The Ugliest Bun’ling

In the current constructed and limited Meta for hex there is a champion that is shunned from light-of-play even more so than Running Deer or Polonious. The mere mention of using is dismissed as a “bad idea” I speak of course of Bun’jitsu, the Shin’hare Warlock.

But is Bun’jitsu as bad a champion as he is made out to be? To answer this I am going to explore his charge power, possible card combos that synergise well with Bunjit’su, and finally assess if the champion is a viable option in the current Meta of the Hex TCG.

So firstly, Bun’jitsu’s charge power, for 5 charges and 2 blood threshold, takes 2 of your readied creatures and smooshes them together into a unholy abomination that is 3 power and toughness stronger than the combined total of the two troops used. The troop that emerges as a result of the charge power comes in exhausted. This is a double edged sword, while the troop you get is indeed larger than the two you voided to make it, doing so leaves you at a -1 card disadvantage and with two less blockers for your opponents next turn. This is what most people see when they first look and Bun’jitsu and it is understandable why he is not played often. However, there is more to this champion’s ability than can be seen on the surface.

Have you ever put down a bomb of a card such as Malice Demon only to have Inner Conflict or Mesmerize played on it that same turn? If you are anything like me, you have. This is a time when Bun’jitsu can help. Smoosh that Malice Demon together with one of your lowly 0/1 battle hopper troops and you now have a decent 11/12 troop to work with. So besides helping against niche soft removal what else can Bun’jitsu do for me? Let us have a look at some cards that can combo well with Bun’jitsu.

Since Bun’jitsu is a blood champion let’s look at some blood cards first:

If you are playing Shin’hare and blood you are most likely playing this card, sacrificing a lowly Battle Hopper to make this guy a 5/5 is nice trade off, even though it is temporary. Bun’jitsu can really capitalize on this ability if you are willing to give up one more battle hopper. The process is simple, sacrifice to make the blood cauldron ritualist a 5/5 then use Bun’jitsu ability on him and target another Battle Hopper. Now you have a really early 8/9 abomination (as soon as turn 4 if you are able to charge your champion once).

So you have just played your Claw of theMountain God (or possibly Fang of the Mountain God) out on the field, a 5/4 for 3 resources is extremely efficient but he is doing 2 damage to you each turn. However 2 damage a turn isn’t doing to sit well with you so you use Bun’jitsu ability with a charge bot you played voila a 9/8 abomination which won’t hurt you each turn.

The next shard that can has a few good combos with Bun’jitsu is Wild:

The opponent has a lot of defenders up you feel like using wild growth now won’t be worth it. Put it down on one of your smaller troops then Bun’jitsu them with another small troop. If done on two Battle Hoppers this will make a 6/8 abomination which can be a major threat for 1 resource, and since wild growth gets shuffled back in, it can always come back later.

Sometimes you don’t want to have to tap all your guys to make rooster big, Bun’jitsu is able to make that buff permanent. Just make sure to leave one troop un-exhausted to use Bun’jitsu’s power.

Finally let’s have a look at what is probably the best combo with Bun’jitsu charge power:

An 8/8 with crush for 5 resources is amazingly efficient, unfortunately it costs 8 health to unexhaust. Solution? Bun’jitsu it. If used with a Charge Bot, you now have a 12/12 (albeit without crush) on turn 5 that you don’t have to pay to untap.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, there are more cards that Bun’jitsu can combo with but I think you get the idea. Cementing temporary buffs and removing efficient cards’ downsides is where Bun’jitu’s strength lays. It seems like Bun’jitsu fills a very particular role. Is he worth playing? That is up to you. But I know I won’t be glossing over him in the future.

Do you know any good combo's or uses for Bun'jitsu? Let me know in the comments :)