Dev Download: Cindra

Welcome to Dev Download, where we share red hot tips and tricks fresh from the game devs at Legend Story Studios so you can pick up a deck and play like a pro! This week we’ll be covering how to play each of the heroes in The Hunted, focusing on Booster Draft and Classic Constructed!

Today we take a stab with Cindra, Dracai of Retribution!

Booster Draft

The Hunted is a dynamic Booster Draft experience with three unique heroes, each looking to mark their target then stab them with daggers!

Cindra has access to Ninja and Draconic Ninja cards, shares Draconic cards with Fang, and shares hybrid Assassin / Ninja cards with Arakni.

Cindra's goal is to attack with her Kunai of Retribution, then use her hero ability to fetch them back from the graveyard. By marking the opponent then hitting them, Cindra will create Fealty tokens, which help build Draconic chain links to reduce the cost of her hero ability or unlock other powerful card effects. Draconic Ninja and regular Ninja cards are typically a key signal that Cindra is open to draft.

The first way to draft Cindra revolves around focusing on Draconic synergy, building wide combat chains of Draconic attacks and looping a Kunai each turn to keep the ball rolling. Key cards to look out for are Draconic attacks with 4-power, as these allow you to attack with a Kunai, then a breakpoint attack, then spend your remaining resource fetching the other Kunai back. Other cards you want to include are those that mark the opponent, and those that defend for 3, because you want to defend just as efficiently as you attack. Mark with Magma and Cinderskin Devotion are top picks for this strategy. Lastly, try to pick up 1-3 of the rare 'Dragon' cards, as these combined with Fealty tokens are the nail in your opponent's coffin.

The second way to draft Cindra focuses on dagger-centric cards. This build aims to chip away at the opponent's life total with constant Kunai attacks, using 'flick' effects to squeeze even more damage out of them before they're destroyed, then often pitching a whole blue to reset them ready for another power turn. Key cards to look out for are hybrid cards that can 'flick' your daggers, especially Danger Digits. You'll want lots of cheap attacks with go again, and about 8-10 blues so that you can threaten lots of damage while spending your pitch on dagger attacks and Cindra's ability. Poisoned Blade is a very important card to have in this build, as it combos with the 'flick' effects to quickly deplete your opponent's life.

Classic Constructed

When you spend your entire life training to take down the Emperor's enemies, you tend to pick up a few nasty tricks along the way. Like any good Ninja, Cindra likes to go wide with several attacks in a turn, but no other hero uses Flick Knives quite as ruthlessly as she does. Every turn you can attack with your Kunai, then 'flick' one of them for both free damage and a guaranteed hit, which means your opponent is never safe from taking damage. Combined with Mask of Momentum, this creates a difficult puzzle for your opponent to solve every turn, because as we all know, drawing free cards is pretty good.

One of the main ways to build Cindra in Classic Constructed revolves around the above two Legendary equipment, and establishing a never-ending cycle of annoying breakpoints and sheer value. This build wants to draw the game out, slowly chipping away at the opponent's life total, while using several cards with on-hit effects such as Devotion Never Dies and Snatch to stop the opponent from ever keeping a full grip. Spreading Flames is a key card in this build, creating a massive amount of value from attacking with your daggers, 'flicking' them, bringing them back, and attacking again. This build is happy to trade with the opponent and play smaller hands, so make sure to carefully consider your deck's overall defensive value, and include tools like Loyalty Beyond the Grave.

A more explosive way to play Cindra revolves around setting up huge dagger combo turns with Poisoned Blade and Blood Runs Deep. Play Poisoned Blade, attack with your Kunai, find ways to 'flick' them, bring them back, attack with them again, and activate Mask of the Pouncing Lynx to fetch Salt the Wound directly from your deck! All the dagger hits will contribute to Salt the Wound for insane amounts of damage that can be very difficult to defend. Mask of the Pouncing Lynx is critical to this build's success, as it can also fetch other parts of your combo such as Blood Runs Deep or yellow/blue Poisoned Blade. If you can afford it, Blood Splattered Vest and Dragonscaler Flight Path can stretch your turns even further!

The Classic Constructed metagame is sure to bring Cindra some hefty challenges to face, from 'calming' effects such as Shelter from the Storm, Zen State, Frailty, etc, to cards that can banish your Kunai such as Rotten Remains, Gravekeeping, Pass Over, etc, as well as hand and arsenal disruption from Assassins and Rangers. Concealed Blade along with a spare Kunai and/or Harmonized Kodachi in your inventory is a great safety net against these types of effects. Note that you can also use Cindra's ability during your opponent's turn in response to these effects in order to fetch your Kunai before they get banished. Warmonger's Diplomacy at the end of your combat chain is a nasty way to shut down a Ranger or Runeblade's entire turn after they've taken damage, and Snag is an excellent tool against Assassin attack reactions.

Want to take Cindra for a spin but don't want to commit to expensive Legendaries and Majestics just yet? Try our Budget Cindra Decklist below at your next Armory Event or even just casual games among friends.