Invasion of Kamigawa // Rooftop Saboteurs MTG Card

Invasion of Kamigawa // Rooftop Saboteurs - March of the Machine

Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Creature — Moonfolk Ninja
Abilities	Flying
Released	2023-04-21
Set symbol
Set name	March of the Machine
Set code	MOM
Power	2
Toughness	3
Number	62
Frame	2015
Layout	Transform
Border	Black
Illustred by	Kekai Kotaki

Key Takeaways

Generates card advantage and ramps up mana, offering significant strategic benefits during play.
Instant ninjutsu ability provides surprise tactics, making it a game-changer in combat situations.
Demands careful hand management and deck building consideration due to its specific mana and discard requirements.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Invasion of Kamigawa // Rooftop Saboteurs MTG card by a specific set like March of the Machine, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

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Text of card

Flying Whenever Rooftop Saboteurs deals combat damage to a player or battle, draw a card.

The pace of Kamigawa's development meant that Jin-Gitaxias's intel was already outdated when the invaders arrived.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Rooftop Saboteurs facilitates card advantage by enabling you to potentially draw additional cards each time it deals combat damage to a player, thus replenishing your hand and maintaining pressure on the opponent.

Resource Acceleration: This card also contributes to resource acceleration by allowing you to put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped whenever you draw a card, which can significantly ramp up your mana availability for subsequent turns.

Instant Speed: The card’s Ninjutsu ability can be activated at instant speed, providing a tactical element that allows you to surprise your opponent by swapping an unblocked attacker with the Saboteurs, leading to immediate and potentially game-shifting impacts during combat.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Playing Rooftop Saboteurs from the Invasion of Kamigawa set necessitates tossing another card from your hand into the graveyard. This could put you at a strategic disadvantage, especially when your hand is already running thin on options.

Specific Mana Cost: Rooftop Saboteurs requires both blue and generic mana, which may not synergize well with decks that don’t focus on blue mana or multicolor flexibility. This limitation can hinder the card’s utility in certain deck builds.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost that might seem steep to some players, Rooftop Saboteurs demands a significant mana investment before it can be brought into play. When considering your deck’s curve, it’s crucial to weigh its cost against other potential plays that might give you a quicker or more substantial advantage on the battlefield.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Invasion of Kamigawa’s Rooftop Saboteurs offer a range of options for deck builders. Their ability to be unblockable when conditions are met makes them a good fit for strategies that aim to deal damage directly to opponents or capitalize on cards that trigger upon successful combat.

Combo Potential: The Saboteurs are not just agile attackers; their Ninja subtype allows them to synergize with other Ninja cards, creating impactful combinations and enabling a Ninja-themed deck or enhancing existing Ninja strategies.

Meta-Relevance: With many decks focusing on establishing a board presence, the evasion Rooftop Saboteurs grant ensures they remain relevant. They can slip past the defenses of popular creature strategies, maintaining pressure and complementing decks that thrive on uninterrupted attacks.

How to beat

Invasion of Kamigawa has introduced the Rooftop Saboteurs, a ninja card that stealthily empowers your deck. This creature’s prowess is leveraging ninjutsu, enabling a swift offensive strategy that can circumvent many defensive setups. When Rooftop Saboteurs attack and aren’t blocked, they become more than just damage dealers—they unravel your defenses by creating a 1/1 colorless Spirit creature token.

Dealing with the Rooftop Saboteurs begins with robust board control. Employing cards that restrict unblocked attackers or generate value even when creatures die, such as those with afterlife or similar effects, could create unfavourable conditions for your opponent to use their ninjutsu ability. Strategic use of instant-speed removal spells whenever the Saboteurs are declared as attackers prevents their ninjutsu from even getting off the ground. Counterspells are also effective, negating the ninjutsu ability and maintaining board stability. Lastly, employing creatures with reach or cards that grant it provides a defensive buffer against invasive flying ninjas.

Grasping these countermeasures against Rooftop Saboteurs can shift the tide of battle in your favor, safeguard your life total, and disrupt the subtlety of the skilled assailants of Kamigawa.

Cards like Invasion of Kamigawa // Rooftop Saboteurs

Exploring the depths of Magic: The Gathering strategies, we come across Invasion of Kamigawa’s Rooftop Saboteurs, a card that really stands out when considering ninjutsu abilities in the game. These Saboteurs share synergies with the likes of Ninja of the Deep Hours, offering sneakiness and surprise elements. While Ninja of the Deep Hours rewards players by allowing them to draw a card upon dealing combat damage, Rooftop Saboteurs brings about a different boon. Once slipped onto the battlefield using its ninjutsu ability, it lets you take command of an opponent’s artifact, which can be game-altering.

Analogous to this, Mistblade Shinobi offers a similar ability by returning a creature to its owner’s hand but it doesn’t pack the same punch in terms of board control. Then there’s Skullsnatcher, which, albeit possessing a lower ninjutsu cost, takes a more defensive route by removing potential threats from opponent’s graveyards. These subtleties in effect and cost provide a rich tapestry of options for players looking for the stealthy, indirect approach to victory.

In summation, while there are a variety of ninjutsu-wielding cards within Magic: The Gathering, Rooftop Saboteurs offers a unique flavor of gameplay that can disarm opponents and tilt the scales in one’s favor, showcasing why it earns a spot in Ninja-themed decks.

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Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Invasion of Kamigawa // Rooftop Saboteurs has restrictions

Format	Legality
Standard	Legal
Historicbrawl	Legal
Historic	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Gladiator	Legal
Alchemy	Legal
Pioneer	Legal
Commander	Legal
Modern	Legal
Future	Legal
Vintage	Legal
Duel	Legal
Explorer	Legal
Brawl	Legal
Timeless	Legal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Invasion of Kamigawa // Rooftop Saboteurs card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date	Text
2023-04-14	A Siege’s controller can’t be its protector. If a Siege’s protector ever gains control of it, they choose a new player to be its protector. This is a state-based action.
2023-04-14	A battle can be attacked by all players other than its protector. Notably, this means a Siege’s controller can attack it.
2023-04-14	A battle can be dealt damage and be target of spells and/or abilities that target “any target.”
2023-04-14	A battle’s “defense” is displayed in the bottom right corner of the card. A battle enters the battlefield with that number of defense counters. If another permanent enters the battlefield as a copy of a battle, it also enters with that number of defense counters.
2023-04-14	As a Siege enters the battlefield, its controller chooses an opponent to be its protector.
2023-04-14	Battles can’t attack or block, even if one also becomes a creature. If an attacking or blocking creature somehow becomes a battle in addition to being a creature, it is removed from combat.
2023-04-14	Damage dealt to a battle causes that many defense counters to be removed from it.
2023-04-14	If a Siege never had defense counters on it (perhaps because a permanent became a copy of one), it can’t have its last defense counter removed. It will be put into its owner’s graveyard. You won’t exile it or cast the other face.
2023-04-14	If a battle has no defense counters, and it isn’t the source of a triggered ability that has triggered but not yet left the stack, that battle is put into its owner’s graveyard. This is a state-based action. This doesn’t cause a Siege’s intrinsic triggered ability to trigger.
2023-04-14	If a battle that’s being attacked somehow stops being a battle, it is removed from combat. Similarly, if its controller changes in the middle of combat, it is removed from combat.
2023-04-14	If a non-battle permanent that is already on the battlefield become a copy of a Siege, its controller chooses one of their opponents to be that battle’s protector. However, it will most likely be put into its owner’s graveyard because it has no defense counters (see below).
2023-04-14	If a permanent that is represented by a transforming double-faced card becomes a copy of a Siege, it will be exiled as that Siege’s triggered ability resolves, then it will be cast transformed. Note that this applies only to transforming double-faced cards, not to modal double-faced cards that can normally be played using either face.
2023-04-14	If a token or a card that isn’t represented by a transforming double-faced card becomes a copy of a Siege, it can’t be cast as its triggered ability resolves. It will remain in exile. If it’s a token, it will cease to exist the next time state-based actions are performed.
2023-04-14	In a multiplayer game, if the protector of a battle leaves the game and that battle is not currently being attacked, its controller chooses a new protector for it as a state-based action. If it is being attacked, its controller chooses a new protector for it once no creatures are attacking it. This means that it continues to be attacked and can be dealt combat damage as normal.
2023-04-14	Invasion of Kamigawa’s enters-the-battlefield ability can target an artifact or creature that’s already tapped.
2023-04-14	Only creatures controlled by a battle’s protector can block creatures that are attacking that battle. This means a Siege’s controller can never assign creatures to block for it.
2023-04-14	Sieges each have an intrinsic triggered ability. That ability is “When the last defense counter is removed from this permanent, exile it, then you may cast it transformed without paying its mana cost.”