Stats                : Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke is a Level 4 Light/Warrior… Revive the orbs!  No, I don’t get tired of that joke.  I do wonder how he upgraded from “Thief” at only Level 4… getting the Rat’s Tail to Bahumut at that low a level ranges from insane to impossible: how can you defeat the necessary bosses without automatically leveling up past four?

…

Okay, okay, enough with the bad jokes.  C’mon though: the FF1/FF2 re-release for the GBA is coming out soon!  Oh, the anticipation!  As for the actual card, being a Level 4 is pretty good: no extra Summoning requirements.  You can just drop him into play as your Normal Summon for the turn.  Light Monsters are useful for Chaos Food… especially Warrior ones since Warrior Chaos seems to be one of the top decks of Advanced.  Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke has a solid 1800 ATK and a DEF of 1000.  He also has an effect.

Effect(s)            : When Sasuke attacks a face-up DEF position Monster, you skip the damage step and just kill it.  Hmmm… wouldn’t it make more sense for a ninja to nuke the supposedly hidden Set Monsters and the samurai to honorably dispatch the face-up ones? ;) Anyway, the effect can be pretty spiffy, since there are actually several commonly played cards that won’t like this.  First, D.D. Warrior Lady-the way this is worded, I am pretty sure she can’t use her effect.  Second, the still legal searchers like Mystic Tomato and Pyramid Turtle won’t trigger.  Third, Spirit Reaper, that great generic stall that forces the opponent to burn removal or a targeting effect on it, also bites the dust if it is already face up.  Not great, but not bad.

Uses and Combinations  : Of the other eight Light/Warriors, there is one Level 3 (Sasuke Samurai #3) and three other Level 4s (D.D. Warrior Lady, Blade Knight, and Freed the Brave Wanderer).  D.D. Warrior lady will usually remove herself from play, meaning she isn’t going to be Chaos Food a lot of the time.  Blade Knight is the next most useful of the Warriors, but you won’t get his effect often (from what I have seen).  So that really leaves just Sasuke Samurai #3, whose effect will often backfire, and Freed the Brave Wanderer, who’s effect will not only rarely go off, but which also makes it harder to Summon BLS!  When you look at that, you realize that hey, maybe one or two should be worked in, and three might not be bad either.

Now, if you want, you can even make use of several cards to get a lot out of Sasuke’s effect.  Ceasefire and Swords of Revealing Light are pretty common.  Warrior Chaos might benefit from Light of Intervention anyway, since it would make it easier to choose whether to remove or attack.  I hate to admit it, but I have been playing someone with some rather eclectic tastes in cards, and she has convinced me that Windstorm of Etaqua is useful for Advanced decks, especially those that excel at swarming and/or trampling.

Ratings

Traditional       : 2/5-That might seem high for this format, considering I didn’t really mention it at all in the review.  Simply put, a Level 4 1800 Light beatstick can be useful… or it could be dead weight.

Advanced        : 3.5/5-It might even rival Blade Knight if rumors are true… at the very least, it can be used in a fun and interesting deck regardless.

Limited            : 4/5-Logically, it should be pretty useful here: a Level 4, 1800 ATK beatstick is nice, and one with an effect that ruins the traditional stall-for-Tribute technique is even better.

Summary

Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke is something of a niche card for two very solid decks: Warrior and Warrior Chaos.  It may even warrant some slight strategy adjustments you might even be pleasantly surprised how potent it can be.