In the Naruto Trading Card game we see many ninja’s reprinted over and over again. For instance Sasuke Uchiha has been reprinted in 15 various forms, and is useful in every single deck. Sasuke is the most used ninja in the game only to be rivaled by Naruto or Kakashi, however he does take the title. Now you may ask yourself, if your using a deck and plan to put a Sasuke in, which you should, what one should you use? Well here are a few good ideas.
By far the best Sasuke card to date is Sasuke Uchiha, Analysis of Competition. He is a turn 0 ninja, and attacks for 3 and gets a +1 if battling a genin or lower ranked ninja. This means he’s going to be a 4/0 until at least turn 3 or even higher, most likely until turn 4. This version of Sasuke is a must for almost every single deck type around, his only downside is his lack of the growth effect.
Another good choice, but many times overlooked, is Sasuke Uchiha, No. 1 Rookie. He is a 3/0 on turn 0 and has a pretty good effect. During battle if your opponent has 2 or more teams then they have to block Sasuke. This can draw out an opponent to fight, or even win you the game late during the match. Again, he lacks the growth ability.
Sasuke Uchiha Flowering Ability is a really good card, but receives little play because his ability is still a bit of a new concept. Going off the fact that Sasuke has the copying abilities of the Sharingan you can discard one chakra card in order to give Sasuke the attributes of any other in play ninja. This seems to be a conditional ability at first, but when used in a Hyuga deck, you could copy the Byakugan ability, or Naruto’s Clone status, the possibilities are endless making this Sasuke the most versatile of the bunch. He also has the Growth ability, meaning you can play him on a lower level Sasuke to up his power.
If you are lucky enough to get a Chidori jutsu card then you may think about using Sasuke Uchiha Beyond the Limit. This version of Sasuke can use the costly Chidori jutsu card for free, really throwing a wrench in an opponents plan. He also has the growth ability, and taijutsu combat attribute, making him great in a deck based on pure muscle.
Sasuke Uchiha Energizing the body is a great one turn big hit. When he comes into play he gets a +2 meaning he will be a 5 for one turn. This is an awesome effect, but it dissipates making this card very playable in the first few turns but worthless once you reach turn 4 and higher. Still having a 5/0 ninja on turn 0 can be very impressive, and pulling him off on turn 1 or 2 will almost certainly snag you at least 2 battle rewards right off the bat.
The last Sasuke I would advise you to use would be Sasuke Uchiha Fire Style. He comes into play on turn 0 and attacks for a solid 3, but his ability is what makes him a great choice. When using a jutsu with the fire symbol you not only get the jutsu’s effect, but also a +1 to your attack with Sasuke. This means cards like Chidori will give you a +6 instead of +5 and you will also gain extra attack for cards like Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu, and even the Sharingan Eye. This effect may seem like a minor addition to power, but many times it can prove to be the little extra push you need to pull off the win.
This only covers 6 out of the 15 incarnations of Sasuke, but these 6 are the best of the bunch. The other versions of Sasuke have decent effects, but fail to math those of these cards. The type of deck you use will dictate the version of Sasuke that you incorporate, but if you have the option then I would use Sasuke Uchiha Analysis of Competition over any other version, but that’s only because he’s just amazing for the first half of the game, and could lead you into an early victory situation.
