Welcome back! Today I have something exciting to show you, the Blackcloud Ninja. House Blackcloud has long been known to provide the best mercenaries, and as you'll see below, the Blackcloud Nijna is the best of the best. Click here to pre-order Brennen and Rin, and other new Ashes products!

The Blackcloud Ninja is Brennen's Phoenixborn-specific card. That means only decks featuring Brennen can include the Blackcloud Ninja, and it's a good thing too!

3 attack value for 3 magic is what you might expect as far as allies go, but the Blackcloud Ninja provides so much more. This ally has an effect when it's played that allows you to exhaust a Ready Spell by paying 1 . Finally, this ally has an ability called Shadow Strike 2. This ability allows you to choose a unit and deal 2 damage directly to it by spending a main action and exhausting the Ninja.

At 3 attack value, this ally has a dominant presence on the battlefield. Most units will be destroyed after an attack from the ninja. Its 2 life value leaves it a little vulnerable to attacks, but if you can boost this ally's life value its 2 recovery value allows it to recover quite nicely to strike again in the future.

But why even risk putting this unit in harms way? With its Shadow Strike 2 ability, it can take out a huge chunk of the units found in ashes, or wound other units so severely that your opponents won't want to attack with them. All without risking putting a single wound token on the Ninja. As an added bonus, this ability allows you to get around unit guard to place the damage exactly where you want it!

Finally, the Seal Strike 1 ability allows you to cut off an important part of the opponents strategy. For only 1 you can place an exhaustion token on a Ready Spell when this unit enters play. It's important to note that this ability is optional. If it won't help you, you don't have to pay the cost to activate it. But that will be rare, trust me!

The Blackcloud Ninja's Role in The Children of Blackcloud

The Children of Blackcloud strikes fast by removing options from your opponent, bringing high-damage threats, and providing several ways to work around your opponent's defenses. And the Blackcloud Ninja provides all of these in one package! Oh yeah, and since it's an ally, should you need to shut a Ready Spell down in the future, you can always get the ninja back from your discard pile with the Ceremonial Dice Power Ability. Then, if your opponents leave themselves open to attack, 3 damage makes them pay for their folly.

What a package! There are a ton of other useful cards found in The Children of Blackcloud expansion, you just have to keep coming back each week to find out what other goodies there are to be found.

Later this week we're going to explore the unique way Rin channels natural magic. Don't miss it! If you haven't heard enough about ashes today, you can check out the Plaid Hat Podcast, episode 198 where Isaac, Dave, Joe, Nate, and I discuss Ashes some more, plus there's a preview of another card, so make sure you listen 'till the end!

Thanks for reading!

Bob

Click here to pre-order The Children of Blackcloud, The Frostdale Giants, and even extra dice! Get Lulu Firststone or Dimona Odinstar FREE with each Ashes deck purchase, or buy them separately!

Rin/Brennen Previews:

Brennen

Rin