DimirLegendary Creature — Human NinjaYuriko, the Tiger's Shadow
Mana value3Rank#2,407
The Commander
Commander ninjutsu (, Return an unblocked attacker you control to hand: Put this card onto the battlefield from your hand or the command zone tapped and attacking.)
Whenever a Ninja you control deals combat damage to a player, reveal the top card of your library and put that card into your hand. Each opponent loses life equal to that card's mana value.
Guide
Gameplan
Yuriko wins by sneaking in evasive attackers, using Commander ninjutsu to swap a small unblocked creature for Yuriko herself, then dealing combat damage to trigger her reveal ability that drains every opponent for the revealed card's mana value. Stack your deck with high-MV cards and chip in repeatedly each combat to burn the whole table. Cheap evasive enablers and extra combats turn each turn into massive lifeloss.
Strengths
- Hits all opponents at once with each Ninja combat trigger, scaling fast in multiplayer
- Cheap, recastable commander that dodges removal by bouncing to hand via ninjutsu
- Built-in card advantage every combat keeps the deck refueled
- Low average mana curve means fast, mana-efficient setup with explosive payoffs
Weaknesses
- Needs unblocked attackers, so blockers, fogs, and flying defense slow her down
- Damages Yuriko's owner is fine but she's the centerpiece — heavy creature removal hampers the engine
- Top-of-library variance can whiff with low-MV reveals
- Can paint a target as the deck is well-known and telegraphs lethal drains
Key Cards
- Mystic Sanctuary — Helps fix the top of your library and recur big spells for huge reveal triggers.
- Brainstorm — Sets up the top of your library to reveal high-mana-value cards for maximum drain.
- Fierce Guardianship — Free counterspell that protects Yuriko and your combat steps at no mana cost.
- Changeling Outcast — Unblockable one-drop Ninja that's the ideal repeatable ninjutsu enabler.
- Temporal Trespass — A 13+ mana value card you can hardcast cheaply via delve, dealing massive Yuriko damage plus an extra turn.
- Mass Manipulation — X-spell with a sky-high revealed mana value when stacked on top, draining the table hard.
Upgrade Path
Prioritize cheap unblockable enablers (Changeling Outcast, Mistblade Shinobi, Ingenious Infiltrator) and pack the deck with high-mana-value bombs that are cheap to cast or free, like the Eldrazi titans, delve spells (Temporal Trespass, Dig Through Time), and big X-spells. Add top-deck control (Brainstorm, Scroll Rack, Sensei's Divining Top, Mystic Sanctuary) to guarantee maximum reveals, plus free protection (Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting Swat) and extra combats (Aggravated Assault) to push the power ceiling.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Repeated Yuriko combat-damage triggers draining all opponents to zero
- ▸Stacking high-MV reveals (delve spells, X-spells, expensive bombs) for huge lifeloss bursts
- ▸Extra combat steps multiplying Yuriko triggers in a single turn
- ▸Commander damage from a buffed, unblockable Yuriko as a backup line
Archetypes
- Ninjas / Tempo — Yuriko rewards a critical mass of evasive Ninjas that bounce and replay to trigger her drain each combat.
- Spellslinger / Big-MV Topdeck — Loading the deck with high-mana-value spells and library manipulation maximizes each reveal's lifeloss.
- Combo / Extra Combats — Extra-combat and unblockable effects let Yuriko trigger multiple times per turn for explosive lethal swings.
- Control — UB counters and removal protect Yuriko and stall while the drain engine grinds opponents out.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (BU), by popularity.
