Moon-Circuit Hacker Mana Curve: Simulations Reveal Optimal Plays

Moon-Circuit Hacker Mana Curve: Simulations Reveal Optimal Plays

In TCG ·

Moon-Circuit Hacker card art from Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Moon-Circuit Hacker Mana Curve: Simulations Reveal Optimal Plays

Blue fans, rejoice — Moon-Circuit Hacker brings a tempo-rich puzzle to Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. This common Enchantment Creature — Human Ninja costs {1}{U} to play, a nimble 2-drop with a built-in route to card advantage through combat. Its ninjutsu cost of {U} invites clever play sequences: attack with something cheap, return that attacker to your hand, and slam Moon-Circuit Hacker onto the battlefield tapped and attacking. The result is a nimble, evasive presence that nudges the mana curve upward just enough to threaten tempo while keeping your options open 🧙‍♂️🔥.

In a mana-curve simulation, the most reliable lane for Moon-Circuit Hacker is as a tempo piece in a blue shell that prizes clever attacks, evasive pressure, and late-game card selection. The card’s trigger — draw a card when it deals combat damage to a player, with a discard unless it entered the battlefield that turn — rewards you for making Moon-Circuit Hacker land and connect. That means the most valuable plays often hinge on setting up a clean entry point via ninjutsu rather than simply playing it from your hand on Turn 2. The upside? A well-timed draw can snowball into field presence or deck velocity, while the discard clause keeps you honest about tempo in the late game 🧳🎲.

Understanding the curve and the key turns

Moon-Circuit Hacker is a 2/1 for two mana, which gives you a serviceable body on Turn 2. The real trick lies in how you deploy it. If you can present an unblocked attacker in the previous turn, your ninjutsu line on Turn 2 can deliver the Hacker onto the battlefield tapped and attacking, effectively replacing a-slow cast with a tempo swap. If you don’t have a ready-to-swing creature, simply casting Moon-Circuit Hacker from your hand on Turn 2 remains a strong option, since it still threatens to trade with an opposing blocker while keeping the potential for a late-game card draw. That duality — either cast or ninjutsu — is what makes the card a flexible piece on the mana curve 🔄⚔️.

  • Turn 2 (cast): Play Moon-Circuit Hacker for 2 mana. You’re adding a 2/1 with ninjutsu potential into your curve, which pressures an opponent’s defenses while you set up a follow-up play or defend with countermagic in hand. If you manage to push it through and deal combat damage later, the card draw reward arrives, nudging your future draws in a favorable direction 🧭.
  • Turn 2 (ninjutsu line): If your first attacker is unblocked, you can bounce it to hand and drop Moon-Circuit Hacker onto the battlefield tapped and attacking. This often yields a stronger tempo swing, especially when the next turns include cheap interaction or evasive threats that keep pressure up 💥.
  • Turn 3–4+: When Moon-Circuit Hacker connects, you get the draw effect. You may discard, but the decision should be guided by your game plan: do you need that card draw now, or can you leverage the new card to push toward removal or counterplay? The discard clause makes you weigh immediate value against future board state, which is exactly where experienced players savor the micro-checks in tempo games 🎨.
  • Synergy notes: The card’s related pair, A-Moon-Circuit Hacker, hints at potential two-card synergy decks. In Neon Dynasty, ninjutsu synergies often orbit clever bounce effects, evasive threats, and repeated deployment tricks — a tapestry Moon-Circuit Hacker threads into with style ⚔️.

Play patterns and deck-building takeaways

Decks that lean into Moon-Circuit Hacker typically embrace a blue-focused tempo or ninja shell. Build plans around ensuring you have at least one unblocked attacker to enable ninjutsu, plus cheap follow-up threats to maintain pressure if the Hacker lands late. Because the card rewards combat damage with a card draw, you want ways to threaten chest-to-chest diplomacy with your opponent’s life total rather than trading down into a dead end. The strategic payoff scales with the number of evasive creatures you can wield or the number of one-mana cantrips and cheap cantrips that keep your options open. In short: tempo, evasion, and draw — the neon triad 🧠💎.

Price and availability-wise, Moon-Circuit Hacker sits in a comfortable spot for casual and tournament-minded players alike. The card is common, with a modest market price around a few dimes to a few quarters depending on foil or nonfoil status, making it a smart trade-in or budget-cut for blue ninjas who want to show off the neon glow without breaking the bank. Its illustrated art by Tia Masic adds that cyber-noir spark you crave when building a themed commander or standard-era deck. The flavor text and mechanical design feel like a brushstroke across a neon cityscape, where a moonlit circuitry hums behind every decision 🎨✨.

As a design piece, Moon-Circuit Hacker exemplifies the elegance of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty’s ninja toolkit — efficient, interactive, and brimming with flavor. The card’s mana curve-friendly nature and the potential for repeated card advantage on combat damage give players lessons in tempo: sometimes the best draw is the one that keeps the pressure square on your opponent. Keep your eyes on the board state, plan your ninjutsu moments with care, and let the moonlit circuitry guide your path to victory 🧩⚡.

And if you’re scouting accessories for long evenings of deckbuilding and playtesting, this non-slip mouse pad is a perfectly practical companion to keep your setup steady as you map your next moves. It’s a small touch that makes a big difference when you’re threading lines between ninjutsu triggers and drawing extra cards 🧭🎯.

Non-slip Gaming Mouse Pad 9.5x8.3mm Rubber Back

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Moon-Circuit Hacker

Moon-Circuit Hacker

{1}{U}
Enchantment Creature — Human Ninja

Ninjutsu {U} ({U}, Return an unblocked attacker you control to hand: Put this card onto the battlefield from your hand tapped and attacking.)

Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, you may draw a card. If you do, discard a card unless this creature entered this turn.

ID: c6e466d1-943d-41e6-a47d-c9d951ca4262

Oracle ID: 7cd8b017-8d59-4b55-bb9a-8d8e492ef1ac

Multiverse IDs: 548365

TCGPlayer ID: 262193

Cardmarket ID: 607347

Colors: U

Color Identity: U

Keywords: Ninjutsu

Rarity: Common

Released: 2022-02-18

Artist: Tia Masic

Frame: 2015

Border: black

EDHRec Rank: 3305

Penny Rank: 1544

Set: Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (neo)

Collector #: 67

Legalities

  • Standard — not_legal
  • Future — not_legal
  • Historic — not_legal
  • Timeless — legal
  • Gladiator — legal
  • Pioneer — legal
  • Modern — legal
  • Legacy — legal
  • Pauper — legal
  • Vintage — legal
  • Penny — not_legal
  • Commander — legal
  • Oathbreaker — legal
  • Standardbrawl — not_legal
  • Brawl — not_legal
  • Alchemy — not_legal
  • Paupercommander — legal
  • Duel — legal
  • Oldschool — not_legal
  • Premodern — not_legal
  • Predh — not_legal

Prices

  • USD: 0.22
  • USD_FOIL: 0.20
  • EUR: 0.32
  • EUR_FOIL: 0.47
  • TIX: 0.03
Last updated: 2025-11-15