Posts Tagged ‘deck building’

I was honestly surprised that they made this a foil card when it was first released, but the Naruto Path to Hokage series Disguise Jutsu (J-018) card is actually relatively rare. The effect isn’t bad either: neither team ends up taking damage when the Disguise Jutsu card has been played. On one hand, it does feature a child, but it’s important to remember something about them in Naruto: even the smallest of warriors has a chance at being the greatest.

In this way, the Naruto collectible trading card game follows the manga, and this is a point that can’t be repeated enough. So many people associate very young characters with weakness, and this makes it all the more satisfying to defeat them with such cards. Nevertheless, that’s not the only reason to play the Disguise Jutsu card.

There are numerous ways to set up a proper defensive stance for a Shinobi team after playing this card has stalled a round. Likewise, it can be used to quickly duck out of a situation that wasn’t predicted. What if you had, say, three developed ninja in a squad that was suddenly facing an attack by a more expendable team? This is an oft-used tactic to eliminate a player’s most connected cards.

By playing a Disguise Jutsu card, this can be avoided, and though the expendable team won’t take any damage, they can easily be dealt with in the next round of combat. For that matter, in many cases the team that was saved by playing the card can dispatch the opposing squad. This is certainly invaluable for those times where you only have one card in a deck, and it’s about to be destroyed.

The Disguise Jutsu card usually isn’t too expensive, so it may be ideal for a one-on-one trade. Perhaps it can be exchanged for another relatively rare foil card.

I’m going to recommend that more people take a look at Sasame Fuma (N-296.)

Okay, I’ll probably take some heat for this. Some people probably don’t even remember who Sasame Fuma was, in the manga. For that matter, some people are probably laughing as they read this.

However, the card fills a gap that other cards usually won’t. Allowing you to dump out an unnecessary chakra, while taking up another Fuma Clan ninja is in fact quite useful if implemented with the right deck.

Assuming that you actually have another Fuma Clan ninja card to play, this is a great way to implement another lightening-attributed card. Some people complain about their own inability to deploy this attribute, so if you work Sasame Fuma (N-296) with Arashi Fuma (N-303), you’ll be able to work in more of this attribute. For some players, just doing this is enough to be happy, since they’re playing a new attribute.

However, some players don’t want to simply play lightening type cards for the sake of playing them. They’ll play the occasional Sasuke variant, but beyond this, they won’t touch the element. If this is actually part of a strategy, then that’s fine, but the only strategies that this really works along side are those involving mono-attribute decks. If you’re honestly avoiding lightening cards because you feel that there aren’t sufficient ones out there, as many players have do, then you’re missing out on quite a few things.

In fact, I’ve seldom seen a mono-attribute done in lightening. The Fuma Clan might be the foot in the door for some people to set one up, though, since the Sasame and Arashi combination might be enough to jumpstart an assault team. Considering that triples of Arashi teamed with two Sasame cards would speed up this offensive line, it probably isn’t that bad that bad of an investment to make in your next trade.

Previously I had mentioned that the came with the Revenge and Rebirth expansion, but so did the Third Hokage (N-044). Its price, which often approaches $40 these days, keeps it out of the hands of most players. It’s also difficult to find a fair trade for it. However, anyone who actually can get a hold of one possesses one of the single best weapons in the game.

The Third Hokage requires a great deal of set up, since it not only removes your opponents Genin and no ranked ninja; it also removes your own. However, if you have a number of ‘sacrifices’ that have already been planned out before hand, it’s a great way to completely decimate your opponent’s line of Shinobi.

Even most rank beginners know just how important the control of Chakra is. This card will certainly create massive wholes in any Chakra formation that your opposition was considering building, though it isn’t by any means a beginner card. Not only is it difficult to acquire; it’s difficult to plan out each of those sacrifices. You don’t want to simply throw away your Genin ninja cards, and wrongful application of the Third Hokage can certainly do that.

On the other hand, if you have a strong base to attack from that doesn’t rely on Genin, you can certainly start off with a use of this card. Since you are allowed three of a ninja, multiple applications would be the best. In fact, so powerful was this effect, that one of Bandai’s errata lists actually weakened the ‘Addressing Past Wrongs’ form of this card. However, few people have the financial resources to simply throw at multiple copies of what is already considered to be one of the most expensive Naruto cards. Therefore, that issue seldom comes up.

If you have some empty space in a deck that needs to be filled to reach the minimum requirement, you’re probably already familiar with having some sort of utility card take the place. That’s a card that may not be the best fit, but has a long list of compatible cards to play it with. If you’ve explored this concept at all, you’re probably familiar with Genjutsu cards.

Admittedly, some fans have razzed the Illusion by Genjutsu card by saying that it’s similar to a host of other cards. However, because of that fact the card is a useful model to work with for demonstrating why these cards are so useful. Since there are many different ninja cards with a Genjutsu attribute, they often allow someone to work up a flexible style of play. This same flexibility lends them to working well as utility cards.

Say you had a space in a deck that you didn’t have a card that fit perfectly. With an Illusion by Genjutsu card placed in that deck, there’s a good chance that it can fit with at least one Shinobi in that deck. Unless it’s a single element deck for an element besides fire, it probably does contain at least one Kotetsu, Izumo, Kakashi, Sasuke, or Kurenai card that it’s going to be compatible with.

That’s usually not a player’s first resort, nor should it be. However, it can be a path to a very different kind of deck building. Actually, a lot of players have written off Genjutsu cards as relatively weak. While this may be the case, and while they may be more useful as utility cards than used as a mainstream jutsu, there is still the possibility that there are unexplored paths to take with them. One of the biggest possibilities would lie in trying to match up each card with its component element. However, that sort of play is probably not advisable for beginners, who usually have to rely on more powerful jutsu.