What Sakura Haruno to Use as Support

What Sakura Haruno to Use as Support

Almost every element type in the Naruto Trading Card Game either focuses on Attack or Defense, rarely both. For instance, Fire goes towards attack having the strongest early game ninja, same with Lightning, while elements of Wind and Earth seem to drift towards support with ninja like Temari and Shikamaru. Support is important in every deck, no matter what the build and one very versatile ninja is Sakura Haruno, but what copy of her to use? Depending on what type of deck you use in the Naruto TCG I would always try and use a decent amount of support ninja to back up my leaders, it just makes sense. One such support ninja is the Genin Sakura Haruno. She is known for her roll in the anime along side Naruto and Sasuke. One variation of Sakura comes to us from the Dream Legacy expansion of the Naruto TCG

Sakura Haruno (Errand)

Her effect is really good here allowing you to manipulate your hand on both offense and defense. Her stats are a bit weak, but that's Sakura for you. What makes this Sakura good is her versatile effect, 3 mental power, and the fact that she has growth.

Sakura Haruno is not the greatest version of this ninja seeing play today, but I would still give her a fair rating of 3 out of 5.

Here again we have another form of that famed female ninja Sakura Haruno. This version of the pink haired ninja comes to us from the Battle of Destiny expansion of the Naruto TCG. She is still a weak support wind ninja, but let's take a look at how she has grown over the past few sets.

Sakura Haruno (Search for Sasuke)

Valid: While your opponent has "Sasuke Uchiha" in play this ninja gets +0/+2

Ok so she has a really nice effect. if your opponent has Sasuke Uchiha in play. So how likely is that you may ask? Well in reality it's going to happen most every game. Sasuke (Analysis of Competition) and Sasuke (Thirst for Power) are both very good cards that see a ton of play in almost every format so they will hit the table, and when they do, your Sakura gets powered up to a 0/3! This Sakura is great, but still relies on your opponent a bit much which makes it conditional so I score it a fair rating 3 out of 5

So with two average Sakura's reviewed above we need to find one that stands out among the rest, one that will fit in any deck, give some support, not be conditional with her power and help the overall flow of your deck. Well here she is.

Sakura Haruno (A Double Personality)

During the Exchange of jutsu you can exchange all the cards in your hand for the same number of cards off the top of your deck.

Wow! Just wow, does anyone really know how great this power really is? With all the cards that allow you to manipulate your deck, or your opponents for that matter this card will allow you to draw into your really good jutsu. Team her up with Sasuke in the early game and get a nice Chidori to clear the field really quick. Team her up with Zabuza to kill off entire teams in one shot, team her up with just about anyone to wreak havoc and destruction throughout the field, and best of all she's only a rare, making her obtainable to the common player. Sakura (A Double Personality) also comes as a Starter deck rare in the Quest for Power Starter decks so even the newest of players can get their hands on this great card. Overall this Sakura gets my seal of approval (and most everyone else's) earning a perfect 5 out of 5

So overall if your putting together any deck and looking for some decent support you can't go wrong with Sakura, and the Double Personality version of her really is essential in the current play environment. Almost every reliable tournament worthy deck will run a few copies of her to manipulate the jutsu phase and draw, so you should do the same. If you cant run three copies of Sakura (A Double Personality) there are other choices, Search for Sasuke will work well in the current environment, and Errand is a reliable choice all around.

Related ContentIntroduction to the Naruto Trading Card GameNaruto Trading Card Game: An Introduction on How to Begin a GameThe Naruto Trading Card Game: How to Begin Construction on a Tournament Worthy Deck How to Build a Solid Fire Type Deck in the Naruto Trading Card GameThe Naruto Trading Card Games Guide to Building the Perfect Wind Style DeckThe Basic Structure of an Earth Style Deck in the Naruto Trading Card GameQuest for Powers New Water Style Tempo Deck for the Naruto Trading Card Game

Did You KnowSakura has a second personality that is seen in the show as "Inner Sakura" and gives her motivation and even advice from time to time. This "Inner Sakura" is seen in the background of Sakura (A Double Personality)