Ramirez DePietro, all style and no class

[Kowal]

Yeah, my general is utterly irrelevant in a color scheme that I could run a real general.  However, he's pretty damned funny.  If I wanted to run the list more competitively it'd be simple to just make Sygg my general instead, but for now here's my casual multiplayer list.  I say casual in the sense that I don't anticipate having to slug it out with Arcum Dagsson or Zur any time soon.  Also, I added the '1' before everything because it made the list easier for me to read.


General Ramirez DePietro, Swashbuckler Extraordinaire!

Ninjas
1 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
1 Throat Slitter
1 Ninja of the Deep Hours
1 Mistblade Shinobi
1 Higure the Still Wind
1 Walker of Secret Ways
1 Skullsnatcher
1 Okiba Gang Shinobi

Men who hang with ninjas
1 Nekretaal
1 Man-o-War
1 Raven Familiar
1 Mulldrifter
1 Willbender
1 Voidmage Apprentice
1 Skinthinner
1 Bone Shredder
1 Shriekmaw
1 Trinket Mage
1 Sage Owl
1 Heartstabber Mosquito

Men who are pretty good but don't necessarily chill with ninjas.
1 Sygg, River Cutthroat
1 Dark Confidant
1 Shapesharer
1 Visara the Dreadful
1 Withered Wretch
1 Dimir Cutpurse
1 Dimir Guildmage
1 Voidmage Prodigy
1 Avatar of Woe
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Kukemssa Pirates

Best equipped ninjas in all the land.
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Sword of Light and Shadow
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Bribery
1 Shuriken
1 Commandeer
1 Memory Plunder
1 Syphon Soul

Insurance I draw ninjas, dawg!
1 Syphon Mind
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Concentrate
1 Curiosity
1 Counsel of the Soratami
1 Ponder
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Opt
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sleight of Hand
1 Serum Visions
1 Impulse
1 Night's Whisper

Ways to stop guys from messin' with my ninjas.
1 Confiscate
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Hinder

manas
1 Sol Ring
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Coalition Relic
1 Fellwar Stone

more manas
13 Island
8 Swamp
1 Underground Sea
1 Watery Grave
1 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Underground River
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Vivid Creek
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 River of Tears
1 Sunken Ruins
1 Dreadship Reef
1 Strip Mine
1 Wasteland
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Vault of Whispers




It's basically just a pile of cards I like with cute ninja tricks and a flamboyant swashbuckler to lead the charge.  I would like some constructive criticism, given I don't actually play EDH, but please avoid the following:

I don't plan to scrap the ninjitsu "engine".
I don't plan to cut Ramirez.
I'm not a fan of fetchlands in casual formats.  I'm actually considering cutting the ones I've got.

[GrandpaBelcher]

Wait.  Isn't Ramirez DiPietro a pirate?  Is this deck about a pirate leading a bunch of ninjas?  Is that allowed?

[Matt]

1 Sage Owl
1 Heartstabber Mosquito

These guys seem particularly poor.

Whispersilk Cloak seems pretty ninja-riffic to me! Unblockability turns on your ninjitsu, and shroud is very ninja.

[Harlequin]

Wait.  Isn't Ramirez DiPietro a pirate?  Is this deck about a pirate leading a bunch of ninjas?  Is that allowed?

This topic should be closed based on that!  This totally should be a Priate Deck...

[potato]

Sage owl seems pretty lame. I'd almost rather go with Merchant of Secrets or similar.

Might it be worthwhile to add black Nightmare creatures (faceless butcher et al)? They don't have super synergy with ninjas, but they don't have super anti-synergy either.

If you're willing to pay 7 for heartstabber mosquito, what about the new sphinx that draws 3 cards if you kick it to 7?

I'd add some more guys with evasion to get your ninjas in. Shadowmage Infiltrator?

[Kowal]

Oooh, I forgot all about Shadowmage Infiltrator.  He's a hottie.

[T00L]

How old is your general?

[vassago]

Wait.  Isn't Ramirez DiPietro a pirate?  Is this deck about a pirate leading a bunch of ninjas?  Is that allowed?

This is frightening and intriguing all at the same time.   

[Philatio]

Welcome to the format, Ben.  A casual pile is the best way to start - I love cramming all of the "oh this looks fun"cards into a deck.  This format seriously cleans out your binder of all the stuff you'd never play in another format.  I remember yanking out Blatant Thievery and Time Stretch and being thrilled because I would never get rid of those cards.  Plus, like me, you started in vintage, so you have tons of dual lands, fetches and artifact mana left over (like extra Sol Rings, crypts, plateaus, badlands, etc.)  I'm sure you put together hulk smash and worldgorger, so berserk and bazaar make for some interesting fodder in a properly themed decks.  You'll have to pick up staples like Eternal Witness, etc., but your current collection will have tons of great cards for the format, especially the expensive ones.  I second whispersilk cloak.  I've seen so many general damage wins on the back of this guy.