Pojo's Naruto Card of the Day
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Beastly Mage
Shikaku
Nara
Today's card is quite interesting. Shikamaru's dad
has some nice stats healthy (not so nice injured),
plus the "Shadow" combat attribute. Now, the effect
is what really gets you. When you have a Shikamaru
in play he gets Mental Power: 4. It's kinda like he
smarts up when his son is around. Here's the kicker:
when he's in the same team as Shikamaru the Shika/Shika
team and the opposing team perform a Mental Power
Battle. Let's say your [Flexibility] is Injured, or
you have the Shika/Tema Platoon out and no Chakra.
No problem, as long as he's with his dad the Mental
Power Battle is still on. Now, remember, the two
effects are not valid, so keep this guy protected.
Ratings:
Limited: 3/5
Constructed: 3/5
Art: I'll have what he's having!/5
Nick 2008 Stone
Village Kage
Shikaku Nara
[As a Father]
Today we predictably wrap up our As a Father theme
with Shikamaru’s dad, Shikaku. Like the other two
parents before him, he needs his son in play to get
the best effect. When Shikamaru is in play, he gets
4 mental and if he’s in the same team as Shikamaru,
the battles that team performs are mental. Not bad
really, but the thing that bothers me so much about
this guy is the lack of validity on both effects,
and his Sasuke syndrome as soon as he takes a hit.
All your opponent has to do is fireball/suicidal
action him, and he loses all his stats and effects.
That alone severely hurts his playability. However,
you can get some fun mental shenanigans going with
him and the Shikamari platoon. Throw in someone like
Sakura and that’s a beastly 12 mental power team.
Just make sure Shikaku doesn’t get hit.
Limited: 3/5 Good healthy stats at least
Constructed: 2/5 Drops like a rock…
Mental Power 4. Something he should have had a long
time ago. Problem? It's not valid, so it can go away
if he's injured. Boo. He also has "Sasuke syndrome."
Boo again.
But on the flip side, his effect is fun. Shikamaru
is played in nearly every deck in multiples, so
that's not an issue. Does a behemoth team of MP 8
sound good to you? Sounds good to me. And it'll
swing for at least 7, not to mention you can drop
another guy as head with Shikaku's 3 support.
One of the biggest weaknesses of Mental decks was
that the Ninjas aren't valid. Ibiki and Shikamaru
[Flexibility] would constantly get shot by Gaara
[Tragic Name] or Paper Bomb and the like and then
crumble to pieces. Try Shikamaru [Flexibility] with
Shikaku, and watch as both will need to be shot to
shut off the Mental. Sure it'll be down to MP 4, but
that'll require a sacrifice.
He's not amazing alone, other than great healthy
stats. However, MP decks should embrace him. He will
be extremely annoying when Shikamaru is also with
him. Just make sure he's healthy.
Limited: 4.5 out of 5 - He bashes for 2 BRs on T4
with 3 support. What's not to like?
Constructed: 3.0 out of 5 - Average rating. Will
have use in Mental decks, and could splash into
decks as a 1 of or sideboarded in to stall decks
weak to Mental. Sadface when he's injured though.
