You've probably spent many a game of Magic: The Gathering casually slinging spells, plotting your next big turn, and thinking you're safe behind your little blockers. But, have you ever stopped to think, ''What if there's something lurking in my opponent's hand, patiently waiting for me to let my guard down?'' Well, if you're that kind of opponent who likes to bluff combat tricks and hates getting your creatures countered, then Ninjutsu might be the mechanic for you!

In today's Mechanic's Overview Segment, we're diving headfirst with a triple somersault into everything you need to know about Ninjutsu. We'll talk about its origins, how it works, why it's likely to give your opponents some misled trust issues, and even how it got cameo appearances in the weirdest of places (Planeswalkers with Ninjutsu's a thing now, apparently ).

What Is Ninjutsu?

''[Cost], Reveal this card from your hand, Return an unblocked attacking creature you control to its owner's hand: Put this card onto the battlefield from your hand tapped and attacking.''

Ninjutsu is a keyword ability that debuted in Betrayers of Kamigawa (2005). The mechanic is designed to let Ninja creatures do exactly what all the anime and movies have taught us all these years: slip onto the battlefield unblocked, deliver a swift punch to your opponent's life total, and get some kind of reward for infiltrating the enemy's base undetected (you draw a card, make them discard a card, or even reanimate one of their creatures; it's honestly all nasty business when a Ninjutsu creature successfully connects).

The History of Ninjutsu

• Betrayers of Kamigawa (2005): The official debut of Ninjutsu, appearing exclusively on black and blue Ninja cards, taught everyone that blocking is always a good idea if you suspect some trickery.
• Planechase (2012) (Night of the Ninja Deck): A small cameo for Ninjas outside the original Kamigawa block, where Sakashima's Student introduced some clever tricks by entering as a copy of something else on the battlefield.
• Modern Horizons (2019): We got a few new Ninjas here, such as Azra Smokeshaper (off-color Ninja, oh my!) and Ninja of the New Moon (a big vanilla creature that was basically a nod to ''Yes, you can still cheat out big stats because that's so Ninja, right?'').
• Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (2022): The undeniable big return in Standard 2024, giving us even more wild designs with the Ninjutsu mechanic. Some Ninjas dealt in straightforward ''Saboteur'' triggers; others had unique conditions like ''if this entered from your hand while attacking,'' implying you might have other ways of sneaking them in. And while the new aesthetic of this set was something like futuristic cyberpunk meets feudal Japan, the core idea remained: you're never really safe when a Ninja's lurking in the shadows.
• Duskmourn: House of Horror (2024) (Kaito, Bane of Nightmares): As I eluded to a bit earlier, with the release of Duskmourn, Kaito, a Planeswalker, now has the ability to Ninjutsu itself onto the battlefield. Because honestly, if we don't want our Planeswalkers to enter the battlefield at instant speed while being uncounterable and with hexproof and pseudo-haste, are we really living our best life?

Commander Ninjutsu: From the Command Zone, With Love

"[Cost], Reveal this card from your hand or from the command zone, Return an unblocked attacking creature you control to its owner's hand: Put this card onto the battlefield tapped and attacking."

Aside from all the other iterations of Ninjutsu we've talked about so far, the legend Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow, is probably the most notable with its unique Commander Ninjutsu, which effectively allows you to slip her in not only from your hand but from the Command Zone as well. That's right, who needs to cast their Commander the normal way anymore? Commander Tax? Forget about it!

And as an extra insult to injury, if you ever want to ''accidentally'' deal lethal to all your opponents by flipping over extraordinarily high mana cost spells from the top of your library, all you ever really need is an unblocked attacker. Then, simply pay Yuriko's cost and watch as your friends realize that, yes, you do play Shadow of Mortality for the memes.

(Want to Ninjitsu in some Ninjas with Yuriko yourself? Be sure to check out our very own MTG Muddstah's take on the deck here!)

How Best to Execute Ninjutsu

1. Feign Innocence: Attack with a random 1/1 or 2/2 while you have two or 3 mana open for potential removal spells or pump spells. Whistle a little tune. Compliment your opponent's board state. Go the whole mile with the song and dance.
2. Wait: If they block, oh well, you tried. But if they don't block (and let's be honest, sometimes they'll do it just to see what you're up to), move to step 3.
3. Spring The Trap: Pay the Ninjutsu cost, reveal your Ninja in hand (or Command Zone), bounce the unblocked attacker, and plop your sneaky friend onto the field, tapped and attacking.
4. Trigger Its Effect: Draw cards, destroy something, reanimate something, or just deal some extra damage with one of your bigger ninjas. It really doesn't matter; the point is we're in there!
5. Redeploy: And guess what? After everything, we're totally going to recast that random 1/1 or 2/2, and next turn, if no one's learned their lesson yet, we just might get to start from step 1 all over again.

Embracing Your Inner Ninja With Ninjutsu

So, is Ninjutsu just a weird gimmick mechanic or a legitimate strategy? Answer: frankly, it's a bit of both. For some, it's a great way to watch your opponents groan and double-check the rules to see if Stax pieces like Blind Obedience and Containment Priest interact profitably with the mechanic. For others, it's just a fun and strategic creature-based approach to squeak out incremental advantages, all while playing one of the best color combinations in all of Magic!

But with all that said, that's it for me this time around. Thanks for lurking in the shadows with me today on this quick lesson about Ninjutsu. And as always, happy brewing, and may you continue to bamboozle your opponents with all your unblocked Ornithopters.