MTG Salvation

Quote from D3eadcalm »

Why would a sac outlet be particularly good in this deck?

To get Yuriko back in the command zone so she can be ninjutsued in on the back of one of your unblockables.

Quote from plushpenguin »

Swan Song or the Silumgar Sorcerer (whichever is worse) for the Unnatural Selection

I eventually cut both of these but of the two I feel like Swan Song is weaker. It's cheaper, but it leaves behind a blocker. I would play a generic hard 2cmc counter instead like Delay or maybe Arcane Denial.

Ink-Eyes is likely becoming a Bitterblossom, the Nihil Spellbomb will become a Diabolic Intent, and a land will be removed for Mox Amber.

I like these changes, especially the land cut for the Mox.

Aether Vial could do a lot of work in a deck with so many two drops it wants to play. Here it's a Sol Ring that turns our owls into flashy, uncounterable nightmares.

As for protecting yourself, a few board wipes go a long way in a deck that digs this deep. Meekstone hurts the average deck far more than it hurts us though I don't think I'd include the eldrazi with it. A well timed Winter Orb locks opponents out while our low curve and aggressive strategy breaks parity. Cyclonic Rift is my go to for this kind of thing but I completely understand why it would be banned.

I feel like I should extol the virtues of Dimir Infiltrator. It's a great ninjutsu body. Unblockable is obviously good and it goes to find Cyclonic Rift Scroll Rack, Unnatural Selection, Counterspell, or just Demonic Tutor/Diabolic Intent after doing its job of getting your ninja through.

Cryptic Command is notably absent. All of its modes are relevant in the deck, particularly the option to tap down an opponent's creatures and go for the win. Four mana can be rough if you're holding it for protection, though.

The hand disruption creatures like Kitesail Freebooter seem very good. With ninjutsu, they should rarely whiff completely, though knowing your opponents and their decks also helps (hint: target the mono-black player if you fear board wipes). They might not always be able to find a way through enemy defenses, though. Even then, pinpoint discard isn't the worst play you could make.

I'm trying to find room for Soothsaying. It's a relevant mana sink, at least.

Temporal Mastery seems like a good addition with all the tutors and library manipulation.

I think some of the ninjas could go. I ended up keeping the ones that seemed playable without the added benefit of having access to the commander.

Overall I really like the list and it seems pretty close to what I was thinking. I'm still not sure "flip over lots of cards until everyone is dead" is a viable path to victory without going all in on either sac outlets or "everything is a ninja now" cards.