Art by Manuel Castañón
Commander deckBUW
Splinter, Radical Rat
Use type-changing effects to grant the Ninja creature type to non-Ninja creatures with powerful attack, combat damage, and triggered abilities, allowing Splinter to double those triggers for massive value.
Asked for“Build a Commander deck around Splinter, Radical Rat. Do NOT make it traditional Ninja tribal. The core plan is to play strong non-Ninja creatures with powerful triggered abilities, then use type-changing effects to turn them into Ninjas so Splinter makes those abilities trigger an additional time. Prioritize cards like Maskwood Nexus, Arcane Adaptation, Leyline of Transformation, Xenograft, Mirror Entity, Shields of Velis Vel, Runed Stalactite, and similar effects. Focus on evasive creatures and repeatable triggers from attacking, dealing combat damage to players, drawing cards, gaining +1/+1 counters, stealing value, creating tokens, or generating other strong advantages. Rogues are welcome only if they fit this plan. Keep the deck synergistic, budget-friendly, and avoid expensive staples unless essential. Favor synergy over generic goodstuff, and include enough protection, ramp, draw, removal, and lands for a functional Commander deck.”
Deck anatomy
What this list actually runs on: how cheaply it casts things, and whether it has enough ramp, card draw and interaction to keep up at the table. Each block is one card — hover for its name.
Mana curve · 61 nonland cards
The working parts
Counted from Scryfall’s community card tags, not from the builder’s own labels. A card that does two jobs counts twice, so these add up to more than the deck. The hatched band is a common rule of thumb, not a law — combo decks run leaner, battlecruiser decks heavier.
Colored mana symbols
Commander
1Splinter, Radical Rat
1WBWBLegendary Creature — Mutant Ninja Rat
Chosen commander for the requested strategy.
Ramp
10
Card Draw
9
Bident of Thassa
2UULegendary Enchantment Artifact
rewards combat damage with card draw
Coastal Piracy
2UUEnchantment
draws cards when evasive creatures deal combat damage
Reconnaissance Mission
2UUEnchantment
repeatable card draw on combat hit with cycling option
Removal
10
Threats/Wincons
22
Grim Hireling
3BCreature — Tiefling Rogue
doubled Ninja combat damage triggers generate massive Treasure tokens
Thief of Sanity
1UBCreature — Specter
doubled hit triggers let you exile and cast twice as many opponent cards
Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor
1BBLegendary Creature — Phyrexian Praetor
grants combat damage card draw and provides splashy discard ability
Shadowmage Infiltrator
1UBCreature — Human Wizard
evasive fear attacker that draws cards on combat damage
Rankle, Master of Pranks
2BBLegendary Creature — Faerie Rogue
flying threat with versatile combat damage triggers
Baleful Strix
UBArtifact Creature — Bird
cheap evasive deathtouch creature that cantrips
Fallen Shinobi
3UBCreature — Zombie Ninja
native Ninja with explosive combat damage triggers
Satoru Umezawa
1UBLegendary Creature — Human Ninja
grants ninjutsu to creatures and provides dig triggers
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
2BBLegendary Creature — Aetherborn Rogue
deathtouch threat that steals opponent cards
Aether Channeler
2UCreature — Human Wizard
versatile utility ETB creature with flying
Dreamstealer
2BCreature — Human Wizard
menace creature whose combat damage triggers force opponent discard
Hypnotic Specter
1BBCreature — Specter
classic flying threat that forces random discard on hit
Brainstealer Dragon
5BBCreature — Dragon Horror
end step trigger exiles and drains opponents when played
Nighthawk Scavenger
1BBCreature — Vampire Rogue
flying lifelink deathtouch threat with scaling power
Dauthi Voidwalker
BBCreature — Dauthi Rogue
shadow evasion threat that steals exiled opponent cards
Oona's Blackguard
1BCreature — Faerie Rogue
buffs rogue/changeling creatures and adds discard on combat hit
Changeling Outcast
BCreature — Shapeshifter
unblockable 1-drop that inherently counts as a Ninja
Universal Automaton
1Artifact Creature — Shapeshifter
cheap 1-drop changeling to kickstart triggers early
Mothdust Changeling
UCreature — Shapeshifter
cheap changeling that can gain flying
Graveshifter
3BCreature — Shapeshifter
changeling ETB that recurs key creature cards from graveyard
Mindleech Mass
5UBBCreature — Horror
massive combat damage trigger to cast spells from opponent hand for free
Dimir Cutpurse
1UBCreature — Spirit
combat damage forces discard and draws a card
Utility
10
Arcane Adaptation
2UEnchantment
cheap enchantment granting Ninja type to all creatures
Leyline of Transformation
2UUEnchantment
can start on field to turn creatures into Ninjas instantly
Wings of Velis Vel
1UKindred Instant — Shapeshifter
turns a creature into all creature types with evasion
Amoeboid Changeling
1UCreature — Shapeshifter
tap ability to grant a creature all creature types
Runed Stalactite
1Artifact — Equipment
cheap equipment giving equipped creature all creature types
Mistform Mask
1UEnchantment — Aura
repeatable aura to change creature type to Ninja
Imagecrafter
UCreature — Human Wizard
cheap creature tap ability to change creature types
