MTG TOP 10: Samurai | Magic: the Gathering

[@TwoCentReview]

Many of the Samurai in Kamigawa block were inefficient creatures that didn’t pass the vanilla test. Some, even while attacking or blocking with Bushido. Then, along came Hand of Honor/Mercy who pass vanilla, get ahead when in combat and have protection. I think that these may have been the real Saviors of Kamigawa. Also, Hand of Cruelty looks dope.

[@vedbergsmagicalworld]

those are the best samurais that has ever been printed tbh

[@TwoCentReview]

@ It’s all upside. Even the double color isn’t a big ask.

[@DanoLefourbe]

Maintaining that bushido could be a great core ability, and that its only issues are its name, and the fact that WotC was irrationally afraid of it.

[@gillablecam]

Absolutely agree. Yes it makes attacking and blocking marginally more complicated, but it does the simplest thing possible and only to the creature with the ability. They could re-release it as "trained 1" or something and it would slot into every set.

[@Zomburai45]

It has another issue in that it adds a *lot* of math to the board but doesn't actually make the game resolve any faster. It can actually make the game resolve slower (in a bad way) because it gums up the board so much. Not that Magic can't be fun like that (I had a LOT of fun with OG Kamigawa) but it really does need to be a sometimes mechanic

[@nickalasmontano1496]

@@DanoLefourbe IIRC Maro's said in the past that Bushido/Flanking/Modular are mostly held back by their names

[@snakeman830]

After seeing this gap between #1 and 2, I think you should do a top 10 "biggest point gaps" of top 10s you've covered. Just looking at how large of a difference in points two consecutively ranked cards are.

[@personalthesus]

The proliferation of cards and formats really changed what Niz is able to do with top tens. Like, he once did top ten SORCERIES and now it’s like dogs or samurai 😅🤷🏻‍♂️ And it’s prolly MORE research than when he did sorceries

[@Alexxf35]

The fact that Nizza can still find Top 10 lists to do after all this time is pretty crazy.

[@alexMendoza-wl5oj]

Still waiting for top 10 signets, and top 10 for his videos that come out each set that talk about color, colorless/multicolored, archetype guide guide, bombs, early take away/what i got wrong lol my money is on black, bombs, and what I got wrong top three

[@hankhill5616]

I am not surprised about the #1, its such an obscene card. As much as I think it's a cool design, I'm definitely glad it's out of standard lol

[@collinbeal]

It's on the power level of a Modern Horizons rare. In general, Neon Dynasty was pretty nuts. Greasefang, Fable of the Mirror Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki, Reckoner Bankbuster, Invoke Despair, Ao, Farewell, Light-Paws, March of Otherworldly Light, Michiko's Reign of Truth // Portrait of Michiko, The Restoration of Eiganjo // Architect of Restoration, Inventive Iteration // Living Breakthrough, Kairi, March of Wretched Sorrow, Atsushi, Kumano Faces Kakkazan // Etchings of Kumano, Sokenzan Smelter, Thundering Raiju, Boseiju Reaches Skyward // Branch of Boseiju, Generous Visitor, Kami of Transience, Kodama of the West Tree, Shigeki, Tamiyo's Safekeeping, Enthusiastic Mechanaut, Hidetsugu Consumes All // Vessel of the All-Consuming, Isshin, Jukai Naturalist, Kaito Shizuki, The Kami War // O-Kagachi Made Manifest, Oni-Cult Anvil, Patchwork Automaton, and the Channel Lands were all also in the set, each rather insane cards.

[@ryukaze20]

No "Surprise" that the Wandering Emperor's the Top "Samurai"

[@CharlesLeeRay812]

I think it would be interesting to see an updated Worst Creatures list because if I'm remembering right, Samurai was on that list.

[@alexMendoza-wl5oj]

Bahahahahahahaha

[@venkelos6996]

This was fun! It was also neat to see a list thar wasn't Planeswalkers, but topped by one. It's too badvthat Samurai are a little bit narrow; I could almost see them making a knockoff of Herald of Hoofbeats, giving Samurai Horsemanship, or Reach, as riding abd archery are actually very important to Samurai, alongside their kendo/swordsmanship. Tempted to go back for Ninjas, and see if Yuriko rates, outside of EDH, where her Commander Ninjitsu passes off practically every person who has ever lived.😊

[@TheGloriousLobsterEmperor]

Ahhhh Samurai, honestly not one of my favourite creature types, but I do like Bushido. Also, I like the Wanderer. She's kinda cool. Not as cool as "Top 10 Vintage Cards (Minus Power 9)", but cool nonetheless.

[@ClubbingSealCub]

just wait until the samurai jack universes beyond set drops

[@alexMendoza-wl5oj]

He has double strike and vigilance when he deals combat damage to a player you make that many dog tokens lol

[@DinobotTM2]

I was surprised that Isshin wasn't on the list, and then I remembered he is only really popular as a Commander.

[@spikeydragon1566]

i swear the 15k or so decks is a lie, i have never seen him, neither paper nor online

[@rats_and_lilies]

​@@spikeydragon1566i know two people who have one. One's samurai tribal and the other's actually good

[@Garl_Vinland]

I’ve seen two Ishiin players in my relatively small pod experience

[@DinobotTM2]

@@spikeydragon1566 I actually main an Isshin Commander deck. I just never see him outside Commander.

[@zesshou]

Reinforced Ronin is a pretty cool card ngl.

[@Shimatzu95]

Was quite suprised there were actually cards from original kamagava here, even more so after seeing nr 10 was a new-ish card 😅

[@mantissaPuc]

Suggestion: Show the "point details" when there are 2+ cards in the same position (maybe just for a moment because of the space)

[@genesis4322]

Gotta love how the top 4 aren't even samurai creatures. Says a lot about the type.

[@uptain2473]

Do a top 10 top 10. Where the top 10 list with the most points make it.

[@alexMendoza-wl5oj]

Lands or instants my bet

[@olipod5470]

It’s really unfortunate that they considered 1 point of Bushido roughly equal to “the creature has 1 more power and toughness” when calculating a samurai’s mana cost because most creatures with bushido ended up severely underpowered

[@mikotagayuna8494]

If I had a dollar every time a content creator mispronounces a Kamigawa card, I would play Vintage.

[@mr.joesterr5359]

Which card did he mispronounce?

[@frenche2480]

​@@mr.joesterr5359all of them

[@granite_4576]

Rai-oo-say 😂

[@RobotDCLXVI]

To-SHI-ro 😂

[@houseofhank3896]

Fire comment

[@lukeleslie9648]

I don't think I've ever seen the second ability of the synthesizer be used.

[@sombat2788]

The list starts at 1:00 Not bad. 👌

[@davidlundquist1979]

Oh Lord, the Stephen Colbert Meanwhile intro-skippers are starting to migrate.

[@anthonypeters3005]

Top 10 basic lands please

[@cherry9787]

Swamp would be #1

[@alexMendoza-wl5oj]

#Swamplife

[@alexMendoza-wl5oj]

​@@cherry9787 my cabal brother may I have some mana? Don't make me say it brother, but we have no answer to the counter spell. The best we can do is recur the creatures that they counter. Alas brother we must concede to Island! Part of our color is accepting the way the world is!

[@cherry9787]

@@alexMendoza-wl5oj Brother, our answer to the counterspell is to make them discard it in the first place. Have you forgotten the sacred technique of hand disruption?

[@alexMendoza-wl5oj]

@@cherry9787 brother our color is that of isolation, the charlatan blue players splash their Islands everywhere, they outnumber us brother!

[@Alecations]

The top 4 aren't actually samurai they just make them: Major L samurbros

[@minervadetauro7646]

This is one of the really obvious ones. No. 1 will be totally the Wandering Emperor

[@SpitefulAZ]

bring back Bushido 😢

Samurai are so terrible. Neon dynasty actually made them worse somehow. I truly tried to make samurai work in commander but they are so bad

[@nickalasmontano1496]

How does the set make them worse?

[@vedbergsmagicalworld]

@@nickalasmontano1496 probably because only one true samurai got played in any format from that set

[@nickalasmontano1496]

@@vedbergsmagicalworld that doesn't make the samurai card pool worse though? Also that's demonstrably untrue based on the video.

[@alexMendoza-wl5oj]

They're even worse than allies

[@monkeyman-mm8qc]

Something was wrong with goro-goro. I was looking at how many decks he was the commander of but I couldn't find it 😂😂

[@jacknjilloff]

How? It’s extremely easy to find.

[@monkeyman-mm8qc]

​@@jacknjilloff are you sure it's just showing an error code 🤣🤣🤣

[@maciekwilkosz6377]

I don't like this list honestly. It's logic might be correct, but adding cards that create samurai tokens to it doesn't feel right. It only adds to the feeling that this creature type is super weak and needs to be carried by powerful planeswalkers.

[@marcoottina654]

Well, it is: those creatures were underpowered because the whole set was. It was purposefully underpowered as a fear response from WorC after the backslashes from the previous block, Darksteel, which was incredibly busted. Most of the cards in the whole Kamigawua block were overcosted, the Bushido abilities had way too less impact (usually due to a way too low number), Samurai weren't buffing each other, there was little to none support to both Samurai and Bushido abilities. It was all flavor and basically nothing else, except for just a handful of exceptions scattered around the whole Block, which is ... Not enough. I hope they'll make a comeback, maybe pushing all "creatures with Bushido ability" (or more technically and precisely, "every creature with at least one point of Bushido"), because they deserve some glory: as a flavor standpoint, as a mechanic, and as a "kindred".

[@superbaas8822]

That is because the creature type IS extremely underpowered.

[@MrDamnson]

Interesting that you didn't include Riyuu Storm's Edge or Fumiko the low blood eventhou no only probably ever plays those cards. I kinda wish they would make more of these samurai types as I think the exalted mechanic is pretty cool.