(Benji, the Piercing Wind | Art by Sam Yang)

Welcome back to CnC! Through this series, we’ll break down just what each hero brings to the table, from abilities, to playable cards and equipment, and interactions with other heroes. Looking at Blitz, CC, and UPF, we’ll see which heroes are winners, playable, fun, or need more support.

As far as young heroes go, Benji is definitely a favorite. His passive ability is among the more broken ones in the game, but his low health balances it out a bit. This hero is one of the reasons why young heroes aren’t played in CC – not because they’re too weak, but because it would tip the scales of the game.

But what makes Benji, the little kid Ninja, so powerful? Let’s take a look.

What Does Benji Do?

Benji, the Piercing Wind is exclusively a young hero with four intellect and 17 life. He’s a Ninja, which means he can play generic and Ninja cards. He has two effects and both are passive. The first one says his attack action cards with two or less power can’t be defended with cards from hand. The other says that once per turn, when an attack action card he controls hits, the next attack gets +1 power.

Benji’s Weapons and Equipment

One word: Daggers. A minimum of one Harmonized Kodachi is needed for Benji. Your second weapon can be another Kodachi or a Zephyr Needle, depending on your opponent.

Ninja has a lot of support and Benji looks to utilize it the most he can. The headpiece you’ll be most happy with is Mask of Momentum, a Ninja’s favorite. Depending on your playstyle, you have a few options when it comes to arms: Tiger Stripe Shuko, Breaking Scales, or Flick Knives are all good options. A good common for your deck can be Vest of the First Fist if you want to buff those big attacks (if you’ll even have them; more on that later). Other chest options are Blood Scent or Blazen Yoroi if you’ll be playing against another Ninja. Of course, Fyendal’s Spring Tunic is a chest piece any deck is happy to have.

Lastly, Breeze Rider Boots or Tide Flippers are your leg options. If you want the most AB support, a full set of five (sometimes Arcane Lantern is more useful than the extra Dagger) is recommended.

Core Cards for Benji

Let’s start with specializations. Benji has two of those: Spring Tidings and Wander with Purpose. You’ll need both of them in your deck as Wander With Purpose will fetch you a card to help you set up for later and Spring Tidings is just a horror in card shape with go again.

Apart from them, you’ll need blues and yellows with zero cost for your Kodachi(s). Also, Benji likes blues for their low attack value, so it’s a win-win. The cards you’ll want are ones with go again such as Head Jab, but also generics like Snatch, as long as they attack for two or less. Yellows are welcome as well and you’ll find the same rules apply as for blues.

Then what about reds? We have some generic reds that were practically made for Benji. They are Vipox and Mischievous Meeps – notice their low cost and low attack for a pretty good effect. An oldie but goldie is also Scar for a Scar, as it will have go again even if you go first. Some Ninja reds are also good to have in Benji, like Double Strike or Tiger Swipe.

As far as reactions go, you’ll want to play Ancestral Empowerment and Razor Reflex. You won’t be seeing any D. reacts – the faster you dish out damage, the better.

Let’s take a look at the formats Benji can be played in.

Blitz

There are two ways you can pilot Benji: going for big attacks and little attacks, or using Tigers. You’ll be adding cards to your list depending on which side you choose. Enlightened Strike is one option for your big attack deck and Mauling Qi is a good option for your Tiger deck. Your Tiger deck will concentrate on the Crouching Tiger card and other cards that pump them. As the cards won’t get a lot of power, they’re perfect for his effect. The big attacks route is a bit different. You’ll want to start with the bigger attacks to make your enemy throw all his cards. They can’t attack you on their turn if they don’t have anything to attack you with. You can also save your big attacks as finishers.

Your advantage in Blitz is that you can dish out a lot of damage in a single turn without even needing to do a lot of setup. Your plentiful go agains will make sure you have at least three to four chain links per turn, depending on how many cards in hand you have. There aren’t many heroes that can kill you on their first turn. So just block that first wave and dish out everything you can on the rest.

CC

As a young hero, Benji can’t be played in CC.

UPF

The best tactic with Benji is to be cute and wait. The second best is sharing your smaller attacks amongst the group. Breaking chains isn’t the most optimal way of playing Benji, but sometimes you just gotta do it. You don’t want to get targeted because you will lose, so just lay low.

Overall Score: Winner / Fun to Play

Ever since he came out, Benji has been very high up on the tier list of heroes. It’s a bit scary playing with only 17 health, but if you keep calm and trust the deck you built, you’ll come out a winner almost every time. Other than that, he’s just fun to play, because your opponents will not be having a fun time.

Further Reading:

How to Build Benji in Blitz

Playing Gore Belching With Benji in Blitz

The Blitz Format is Great, and You Should Be Playing It!

Valera

Valera tried Magic in highschool then forgot about it. Some years later, she fell in love with broken FaB heroes (like Data Doll MKII) and tribal commander MTG decks. A shapeshifter, collector, traveller, writer... Who needs free time?