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General description:
TThe title Hokage is bestowed upon precious few in the Hidden Leaf Village. The title is indicative of its possessor's formidable knowledge, unearthly talent, and strong will. This card is one of those precious few, the leader of Konoha and a darn good card. One could go so far as to say it is the best uncommon around (although Pass Permit might contest that), and I consider it to be even better than its Super Rare cousin, Beginning of the Chunin Exam. On top of that, you can fork over $10 for a Sasuke starter deck and you are guaranteed one of these.

Uses:
The card's effect is amazing. For one chakra you get Ichiraku Noodle Shop at the beginning of your turn. Not only that, but the effect is strapped to a 6/4 Satoosa: none too shabby. For a while this was the strongest power card out there, and to this day it is one of many reasons Fire is so dominant in the current metagame. He is very strong at combat and support (although support is preferred considering that an injury negates his effect), and does not run out of gas when he is injured either.

Strategies and game play:
This is a fairly stand-alone card, designed to keep your ninjas alive and healthy so you can win the game. One chakra is a very small price to pay for such an effect. You can use him to stem the flow of a late game gone wrong by continuously healing the head ninjas, or to take the beats to your opponent's face with little fear of injury. As long as you remember this; you can only heal one ninja per turn, and the effect goes away if Hokage himself takes an injury. Make it count, play him smart, and don't decide to make him cannon fodder if things go poorly for a turn or two.

Combos with other cards:
This card combines very well with Hayate Gekko (Judgment) as a way to muster up 7 support and to keep your head ninja, for lack of a better word, invincible. If he gets injured, heal him. If he gets destroyed, put him on top of your deck and try again! Also, a cute way to frustrate your opponent is the Hokage combo: put the Third Hokage and the Fourth Hokage on the field and you have a whopping 5-9 support and they can constantly heal each other and the rest of your ninja (as long as they do not end up injured and or defeated at the same time). The fun never ends!

Ways to counteract it:
Anything that can damage the Hokage immediately ruins his fun. He gets -2/-2, his effect goes away, and you are left with the equivalent to Raido on your board. Lightning Blade does the trick for two fire chakra, definitely a good investment. Also nice is Unhealed Wound, which strips him of his healing permanently (although you still have to deal with a 6/4 on your opponent's board as well as the possibility your mission could get Broken Hearted or Kabutoed into oblivion), or Dreadful Scars which is a nifty little way to delay his coming or make his healing and combat rather underwhelming.

Strengths/Pros:
-6/4 stats
-Healing ability
-Satoosa for using the big boy jutsu

Weaknesses/Cons:
-Injury strips him of useful ability, makes him weak but not helpless
-Entrance Cost
-Hand Cost
-No Mental Power! T_T

Artwork and aesthetics:
This card's artwork is kinda blah. It's just him posing with his little cane, not a whole lot going on in the picture.

Overall rating:
9/10. One word keeps this card from getting 10: "Valid"