Kaito, Bane of Nightmares – Duskmourn
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2024
Ratings:
Constructed:
Casual:
Limited:
Multiplayer:
Commander [EDH]:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Let’s fighting love! I have always liked the ninjutsu ability, even after I realized that a lot of the creatures it appears on were rather below rate when you were playing them in the more conventional way. Even my favorite Ink-Eyes had some issues with this, including back when she was in Standard (though that might also have had something to do with the fact that Umezawa’s Jitte was the secret pillar of that format). It feels a little different – and more than a little odd – when you’re tossing a planeswalker into play that way, because even the weakest planeswalkers have an immediate impact on the table. And Kaito is not the weakest planeswalker – his 0 ability will pretty much always be relevant, and his -2 will very often buy you time and/or push your creatures through. If he were a creature (as in his typeline), he might well be the best ninja commander just for his +1, since it adds loyalty and multiplies. Keep an eye on him as far as that goes, because you never know who is going to be issuing rules updates for things. In a different context, he would probably see play as the only threat in a deck full of answers because of his Gideon-style creature clause, but it might be even more effective to put him in a deck with other threats and just absolutely overwhelm people.
Speaking of Standard, I wonder if it’ll feel weird to people when there is precisely one card with ninjutsu in the format, and when some people will be playing the version without reminder text. I’ve sometimes wondered if a card like Ink-Eyes should be the only ninjutsu card in one of my cubes. Perhaps there’s precedent from The Publishers for things like that now!
Constructed: 4
Casual: 5
Limited: 5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
ninininininjaaaaaaaaa
Kaito, Bane of Nightmares is here to help with daring rescues and the like, joining the team to rescue Nashi from the clutches of Valgavoth. He’s the planeswalker of the set, but also a fun way to play into his ninjary, so here we go.
Ninjutsu means that Kaito can jump in on turn 3 if things go well, and he can jump in for more damage. That also plays well with his 0, which draws a card if he hits an opponent. Besides that, he plays as both ninja support and as soft removal, locking down creatures and buffing ninjas…which does include himself. Notably, Kaito is not indestructible as a creature, which means he may want to pick his attacks more cautiously, but here we are. He’s got a good mix of offensive and defensive abilities, and he plays well with ninjas in general and their bags of tricks.
Kaito’s a pretty decent creature that can play both offense and defense, and he’s able to attack aggressively to try and push a game out of reach. He’s a planeswalker who can do a good job of pushing a game to its end on his own, and while he lacks a high-impact ultimate, day-to-day abilities are potent enough.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 5
Limited: 5
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 4
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