Higure, the Still Wind – Betrayers of Kamigawa
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2023
Ratings:
Constructed: 2.63
Casual: 5.00
Limited: 3.50
Multiplayer: 4.00
Commander [EDH]: 4.25
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Speaking of characters who make brief appearances but lasting impressions, we have Higure. The first time I ever saw him was in a casual game on the sidelines of the Saviors of Kamigawa pre-release; I had a bye and was going card-to-card with someone who had finished his match early. I’d already been playing for the better part of a decade, but was only beginning to know what I was doing as far as deck construction, and so my pile of red and green things didn’t know what hit it when Higure started tutoring for ninjas that could seemingly do anything.
And that was when ninjas had appeared in precisely one set. Nowadays, he not only works with the obligatory changeling trivia-fillers, but with actual tribal cards from from the original Modern Horizons and Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, plus Unstable if your group is so inclined. As such, in the right situation, he will make opponents much more focused than my pre-Gruul midrange deck feel like they don’t know whether they’re coming or going. His ability also somewhat makes up for a ninja deck possibly having to forego the staple blue and black card advantage in favor of attacking. Even if that weren’t the case, ninjas are popular enough in themselves to guarantee there will always be a role for him in casual Magic.
Constructed: 2.5
Casual: 5
Limited: 3.5
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
ninininininjaaaaaaaaaa
The last, and only, time Higure, the Still Wind was reviewed on Pojo was right around the release of Betrayers of Kamigawa, in 2005. At the time, there were eight Ninjas (counting himself), four in blue and four in black, and Higure was in an awkward position of being a tribal lord for a tribe with few members. There were certainly strong Ninjas at the time; Throat-Slitter, Ninja of the Deep Hours, and Ink-Eyes were all formidable…but not worth devoting a card to support them. Higure’s body is merely okay, and while tutoring another Ninja out of your deck is a good payoff on turn four (particularly when you can do it again the following turn by giving himself unblockable), it’s still a pretty slow, ponderous approach to playing the game that didn’t really pay off as a result of the dearth of support and dearth of members.
That was then, though. Ninjas have since become a decently formidable tribe, with over forty members comprising their ranks (and changeling cards able to do a pretty good job of passing for a Ninja in a pinch). It turns out that, with far more creatures able to be found and far more interesting things to do, Higure has jumped from being a curiosity into a surprising threat and consistency tool for Ninjas. Being able to get one out each turn is solid, and being able to proc the combat damage triggers reliably is even better that way. While his relative frailty remains, Higure has a lot more to do in his tribal deck, and Ninjas have certainly made a mark as one of the fan-favorite deck archetypes from Kamigawa’s four sets. There’s also the fun of being able to tutor out the Changeling instants and sorceries, so Higure can tutor out removal like Nameless Inversion or Crib Swap in those colors.
Higure isn’t Modern material, but he’s a fun, and interesting, card in more casual formats. If you’re building a Ninja deck, throw a copy in there; he greases the wheels a surprising amount.
Constructed: 2.75 (Ink-Eyes is a better top-end Ninja)
Casual: 5
Limited: 3.5 (a surprising Limited threat, but his sole appearance in Limited was Kamigawa Limited, with one pack and only a handful of Ninjas to support)
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4.5 (do not run him as your Commander, since ninjutsu doesn’t work from the command zone unless you’re Yuriko)
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