrone, is too expensive, but thanks to a reprint in Mystery Boosters, Reaper King is affordable. And that's great because there's no better time than harvest time.

The last pack is all elves. I know, I know, the original Jumpstart product already included elf packs, but I reserve the right to revisit themes from a new angle. This pack is arrow-tipped. In honor of the original card, Elvish Archers, I've designed a theme that includes an awesome rare you've likely never seen before.

Elvish Archers | Jumpstart | AE Marling

• Creatures (10)
• 1 Greatbow Doyen
• 1 Jagged-Scar Archers
• 1 Lys Alana Bowmaster
• 1 Silhana Ledgewalker
• 1 Silkweaver Elite
• 1 Timberwatch Elf
• 1 Titania's Chosen
• 1 Wildborn Preserver
• 2 Thornweald Archer

• Instants (2)
• 1 Elvish Fury
• 1 Evolution Charm

• Lands (8)
• 7 Forest
• 1 Vivid Grove

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This brutal lord makes your archers all but unblockable and just as deadly on defense. They even hurt your opponent when activating abilities such as on Jagged-Scar Archers. Naturally, Elvish Archers want nothing more than to be paired against Above the Clouds, and you can even loft one of your opponent's creatures yourself with Evolution Charm then shoot them out of the sky like in a game of Duck Hunt.

I find this idea so charming I looked for other ways to do it. Perhaps the correct one is simply adding another Evolution Charm to the deck. The other options are adorable and lovely but far less practical.

I also wanted to include Hunted Troll and would have, if it were more recently reprinted. Though I'm not sure it would be on theme in this deck, as it would be the faeries that would be hunted. *Aggressive announcer voice:* "The hunters have become the hunted!"

If you feel the need to tone down the deck, you could add the namesake card Elvish Archers in place of an uncommon. The card is a bit scarce, or I would've already included it. To further balance the deck, you could swap out Timberwatch Elf for Norwood Archer.

I wished to include a card like Silhana Ledgewalker because it's often unblockable in this deck, what with your other archers keeping the skies free of pesky fliers. The 1/1 doesn't do much by itself, but it will be potent if combined with other packs like Enchanted.