Magic: The Gathering Standard Dimir Ninja Deck Review: Kaito Leads Reality Fracture Meta
A column breaks down a top-usage blue-black Standard deck with a full 60-card list, built around Kaito, Nightmare Slayer, Jace Beleren, Theorist, and Yuriko.
A column has reviewed the Dimir (blue-black) aggressive deck, described as one of the top-usage archetypes in the Reality Fracture Standard environment. The list centers on Kaito, Nightmare Slayer and comes with a full 60 cards and a 15-card sideboard.
Dimir Standard Decklist: Reality Fracture Main Deck
The showcased list runs 24 lands, 20 creatures, and 16 spells. Several card names are given only in Japanese, so they are marked below as "-type" descriptions rather than official English names.
Lands
- 4 Watery Grave
- 4 Gloomlake Verge
- 2 dual lands listed as Wreck-ship Wetland-style cards (難破船の湿地)
- 2 lands listed as Unsettling Shallows-type cards (不穏な浅瀬)
- 1 hidden-stronghold land (隠されし拠点)
- 2 Soulstone Sanctuary
- 1 Fountainport
- 4 Island and 4 Swamp
Creatures
- 4 Nightmare Beaver
- 3 Spyglass Siren-type creature
- 1 Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow-type card
- 4 Floodpits Drowner-type card
- 2 Wanderous Wasp-type card
- 2 Tishana's Tidebinder-type card
- 4 Eternal Curiosity cat
Spells
- 4 Kaito, Nightmare Slayer
- 1 Jace Beleren, Theorist
- 3 Retribution Curse-type
- 2 Bitter Victory-type
- 1 Shoot the Sheriff-type
- 1 Strategic Betrayal-type
- 1 Spell Snare-type
- 2 We Shall Never Forgive-type
- 1 Theoryx's Charm-type
Dimir Sideboard Options
The 15-card sideboard is:
- 2 Day of the Black Sun-type
- 2 Strategic Betrayal-type
- 1 Exorcism Vacuum-type
- 2 Fey Flower Mischief-type
- 2 Duress
- 2 Disdainful Stroke
- 1 Negate
- 1 Tishana's Tidebinder-type
- 1 Vren, the Relentless
- 1 Wan Shi Tong, Librarian
How the Kaito Turn-3 Plan Works
The deck uses light creatures and an aggressive early game. Kaito is a planeswalker whose abilities grant an emblem boosting Ninjas and paralyze creatures. On its controller's turn it is a 3/4 hexproof Ninja creature.
Its [0] loyalty ability surveils, then draws cards equal to the number of opponents who lost life this turn, which is one card in Standard.
Kaito also has ninjutsu. Returning an unblocked attacking creature to hand lets the controller cast it for 1 mana less than normal, which can bring it out as early as turn 3.
To get there, the list leans on 1- and 2-mana evasive creatures:
- Flyers: Nightmare Beaver and the Spyglass Siren-type card
- Flash creatures: the Floodpits Drowner-type and Wanderous Wasp-type cards, which can tap creatures on the opponent's turn
Eternal Curiosity, a cat, draws cards when the controller's creatures deal combat damage to an opponent.
Jace Beleren, Theorist and Yuriko in Reality Fracture
Jace Beleren, Theorist is a 4-mana planeswalker newly added to the deck from Reality Fracture. Its −6 ability gives +1/+1 counters to creatures, it makes Illusion tokens, and its −2 ability bounces.
Yuriko is a 1-mana Reality Fracture card that is becoming a standard inclusion. It has flash and surveil 2, and a second mode that reduces a creature's power, which is ineffective if the graveyard has no cards. As a Ninja, it benefits from Kaito's emblem.
Star Trek Previews and the Standard Outlook
Previews have started for the Magic: The Gathering | Star Trek set, which will add cards to the formats. The article says Standard is the format most affected.
TCGKing's coverage of the Week 1 Star Trek preview shows one new card so far, Deep Space Nine.
What it means for players
- Players facing the deck should expect early flyers and flash creatures aiming at a turn-3 Kaito.
- Those building it can start from a full 60-card list with a 15-card sideboard.
- Standard is the format the Star Trek set affects most, so lists may change.
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