FaB: Classic Constructed Deck Tech - Cindra (Royal Draconic Ninja)

The Hunted was released just a few months ago, but we can already tell it was a very successful set. Not only because it brought us great cards, like the Command and Conquer and Shelter From the Storm reprints, but also because it brought us great heroes.

The two Araknis from this set have been successful in Classic Constructed. Fang, for instance, still shows up in the top ranks of competitive events occasionally, albeit a bit modestly too. Today, however, we'll talk about this set's greatest star, the one hero who pulled in numerous players for how simple she is but also for how powerful: Cindra, Dracai of Retribution.

Cindra is the second Draconic Ninja hero in Flesh and Blood. However, unlike her predecessor, Fai, Rising Rebellion, who focused a lot more on Phoenix Flame, Cindra leans heavily on the Dagger mechanic. Nonetheless, we'll still find similarities between them as we go through this article.

As a Draconic Ninja, Cindra is pure aggression: she plays a full set of Attacks with Go Again, cheap cards, and can create devastatingly uncomfortable situations for the opponent.

The deck we'll work with today is by Puddin Tam, who won the Hong Kong Nationals. A few different versions of Cindra are seeing play right now, but today we'll explore the Redline version - the one who became quite famous when The Hunted came out.

When we look at this list, two things stand out immediately: how many red cards it plays and the fact it plays zero blue cards. This might seem weird in a deck with cards and weapons that have a cost, but you'll soon see that this actually isn't an issue.

To understand this a bit better, let's start with the most essential part of the deck: equipment.

Equipment Cards

Claw of Vynserakai and Flamescale Furnace are sideboard equipment for specific matchups. While Claw is useful against Wizards in general because of its Spellvoid 1, Flamescale Furnace is great because of its Temper 2, particularly when you need to handle a bit more damage.

This Leg equipment is the easiest to understand out of all. Dragonscaler Flight Path is a sort of Snapdragon Scalers with Battleworn 1 and, in this deck, gives Go Again to Attacks further down the Combat Chain. For instance, it can give Go Again to a Snatch (1) to draw a card, or to a Hunt the Hunter, which needs Go Again to keep going. This equipment is quite flexible, and its Battleworn could also be quite critical whenever you need to block.

Now, let's talk about the most important set of the entire deck. This is what makes Cindra one of the best aggro decks in the game. Let's take a look at her Signature Weapon first.

Kunai of Retribution is pretty straightforward. We can equip two of them (as it is a 1-handed weapon), and its type, Dagger, is very relevant for this strategy. They do have the issue of "breaking" at the end of the Combat Chain, but that won't actually be an issue because Cindra's ability retrieves them for you. Furthermore, they're also quite flexible.

Blood Splattered Vest is a sort of Fyendal's Spring Tunic, as you can activate it up to three times per match. It might seem simple, but this is the one card that will help you pay for the other cards with a cost in this list.

Before The Hunted came along, only Uzuri, Switchblade could use Flick Knives well enough to end matches. In this list, however, this card is a lot more generic. As Cindra's ability retrieves your Daggers, we can "flick" this Dagger without worrying about losing it. There's also an extra trick.

Because of Flick Knives's actual text, which states the Dagger has hit, even if the opponent blocks it in the Chain Link, the damage from that Chain Link is considered a hit. And that's very relevant for Mask of Momentum.

Interaction Between Mask of Momentum and Flick Knives

The Chain Link on-hit ruling for Mask of Momentum effects might seem weird, but it's actually not. Let's see how it works in practice.

Nic attacks Tyler with an Oath of Loyalty. Tyler decides not to block, and no one plays reactions. Nic deals four damage. Next, Nic attacks with a Brand with Cinderclaw (1). Tyler blocks with a Warmonger's Diplomacy. Nic activates their Flick Knives as an Attack Reaction, destroys their Kunai of Retribution, and deals one damage in this Chain Link. Tyler doesn't play any reaction. Next, Nic attacks with a Blaze Headlong. Tyler doesn't block or play a reaction. As Blaze Headlong dealt damage to the opponent, and it was the third consecutive card in the Chain Link to deal damage (the first one was Oath of Loyalty, and the Dagger Flick Knives destroyed was the second), Mask of Momentum's effect activates, and Nic draws a card.

In this example, though Tyler completely blocked Nic's second Attack, Flick Knives hit and dealt damage in the Chain Link. This kept Mask of Momentum active and threatened to draw a card after the third Chain Link card. This is Cindra's most basic mechanic.

Thanks to these equipment cards, Cindra uses Mask of Momentum as a constant threat in every turn and, as such, deals at least one damage with Flick Knives every turn. This will be quite dangerous for opponents, as they'll have to keep a close eye on their life points.

Attacks

You'll notice Cindra's Attacks are nearly all the same: they cost zero and have Go Again (naturally or not). A Cindra turn must play out like this: first, you'll play an Attack that has Go Again naturally (which we'll call Starters), then something to extend the Combat Chain (which we'll call Extenders, of course), and then Attacks to finish the turn (which we'lll call Finishers, of course).

Starters

This deck has an array of cards with natural Go Again that are perfect to start out your turns. We'll see soon that you must start the Combat Chain with a Draconic Attack, but, in some cases, starting with Ravenous Rabble (1) or Pain in the Backside isn't so bad.

Overall, all of these cards cost zero and have 3 power, but there are a few exceptions. Oath of Loyalty has 4 power, blocks for 3, is Draconic, and has Go Again naturally, which is all great considering it doesn't cost anything. However, it has a series of restrictions (which won't actually be an issue because of your hero's ability, the one that creates Fealtys).

Extenders

This list also plays several Attacks with Go Again as Extenders, but usually you'll have to meet a few conditions and make them have Go Again. In most cases, these Attacks only work if you control a Combat Chain with two or more Draconic Chain Links. As they're already Draconic, you'll have to play a few Draconic Chain Links beforehand as well. Let's see an example:

Nic attacks Tyler with Pain in the Backside. Tyler blocks with Battalion Barque (3) and no one plays any reactions. Next, Nic attacks with Display Loyalty (1). As Nic only controls one Draconic Chain Link (because they created the previous Chain Link with a non-Draconic Attack), this Attack doesn't activate its effect, so it doesn't have Go Again and doesn't create a Fealty.

As many of our Extenders have this restriction, you must be careful. Plan your sequences well and make sure to activate your Attack's effects.

Finishers

Because of how aggressive Draconic is, Cindra also uses a few very famous cards that even Fai, Rising Rebellion used: Lava Burst, Breaking Point, and Snatch (1). However, Cindra does play two other cards that deserve a few more paragraphs.

Blood Runs Deep is, indeed, one of the best cards in this deck. In practice, it will cost zero, but don't be mistaken by its 2 power. Its ability, which throws two Daggers at the opponent, is often enough to finish matches or activate Mask of Momentum.

Wrath of Retribution is the best card in this list (there's a reason we can only use one copy of it). It costs practically zero, has Go Again naturally, blocks for 3, lets you attack with your Daggers for free, and also buffs them by +1. You can set up devastating turns with it and Blood Runs Deep to deal over 20 damage.

Non-Attacks

This deck is absurdly aggressive, but it does play a few Non-Attacks as support.

Ancestral Empowerment is a Ninja staple. Besides drawing a card, it buffs a card by +1. This might not seem like a lot, but is often enough to activate on-hit effects or Mask of Momentum.

Loyalty Beyond the Grave and Shelter from the Storm are perfect Defense Reactions whenever you need to be a bit more defensive. While Loyalty Beyond the Grave draws a card, Shelter from the Storm is flexible in the mirror. It can prevent the damage the Daggers deal or even prevent Arcane damage (particularly when it's pings, like the Runechant Vynnset, Iron Maiden creates).

Battlefront Bastion (1) isn't exactly a Non-Attack. However, its cost is a bit too much for decks that don't play blue cards, so its only job in this list is removing Prism, Awakener of Sol's Phantasm Attacks. Furthermore, its defensive effect can be quite useful against Prism.

Cindra is simple to play, but you still need to be careful to set up powerful turns.

Try to always start your Combat Chain with a Draconic Attack and make sure to activate your Extenders.

Be very careful with Oath of Loyalty. You won't be able to play Non-Draconic cards in your turn, but Fealty tokens can help you play around this.

Fealty tokens break if you don't play Draconic cards. So, make sure to play at least one Draconic card to keep them active.

Don't use Flick Knives on any Attack. Use it on Attacks your opponent is blocking, as this will activate Mask of Momentum a bit more easily.

Cindra is currently one of the strongest decks in Classic Constructed. Ever since she came out in The Hunted, she has been highly efficient at dealing a lot of damage as fast as possible.

She also leans on a very consistent kit: recursive Attacks, damage your opponent will struggle to prevent, and flexible tools. If you're looking for a simpler yet strong updated meta list, Cindra might be your best bet.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!