Looking back, Friday’s huge Magic: The Gathering announcements were pretty surreal to witness. The new Universes Beyond set reveals were big enough, but the Secret Lair drops that followed really stretched the usual limits. Few would’ve expected a crossover with The Office, after all, even at this point. Some of the new drops, including those based on popular Playstation characters, made a little more sense, however. Among these new MTG drops, Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima is a bit of a hidden gem.
While it looks like a generic Esper Voltron legend at first, Jin Sakai actually has a good amount of depth to it. There are a number of Commander archetypes that could make great use of it, from Ninjas to go-wide Clones. While it’s a little unfortunate that a Commander this versatile is locked behind a Secret Lair purchase, it’s hard to deny that the Ghost of Tsushima looks like a blast to build around.
Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima MTG
- Mana Value: 1WUB
- Type: Legendary Creature – Human Samurai
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Card Text: Whenever Jin Sakai deals combat damage to a player, draw a card.
Whenever a creature you control attacks a player, if no other creatures are attacking that player, choose one —
• Standoff — It gains Double Strike until end of turn.
• Ghost — It can’t be blocked this turn.- Stats: 2/4
Before we look at where it might fit in MTG Commander, let’s quickly recap Ghost of Tsushima itself. This is a legend all about attacking. It draws you a card when it connects for damage itself, and it also offers you a choice of two abilities when you attack a player with only one creature.
The crucial thing to note here is that you can make this choice for each opponent you attack. This means you can create up to three Double Strikers per turn, or get through with up to three unblockable creatures. Ghost itself counts, naturally, so you’ll be able to generate card advantage while you do so.
While four mana is pricey for a 2/4, Jin Sakai does have an immediate impact once you drop it. Its abilities work whether it’s attacking itself or not, so you can start abusing them right away if you have other creatures out. This, along with the card’s surprising utility, makes for a solid foundation for a great Commander.
A Great New Voltron Option
The first place many MTG players’ minds went as soon as Ghost of Tsushima was revealed was Voltron, and with good reason. The card is perfect for the archetype, and it also offers a new way to play it to boot.
Typically, Voltron decks are all about building up a single creature and crushing your opponents with it. In this regard, Ghost of Tsushima is a solid option. By itself it can get through for guaranteed damage, and draw you cards you can use to buff it up. Once you get something like Brotherhood Regalia attached, Ghost can pick Double Strike each time to close things out very quickly via Commander damage.
This is standard Voltron fare, but what makes Ghost special is how it lets you diversify your threats. Since its abilities can affect up to three creatures a turn, you don’t have to put all of your eggs in one basket. You can spread your Auras and Equipment out across three different creatures, safe in the knowledge that they’ll all be able to get through. This addresses one of Voltron’s major weaknesses as an archetype: single-target removal and Edict effects.
Going for a wider Voltron strategy also gives you room to run more creatures than usual. Given how hard Wizards is pushing creatures over other card types these days, this is a big advantage. Imagine running the likes of Psychic Frog and Esper Sentinel as secondary Voltron Commanders, for example.
Ninja And Samurai, Unite!
Another great home for Ghost of Tsushima is in Ninja Typal Commander decks. While some may view it as sacrilegious to run a Samurai at the head of such a deck, those who can look past Jin Sakai’s typing will find it an excellent new option for the archetype.
Both of Ghost’s abilities are perfect in Ninja decks. Making creatures unblockable guarantees you’ll be able to use your Ninjutsu abilities each turn, which is exactly what Ninja decks want to do. Some Ninjas can handle this themselves, but letting all of them do so really opens up your deckbuilding options.
The Double Strike is also very relevant, since many Ninjas care about inflicting combat damage. Getting to draw two cards off an unblocked Ninja of the Deep Hours, or strip four cards from an opponent’s hand with Okiba-Gang Shinobi, are both serious power plays. Late in the game, your big haymakers like Fallen Shinobi and Ink-Eyes will wreak even more havoc, too.
The other big advantage Ghost offers over typical Ninja Commanders like Yuriko and Satoru is access to white mana. Most of the good Ninjas and Ninja support cards are in Dimir, true, but white offers a lot of extra options. Whether it’s premium removal like Swords to Plowshares, or blink effects like Ephemerate, you can really push Ninjas in a new direction here.
Ghost of Tsushima is one of the best legends we’ve ever seen for sneaking creatures through, and for making the best of things afterwards. As a result I expect it to be one of the most popular Ninja Typal Commanders in the game before long.
Cloning Program
The last MTG strategy we’re going to discuss for Ghost of Tsushima in Commander is a bit unconventional, but it looks seriously potent nonetheless. Clone decks are all about copying specific creatures over and over again, in order to reap the rewards from multiple triggers, attacks, etc. Ghost of Tsushima is an ideal leader for such a deck, for multiple reasons.
First of all, Ghost of Tsushima itself is great when cloned. With two copies out, you can get three unblockable creatures through with Double Strike every turn. With three, you can draw six cards a turn cycle just by swinging at each of your opponents. Ghost being legendary isn’t much of an obstacle to this plan these days, either, with Clone effects like Spark Double and Nanogene Conversion being available to use.
Ghost is also great for supporting other cloned creatures, too. While Clone decks typically focus on enters effects, since they’re the easiest to abuse, Ghost lets you flip things around and run the deck with more of a focus on combat. If you have multiple copies of your favorite attack trigger creature all swinging in, Ghost can give them all unblockable. Since there are no restrictions on creature size or cost here, you can even deal some pretty huge damage. Copy a Blightsteel Colossus a couple of times and you’re looking at an instant win, for example.
These are just a few examples of MTG Commander decks where Jin Sakai, Ghost of Tsushima will shine. Of all the new Playstation legends, I think this is the one with the broadest potential, which makes it very exciting indeed.
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