Shiranui are a synchro-based, Zombie archetype that debuted in Duel Links December 2019 with the Soul of Resurrection minibox and quickly gained traction in the meta with its small, but sufficient combo engine. Unlike the many other combo decks that dominated the meta at the time (e.g. Darklords, Blackwings, and Ritual Beasts), Shiranui decks were able to fit in a sizable amount of backrow to complement their core monsters without loss of consistency. This gave Shiranui (as a deck) a balance between having aggressive, one-turn-kill (OTK) plays and room for defensive tech cards to counteract the meta. As time went on, and the “shadow buff” to the skill Spell Specialist was discovered, players shifted their builds to focus more on That Grass Looks Greener and turned Shiranui into an explosive combo deck. However, with the Feb 2020 banlist hitting both Spell Specialist and That Grass Looks Greener, players have gone back to the more balanced builds of Shiranui, which play as a control deck early game before transitioning into a beatdown deck mid-to-late game.

The core of the Shiranui archetype focuses around using and recycling its key tuner, Shiranui Spectralsword, to synchro climb from the initial levels 6 Shiranui Samuraisaga and 7 Shiranui Squiresaga into the game-ending levels 8 Shiranui Shogunsaga and 10 Shiranui Sunsaga. The gimmick of the archetype is that Shiranui Spectralsword allows the player to essentially “synchro summon from the grave” by banishing the monsters involved. As such, all the Shiranui main deck, non-tuner monsters have dual effects that (1) help get Shiranui Spectralsword out of the deck and into the grave and (2) trigger on banish to enable further plays. One of these plays forms the basis of the synchro climb by bringing back Shiranui Spectralsword from the banished pile (via Shiranui Solitaire’s effect) to allow for another synchro summon. This synchro climb also recycles Shiranui Spectralsword and puts it back in the grave for use again next turn, thus making Shiranui a very resilient deck that always sets itself up for follow up plays.

As a foreword, this guide assumes that the reader has an intermediate level of knowledge of the game mechanics in Duel Links and Yu-Gi-Oh! in general. The main concepts that we expect the readers to already know – beyond the basic rules of e.g. summoning and activating spells / traps – include the Toggle Button, reading “delays,” the Duel Links Limited 1, Limited 2, and Limited 3 lists, soft and hard once-per-turns, and Chain Links. We refer to these terms throughout the guide.

The Play Starters: Shiranui Squire (2x), Shiranui Solitaire (2-3x), Gozuki (2-3x)

These three monsters are the main starters of the deck, with Shiranui Squire being the most important and Shiranui Solitaire being the next important. Gozuki used to be more of a luxury than necessity, but as of the July 2020 banlist putting Shiranui Squire to Limited 2 status, Gozuki has become an important replacement for the 3rd copy of Shiranui Squire. All three of these monsters get Shiranui Spectralsword out of the deck to then put into the grave to initiate the synchro climb next turn.

Shiranui Squire and Shiranui Solitaire each have a primary effect that activates on the field and a secondary effect that activates on banish. Each effect of Shiranui Squire and Shiranui Solitaire is a hard-once-per-turn (HOPT).

Meanwhile, Gozuki also has two effects – one on the field and another when sent to the grave. Both of Gozuki’s effects are HOPTs as well.

As of the July 2020 banlist, Shiranui Squire is now Limited 2, which restricts the deck from using other, powerful Limited 2 cards such as Enemy Controller.

• Shiranui Squire

  • On normal summon, Shiranui Squire can special summon either the level 2 tuner, Shiranui Spectralsword, or the level 3 tuner, Shiranui Spectralsword Shade, from hand or the deck. After activating this effect, one is locked into special summoning only Zombie monsters for the rest of the turn.
    • Early game, this effect allows one to synchro immediately with Shiranui Squire into the level 6 Shiranui Samuraisaga or level 7 Shiranui Squiresaga off just one card (i.e. this is a 1-card combo). If the skill Level Duplication or Level Augmentation is involved, then this one card combo can even lead into a first turn level 8 Shiranui Shogunsaga or level 10 Shiranui Sunsaga.
    • This effect is by far the best option for getting Shiranui Spectralsword out of the deck and into the grave as it also gives one a decent size Synchro Monster on the field for board presence.
    • Mid-to-late game, this effect can tutor out a tuner to synchro with e.g. an already on-board Shiranui Samuraisaga into the level 8 Shiranui Shogunsaga or Shiranui Shogunsaga into the level 10 Shiranui Sunsaga.
    • Keep the special summoning restriction to Zombie monsters in mind when using cards like Paleozoic Canadia. If one activates Shiranui Squire’s effect, then one cannot chain Paleozoic Canadia’s effect in grave to a trap card that turn, since Paleozoic Canadia would not be summoned as a Zombie.
    • This effect is a HOPT.
  • On banish, Shiranui Squire can trigger a one-sided Dark World Dealings effect to draw the player a card and then force a discard.
    • Early game, this effect can be used to dig through the deck for backrow or set up the grave for plays, e.g. dumping a Shiranui Spectralsword from hand to grave for a synchro from grave next turn.
    • Mid-to-late game, this effect can be used to dump e.g. a level 4 Shiranui non-tuner from hand to grave to synchro with a Shiranui Spectralsword that was already sent to the grave on a previous turn.
    • When used in combination with Burgeoning Whirlflame in That Grass Looks Greener variants of the deck, this effect allows one to discard Burgeoning Whirlflame back into the grave to use again that very same turn. See the “Playing with That Grass Looks Greener” section of the guide for further detail.
    • This effect is a HOPT.

• Shiranui Solitaire

  • On board, Shiranui Solitaire can tribute any Zombie monster on one’s side of the field to special summon a 0 DEF Zombie tuner from the deck, e.g. usually the level 2, Shiranui Spectralsword, or the level 3, Shiranui Spectralsword Shade. Shiranui Solitaire can even tribute himself – doing so would allow him to dodge on-field effect negation like Fiendish Chain.
    • Early game, this effect is used to get Shiranui Spectralsword out of the deck to then ideally put into the grave with a tech card like Ballista Squad. This sets up for next turn the deadly Shiranui Spectralsword + Shiranui Solitaire combo as mentioned in the “Mid-to-Late Game Combos and Plays” section.
    • Mid-to-late game, this effect can be crucial for unclogging one’s board of monsters hit by Floodgate Trap Hole.
    • Mid-to-late game, this effect can also be used to send monsters to the grave for Shiranui Spectralsword or another effect. For instance, if one has Shiranui Spectralsword in grave from a previous turn and the level 6 Shiranui Samuraisaga on board, then one can use Shiranui Solitaire to tribute Shiranui Samuraisaga to summon another tuner from deck. Then, one can use the effect of Shiranui Spectralsword in grave to banish itself and the now in-grave Shiranui Samuraisaga to special summon the level 8 Shiranui Shogunsaga, while also still having Shiranui Solitaire and the other tuner ready on board for another synchro summon.
    • Shiranui Solitaire’s effect is not limited to tutoring out the Shiranui tuners – it can special summon ANY 0 DEF Zombie tuner from the deck. This includes e.g. Glow-Up Bloom.
    • This effect is a HOPT.
  • On banish, Shiranui Solitaire can special summon back any other banished Shiranui monster. While this effect is typically used to recycle the Shiranui tuners, it can also bring back any of the Shiranui Synchro Monsters if they were originally, properly synchro summoned on the field (i.e. not through the effect of Shiranui Spectralsword).
    • This effect is most often used for the deadly Shiranui Spectralsword + Shiranui Solitaire combo as mentioned in the “Mid-to-Late Game Combos and Plays” section. This combo leads into a game-ending 5500 ATK level 8 Shiranui Shogunsaga.
    • This effect is by far the most important on-banish effect of all the Shiranui monsters, as it can recycle resources as well as extend plays. Smart use of this effect is what sets apart a good Shiranui player from an average one. Always be on the look out for opportunities to abuse Shiranui Solitaire’s effect (e.g. via Shiranui Spectralsword, the level 7 Shiranui Squiresaga, or even the level 8 Shiranui Shogunsaga’s effects).
    • When used in combination with Burgeoning Whirlflame in That Grass Looks Greener variants of the deck, this effect can be used defensively during the opponent’s battle phase to summon back a banished Shiranui monster to take an attack. See the “Playing with That Grass Looks Greener” section of the guide for further detail.
    • This effect is a HOPT.

• Gozuki

  • On board, Gozuki can trigger a Foolish Burial effect to mill a Zombie monster from one’s deck to grave.
    • Early game, this effect is often used to mill Shiranui Spectralsword to set up a synchro summon from grave next turn. Ideally, Gozuki survives the first turn to then mill Shiranui Solitaire next turn for the deadly Shiranui Spectralsword + Shiranui Solitaire combo as mentioned in the “Mid-to-Late Game Combos and Plays” section.
    • Early game, this effect can also be used defensively by milling Shiranui Spiritmaster to grave. This way, if the opponent deals with Gozuki and sends it to grave, then Gozuki’s second effect can trigger to banish the Shiranui Spiritmaster in grave and destroy an opposing face-up card (but only if one has a Zombie monster in hand to special summon).
    • A similar defensive play to above is to mill Shiranui Squire and get a draw and discard when Gozuki dies to unload a hand full of Shiranui Spectralswords onto the field and grave. One can also potentially draw into an important handtrap like Sphere Kuriboh with this play to better survive the turn.
    • Mid-to-late game or after a mill from That Grass Looks Greener, this effect becomes an incredibly flexible way to get any Shiranui monster from deck to grave to abuse with e.g. Shiranui Spectralsword and Burgeoning Whirlflame.
    • This effect is a HOPT.
  • On being sent to grave, Gozuki can special summon a Zombie monster from hand by banishing a non-Gozuki Zombie monster from grave as a cost.
    • This effect comes up a lot in the initial mill off That Grass Looks Greener. For an example, see the section on Shiranui Samurai.
    • This effect often triggers on the field from Gozuki being destroyed, tributed, or used for a synchro summon. Two particularly powerful plays that come up are (1) using Gozuki as tribute for a card like Ballista Squad and (2) using Gozuki for the synchro summon of Black Rose Dragon. In the former case, one not only gets to destroy an opposing card with Ballista Squad, but one also gets to special summon a Zombie monster from hand to replace Gozuki. In the latter case, Black Rose Dragon’s on-summon effect will trigger first on Chain Link 2 to destroy every card on the field, allowing Gozuki’s effect to then trigger on Chain Link 1 to special summon a Zombie monster from hand for a follow up play.
    • Late game, Gozuki’s first effect can be used to mill itself from deck to trigger this second effect.
    • This effect is a HOPT.

The Combo-Oriented Monsters: Shiranui Spiritmaster, Shiranui Samurai

These two monsters are best used in combo-oriented builds of Shiranui (e.g. That Grass Looks Greener variants), since their effects require an already established graveyard. For that reason, neither Shiranui Spiritmaster and Shiranui Samurai are used that often in the standard, balanced builds of Shiranui.

Both Shiranui Spiritmaster and Shiranui Samurai have a primary effect that activates on the field and a secondary effect that activates on banish. Each effect of Shiranui Samurai as well as the on-banish effect of Shiranui Spiritmaster is a hard-once-per-turn (HOPT).

• Shiranui Spiritmaster

  • On normal summon, Shiranui Spiritmaster can special summon another Shiranui monster from hand or grave, with the condition that the special summoned monster gets banished when it leaves the field.
    • Early game, this effect is used to swarm the field with either a Shiranui tuner or Shiranui Solitaire – which can tutor a tuner from deck – alongside Shiranui Spiritmaster for a synchro summon.
    • Note that if Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect is used to summon Shiranui Spectralsword, then Shiranui Spectralsword will get banished when it leaves the field instead of going to the grave. This means that one will NOT have Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect from grave next turn without another means of setting him up. Thus, it is recommended to almost NEVER summon Shiranui Spectralsword off Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect, as getting Shiranui Spectralsword banished for just a lone lv 6 Shiranui Samuraisaga is NOT worth it.
    • Late game, this effect can be used to not only bring back and recycle tuners in the grave (particularly the level 3 Shiranui Spectralsword Shade, which has no in-grave effect), but it can also bring back any of the Shiranui Synchro Monsters if they were originally, properly synchro summoned on the field (i.e. not through the effect of Shiranui Spectralsword). This includes the big level 10 Shiranui Sunsaga, which can even pop cards with its effect when revived.
  • On banish, Shiranui Spiritmaster allows one to target and destroy an opposing face-up card on the field.
    • This effect can come up at all times of the game thanks to how accessible it is off Gold Sarcophagus. One of the power plays that this deck has to out opposing, disruptive monster effects is to destroy the problematic monster by banishing Shiranui Spiritmaster from the deck with Gold Sarcophagus.
    • When used in combination with Burgeoning Whirlflame or Shiranui Samurai in That Grass Looks Greener variants of the deck, this effect provides a means of disruption on the opponent’s turn, allowing one to pop an opposing face-up card as a quick effect. See the “Playing with That Grass Looks Greener” section of the guide for further detail.
    • This effect is a HOPT.

• Shiranui Samurai

  • On board, Shiranui Samurai can (by quick effect) banish a Zombie monster from one’s grave to (1) increase his own ATK by 600 and (2) banish any monster he battles after damage calculation for the rest of the turn.
    • The ability to banish e.g. Shiranui Spiritmaster from grave via quick effect is incredibly powerful, giving one a form of interaction and disruption on the opponent’s turn.
    • Shiranui Samurai’s ability to banish the monsters he battles makes him an inherent out to monsters that are normally difficult to destroy, like Invoked Cocytus and opposing Shiranui Sunsaga. This effect also allows him to neuter problematic monsters that would normally float on destruction like Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda.
    • This effect is a HOPT.
  • On banish, Shiranui Samurai allows one to add another Shiranui monster to hand back from one’s grave.
    • This effect comes up a lot in the initial mill off That Grass Looks Greener in combination with Gozuki. Gozuki‘s effect can trigger off the mill to banish Shiranui Samurai from grave and add e.g. a milled Shiranui Squire to hand for a combo starter. Further plays can then be made to bring back the banished Shiranui Samurai for a form of disruption on the opponent’s turn. See the “Playing with That Grass Looks Greener” section of the guide for further detail.
    • This effect is a HOPT.

Tuners: Shiranui Spectralsword (2x), Shiranui Spectralsword Shade (0-1x)

The tuners of the deck are the level 2 Shiranui Spectralsword, which has a HOPT in-grave effect, and the level 3 Shiranui Spectralsword Shade, which has a HOPT on-board effect. Both tuners can be easily accessed from the deck via Shiranui Squire and Shiranui Solitaire’s effects, or special summoned from hand or grave by Shiranui Spiritmaster. Between these two, the level 2 Shiranui Spectralsword is arguably more powerful and is the central focus of the standard, balanced build of Shiranui.

As of the July 2020 banlist, Shiranui Spectralsword is now Limited 3. While the deck only needs 2 copies of Shiranui Spectralsword to function well, the limit does restrict the number of copies of other, powerful Limited 3 cards such as Cosmic Cyclone and Gold Sarcophagus that the deck can use.

• Shiranui Spectralsword

  • On board, Shiranui Spectralsword acts as a vanilla tuner monster. One typically wants to synchro with him ASAP to get him in grave for his other effect.
  • In grave, except the turn that he was sent there, Shiranui Spectralsword can banish itself and another non-tuner Zombie monster to special summon a Zombie Synchro Monster from the extra deck with the appropriate levels.
    • As an example, if one has Shiranui Spectralsword and the level 6 Shiranui Samuraisaga in grave, then one can activate Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect to banish both and special summon the level 8 Shiranui Shogunsaga from the extra deck.
    • Note that the Synchro Monster summoned off Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect IS NOT properly synchro summoned. This means that if the summoned Synchro Monster is sent to the grave or banished, then it CANNOT be brought back via e.g. Shiranui Solitaire or Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effects respectively.
    • Shiranui Spectralsword’s “synchro-from-grave” effect is a key part of the synchro climb for the archetype. One typically uses his effect to synchro from grave into e.g. the level 8 Shiranui Shogunsaga and then either bring Shiranui Spectralsword back or summon another copy of him to climb into the level 10 Shiranui Sunsaga. See the “Combos and Plays” section of the guide for further detail.
    • Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect bypasses restrictions on synchro summoning, allowing one to special summon the likes of Revived King Ha Des, Doomkaiser Dragon, and Archfiend Zombie-Skull without needing Plaguespreader Zombie.
    • This effect is a HOPT.

• Shiranui Spectralsword Shade

  • On board, Shiranui Spectralsword Shade can tribute himself to target and special summon back in DEF EXACTLY two Zombie monsters from one’s banished pile. The effects of the monsters are negated, and one is locked into special summoning only Zombie monsters for the rest of the turn.
    • If one is not running That Grass Looks Greener, then this effect does not come up too often. Typically, one just uses Shiranui Spectralsword Shade as a vanilla tuner monster that’s easily accessed from the deck.
    • This effect is much more powerful when running That Grass Looks Greener. It gives one a means of recovering Shiranui monsters banished off Shiranui Spectralsword or Burgeoning Whirlflame from the banished pile. Even though the recovered monsters have their effects on board negated, they can be useful again once they hit the grave after e.g. being used for a synchro summon.
    • For a quick, example application of the effect, suppose one already has Shiranui Spectralsword and a level 4 Shiranui non-tuner monster banished, with Shiranui Squire in hand. Upon normal summon, Shiranui Squire can tutor out Shiranui Spectralsword Shade, which then tributes himself to bring back the two banished Shiranui monsters for a level 10 synchro summon with Shiranui Squire into Shiranui Sunsaga.
    • Keep the restriction to Zombie monsters in mind when using cards like Paleozoic Canadia. If one activates Shiranui Spectralsword Shade’s effect, then one cannot chain Paleozoic Canadia’s effect in grave to a trap card that turn, since Paleozoic Canadia would not be summoned as a Zombie.
    • This effect is a HOPT.

Synchro Monsters: Shiranui Samuraisaga (1-2x), Shiranui Squiresaga (0-1x), Shiranui Shogunsaga (1-2x), Shiranui Sunsaga (1-2x)

Shiranui have Synchro Monsters for levels 6, 7, 8, and 10, with the levels 6 and 7 typically being used as bridges to synchro climb into the game-ending levels 8 and 10. All four of these Synchro Monsters have a HOPT on being special summoned. This means that one cannot summon multiple copies of the same Shiranui Synchro Monster in the same turn. This is something one should always keep in mind when planning out their synchro climb.

• Level 6: Shiranui Samuraisaga

  • On board, Shiranui Samuraisaga, for most games, will just act as a vanilla Synchro Monster that is meant to be used as a bridge to summon the level 8 Shiranui Shogunsaga. He makes up for being a “vanilla” by having an impressive 2500 ATK stat.
    • Typically, Shiranui Samuraisaga is summoned early game (e.g. Turn 1) to get Shiranui Spectralsword into the grave for a synchro summon from the grave next turn. Ideally, Shiranui Samuraisaga also hits the grave by next turn so that one can banish both Shiranui Spectralsword and Shiranui Samuraisaga from grave to special summon Shiranui Shogunsaga.
  • On banish, Shiranui Samuraisaga allows one to target an opposing monster and lower its ATK by 500. This effect mainly comes up when Shiranui Samuraisaga is banished with Shiranui Spectralsword in grave or by Shiranui Shogunsaga’s effect. The 500 ATK debuff can actually come up in securing lethal damage, usually in combo with a big Shiranui Shogunsaga.
    • Note: when Shiranui Samuraisaga is banished with Shiranui Spectralsword to summon Shiranui Shogunsaga, Shiranui Shogunsaga’s effect will trigger on Chain Link 1 and Shiranui Samuraisaga’s effect will immediately trigger afterward on Chain Link 2. This technicality can chain block counter traps like Divine Wrath from negating and destroying Shiranui Shogunsaga.
  • Shiranui Samuraisaga does have an on field effect, though it rarely comes up. He can, by quick effect, return a banished Zombie monster to one’s grave to then switch to DEF all opposing monsters with ATK less than or equal to that of the returned monster. This effect is only activatable if it can actually resolve – i.e. if there is at least one opposing monster that will be affected.
    • Since one typically banishes the smaller, lower ATK Shiranui monsters before Shiranui Samuraisaga hits the field – and most monsters in the meta have higher ATK than those smaller Shiranui monsters – this effect rarely comes up.

• Level 7: Shiranui Squiresaga

  • Shiranui Squiresaga is the archetype’s main way to freely banish its own Shiranui monsters. When on board, Shiranui Squiresaga can banish one’s own monster face-up on the field or in the grave to trigger up to 3 effects, as stated on the card.
    • On the first effect: if the banished monster were Zombie type, then all monsters that one controls gain 300 ATK PERMANENTLY.
    • On the second effect: if the banished monster were Fire attribute, then one can destroy any spell or trap card on board. This effect DOES NOT TARGET.
    • On the third effect: if the banished monster were a Synchro Monster, then one can destroy any monster on board. This effect DOES NOT TARGET.
    • Note that, if needed, Shiranui Squiresaga can banish HERSELF to trigger all 3 effects.
    • Early game, Shiranui Squiresaga is typically used to banish Shiranui monsters (usually from grave) to either trigger their on-banish effects or to set them up for Shiranui Solitaire to bring back when he gets banished. The banish can facilitate so many combos, that one often does not actually care about the 1-3 effects that trigger on resolution – her 3 effects are typically just “icing on top”. See the “Combos and Plays” section for further detail.
    • Mid-to-late game, Shiranui Squiresaga’s on-resolution effects can become incredibly powerful forms of spot removal, as they DO NOT TARGET.

• Level 8: Shiranui Shogunsaga

  • Shiranui Shogunsaga is meant to be the bridge between the level 6 Shiranui Samuraisaga and the level 10 Shiranui Sunsaga. However, he often becomes a win condition in himself thanks to his effect to banish a Shiranui monster in grave on summon to boost his own ATK by that of the banished monster.
    • For synchro climbing into Shiranui Sunsaga, one typically does not care about the ATK boost that Shiranui Shogunsaga gets from his effect. Instead, one wants to use his effect as an opportunity to trigger an on-banish Shiranui effect for further plays. For instance, one can banish Shiranui Spiritmaster with Shiranui Shogunsaga to destroy an opposing face-up card, or banish Shiranui Solitaire to bring back a banished Shiranui Spectralsword for another synchro summon.
    • As a win condition in itself, Shiranui Shogunsaga can hit incredibly high ATK stats, up to 5500 ATK usually from banishing Shiranui Samuraisaga.
  • Shiranui Shogunsaga has a second effect when destroyed and sent to the graveyard – he lets one return a banished Zombie monster with 0 DEF to one’s own grave.
    • This effect is typically used to recycle back a banished Shiranui Spectralsword, which in combination with the now in grave Shiranui Shogunsaga can lead to a Shiranui Sunsaga.
    • Note that if Shiranui Shogunsaga is destroyed on one’s own turn and returns a Shiranui Spectralsword to the grave, then that Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect can be used IMMEDIATELY that same turn to e.g. summon Shiranui Sunsaga. This is because “return”-ing a card to the grave is different from “send”-ing a card to grave; thus, Shiranui Spectralsword’s restriction that says his effect cannot be used the same turn that he is “sent” to grave does not apply here.

• Level 10: Shiranui Sunsaga

  • Shiranui Sunsaga is the main boss of the archetype with two incredibly powerful effects. The whole archetype is designed around setting up a synchro climb to eventually get him out.
  • On-summon, Shiranui Sunsaga returns any number of Zombie Synchro monsters from one’s grave or banished pile back to the extra deck to destroy THE SAME NUMBER of cards on the opponent’s field.
    • Note “THE SAME NUMBER” above. If one returns e.g. 2 Zombie Synchro Monsters, but the opponent only has 1 card on board, then Shiranui Sunsaga WILL NOT destroy anything.
    • Shiranui Sunsaga‘s effect on-summon can not only be a game-ender, being able to clear the board and go in with his whopping 3500 ATK, but it also recycles one’s used Shiranui Synchro Monsters to synchro summon again if needed. In other words, Shiranui Sunsaga also aids the deck’s grind game.
  • On board, Shiranui Sunsaga allows one to banish a Shiranui monster from grave to protect one’s Zombie type monsters from destruction. This protection includes Shiranui Sunsaga himself.
    • This effect makes Shiranui Sunsaga a threat even after his on-summon effect is used. Not only does it make him incredibly hard to take out, but it can also be used as an opportunity to trigger an on-banish Shiranui effect. For instance, one can banish e.g. a Shiranui Spiritmaster to not only protect Shiranui Sunsaga but also destroy a face-up opposing card in the process.

Revived King Ha Des, Doomkaiser Dragon, and Archfiend Zombie-Skull

These three Zombie Synchro Monsters can be special summoned off Shiranui Spectralsword’s in-grave effect, as it can bypass the restriction of normally needing Plaguespreader Zombie. Of these three, Revived King Ha Des is the most aggressive, as his effect negates the effects of problematic monsters like Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda and The White Stone of Ancients that float or generate advantage upon battle destruction. Doomkaiser Dragon can play a major role in winning the mirror match though – see the “Matchups” section for more details. Meanwhile, Archfiend Zombie-Skull has a nice protection effect for all of one’s Zombie monsters on board, allowing one to do their combo plays without having to worry about e.g. Treacherous Trap Hole and Offerings to the Doomed.

Note that Revived King Ha Des’s effect lingers as long as the monsters destroyed in battle remain in the grave. To put it into perspective, suppose Revived King Ha Des runs over an Elementsaber Molehu or an opposing Shiranui Spectralsword. In the former case, Revived King Ha Des’s effect will then prevent Elementsaber Molehu from changing its attribute in grave for an Invocation play later. In the latter case, his effect shuts off the opposing Shiranui Spectralsword in grave, preventing the opponent from using it for a follow-up play.

In general, these synchro monsters are good mid-to-late game options to summon with Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect over Shiranui Samuraisaga.

Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon

Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon is a level 7 Zombie Synchro Monster that particularly shines in the Shiranui mirror match. Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon can get incredibly large in that matchup, gaining 100 ATK and DEF for every Zombie monster on board and in both player’s graves. Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon can also revive opposing Shiranui monsters in grave via its effect, as long as those Shiranui monsters were originally, properly summoned. This lets one potentially steal a properly synchro summoned Shiranui Samuraisaga or Shiranui Squiresaga or even a Shiranui Sunsaga from the opponent and use it against them.

Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon has less use outside of the Shiranui mirror match, but can still be a nice option to have if one needs a bigger beater than Shiranui Squiresaga for a level 7 Zombie Synchro Monster.

Generic Synchro Monsters

Being a synchro-based deck, Shiranui can potentially synchro summon powerful, generic Synchro Monsters outside of the Shiranui archetype. The only restrictions on synchro summoning with Shiranui are when one activates the on-board effects of Shiranui Squire or Shiranui Spectralsword Shade, both of which restrict one’s special summons for the rest of the turn to Zombie monsters. However, the other Shiranui monsters do not pose such restrictions.

One simple combo into a generic synchro summon is with Shiranui Spiritmaster and either Shiranui Solitaire or a Shiranui tuner in hand. On normal summon, Shiranui Spiritmaster special summons the other Shiranui monster. If it is Shiranui Solitaire, then one can trigger his on-board effect to tutor out a desired tuner from the deck. This is an easy level 6 or 7 synchro into e.g. Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier or Black Rose Dragon respectively.

The main concern with running generic Synchro Monsters in the deck is the limited extra deck space. Typically, one wants at least 4 Shiranui Synchro Monsters plus another level 6 Zombie Synchro Monster like Revived King Ha Des or Archfiend Zombie-Skull. This thus leaves only one tech slot in the extra deck.

Samurai Skull

Samurai Skull is arguably a poor man’s Gozuki, but has its advantages in some respects. Unlike Gozuki, Samurai Skull’s mill effect triggers on summon and thus cannot be stopped by e.g. Floodgate Trap Hole and Paleozoic Canadia. Samurai Skull’s second effect can also be a form of passive protection against monster removal effects, since it will float into another level 4 or lower Zombie monster from the deck if removed from the field by card effect. Thus, Samurai Skull’s field presence discourages total field wipes from e.g. Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower or multiple Raigeki Breaks and Karma Cuts.

That said, Samurai Skull does not synergize as much with the Shiranui archetype as does Gozuki. Unlike Gozuki, Samurai Skull cannot mill again after it has been summoned, so it is far less effective at setting up the grave. Furthermore, Samurai Skull lacks Gozuki’s secondary effect, which can banish a Shiranui monster to trigger an on-banish effect; this particular aspect of Gozuki is especially irreplaceable in Grass variants of Shiranui.

Dragon’s Mirror and Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon

While initially viewed as a meme, Dragon’s Mirror is now worth considering as a way to unclog one’s monster zones if one does not own Ballista Squad. Dragon’s Mirror started rising in popularity in Shiranui after the Feb 2020 banlist removed Enemy Controller and Treacherous Trap Hole from the deck, but fell back down to non-usage with the release of Ballista Squad in the Fortress of Gears minibox. Both Dragon’s Mirror and Ballista Squad can be used late game to clear away one’s monsters that were hit by Floodgate Trap Hole.

Dragon’s Mirror is also useful as a countermeasure against decks using No Mortal Can Resist, since the Skull Servants can still be used for fusion summoning Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon. Additionally, after using No Mortal Can Resist, the opponent will likely be below 3000 LP, which is lethal range for Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon. Of course, one should note that No Mortal Can Resist is no longer as popular of a skill after it was hit by the May 2020 banlist.

Do note though that Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon is a Dragon monster, not a Zombie monster. Thus, if one were to activate Shiranui Squire‘s effect to summon a tuner from the deck, then Dragon’s Mirror CANNOT be used as a followup, since one will be locked into special summoning only Zombie monsters for the rest of the turn.

Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon’s typing also means that it cannot be used as synchro material for the synchro summon of e.g. Shiranui Sunsaga. However, the tokens that are summoned off Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon’s effect can still be used for such a synchro summon, since the tokens themselves are Zombie type.

That Grass Looks Greener and Burgeoning Whirlflame + a mill engine

The explosive way to play Shiranui is with a 30-card deck and That Grass Looks Greener to load one’s grave with Shiranui monsters off one card and then proceed to spam their on-banish effects with Burgeoning Whirlflame. Burgeoning Whirlflame is an incredibly powerful card if it gets milled among Shiranui Squire and other Shiranui main deck monsters. If one banishes Shiranui Squire as one of the two targets of Burgeoning Whirlflame, then one can trigger Shiranui Squire’s Dark World Dealings effect to discard Burgeoning Whirlflame back into the grave. Since Burgeoning Whirlflame does not have a HOPT effect, it can be used again afterward to trigger more Shiranui on-banish effects. Furthermore, because Burgeoning Whirlflame is a trap, it can be used to banish Shiranui monsters from grave as a quick effect on the opponent’s turn as a means of disruption. See the “Playing with That Grass Looks Greener” section of the guide for further detail.

Note that with the Feb 2020 banlist hitting both Spell Specialist and That Grass Looks Greener, this way to play Shiranui is no longer as effective. Outside of opening the 1 copy of That Grass Looks Greener, Grass variants of Shiranui now have to rely on weaker mill options such as Charge of the Light Brigade with the Lightsworn engine, Needlebug Nest, and Dice It. While these cards can still potentially get the combo plays going, they unfortunately often either mill too few cards (i.e. Charge of the Light Brigade) or are too slow due to being trap cards (i.e. Needlebug Nest and Dice It).

Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui’s Story

Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui’s Story is worth considering as either a one-off tech in the standard, balanced builds of Shiranui or as an additional combo enabler in Grass variants of Shiranui, since, unlike That Grass Looks Greener, Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui’s Story can actually be run at 3 copies.

In the standard, balanced builds, Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui’s Story can be a nice, late-game recovery card to summon back the likes of Shiranui Shogunsaga and Shiranui Sunsaga from grave. However, it is often not ideal to open with this card or draw it too early. One would usually rather have another defensive backrow in its place. Thus, most players actually do not run Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui’s Story at all.

For more combo-focused builds, Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui’s Story is ideally used to discard a Shiranui Spiritmaster to grave and summon Shiranui Samurai from deck. This sets up Shiranui Samurai‘s quick effect to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster on either player’s turn for disruption. See the “Playing with That Grass Looks Greener” section of the guide for an example decklist of how Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui’s Story would be played in a Grass Shiranui build.

Cosmic Cyclone and Gold Sarcophagus

These two cards are grouped together because they both share the Limited 3 restriction with Shiranui Spectralsword as of the July 2020 banlist. The standard Shiranui builds can still run 1 copy of either Cosmic Cyclone or Gold Sarcophagus, since they only utilize 2 copies of Shiranui Spectralsword.

Cosmic Cyclone is mostly self-explanatory, as it is arguably the most versatile spell/trap removal card in the game, giving the deck an easy out to problematic cards like Necrovalley and Dark Magical Circle.

Meanwhile, Gold Sarcophagus is an amazing combo extender for the deck as it can trigger any on-banish, main deck Shiranui monster effect without using up a normal summon or any other resources. This card can trigger any of the following effects:

• Banish Shiranui Squire: trigger a one-sided Dark World Dealings effect to draw the player a card and then discard.

• Banish Shiranui Spiritmaster: target and destroy an opposing face-up card on the field, i.e. essentially a free Offerings to the Doomed effect.

• Banish Shiranui Solitaire: special summon another banished Shiranui monster that was originally, properly summoned, i.e. essentially a Monster Reborn from the banished pile.

• Banish Shiranui Samurai: return another Shiranui monster in grave back to the hand, i.e. essentially a Monster Reincarnation.

Forbidden Lance and other anti-backrow cards

Shiranui, being a synchro-based deck, does not appreciate disruptive traps like Floodgate Trap Hole and Fiendish Chain. The deck also dislikes Necrovalley, which stops the effect of Shiranui Spectralsword in grave. Cosmic Cyclone used to be the universal answer to all these cards, but Shiranui unfortunately can only play it at 1 copy effectively now due to the July 2020 banlist.

Forbidden Lance is the most commonly used substitute for Cosmic Cyclone, as it is quickplay, allowing one to chain to and make their Shiranui monsters immune to cards like Floodgate Trap Hole and Fiendish Chain for the turn. This spell also helps in the Invoked matchup as a way to potentially make an opposing Invocation fizzle. See the “Matchups” section for further detail on that. Unfortunately, Forbidden Lance is not a complete substitute for Cosmic Cyclone since it cannot out Necrovalley, but at least Shiranui can somewhat rely on Ballista Squad for that.

Other anti-backrow substitutes for Cosmic Cyclone include:

• Night Beam: This can pop face-down traps without giving them a chance to respond, making it perfect for sniping off e.g. Magician Navigation or counter traps like Ultimate Providence. However, since this card is not quickplay, it has to be used preemptively, which can force awkward situations where one has to blindly guess the correct backrow to hit when the opponent has multiple sets.

• Twister: This quickplay spell can be chained to the likes of Fiendish Chain and Dark Magical Circle to remove them from the field and “negate” their disruptive effects. It can also be used to remove Necrovalley. However, this card cannot touch face-down cards.

• Typhoon: This card is similar to Twister and can also be used from the hand, but requires one to have no backrow set to do so.

Ballista Squad

Ballista Squad can be seen as the replacement for Enemy Controller and Treacherous Trap Hole, now that Shiranui can no longer use those cards as of the Feb 2020 banlist and July 2020 banlist. Ballista Squad by itself provides the deck three key utilities that other cards at the moment do not:

• (1) Its effect is a form of spot removal on the opponent’s turn, similar to Treacherous Trap Hole, with the limitation of only destroying one potential monster instead of two. However, Ballista Squad has its own advantage in that it can also hit backrow.

• (2) Its cost can help unclog monster zones hit by Floodgate Trap Hole, similar to Enemy Controller’s tribute cost. In general, this cost can also help send Shiranui monsters to grave to use with Shiranui Spectralsword.

• (3) Its cost can be used to send one’s Shiranui Spectralsword from the field to the grave, making Ballista Squad + Shiranui Solitaire an amazing 2-card opener for the deck. The idea is have Shiranui Solitaire tribute himself to get Shiranui Spectralsword out Turn 1, and then tribute off Shiranui Spectralsword with Ballista Squad on the opponent’s turn for disruption. This sets up the deadly Shiranui Spectralsword + Shiranui Solitaire combo as mentioned in the “Mid-to-Late Game Combos and Plays” section.

Note that Raigeki Break CANNOT accomplish the same thing as Ballista Squad in the above-mentioned play. This is because Shiranui Spectralsword will be on the field as opposed to being in the hand for Raigeki Break to discard. Thus, an opening of Shiranui Solitaire + Raigeki Break is much weaker, as it cannot guarantee that Shiranui Spectralsword hits the grave for the followup play. The only instance where Raigeki Break can help set up is if one opens with a Shiranui Spectralsword in hand to discard, but such an opening does not set up the full Shiranui Spectralsword + Shiranui Solitaire combo either (at least not with just 2 cards).

To put it further into perspective on why Ballista Squad is so good with Shiranui, compare the card to Shiranui Style Swallow’s Slash, one of the most powerful cards in the Shiranui archetype. Duel Links does not have Shiranui Style Swallow’s Slash yet, but Ballista Squad is a pretty close substitute in both its cost and effect.

Needle Ceiling

Needle Ceiling can accomplish a lot of what Ballista Squad does and more, but has a much more restrictive activation condition.

On one hand, a 2-card opening of Shiranui Solitaire + Needle Ceiling can potentially board wipe the opponent’s monsters while also setting up the deadly Shiranui Spectralsword + Shiranui Solitaire combo as mentioned in the Ballista Squad section and the “Mid-to-Late Game Combos and Plays” section. Needle Ceiling also combos well with Archfiend Zombie-Skull and Shiranui Sunsaga, as these Synchro Monsters protect one’s own monsters from being wiped, while the opponent’s still get destroyed.

However, Needle Ceiling can only be activated when there are 4 or more monsters on the field, and so it is only really good against decks that spam the board, such as Blackwings or HERO. Against more control-based decks that only summon 1 or 2 monsters, Needle Ceiling can be a dead card.

On a last note, there is a cute interaction between Needle Ceiling and Shiranui Shogunsaga that can sometimes steal games. If Needle Ceiling is used to destroy Shiranui Shogunsaga and “return” a Shiranui Spectralsword to grave on one’s own turn, then Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect can be used immediately that same turn to summon e.g. Shiranui Sunsaga. This is of course assuming that Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect has not already been used yet that turn. This is thanks to the technicality mentioned in the subsection on Shiranui Shogunsaga in “Core Cards”, where “return”-ing a card to the grave is not the same as “send”-ing it to grave.

Generic Staple Backrow

The balanced builds of Shiranui have a lot of deck space for generic staple cards. Of the above-listed staples, the most popular choices are Artifact Lancea, Bad Aim, Fiendish Chain, Floodgate Trap Hole, and Paleozoic Canadia. However, some of these popular choices can be replaced with cheaper (though less effective) alternatives such as Chaos Hunter over Artifact Lancea and Forbidden Chalice or Void Trap Hole over Fiendish Chain. It is up to the reader to decide which of the above techs best fit their deck while also taking into account their card inventory and budget.

Invoked Engine

With the Shiranui core monsters all being Fire attribute, and Invoked Purgatrio being such a huge win condition in the current meta, it is only natural to think of combining Shiranui with the Invoked engine. There is however a caveat with mixing the two archetypes.

Both Aleister the Invoker and the Shiranui combo starters compete for one’s single normal summon per turn. This can especially be awkward early game, as one likely does not have a board or grave set up yet to perform both an Invocation fusion summon AND a synchro summon for a Shiranui Synchro Monster on the same turn. Thus, one has to choose which of the two archetypes to put out first, potentially leaving dead combo pieces in hand until next turn. Ideally, one starts with the Shiranui engine and then draws Aleister the Invoker later after already establishing a board.

On the flipside, there are some advantages to using the Invoked engine:

• The Invoked engine can give one an advantage in the mirror match thanks to Invoked Purgatrio being able to pierce through those 0 DEF position monsters for lethal. Invocation can also stun the opponent’s follow-up plays by banishing their Shiranui Spectralsword from the grave.

• Early game, the Invoked engine helps unload extra Shiranui cards in hand to the grave through Invocation. In particular, it allows one to fuse off Shiranui Spectralsword in hand to set up for his synchro-from-grave effect next turn.

• Mid-to-late game, Invocation can be used to unclog one’s monster zones that were hit by Floodgate Trap Hole.

• Mid-to-late game, Invocation can be used as another avenue to banish Shiranui monsters on board or in grave to trigger their on-banish effects (while also getting a big Invoked Purgatrio out). This can open up some combo plays that normally require Shiranui Squiresaga’s ability to banish Shiranui monsters at will.

Vendread Engine

The Vendread engine synergizes with Shiranui by providing alternative methods to banish Shiranui monsters from grave via Revendread Origin and Revendread Slayer. Assuming one has their grave set up with Shiranui monsters, Revendread Origin can be used to trigger their on-banish effects while also ritual summoning e.g. Revendread Slayer to the field as a respectable boss monster. Revendread Slayer not only has his own built-in protection from destruction through Revendread Origin, but his effect on battle is another way to banish and trigger the on-banish effects of Shiranui monsters in grave. Furthermore, this effect of Revendread Slayer is a quick effect that can trigger at any stage of battle. In particular, the ability to trigger Shiranui Spiritmaster’s destruction effect in the damage step, when few cards can respond, can be a powerful form of removal.

Glow-Up Bloom has use in this hybrid build as well, being able to add a Vendread ritual monster to hand after being sent to the grave. It does synergize with the Shiranui archetype in that it can be special summoned from the deck off Shiranui Solitaire’s effect. One can then tune Glow-Up Bloom with e.g. Revendread Slayer into Shiranui Squiresaga or even Black Rose Dragon and reap the benefits of both Glow-Up Bloom AND Revendread Slayer’s effects on being sent to grave.

That said, one caution regarding the Vendread engine as a whole is that it is already bricky by itself, being part of a ritual-based archetype. Mixing Vendreads with Shiranui can lead to potentially brickier hands. Doing so also means that one has to dedicate deck space to the Vendread cards, taking away the Shiranui deck’s strength of having flexible deck slots.

The standard, balanced builds of Shiranui have the flexibility to run any skill they want, since the deck’s core cards are self-sufficient enough to get the game plan going without relying on a specific skill. That said, these Shiranui builds arguably have a mediocre first turn, with Shiranui Samuraisaga being the strongest monster that they can normally pump out early game. Thus, most players prefer to use either Level Augmentation or Level Duplication to give the deck a stronger first turn, either going for a first turn Shiranui Sunsaga or Shiranui Shogunsaga respectively.

It is worth mentioning that some players have found some success with Endless Trap Hell and Balance. The issue with these skills is that they do not address the deck’s mediocre first turn as mentioned above. Furthermore, Endless Trap Hell in particular is often used to aid a deck’s grind game, but Shiranui as a deck already has a solid grind game; hence one could argue that Endless Trap Hell is redundant with the nature of the deck.

• Level Augmentation

This skill enables additional synchro plays that are normally unavailable, such as:

• (1) It can modify what would normally be a level 6 synchro summon into a level 10 synchro summon for Shiranui Sunsaga. For example, consider having the two card combo of Shiranui Squire and another level 4 monster in hand. On normal summon, Shiranui Squire tutors Shiranui Spectralsword from deck. Then one can use Level Augmentation and reveal the other level 4 monster in hand to raise the on-board Shiranui Squire’s level to 8, leading to a level 10 synchro summon. The caveat with this play is that, without any prior setup, Shiranui Sunsaga will not be able to destroy anything upon summon here, as there are no Zombie Synchro Monsters to return to the extra deck for his effect. Thus, going for this play early game is usually reserved for matchups where Shiranui Sunsaga’s presence alone can be game winning (e.g. Blue-Eyes, Cyber Dragons, as well as the Shiranui mirror match).

• (2) It can modify what would normally be a Shiranui Samuraisaga opening play into a Shiranui Squiresaga opening play with Sphere Kuriboh in hand. One would use the skill and reveal Sphere Kuriboh to make Shiranui Squire plus Shiranui Spectralsword into a level 7 synchro summon. This play puts Shiranui Squiresaga on board to pressure backrow while still setting up Shiranui Spectralsword in grave for next turn.

• (3) It can modify what would normally be a Shiranui Samuraisaga summon into a Shiranui Shogunsaga summon if there is a Shiranui Spectralsword in hand to reveal for Level Augmentation. This combination turns Shiranui Squire plus Shiranui Spectralsword into a level 8 synchro summon for Shiranui Shogunsaga, which can then banish the Shiranui Squire to draw and discard a card. This play, while rare, gives the deck a Turn 2 OTK option with an immediate 4500 ATK Shiranui Shogunsaga.

• Level Duplication

Similar to Level Augmentation, Level Duplication enables additional synchro plays that are normally unavailable:

• (1) It can modify what would normally be a level 6 synchro summon into a level 8 synchro summon for Shiranui Shogunsaga. For example, consider again the two card combo of Shiranui Squire and another level 4 Zombie monster in hand. On normal summon, Shiranui Squire tutors Shiranui Spectralsword from deck. Then one can use Level Duplication and reveal the other level 4 Zombie monster in hand to make the on-board Shiranui Spectralsword level 4, leading to a level 8 synchro summon. From there, one can then activate Shiranui Shogunsaga’s effect on summon to banish the Shiranui Squire in grave to draw an extra resource while discarding the level 4 Zombie monster in hand. This play potentially gets the player another backrow to set, while also still setting up the grave for a level 6 summon with Shiranui Spectralsword next turn or even a Shiranui Sunsaga summon if Shiranui Shogunsaga goes to grave. And of course, this play also gives the deck a Turn 2 OTK option with an immediate 4500 ATK Shiranui Shogunsaga.

• (2) It can modify what would normally be a Shiranui Samuraisaga opening play into a Shiranui Squiresaga opening play with Artifact Lancea in hand. One would use the skill and reveal Artifact Lancea to make Shiranui Squire level 5, leading into a level 7 synchro summon with Shiranui Spectralsword. This play puts Shiranui Squiresaga on board to pressure backrow while still setting up Shiranui Spectralsword in grave for next turn.

• (3) Mid-to-late game, it can turn a Shiranui Samuraisaga plus Shiranui Spectralsword pairing on board into a Shiranui Sunsaga summon instead of the usual Shiranui Shogunsaga summon. Reveal a level 4 monster in hand to make Shiranui Spectralsword level 4 and enable a level 10 synchro summon. This Shiranui Sunsaga can then pop at least 1 card on summon by returning the Shiranui Samuraisaga that was used for the synchro summon back to the extra deck.

• Level Augmentation vs. Level Duplication?

The answer to this question depends a lot on (1) the current meta and (2) the player’s available card pool:

• (1) If the meta has a lot of decks that have trouble outing a Turn 1 Shiranui Sunsaga, then Level Augmentation is arguably the better skill to run. An example of such a meta would be the one from the April 2020 KC Cup where Thunder Dragons was a popular Tier 1 deck, and turboing out Shiranui Sunsaga was incredibly beneficial in that matchup. However, if the meta does call for an immediate Shiranui Sunsaga, then the extra draw from the Level Duplication plus Shiranui Shogunsaga opening is arguably more valuable.

• (2) Level Duplication is arguably better the more optimized the deck because of the extra draw from Shiranui Shogunsaga banishing Shiranui Squire. An optimized Shiranui build with multiple copies of ideal techs and backrow like Artifact Lancea, Ballista Squad, and Fiendish Chain benefits a lot from the extra draw, since it has a lot more power cards to draw into. However, a more budget Shiranui build with weaker techs and backrow might not beneift as much from the extra draw – for those builds, the immediate Shiranui Sunsaga from Level Augmentation might be more valuable to make up for the lack of better techs and backrow.

Current Standard Build

Level Duplication

This is pretty much the standard, balanced build that all Shiranui decks follow. The backrow lineup might vary depending on what cards players own and what decks they expect to play against. For instance, if one expects to see a lot of Blackwing or HERO decks in an upcoming KC Cup, then one might include copies of Needle Ceiling. Or if one expects to see a lot of Dark Magician decks on ladder, then one can include cards like Chaos Hunter and Cosmic Cyclone. Bad Aim and Floodgate Trap Hole are also good choices, with Bad Aim in particular being great vs. Witchcrafters. See the “Synergetic Tech Cards” section for a list of staple cards to consider when customizing the deck to one’s own liking and budget.

Recent Tournament Top Decks

Aug 2020 1st Place Point Battle 115 - Sakura

Aug 2020 1st Place Meta Weekly 138 - Herbel

Level Duplication

Side Deck:

Aug 2020 Top 16 Meta Weekly 139 - Sakura

Level Duplication

Side Deck:

These decks are here to give an idea of how Shiranui were built in previous metas and to potentially give people ideas on how to adapt the deck as time goes on. Note that some skills and cards might have been changed or limited respectively since then.

July 2020 #2 Seed KC GT Stage 1 - kuraki

Level Duplication

Jun 2020 #2 Global KC GT Qualifiers - TsunTsun

Level Duplication

Jun 2020 1st Place MCS 31 - ZaGaZaGa

Level Augmentation

Apr 2020 1st Place MCS 29 - SIMON

Level Augmentation

Apr 2020 1st Place Giveaway 22 - Luxun

Mar 2020 Top 8 MCS 28 - Mithyard

No Mortal Can Resist

Side Deck:

Feb 2020 #9 Global KC Cup 14 - Kanzawa

Spell Specialist

Feb 2020 1st Place Meta Weekly 111 - Tenma

Sealed Tombs

Feb 2020 Top 4 MCS 27 - aleebr

Sealed Tombs

Jan 2020 Top 4 MCS 26 - AndyTsang

Spell Specialist

Side Deck:

Jan 2020 Top 4 MCS 26 - gift

Spell Specialist

Side Deck:

Dec 2019 2nd Place MCS 25 - Mithyard

Sealed Tombs

Side Deck:

Shiranui decks have strong options going first and second. This section lists some of the more common plays that will come up as one plays the deck. Similar to how the “Core Cards” section is formatted above, this section will differentiate between “early game” and “mid-to-late game” plays to emphasize when a certain combo is best used.

Note that this combos list is not a be-all and end-all, but is rather meant to be more of a foundation. The Shiranui deck playstyle often requires the player to adapt their synchro plays to the current game state rather than memorize bread-and-butter combos to win. Thus, one should also become super familiar with all the “Core Cards” to be able to see and make creative plays when needed.

Early Game Combos and Plays

Shiranui Squire in hand

Option 1: End on Shiranui Squiresaga

• (1) Normal summon Shiranui Squire and use her effect to special summon Shiranui Spectralsword Shade from hand or (ideally) deck.
• (2) Use Shiranui Squire + Shiranui Spectralsword Shade to synchro summon level 7 Shiranui Squiresaga.
• (3) Activate Shiranui Squiresaga’s effect to banish Shiranui Squire from grave and trigger her on-banish effect to draw and then discard a card.

Going second or later, this simple play results in a non-targeting spell or trap destruction with Shiranui Squiresaga’s effect. In general, this play also allows one to unload a potential Shiranui Spectralsword in hand to the grave to set up for next turn while also digging through the deck for another backrow or combo piece.

The end game state here is:

• Shiranui Squiresaga on board with 2400 ATK
• 1 non-targeting spell or trap destruction
• 3 cards in hand (going first) or 4 cards in hand (going second)
• Potential setup in grave for next turn

Option 2: End on Shiranui Samuraisaga

• (1) Normal summon Shiranui Squire and use her effect to special summon Shiranui Spectralsword from hand or (ideally) deck.
• (2) Use Shiranui Squire + Shiranui Spectralsword to synchro summon level 6 Shiranui Samuraisaga.

This play sets up Shiranui Spectralsword to be used next turn from the grave, which can actually pressure the opponent into NOT destroying one’s Shiranui Samuraisaga on their turn. Doing so would give one the opportunity next turn to banish both Shiranui Spectralsword and Shiranui Samuraisaga from grave for Shiranui Shogunsaga. This mindgame can actually come in use if one did not draw enough backrow to otherwise protect the lone Shiranui Samuraisaga.

Compared to Option 1, this Option 2 allows for more follow up play next turn, especially if one has Shiranui Solitaire in hand (see below for further details). Option 1 only sets up a follow up play if one is able to discard a Shiranui Spectralsword after banishing Shiranui Squire.

The end game state here is:

• Shiranui Samuraisaga on board with 2500 ATK
• 3 cards in hand (going first) or 4 cards in hand (going second)
• Guaranteed follow up play next turn with Shiranui Spectralsword in grave

Shiranui Spiritmaster in hand + Shiranui Solitaire either in hand or grave + a Shiranui tuner in deck

Option 1: End on Shiranui Squiresaga

• (1) Normal summon Shiranui Spiritmaster and use his effect to special summon Shiranui Solitaire.
• (2) Activate Shiranui Solitaire’s effect to tribute either Shiranui monster on board to special summon Shiranui Spectralsword Shade from deck.
• (3) Use the remaining level 4 Shiranui monster on board + Shiranui Spectralsword Shade to synchro summon level 7 Shiranui Squiresaga.
• (4) Activate Shiranui Squiresaga’s effect to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster from grave and trigger his on-banish effect.

This play is more suited towards going second as it results in a non-targeting spell or trap destruction with Shiranui Squiresaga’s effect as well as a targeting destruction on any opposing face-up card with Shiranui Spiritmaster’s on-banish effect.

The end game state here is:

• Shiranui Squiresaga on board with 2400 ATK
• 1 non-targeting spell or trap destruction
• 1 targeting destruction on any opposing face-up card
• 3 cards in hand (going second)

Option 2: End on Shiranui Samuraisaga

• (1) Normal summon Shiranui Spiritmaster and use his effect to special summon Shiranui Solitaire.
• (2) Activate Shiranui Solitaire’s effect to tribute either Shiranui monster on board to special summon Shiranui Spectralsword from deck.
• (3) Use the remaining level 4 Shiranui monster on board + Shiranui Spectralsword to synchro summon level 6 Shiranui Samuraisaga.

This play sets up Shiranui Spectralsword to be used next turn from the grave, which can actually pressure the opponent into NOT destroying one’s Shiranui Samuraisaga on their next turn. Doing so would give one the opportunity next turn to banish both Shiranui Spectralsword and Shiranui Samuraisaga from grave for Shiranui Shogunsaga. This mindgame can actually come in use of one did not draw enough backrow to otherwise protect the lone Shiranui Samuraisaga.

Alternatively, one can also banish Shiranui Spectralsword and Shiranui Spiritmaster next turn to not only special summon a level 6 Zombie Synchro Monster but also target and destroy an opposing face-up card with Shiranui Spiritmaster’s on-banish effect.

Compared to Option 1, this Option 2 allows for more follow up play next turn, especially if one has Shiranui Solitaire in hand (see below for further details).

The end game state here is:

• Shiranui Samuraisaga on board with 2500 ATK
• 2 cards in hand (going first) or 3 cards in hand (going second)
• Guaranteed follow up play next turn with Shiranui Spectralsword and Shiranui Spiritmaster in grave

Mid-to-Late Game Combos and Plays

Shiranui Spectralsword + Shiranui Solitaire in grave

• (1) Activate Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect in grave to banish itself and Shiranui Solitaire to special summon Shiranui Samuraisaga and trigger Shiranui Solitaire’s on-banish effect to special summon back Shiranui Spectralsword from the banished pile.
• (2) Use the Shiranui Spectralsword on board + Shiranui Samuraisaga to synchro summon Shiranui Shogunsaga and activate his effect to banish Shiranui Samuraisaga and gain 2500 ATK.
• (3) Activate Shiranui Samuraisaga‘s effect on banish to decrease an opposing monster’s ATK by 500.

This is the deadly Shiranui Spectralsword + Shiranui Solitaire combo that often ends games. The combination of a 5500 ATK Shiranui Shogunsaga and -500 ATK debuff from Shiranui Samuraisaga’s effect allows one to deal 4000+ LP damage by running over any opposing ATK position monster with 2000 or less ATK!

Note that one can also summon the likes of Revived King Ha Des or Archfiend Zombie-Skull with Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect instead of Shiranui Samuraisaga, if the -500 ATK debuff is not needed.

The end game state here is:

• Shiranui Shogunsaga on board with 5500 ATK!
• A -500 ATK debuff on an opposing monster if Shiranui Samuraisaga were banished off Shiranui Shogunsaga’s effect
• Guaranteed follow up play next turn with Shiranui Spectralsword in grave

Shiranui Samuraisaga on board + Shiranui Spectralsword in grave + Shiranui Solitaire in hand + a Shiranui tuner in deck

Note that this initial game state actually comes up quite often. Simply opening Shiranui Squire and Shiranui Solitaire in hand, and sitting on the Shiranui Samuraisaga made from Shiranui Squire for a turn leads into the following combos.

Option 1: End on Shiranui Shogunsaga + LV 6 Zombie Synchro Monster (e.g. Revived King Ha Des or Archfiend Zombie-Skull)

• (1) Normal summon Shiranui Solitaire.
• (2) Activate Shiranui Solitaire’s effect to tribute himself and special summon another Shiranui Spectralsword from deck.
• (3) Use the Shiranui Spectralsword on board + Shiranui Samuraisaga to synchro summon Shiranui Shogunsaga and activate his effect to banish Shiranui Samuraisaga and gain 2500 ATK.
• (4) Activate Shiranui Samuraisaga‘s effect on banish to decrease an opposing monster’s ATK by 500.
• (5) Activate Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect in grave to banish itself and Shiranui Solitaire to special summon any level 6 Zombie Synchro Monster and trigger Shiranui Solitaire’s on-banish effect to special summon back Shiranui Spectralsword from the banished pile.

The end game state here is:

• Shiranui Shogunsaga on board with 5500 ATK!
• LV 6 Zombie Synchro Monster on board with 2450 or 2500 ATK
• One Shiranui Spectralsword recycled back on board for use next turn
• Guaranteed follow up play next turn with the second Shiranui Spectralsword in grave

Option 2: End on Shiranui Sunsaga + LV 6 Zombie Synchro Monster (e.g. Revived King Ha Des or Archfiend Zombie-Skull)

• (1) Follow the same steps in the above “Option 1”.
• (2) Use the Shiranui Spectralsword on board + Shiranui Shogunsaga to synchro summon Shiranui Sunsaga and activate his effect if needed.

This play trades the 5500 ATK Shiranui Shogunsaga from “Option 1” for Shiranui Sunsaga, whose effect allows up to 2 non-targeting destructions on ANY opposing cards.

The end game state here is:

• Shiranui Sunsaga on board with 3500 ATK and destruction protection
• LV 6 Zombie Synchro Monster on board with 2450 or 2500 ATK
• Up to 2 non-targeting destruction on ANY opposing cards
• Guaranteed follow up play next turn with Shiranui Spectralsword in grave

Option 3: End on Shiranui Shogunsaga + Shiranui Squiresaga + Shiranui Samuraisaga

• (1) Normal summon Shiranui Solitaire.
• (2) Activate Shiranui Solitaire’s effect to tribute Shiranui Samuraisaga and special summon Shiranui Spectralsword Shade from deck.
• (3) Activate Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect in grave to banish itself and Shiranui Samuraisaga to special summon Shiranui Shogunsaga and activate his effect if needed.
• (4) Use the Shiranui Spectralsword Shade on board + Shiranui Solitaire to synchro summon Shiranui Squiresaga.
• (5) Activate Shiranui Squiresaga’s effect to banish Shiranui Solitaire from grave and trigger his on-banish effect to special summon back Shiranui Samuraisaga from the banished pile.

The order in which one summons Shiranui Shogunsaga and Shiranui Squiresaga can actually be switched. If one fears an opposing backrow card, then one can summon Shiranui Squiresaga first and snipe away the backrow. The monster banished to trigger Shiranui Squiresaga here CANNOT be Shiranui Solitaire though. This is because one needs to banish Shiranui Solitaire off Shiranui Shogunsaga’s effect instead to bring back Shiranui Samuraisaga in the end. The advantages of going this route instead of the bullets above is that it can get rid of a disruptive backrow earlier, but the disadvantage is that Shiranui Shogunsaga ends up being only 3500 ATK.

The end game state here is:

• Shiranui Shogunsaga on board with 3000+ ATK (more if his effect were triggered)
• Shiranui Squiresaga on board with 2400 ATK
• Shiranui Samuraisaga on board with 2500 ATK
• 1 non-targeting spell or trap destruction

Option 4: End on Shiranui Sunsaga + Shiranui Squiresaga

• (1) Normal summon Shiranui Solitaire.
• (2) Activate Shiranui Solitaire’s effect to tribute Shiranui Samuraisaga and special summon Shiranui Spectralsword Shade from deck.
• (3) Use the Shiranui Spectralsword Shade on board + Shiranui Solitaire to synchro summon Shiranui Squiresaga.
• (4) Activate Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect in grave to banish itself and Shiranui Samuraisaga to special summon Shiranui Shogunsaga.
• (5) Activate Shiranui Shogunsaga’s effect to banish Shiranui Solitaire from grave and trigger his on-banish effect to special summon back Shiranui Spectralsword from the banished pile.
• (6) Use the Shiranui Spectralsword on board + Shiranui Shogunsaga to synchro summon Shiranui Sunsaga and activate his effect if needed.
• (7) Activate Shiranui Squiresaga‘s effect to boost all of one’s monsters by +300 ATK and also destroy a backrow card.

Alternatively, one can activate Shiranui Squiresaga’s effect before summoning Shiranui Shogunsaga. Doing so can first snipe away at a potentially disruptive backrow card to ensure the safe summon of Shiranui Shogunsaga and Shiranui Sunsaga. The downside to going this route is that Shiranui Sunsaga will not get the +300 ATK boost.

The end game state here is:

• Shiranui Sunsaga on board with 3500+ ATK and destruction protection
• Shiranui Squiresaga on board with 2400 ATK
• 1 non-targeting spell or trap destruction
• Up to 2 non-targeting destruction on ANY opposing cards
• Guaranteed follow up play next turn with Shiranui Spectralsword in grave

The 2x Shiranui Sunsaga play with Level Augmentation

This is a 2-card, two turn combo that puts out a big Shiranui Sunsaga on the first turn for massive field presence and a second Shiranui Sunsaga on the second turn to destroy up to 2 cards on the field. This is pretty much the bread-and-butter play of Level Augmentation builds.

Shiranui Squire + Shiranui Solitaire in hand

First Turn: End on Shiranui Sunsaga

• (1) Normal summon Shiranui Squire and use her effect to special summon Shiranui Spectralsword from hand or (ideally) deck.
• (2) Activate Level Augmentation to boost the level of either monster on board by revealing Shiranui Solitaire in hand.
• (3) Use Shiranui Squire + Shiranui Spectralsword to synchro summon level 10 Shiranui Sunsaga.

The end game state here is:

• Shiranui Sunsaga on board with 3500+ ATK and destruction protection
• 2 extra cards in hand (going first) or 3 extra cards in hand (going second)
• Guaranteed follow up play next turn with Shiranui Spectralsword in grave

Second Turn: End on 2x Shiranui Sunsaga

• (1) Activate Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect in grave to banish itself and Shiranui Squire to special summon Archfiend Zombie-Skull and activate Shiranui Squire’s on-banish effect if desired.
• (2) Normal summon Shiranui Solitaire.
• (3) Activate Shiranui Solitaire’s effect to tribute himself and special summon another Shiranui Spectralsword from deck.
• (4) Use the Shiranui Spectralsword on board + Archfiend Zombie-Skull to synchro summon Shiranui Shogunsaga and activate his effect to banish Shiranui Solitaire from grave, which then triggers Shiranui Solitaire’s on-banish effect to special summon back Shiranui Spectralsword from the banished pile.
• (5) Use the Shiranui Spectralsword on board + Shiranui Shogunsaga to synchro summon the second Shiranui Sunsaga and activate his effect if needed.

Note that Archfiend Zombie-Skull is mentioned specifically here as the most ideal level 6 Zombie Synchro Monster for the combo because its effect will protect both itself and the first Shiranui Sunsaga from destruction effects like Treacherous Trap Hole. One cannot rely on protection from Shiranui Sunsaga at this point in the combo because there will be no Shiranui monsters in grave to banish.

Additionally, note that drawing the second Shiranui Spectralsword with Shiranui Squire’s on-banish effect is no big deal. If this happens, then simply discard Shiranui Solitiare with Shiranui Squire’s effect and normal summon the Shiranui Spectralsword instead. Then proceed with steps (4) and (5).

The end game state here is:

• TWO Shiranui Sunsaga on board with 3500+ ATK and destruction protection
• Up to 2 non-targeting destruction on ANY opposing cards
• Guaranteed follow up play next turn with Shiranui Spectralsword in grave

Playing vs. Sealed Tombs

The skill Sealed Tombs alone shuts down many of the combo plays of the Shiranui deck. This includes:

• Stopping Shiranui Spectralsword’s graveyard effect for follow-up plays.
• Stopping Shiranui Sunsaga from being a valid Turn 1 play, as he can no longer banish Shiranui monsters from grave to protect himself.
• Stopping Shiranui Squiresaga from banishing a Shiranui from grave to both eat away at the opposing board and extend one’s own combos.

When playing against an Ishizu player, one wants to play conservative with their backrow so that they have enough resources to outlast the opponent’s initial turn (when the opponent clicks Sealed Tombs) as well as the turn after Sealed Tombs is clicked. While Sealed Tombs does not prevent one’s Shiranui plays on the field, it is unlikely that the opponent will allow one to make any power plays to summon Shiranui Shogunsaga or Shiranui Sunsaga without any aid from the grave. Thus, one usually has to stall out another turn before they can really start playing the game again.

Note that the opponent needs at least 1000 less LP to activate Sealed Tombs, so another way of playing around this skill is to keep the LP difference small or be the one at lower LP. Alternatively, not setting any backrow against an Ishizu player is an option so that the opponent cannot easily get the 1000 LP difference by activating a simple Cosmic Cyclone.

Playing vs. Artifact Lancea

Artifact Lancea is a handtrap that, like Sealed Tombs, can stun the Shiranui deck’s combo plays for a turn. Usually, Artifact Lancea will be chained to Shiranui Spectralsword‘s effect in grave to stop the banishes and, as a result, the synchro-from-grave effect altogether. One then has to wait a turn before they can try to make another push. Thus, like with Sealed Tombs, one wants to play conservative with their backrow against Artifact Lancea to live another turn. Note that it is often easy to read when the opponent has Artifact Lancea in hand by its delay – if there are no activatable cards on board, but the opponent’s hourglass is still flashing, then there is an Artifact Lancea in hand. This lets one know ahead of time when to play conservatively to not lose to a timely Artifact Lancea stun.

Playing vs. No Mortal Can Resist

The skill No Mortal Can Resist is the most deadly for Shiranui – that skill can essentially wipe away all the resources in one’s grave, including Shiranui Spectralsword. This can be especially deadly for the Grass variant of Shiranui, which relies on a loaded grave to make plays. The way to play around No Mortal Can Resist is to actually keep Shiranui Spectralsword banished and out of the grave on the opponent’s turn. For non-Grass Shiranui, this can be done by banishing Shiranui Spectralsword off Shiranui Squiresaga or Shiranui Shogunsaga’s effects. Shiranui Shogunsaga in particular will be able to put Shiranui Spectralsword back into the grave when destroyed for a followup next turn. Meanwhile, Grass Shiranui has more avenues to banish their Shiranui Spectralsword (e.g. with Burgeoning Whirlflame) as well as more ways to recover the banished Shiranui Spectralsword with multiple copies of Shiranui Spectralsword Shade.

As of the May 2020 banlist, No Mortal Can Resist is no longer as popular of a skill because it requires the player to be at least 2000 less LP to activate. The only deck in the meta at the time of this guide update that can consistently trigger No Mortal Can Resist is Dark Magician, via Dark Magic Curtain. So if one is playing against an Ishizu Dark Magician, then definitely keep No Mortal Can Resist in mind. Otherwise, the Ishizu player is more likely playing Sealed Tombs.

Level Duplication

Side Deck:

First, see the subsection on That Grass Looks Greener and Burgeoning Whirlflame in the “Synergetic Tech Cards” section of the guide for a basic overview.

Note that as of the Feb 2020 banlist hitting both That Grass Looks Greener and Spell Specialist, this variant of Shiranui is no longer considered top tier. However, it can still be played for fun with the Lightsworn engine (i.e. Charge of the Light Brigade) and Needlebug Nest as ways to make up for the missing copies of That Grass Looks Greener. Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui’s Story also shines here. The combos and plays for the deck, as mentioned in this section, are the same as before the nerfs – the deck itself is just no longer as consistent.

Before playing the Grass variant of Shiranui, it is recommended to get comfortable with the core cards by playing the non-Grass variant first. This will familiarize one with every core monster besides Shiranui Samurai and Shiranui Spectralsword Shade. Once one has the combos of the standard build down and knows most of the effects of the Shiranui monsters by heart, learning to play the Grass variant should be a cinch.

This section of the guide is divided into three subsections:

• Playing Optimally with Burgeoning Whirlflame
• “Turn 1” Plays - Establishing a Board and Followups
• “Turn 2” Plays - Looking for an OTK

Because of how many options there are after a good That Grass Looks Greener mill, the latter two subsections are by no means an exhaustive list of all possible plays. Rather, they discuss only a couple of combos that come up often and that a player should definitely know. However, players should feel free to improvise and create their own combos as they play and get more comfortable with the deck.

Playing Optimally with Burgeoning Whirlflame

Burgeoning Whirlflame is the other key card besides That Grass Looks Greener in the Grass variant of Shiranui. Its effect in grave is a quick effect that lets one banish two Fire attribute monsters from the grave to add the card back in hand. Since all the Shiranui core monsters have effects on banish, Burgeoning Whirlflame enables some explosive plays with a loaded graveyard.

Here is a quick reminder and reference of each on-banish Shiranui effect. Keep in mind that these are all HOPT.

• Shiranui Squire: Draw a card, then discard a card, i.e. a Dark World Dealings effect. Note that one can just discard Burgeoning Whirlflame to go +1 in card advantage and also use Burgeoning Whirlflame again in the same turn, as its effect from grave is not a HOPT.
• Shiranui Solitaire: Special summon a banished Shiranui monster. Note that for Synchro Monsters, the Shiranui monster must have been first properly synchro summoned (i.e. NOT through Shiranui Spectralsword‘s effect). On one’s own turn, this effect facilitates the synchro climbs of the deck. On the opponent’s turn, Burgeoning Whirlflame gives this effect a use defensively by banishing Shiranui Solitaire during the battle phase to summon a Shiranui monster and block an opposing direct attack.
• Shiranui Spiritmaster: Destroy an opposing face-up card. Burgeoning Whirlflame allows for this effect to be used anytime during the opponent’s turn, making it the main form of disruption for the deck.
• Shiranui Samurai: Add a Shiranui monster back to hand from grave. This effect is mainly used to get back a combo starter such as Shiranui Squire or Shiranui Spiritmaster to normal summon.
• Shiranui Samuraisaga: Lower an opposing monster’s ATK by 500. It is actually rare to want to banish Shiranui Samuraisaga with Burgeoning Whirlflame instead of Shiranui Shogunsaga, but the ATK debuff can come up in a pinch.

The above-mentioned effects trigger a Chain Link in the order that they were banished. For instance, if one selects Shiranui Spiritmaster first and then Shiranui Squire second with Burgeoning Whirlflame, then Shiranui Spiritmaster gets banished first, putting it on Chain Link 1, while Shiranui Squire gets put on Chain Link 2.

The ordering of the Chain Link can be important as it allows one to chain block negation effects as well as dodge Floodgate Trap Hole. Consider the following examples:

• The opponent has Dark Cavalry on board and one banishes Shiranui Spiritmaster and Shiranui Squire in that order with Burgeoning Whirlflame. Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect triggers on Chain Link 1 targeting the Dark Cavalry, while Shiranui Squire’s effect immediately triggers after on Chain Link 2. Because Shiranui Squire’s effect ends up on Chain Link 2, Dark Cavalry CANNOT chain to Shiranui Spiritmaster’s targeting effect and negate, allowing one to safely destroy it.
• The opponent has Rebirth of Parshath set and one banishes Shiranui Spiritmaster and Shiranui Squire in that order with Burgeoning Whirlflame. Similar to the above example, Rebirth of Parshath CANNOT be chained to Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect and negate. It can however be chained to and negate Shiranui Squire’s effect.
• The opponent has Floodgate Trap Hole set and one banishes Shiranui Squire and Shiranui Solitaire in that order with Burgeoning Whirlflame. Shiranui Squire’s effect triggers first on Chain Link 1, while Shiranui Solitaire’s effect triggers second on Chain Link 2. This causes Shiranui Squire’s effect to resolve LAST. Thus, Shiranui Solitaire’s effect to summon a monster IS NOT the LAST action to happen on the Chain Link, causing Floodgate Trap Hole to miss timing and be unable to hit the newly summoned monster.

Knowing how to order Chain Links properly with Burgeoning Whirlflame is key in playing this deck well.

The other key thing to keep in mind when using Burgeoning Whirlflame is the count of each Shiranui monster in grave. Ideally, there should be a Shiranui Squire in grave to banish off Burgeoning Whirlflame so that one can discard it back into the grave to be used later. A common misplay that new players to the deck make is using Burgeoning Whirlflame without a Shiranui Squire to banish and then getting that card stuck in the hand, where it becomes a useless.

The other Shiranui monster to especially keep count of in grave is Shiranui Spiritmaster. A common mistake is to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster on one’s own turn to make an aggressive push, but then have none of him left in grave for disruption on the opponent’s turn. One should only exhaust all their Shiranui Spiritmasters in grave on their own turn if they have a way to win that turn.

“Turn 1” Plays - Establishing a Board and Followups

There are two main goals to accomplish when going first:

• (1) Establishing a board with enough field presence to protect one from attacks and with ways to disrupt the opponent’s plays on their turn.
• (2) Establishing followup plays for next turn to push for game or get closer to winning the game.

Establishing a Board

Typically, one does not have to worry much about setting up a form of disruption for the opponent’s turn because a simple That Grass Looks Greener mill can do that if Burgeoning Whirlflame and Shiranui Spiritmaster are both among the cards milled. Even just milling Burgeoning Whirlflame and Shiranui Solitaire (but no Shiranui Spiritmaster) can be fine, since that combination can be used to block a direct attack.

Things get complicated however when one does not mill Burgeoning Whirlflame. When this happens, one wants to find a way to get Shiranui Samurai on board for his quick effect. With him on board and Shiranui Spiritmaster in grave, one can still use Shiranui Samurai‘s effect to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster anytime during the opponent’s turn for disruption.

Keep an eye out for the following combo, as it not only gets Shiranui Samurai on board but also gets out massive field presence to pressure the opponent.

Requirements: A Zombie in hand + Gozuki, Shiranui Samurai and Shiranui Spiritmaster milled + Shiranui Solitaire in hand OR milled + a Shiranui tuner in deck

• (1) Activate Gozuki’s effect upon being sent to grave to banish Shiranui Samurai and special summon the Zombie in hand.
• (2) Activate Shiranui Samurai’s effect on banish to add Shiranui Spiritmaster back to hand.
• (3) Normal summon Shiranui Spiritmaster and activate his effect to special summon Shiranui Solitaire.
• (4) Activate Shiranui Solitaire’s effect to tribute Shiranui Spiritmaster and special summon a Shiranui tuner from deck.
• (5) Synchro summon using Shiranui Solitaire and the Shiranui tuner.
• (6) Because Shiranui Solitaire was summoned off Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect, he gets banished upon leaving the field. Activate Shiranui Solitaire’s effect on banish to special summon Shiranui Samurai.
• (7) If the Synchro Monster summoned in step (5) were Shiranui Squiresaga, then activate her effect to boost all of one’s Zombie monsters by 300 ATK.

Note that one can change up their plays depending on the Zombie monster in hand.

The end game state here is:

• Shiranui Samurai on board with 1800 or 2100 ATK
• Shiranui Samuraisaga or Shiranui Squiresaga on board with 2500 ATK and 2400 ATK respectively
• A third Zombie monster on board
• Shiranui Samurai‘s quick effect live with Shiranui Spiritmaster in grave for disruption on the opponent’s turn
• 1-2 extra cards in hand, depending on whether the Shiranui Solitaire was also in hand
• Possible followup plays next turn depending on the other cards milled

The video below shows a replay of this combo at work. In general, be on the look out for ways to banish Shiranui Samurai and then Shiranui Solitaire to get Shiranui Samurai on board. It does not have to be via this combo – e.g. a combination of Gozuki’s effect to banish Shiranui Samurai from grave and Gold Sarcophagus to banish Shiranui Solitaire from deck can also work.

Establishing Followup Plays

In general, the idea behind establishing followup plays on your first turn is to think ahead and conserve enough GUARANTEED resources for the next turn. Guaranteed means not relying on RNG, i.e. the next draw. In regards to Grass Shiranui, conserving resources usually means not getting too trigger-happy and using up all the on-banish effects in the grave with Burgeoning Whirlflame on the first turn. Rather, one wants to still have some available for next turn to push for game.

Some of the key cards and resources to be wary of when establishing a followup:

• Shiranui Solitaire and Shiranui Spectralsword: As discussed in the “Combos and Plays” section of the guide, simply having Shiranui Solitaire with Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect live in grave leads to an instant 5500 ATK Shiranui Shogunsaga as well as a -500 ATK debuff on an opposing monster. This lets the Shiranui Shogunsaga do 4000 lethal damage over any monster whose original ATK was 2000 ATK or less. ALWAYS be on the look out for this win-condition – it is the easiest to get out.
• Shiranui Squiresaga: Getting Shiranui Squiresaga out Turn 1 with ways to protect her can be a followup play in itself. This is because her effect lets one immediately destroy an opposing spell or trap or even monster at the start of one’s next turn, assuming she survives a turn. This can pave the way for e.g. the above-mentioned 5500 ATK Shiranui Shogunsaga to steal lethal undisrupted.
• Shiranui Spectralsword Shade: Look for ways to summon and synchro with Shiranui Spectralsword Shade in case backrow destruction is needed next turn, and try not to use up those resources. Shiranui Spectralsword Shade will allow one to go into Shiranui Squiresaga, Shiranui Sunsaga, or even Black Rose Dragon to clear the opposing board. Some of the common ways to set up these synchro summons are:
  • Having both Shiranui Spectralsword Shade and Shiranui Solitaire ready to banish to get Shiranui Spectralsword Shade on board.
  • Having Shiranui Samurai ready to banish to add Shiranui Spectralsword Shade back to hand to normal summon. This is shown in the replay video above in the “Establishing a Board” subsection. The Black Rose Dragon board wipe led to an easy lethal with the Shiranui Solitaire and Shiranui Spectralsword combo into a 5500 ATK Shiranui Shogunsaga.
  • Saving Shiranui Spiritmaster in hand to normal summon next turn and special summon Shiranui Spectralsword Shade from grave.
• Shiranui Spectralsword Shade + Shiranui Spectralsword: If one does not mill Shiranui Solitaire for the above-mentioned combo with Shiranui Spectralsword, then be on the look out for ways to get Shiranui Spectralsword Shade next turn for his on-board effect. This is an alternative combo for getting out the deadly 5500 ATK Shiranui Shogunsaga. After using Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect next turn, use Shiranui Spectralsword Shade’s on-board effect to get back Shiranui Spectralsword, assuming there is an open monster zone. From there, synchro climb into Shiranui Shogunsaga like in the usual Shiranui Solitaire and Shiranui Spectralsword combo.

“Turn 2” Plays - Looking for an OTK

The main Turn 2 OTK option for Grass Shiranui is the 5500 ATK Shiranui Shogunsaga. If one does not see an opening for him to get lethal, then it is typically better to slow play the game and just establish a board Turn 2 (see the above subsection on “Establishing a Board and Followups”). One would then have more resources to work with on Turn 4, such as Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect from grave. However, if there is lethal on board, then by all means go for it.

Below are some of the more common scenarios for when one might have Turn 2 lethal with Shiranui Shogunsaga. In general, one needs to mill Burgeoning Whirlflame and have access to Shiranui Solitaire and Shiranui Spectralsword, with the latter usually accessed through Shiranui Squire or Shiranui Spiritmaster for the initial synchro summon into Shiranui Samuraisaga.

There is also a combo at the end of this subsection that opts to go into Shiranui Squiresaga and Shiranui Sunsaga instead of Shiranui Samuraisaga and Shiranui Shogunsaga. Board wipes from Shiranui Squiresaga and Shiranui Sunsaga can still lead to lethal with an additional monster beside Shiranui Sunsaga.

Requirements: A Zombie in hand + Gozuki, Shiranui Samurai, Shiranui Squire, Shiranui Solitaire, and Burgeoning Whirlflame milled + Shiranui Spectralsword in deck

• (1) Activate Gozuki’s effect upon being sent to grave to banish Shiranui Samurai and special summon the Zombie in hand.
• (2) Activate Shiranui Samurai’s effect on banish to add Shiranui Squire back to hand.
• (3) Normal summon Shiranui Squire and activate her effect to special summon Shiranui Spectralsword from deck.
• (4) Synchro summon Shiranui Samuraisaga using Shiranui Squire and Shiranui Spectralsword.
• (5) Activate Burgeoning Whirlflame in grave to banish Shiranui Squire and Shiranui Spectralsword and add Burgeoning Whirlflame to hand.
• (6) Activate Shiranui Squire’s on-banish effect to draw a card and discard Burgeoning Whirlflame.
• (7) Activate Burgeoning Whirlflame in grave to banish Shiranui Solitaire and another Fire attribute monster and add Burgeoning Whirlflame to hand.
• (8) Activate Shiranui Solitaire’s on-banish effect to special summon Shiranui Spectralsword from the banished pile. If the other Fire attribute monster were Shiranui Spiritmaster, then activate Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect to destroy an opposing face-up card.
• (9) Synchro summon Shiranui Shogunsaga using Shiranui Samuraisaga and Shiranui Spectralsword and activate Shiranui Shogunsaga’s effect to banish Shiranui Samuraisaga and boost to 5500 ATK.
• (10) Activate Shiranui Samuraisaga‘s on-banish effect to decrease an opposing monster’s ATK by -500.

Note that opening with Shiranui Squire in hand can also work – in that case, Gozuki and Shiranui Samurai are not needed for this combo. One can also change up their plays depending on the Zombie monster in hand.

If there is no other Fire attribute monster to banish in step (8), then one can banish Shiranui Solitaire and Shiranui Spectralsword instead in step (6) to special summon back the Shiranui Spectralsword. From there, proceed directly to step (9).

Requirements: A Zombie in hand + Gozuki, Shiranui Samurai, Shiranui Spiritmaster, Shiranui Solitaire, Shiranui Spectralsword, and Burgeoning Whirlflame milled

• (1) Activate Gozuki’s effect upon being sent to grave to banish Shiranui Samurai and special summon the Zombie in hand.
• (2) Activate Shiranui Samurai’s effect on banish to add Shiranui Spiritmaster back to hand.
• (3) Normal summon Shiranui Spiritmaster and activate his effect to special summon Shiranui Spectralsword from grave.
• (4) Synchro summon Shiranui Samuraisaga using Shiranui Spiritmaster and Shiranui Spectralsword. Because Shiranui Spectralsword was summoned off Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect, he gets banished upon leaving the field.
• (5) Activate Burgeoning Whirlflame in grave to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster and Shiranui Solitaire in that order and add Burgeoning Whirlflame to hand.
• (6) Activate Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect to destroy an opposing face-up card, then activate Shiranui Solitaire’s on-banish effect to special summon Shiranui Spectralsword from the banished pile. Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect is Chain Link 1 and cannot be negated, while Shiranui Solitaire’s effect is Chain Link 2, allowing the Shiranui Spectralsword to dodge Floodgate Trap Hole.
• (7) Synchro summon Shiranui Shogunsaga using Shiranui Samuraisaga and Shiranui Spectralsword and activate Shiranui Shogunsaga’s effect to banish Shiranui Samuraisaga and boost to 5500 ATK.
• (8) Activate Shiranui Samuraisaga‘s on-banish effect to decrease an opposing monster’s ATK by -500.

Note that opening with Shiranui Spiritmaster in hand can also work – in that case, Gozuki and Shiranui Samurai are not needed for this combo. One can also change up their plays depending on the Zombie monster in hand.

Requirements: A Zombie in hand + Gozuki, Shiranui Samurai, Shiranui Spiritmaster, Shiranui Spectralsword, and Burgeoning Whirlflame milled + Shiranui Solitaire in hand + Shiranui Spectralsword in deck

• (1) Activate Gozuki’s effect upon being sent to grave to banish Shiranui Samurai and special summon the Zombie in hand.
• (2) Activate Shiranui Samurai’s effect on banish to add Shiranui Spiritmaster back to hand.
• (3) Normal summon Shiranui Spiritmaster and activate his effect to special summon Shiranui Solitaire from hand.
• (4) Activate Shiranui Solitiare’s effect to tribute Shiranui Spiritmaster to special summon Shiranui Spectralsword from deck.
• (5) Activate Burgeoning Whirlflame in grave to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster and Shiranui Spectralsword and add Burgeoning Whirlflame to hand.
• (6) Activate Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect to destroy an opposing face-up card.
• (7) Synchro summon Shiranui Samuraisaga using Shiranui Solitiare and Shiranui Spectralsword.
• (8) Because Shiranui Solitiare was summoned off Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect, he gets banished upon leaving the field. Activate Shiranui Solitaire’s on-banish effect to special summon the banished Shiranui Spectralsword.
• (9) Synchro summon Shiranui Shogunsaga using Shiranui Samuraisaga and Shiranui Spectralsword and activate Shiranui Shogunsaga’s effect to banish Shiranui Samuraisaga and boost to 5500 ATK.
• (8) Activate Shiranui Samuraisaga‘s on-banish effect to decrease an opposing monster’s ATK by -500.

Note that opening with Shiranui Spiritmaster in hand can also work – in that case, Gozuki and Shiranui Samurai are not needed for this combo. One can also change up their plays depending on the Zombie monster in hand.

Requirements: A Zombie in hand + Gozuki, Shiranui Samurai, Shiranui Squire, Shiranui Solitaire, and Burgeoning Whirlflame milled + Shiranui Spectralsword Shade in deck

• (1) Activate Gozuki’s effect upon being sent to grave to banish Shiranui Samurai and special summon the Zombie in hand.
• (2) Activate Shiranui Samurai’s effect on banish to add Shiranui Squire back to hand.
• (3) Normal summon Shiranui Squire and activate her effect to special summon Shiranui Spectralsword Shade from deck.
• (4) Synchro summon Shiranui Squiresaga using Shiranui Squire and Shiranui Spectralsword Shade.
• (5) Activate Shiranui Squiresaga’s effect to banish Shiranui Spectralsword Shade from grave and destroy an opposing spell or trap card.
• (6) Activate Burgeoning Whirlflame in grave to banish Shiranui Squire and Shiranui Spectralsword Shade and add Burgeoning Whirlflame to hand.
• (7) Activate Shiranui Squire’s on-banish effect to draw a card and discard Burgeoning Whirlflame.
• (8) Activate Burgeoning Whirlflame in grave to banish Shiranui Solitaire and another Fire attribute monster and add Burgeoning Whirlflame to hand.
• (9) Activate Shiranui Solitaire’s on-banish effect to special summon Shiranui Spectralsword Shade from the banished pile. If the other Fire attribute monster were Shiranui Spiritmaster, then activate Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect to destroy an opposing face-up card.
• (10) Synchro summon Shiranui Sunsaga using Shiranui Squiresaga and Shiranui Spectralsword Shade and activate Shiranui Sunsaga’s effect to return Shiranui Squiresaga back to the extra deck and destroy any opposing card.

Note that opening with Shiranui Squire in hand can also work – in that case, Gozuki and Shiranui Samurai are not needed for this combo. One can also change up their plays depending on the Zombie monster in hand.

If there is no other Fire attribute monster to banish in step (8), then one can banish Shiranui Solitaire and Shiranui Spectralsword Shade instead in step (6) to special summon back the Shiranui Spectralsword Shade. From there, proceed directly to step (10).

This combo can get lethal with Shiranui Sunsaga plus the Zombie monster summoned off Gozuki’s effect.

Some of the following matchups are divided into two subsections: “Without That Grass Looks Greener” and “With That Grass Looks Greener”. The latter subsections are leftover from when Grass Shiranui was a top tier deck for those readers that are still interested in playing the deck that way. The more recent matchups however do not have a “With That Grass Looks Greener” subsection, since they came into the meta after Grass Shiranui left.

Blackwings

Popular Skills: Harpies’ Hunting Ground, Level Reduction, Peak Performance

Without That Grass Looks Greener

This is a matchup that can go either way depending on how well one opens up with backrow and techs. Blackwings are incredibly vulnerable to early-game disruption, particularly from Ballista Squad, Bad Aim, Needle Ceiling, Floodgate Trap Hole, Paleozoic Canadia, Cosmic Cyclone, Forbidden Lance, and Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror:

• Ballista Squad can destroy the Blackwing player’s Black Whirlwind or normal summoned monster (if not Blackwing - Kris the Crack of Dawn) before Black Whirlwind’s effect resolves, thus stopping the search effect and possibly any more combo play. Raigeki Break can also do the same thing. Ballista Squad and Raigeki Break are also important for removing Necrovalley, which many Blackwing decks run nowadays, as it can be searched with Ancient Fairy Dragon in combination with the field spell skills.

• Bad Aim can be used similarly to Ballista Squad in this matchup by chaining to Black Whirlwind and destroying the normal summoned monster to stop the search effect. It can also destroy Necrovalley as well.

• Needle Ceiling can often wipe the Blackwing player’s entire board since their deck relies on swarming the field with many monsters. The best time to use Needle Ceiling is after the Blackwing player has committed both their Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind effect and their normal summon for the turn. Do note that the Blackwing player can still come back from a Needle Ceiling if they have Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite in grave.

• Floodgate Trap Hole and Paleozoic Canadia can also make Black Whirlwind’s effect fizzle by flipping down the normal summoned monsters. These two cards can also just disrupt the Blackwing player’s synchro summons in general by flipping down their monsters and clogging their board.

• Cosmic Cyclone can be chained to Black Whirlwind’s search effect and remove it from the field before the search resolves, stopping it entirely. Cosmic Cyclone also provides another out to Necrovalley. Gold Sarcophagus in combination with Shiranui Spiritmaster can also be used in place of Cosmic Cyclone as a Necrovalley out.

• Forbidden Lance can be used to lower the ATK stat of the Blackwing monsters on normal summon to make Black Whirlwind fizzle, since that card can only search Blackwing monsters from deck of LOWER ATK than the summoned monster.

• Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror is self-explanatory vs. an all Dark attribute deck.

• Artifact Lancea is worth mentioning for this matchup. It actually has use in stopping the effect of the main Blackwing combo starter, Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind. The trick is to use Artifact Lancea on the opponent’s draw or standby phase so that they cannot use Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind‘s effect during the main phase. If going second vs. a Mai or OG Kaiba player, then one wants to Toggle ON immediately at the start of the duel to have the option to use Artifact Lancea on the draw or standby phase of the opponent’s first turn.

Note that all of these cards are also just good generic cards vs. the entire meta. So a typical Shiranui deck should already have most of these cards in its (flexible) backrow lineup before even side decking. This makes the matchup vs. Blackwings mostly a matter of drawing one’s backrow early enough before Blackwings can get their combo plays going. This also makes going first in this matchup ideal as it lets one set all their backrow before the Blackwing player gets to establish a board.

Going second though is much more difficult as cards like Floodgate Trap Hole can be useless at that point vs. an established board, and the threat of Blackbird Close becomes a possibility. It is typically very difficult to play around an early Blackbird Close, as the Shiranui archetype has little to no comeback ability if its initial monster effect gets negated. If one opens Shiranui Spectralsword and Ballista Squad, then one could consider just setting those two instead of e.g. summoning Shiranui Squire and just losing to a Blackbird Close. Otherwise, if the Blackwing player has Blackbird Close, then they have it unfortunately.

Thankfully, Blackbird Close becomes less of a threat if one does manage to establish a board and grave. For one thing, Blackbird Close can only negate monster effects on the field, so it cannot stop a Shiranui Spectralsword effect from the grave. Furthermore, one can actually chain block Blackbird Close when summoning Shiranui Shogunsaga off Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect if the other monster that gets banished is Shiranui Samuraisaga. Activating both Shiranui Shogunsaga and Shiranui Samuraisaga’s effects in this instance will put Shiranui Shogunsaga on Chain Link 1 and Shiranui Samuraisaga on Chain Link 2, preventing Blackbird Close from chaining to Shiranui Shogunsaga’s effect and destroying it. From there, one could potentially threaten lethal damage with a big Shiranui Shogunsaga, especially since the Blackwing player has probably already taken prior damage from the side effect of their combo starter, Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind.

With That Grass Looks Greener

Most of what is already mentioned above in “Playing without That Grass Looks Greener” still applies. Just instead of relying on backrow or techs to disrupt the opponent, the Grass variant of Shiranui has access to the quick effects of Burgeoning Whirlflame and Shiranui Samurai to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster from grave on the opponent’s turn. Furthermore, these quick effects also allow for more proactive and aggressive plays on one’s own turn with Shiranui Spiritmaster’s on-banish effect.

Some additional notes that apply when playing with That Grass Looks Greener:

• One wants to use Shiranui Spiritmaster’s on-banish effect to pop either the normal summon or a synchro monster. If the Blackwing player did not open Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Mist, then their turn will basically come to an end if one destroys their one normal summon for the turn. This is assuming that the normal summon is not Blackwing - Kris the Crack of Dawn – in that case, one wants to wait since that card is immune to card effect destruction. If the Blackwing player does open Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Wind or Blackwing - Kris the Crack of Dawn, then Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect should usually be used to destroy Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower when he is synchro summoned or Blackwing Tamer - Obsidian Hawk Joe if he is synchro summoned ALONE on the field.

• Using Shiranui Solitaire’s effect defensively with Burgeoning Whirlflame as mentioned in the “Playing Optimally with Burgeoning Whirlflame” subsection of the guide can come up often vs. an aggressive deck like Blackwings.

• A 5500 ATK Shiranui Shogunsaga is often the win-condition in this matchup. After taking 1000 LP burn damage from the drawback of Blackwing - Simoon the Poison Mist’s effect, the Blackwing player will be left at 3000 LP. This lets a 5500 ATK Shiranui Shogunsaga get lethal over any of the 2600 ATK Blackwing Synchro Monsters in combination with the -500 ATK debuff from Shiranui Samuraisaga.

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Blue-Eyes

Popular Skills: Alternative Evolution, Ultimate Dragons

Without That Grass Looks Greener

This matchup is favorable for Shiranui thanks to Shiranui Sunsaga’s high ATK and protection from destruction. These factors let the Shiranui player just sit on Shiranui Sunsaga until they gather enough resources to make a push, as the Blue-Eyes player can neither beat over Shiranui Sunsaga with their 3000 ATK beaters nor destroy him with Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon’s effect. Thus, turboing out Shiranui Sunsaga as early as possible, especially with Level Augmnetation, should be the gameplan when playing against a DSOD Kaiba.

The tricky part when playing against Blue-Eyes is in baiting out their backrow. Blue-Eyes, as a deck, often runs many counter traps, such as Ultimate Providence and Divine Wrath, as well as Raigeki Break to discard their White Stone of Ancients from hand and summon a Blue-Eyes monster in the end phase. One wants to avoid triggering these traps before establishing a board, since the Blue-Eyes that gets summoned in the end phase can not only be hard to out, but also banish one’s own backrow if it is Dragon Spirit of White. Playing around Raigeki Break can be difficult, but playing around just the counter traps can actually be easy by slow playing the game – i.e. avoid activating monster effects too early. Consider the following replay:

• Turn 2: By activating a card like Gold Sarcophagus first, one could read the delays and deduce that there was no Raigeki Break, but there was indeed a counter trap. Not wanting to trigger the counter trap, one decides to simply set instead of going for a play with Shiranui Squire. This is safe because Blue-Eyes usually cannot OTK through backrow without setting up their White Stone of Ancients and establishing a board first.

• Turn 4: One baits out the counter trap with Shiranui Solitaire’s effect, not minding if Shiranui Solitaire gets negated, since the important part is to just get him in grave for the Shiranui Spectralsword plus Shiranui Solitaire combo. Note that the Blue-Eyes player has no more cards in hand after this, and so there is no threat of a second counter trap. Shiranui Squire and Ballista Squad are then used to bait and remove the remaining backrow, paving the way for Shiranui Sunsaga to really pressure the matchup.

• Turn 6: Even with Shiranui Sunsaga removed, one still has Shiranui Shogunsaga to beat over Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon. Blue-Eyes, as a deck, just struggles against monsters with more than 3000 ATK in general, especially followed by backrow.

One might notice that Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon does provide an inherent out to Shiranui Sunsaga by tagging into Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn. While this is true, this is also an unoptimal play for the Blue-Eyes player, as it does not lead into any offensive pushes (due to Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn being summoned in DEF) nor is it efficient on resources, with Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn being destroyed in the end phase.

An early Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon can be annoying for Shiranui though, since it can negate Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect in grave. One wants to remove it as soon as possible by either forcing it to tag out with a card like Ballista Squad or simply beating over it with a monster with over 3000 ATK.

An even better scenario would be to stop the Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon synchro summon all together by disrupting the synchro materials with cards like Ballista Squad or Floodgate Trap Hole. Do watch out for Maiden with Eyes of Blue though. Avoid targeting her with e.g. Ballista Squad or she can spawn a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Instead, one usually wants to make Maiden with Eyes of Blue miss timing if the Blue-Eyes player tries to target her to proactively trigger her effect. Simply chaining a card that does not target Maiden with Eyes of Blue to the Blue-Eyes player’s card will make her miss her activation window, stopping the Blue-Eyes White Dragon from coming out.

Finally, as a last note – avoid attacking into set monsters in this matchup until one is able to deal with a potential Dragon Spirit of White or Blue-Eyes White Dragon that may come out after a set White Stone of Ancients is destroyed and sent to the grave. Alternatively, one can run Revived King Ha Des to avoid this issue, as his effect will negate the effects of any White Stone of Ancients that get destroyed in battle by one’s Zombie monsters.

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Crystrons

Popular Skills: Level Duplication, Mythic Depths, See You Later!

Without That Grass Looks Greener

The Crystron matchup is one where the Shiranui player needs to make an aggressive push and close the game early, or Crystrons can easily outlast and win the resource war. Negation cards like Fiendish Chain, Divine Wrath, and (to a lesser extent) Forbidden Chalice are key to winning this matchup.

Going first against Crystrons, one ideally opens with disruptive backrow such as Ballista Squad and Floodgate Trap Hole to stop their synchro plays. The targets for disruption are usually the Crystron tuners, Crystron Citree and Crystron Rion. Destroying and flipping down these tuners not only stops any synchro summons, but it also prevents them from using their quick effects later. Their quick effects are particularly dangerous because they allow the Crystron player to summon Crystron Ametrix or Powered Inzektron on one’s own turn. Crystron Ametrix is especially dangerous because its effect switches all of one’s Shiranui Synchro Monsters to DEF mode, and of course, all Shiranui monsters have a weak 0 DEF.

Going second against Crystrons can be difficult, since the deck can consistently establish a board that leads into a Turn 3 synchro summon for Black Rose Dragon and Crystron Quariongandrax. Both of these monsters can wipe away one’s board when summoned, and Crystron Quariongandrax in particular can even remove Shiranui Spectralsword from the grave and stop one’s followup plays. Furthermore, when destroyed, Crystron Quariongandrax can steal one’s own banished Shiranui monsters and summon it to the Crystron player’s field. It is important to recognize when the Crystron player can make this play, so be on the look out for the following board states:

• Crystron Citree on the field with a level 3 non-tuner in grave

• Crystron Impact searched on the Crystron player’s turn via Crystron Smiger’s effect and most likely set face down

• Crystron Sulfefnir in grave

• Crystron Prasiortle either in grave or on the field

With this board state, the Crystron player can use Crystron Citree’s effect to go into Crystron Ametrix to stop any offensive pushes during the battle phase, and then use Crystron Impact in the end phase to bring back Crystron Citree for an immediate level 7 synchro summon for Black Rose Dragon next turn. Crystron Sulfefnir and Crystron Prasiortle then enable a followup into Crystron Quariongandrax.

The trick to stopping this bread-and-butter Turn 3 from Crystrons is in playing negation techs like Fiendish Chain, Divine Wrath, and Forbidden Chalice.

• Fiendish Chain is the BEST card against Crystrons. It can not only negate the Black Rose Dragon board wipe, but it can also negate the effects of Crystron Citree, Crystron Rion, and even Crystron Quariongandrax while ignorning Crystron Impact. That is, Crystron Impact CANNOT negate Fiendish Chain. This is because Crystron Impact applies a “weak” negation that only lasts during the chain link. However, Fiendish Chain, being a continuous trap, continues to apply its negation effect even after the chain link resolves. Thus, this one trap is key to shutting down Crystrons and swinging the matchup in one’s favor.

• Divine Wrath can be used to negate the same nasty effects that Fiendish Chain would in this matchup. It is just less versatile than Fiendish Chain and also requires a discard cost, which can be awkward sometimes. However, Divine Wrath does have an advantage over Fiendish Chain in that the Crystron player cannot respond to it with a Cosmic Cyclone or Forbidden Lance.

• Forbidden Chalice is not as great as the other two negation options because it can actually be negated by Crystron Impact. Thus, Forbidden Chalice is best used on one’s own turn to stop Crystron Citree before Crystron Impact is set up in grave.

• Artifact Lancea is also worth mentioning as a way to stop Crystron Quariongandrax from banishing one’s Shiranui Spectralsword from grave.

Use the above-mentioned techs to stun a Crystron player’s board, and then push for game with the non-targeting destruction effects of Shiranui Squiresaga and Shiranui Sunsaga. Needle Ceiling is also another great option for non-targeting destruction. These effects not only play around Crystron Impact, but also the tag out abilities of Crystron Citree and Crystron Rion. Against Sea Stealth Attack variants of Crystrons, the non-targeting additionally gets around Citadel Whale’s negation.

One last thing to note is the importance of Archfiend Zombie-Skull against Sea Stealth Attack Crystrons. Archfiend Zombie-Skull‘s effect allows one to safely attack into the Crystron player’s high-level Water monsters without fear of Sea Stealth Attack. Shiranui Sunsaga can of course do the same, but requires a Shiranui monster in grave to banish; and sometimes, that is not an option in a long grind game vs. Crystrons. Thus, it is often best to play conservative with Archfiend Zombie-Skull if one is playing against a Mako Crystron player.

With That Grass Looks Greener

Most of what is already mentioned above in “Playing without That Grass Looks Greener” still applies. Just instead of relying on backrow or techs to disrupt the opponent, the Grass variant of Shiranui has access to the quick effects of Burgeoning Whirlflame and Shiranui Samurai to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster from grave on the opponent’s turn. Furthermore, these quick effects also allow for more proactive and aggressive plays on one’s own turn with Shiranui Spiritmaster’s on-banish effect.

Note that, since Crystrons often run large deck sizes, That Grass Looks Greener often becomes a dead card in this matchup. One instead has to rely on the mills off Charge of the Light Brigade and Needlebug Nest.

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Cyber Dragons

Popular Skills: Cyber Style

Without That Grass Looks Greener

This matchup can be sort of a coinflip, with whoever going first having the advantage. However, once one gets out Archfiend Zombie-Skull or Shiranui Sunsaga, it is usually a win for Shiranui. For that reason, Level Augmentation is the best skill for this matchup to turbo out Shiranui Sunsaga.

If one is indeed running Level Augmentation, then summoning Shiranui Sunsaga as soon as possible Turn 1 or 2 should be the gameplan when playing against Zane. Shiranui Sunsaga‘s protection from destruction shuts down Cybernetic Overflow, which is the main form of monster removal for Cyber Dragons. Once Shiranui Sunsaga is out, the only way that Cyber Dragons can get rid of him is with a tech card like Herald of the Abyss, which they have to hard draw. One can even stop a potential Herald of the Abyss by reducing the Cyber Dragon player’s LP to 1500 or below so that they cannot pay the cost. In general, an early Shiranui Sunsaga is usually an auto-win for the Shiranui player.

Without Level Augmentation, the goal going first is to set up Shiranui Spectralsword in grave to summon Archfiend Zombie-Skull next turn. Like Shiranui Sunsaga, Archfiend Zombie-Skull also shuts down Cybernetic Overflow. The only way that Cyber Dragons can get rid of Archfiend Zombie-Skull or any big Shiranui monsters alongside it (without relying on a tech card) is by beating over them with Cyber Twin Dragon or Cyber End Dragon, both of which are susceptible to backrow.

Going second, one wants to open with backrow removal like Cosmic Cyclone or a card like Forbidden Lance for the Cybernetic Overflow. Getting rid of Cybernetic Overflow and then summoning a monster with more than 2100 ATK should put one in a good position. The monster discourages the Cyber Dragon player from summoning the 2100 ATK Chimeratech Rampage Dragon to destroy one’s backrow. At that point, this becomes similar to the going first scenario, where the Cyber Dragon player has to rely on Cyber Twin Dragon or Cyber End Dragon, both of which are susceptible to backrow.

Since the goal in this matchup is to get Shiranui Spectralsword in grave as soon as possible, it is usually better to go into Shiranui Samuraisaga first. However, if one opens with a Shiranui Spectralsword in hand, then one can go into Shiranui Squiresaga and then use her effect to banish Shiranui Squire to discard the Shiranui Spectralsword to grave. This is fine as long as one has a way to get another level 4 in grave next turn for Archfiend Zombie-Skull. Shiranui Squiresaga can apply a lot more pressure than Shiranui Samuraisaga, especially Turn 1, since the threat of her non-targeting spell/trap removal can force the Cyber Dragon player to flip up their Cybernetic Overflow early and use it suboptimally.

Cyber Dragon players do usually run 3 Cosmic Cyclones to have an easier time triggering their skill Cyber Style. This makes Artifact Lancea not a bad tech in the matchup to stop the Cyber Dragon player from removing one’s backrow with Cosmic Cyclone on their turn.

When using one’s own Cosmic Cyclone early game, if the Cyber Dragon player has multiple backrow, then it is usually best to wait and chain the Cosmic Cyclone to Cybernetic Overflow instead of using it blindly. This is because the Cyber Dragon player needs to wait for Cybernetic Overflow to resolve first before being able to activate Cyberload Fusion (assuming there are no Cyber Dragon monsters banished yet). So chaining Cosmic Cyclone to Cybernetic Overflow and hitting one of the other backrow cards can possibly remove the Cyberload Fusion before it becomes a threat.

Finally, on Zane’s Cyber Style skill, it is recommended to not attack until there is lethal, to avoid triggering the skill too early. Of course, this may not matter if the Cyber Dragon player is already low on LP from using e.g. Cosmic Cyclones, or if one already has Shiranui Sunsaga established on board.

With That Grass Looks Greener

Most of what is already mentioned above in “Playing without That Grass Looks Greener” still applies. Just instead of relying on backrow or techs to disrupt the opponent, the Grass variant of Shiranui has access to the quick effects of Burgeoning Whirlflame and Shiranui Samurai to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster from grave on the opponent’s turn. Furthermore, these quick effects also allow for more proactive and aggressive plays on one’s own turn with Shiranui Spiritmaster’s on-banish effect.

This matchup becomes less of a coinflip and more in Shiranui’s favor with That Grass Looks Greener. This is because the Grass variant has more resources and ways to extend its plays after getting hit by Cybernetic Overflow. Shiranui Squiresaga should be the go-to Turn 2 to force out the Cybernetic Overflow. Then, one can reestablish the board with the resources in grave.

The Grass variant also does not have to worry about its disruption getting hit by Cosmic Cyclone. Burgeoning Whirlflame with Shiranui Spiritmaster in grave is incredibly hard for Cyber Dragons to play through. This is because their main fusion spell, Cyberload Fusion, is a HOPT and also costs a fair amount of resources, meaning they usually can only get out one big Cyber Dragon fusion monster per turn. One can just destroy that fusion monster with the Burgeoning Whirlflame plus Shiranui Spiritmaster combo.

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Dark Magician

Popular Skills: Access Denied, Balance, Power of Dark, Restart, See You Later!, The Tie that Binds

Without That Grass Looks Greener

This is a difficult matchup for Shiranui because of Dark Magical Circle and Kycoo, the Ghost Destroyer. The matchup is all about whether the Shiranui player can deal with these two cards, especially Dark Magical Circle. Going first, one can thankfully rely on staples such as Ballista Squad and Raigeki Break. Going second however is usually an auto-loss unless one draws tech cards that counter Dark Magical Circle, such as Cosmic Cyclone, Forbidden Lance, Twister, Typhoon, Night Beam, and Chaos Hunter.

• Ballista Squad and Raigeki Break going first: Going first is a huge luxury vs. Dark Magician since it lets one use cards such as Ballista Squad to destroy the Dark Magical Circle immediately upon activation. This is usually the correct play since Dark Magical Circle has a HOPT on its activation, so the opponent cannot activate a second one after the first gets destroyed. This also potentially stops the opponent from getting the combo pieces needed for a live Magician Navigation.}

• Ballista Squad and Raigeki Break (and other staple techs) mid-to-late game: These two cards are also key mid-to-late game for removing Kycoo, the Ghost Destroyer, which otherwise would prevent one from using Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect in grave. Needle Ceiling can also often do the trick because Dark Magician players tend to summon many monsters. Fiendish Chain is also another option as it can negate Kycoo, the Ghost Destroyer‘s effect. Note that Dark Magician players will often have live spell and trap negation mid-to-late game with Magician Navigation in grave. So one might have to use these traps in combination with Artifact Lancea on the Dark Magician player’s turn to let them resolve successfully; i.e. use Artifact Lancea, let it resolve, and then activate the trap.

• Cosmic Cyclone, Forbidden Lance, Twister, and Typhoon: These cards are necessary to win going second against the full Dark Magician combo of Dark Magical Circle + Magician Navigation on board and Dark Magician in hand. Typically, one wants to save these cards for when the Dark Magician player tries to use Dark Magical Circle to banish a key Shiranui monster. One then wants to chain Cosmic Cyclone, Twister or Typhoon to destroy the Dark Magical Circle, making its effect fizzle after leaving the field, or chain Forbidden Lance to make one’s monster immune to Dark Magical Circle for the turn.

• Night Beam: This card is nice in that it can snipe a Magician Navigation without giving the Dark Magician player a chance to chain it in response. However, Dark Magician players usually set multiple backrow, so it can be a gamble on hitting the correct set card. Plus, the Dark Magician player can actually still chain the targeted Magician Navigation if they have another effect to chain to Night Beam – in this case, they would chain the other effect, and then chain Magician Navigation to that.

• Chaos Hunter: This would be an amazing card for the matchup if it were not for the fact that she can miss timing. A smart Dark Magician player will usually chain Magician Navigation to the effects of Shiranui Squire, Shiranui Solitaire, or Shiranui Spectralsword so that their Dark Magician monsters get summoned on Chain Link 2. This makes Chaos Hunter miss timing and be a dead card in hand. Still, Chaos Hunter is worth mentioning as an easily accessible, F2P tech for this matchup.

• Gold Sarcophagus (to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster) and Shiranui Squiresaga are also great ways of dealing with Dark Magical Circle during one’s main phase. Shiranui Squiresaga in particular is great to get out Turn 1 to pressure the Dark Magician player to activate their Magician Navigation early on one’s Turn 3. If they do not use their Magician Navigation before the main phase, then one can activate Shiranui Squiresaga’s effect immediately at the start of the main phase to potentially snipe and destroy the Magician Navigation. If they chain the Magician Navigation to Shiranui Squiresaga‘s effect, then one can instead just snipe away the Dark Magical Circle. Finally, if the opponent does use Magician Navigation preemptively during one’s draw or standby phase to banish Shiranui Squiresaga, then that means Dark Magical Circle is no longer a threat that turn, and one can proceed with the typical plays. Furthermore, one can even bring Shiranui Squiresaga right back by banishing Shiranui Solitaire with Gold Sarcophagus.

• Other tech cards that can be great in this matchup are damage step cards like Mirror Wall, since Magician Navigation cannot negate in the damage step.

At the end of the day, this matchup really comes down to whether one opened with the right techs to deal with Dark Magical Circle and Kycoo, the Ghost Destroyer. Once those two threats are dealt with, the rest of the Dark Magician core is actually very manageable for Shiranui. Shiranui Shogunsaga especially is a massive win condition in this matchup, since Dark Magician players often leave a vulnerable 1600 ATK Magician’s Rod in ATK mode. A 5500 ATK Shiranui Shogunsaga deals lethal damage over a Magician’s Rod after a -500 ATK debuff from Shiranui Samuraisaga, so the bread-and-butter Shiranui Spectralsword + Shiranui Solitaire combo is even more deadlier than usual here!

With That Grass Looks Greener

Most of what is already mentioned above in “Playing without That Grass Looks Greener” still applies. Just instead of relying on backrow or techs to disrupt the opponent, the Grass variant of Shiranui has access to the quick effects of Burgeoning Whirlflame and Shiranui Samurai to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster from grave on the opponent’s turn. Furthermore, these quick effects also allow for more proactive and aggressive plays on one’s own turn with Shiranui Spiritmaster’s on-banish effect.

Grass Shiranui actually has arguably a harder time vs. Dark Magician than non-Grass Shiranui all because of one card: Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer. Because Grass Shiranui is so reliant on banishing from its grave for disruption and making plays, Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer singlehandedly shuts down the entire deck.

Some notes for this matchup:

• Aim to destroy the Dark Magical Circle on the opponent’s turn if one is using the Shiranui Spiritmaster plus Burgeoning Whirlflame or Shiranui Samurai combo. This is because of a Yu-Gi-Oh! ruling called “Turn Player’s Priority” that actually hurts the player who has the current turn in this interaction:

  • Suppose it is the opponent’s turn. They have Dark Magical Circle out, and they activate Dark Magic Veil, to which one responds by chaining Burgeoning Whirlflame to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster. Because the opponent has turn player’s priority, after Dark Magician is summoned, Dark Magical Circle will trigger first on Chain Link 1, and THEN Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect will trigger on Chain Link 2. This lets one resolve Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect first and destroy Dark Magical Circle before the opponent gets a banish. This is obviously good for the Shiranui player.
  • Suppose it is one’s own turn. The opponent has Dark Magical Circle out and flips up Magician Navigation, to which one responds by chaining Burgeoning Whirlflame to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster. Because one has turn player’s priority, after Dark Magician is summoned, Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect will trigger first on Chain Link 1, and THEN Dark Magical Circle will trigger on Chain Link 2. This lets the opponent resolve Dark Magical Circle first before one gets to destroy it with Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect. The same result would happen if Magician Navigation were chained to Burgeoning Whirlflame. Either way, this is obviously NOT good for the Shiranui player.

• Dark Cavalry can be chain blocked and destroyed with ease with Burgeoning Whirlflame plus Shiranui Spiritmaster. See the “Playing Optimally with Burgeoning Whirlflame” of the guide for details.

• Always be on the look out for an opportunity to wipe the board with Black Rose Dragon. Dark Magician is a deck that cannot immediately recover from an entire board wipe, whereas Shiranui is such a deck. Thus, one can often followup a Black Rose Dragon with a lethal push for game. See the “Playing with That Grass Looks Greener” section of the guide for a replay video of this in action.

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Darklords

Popular Skills: Destiny Draw, No Mortal Can Resist

Without That Grass Looks Greener

This is a hard matchup for Shiranui due to the combination of monster effect negation from The Sanctified Darklord and grave removal from No Mortal Can Resist. One needs to rely on heavy backrow for this matchup. Thankfully, Darklords have no inherent out to backrow and can get easily crippled by Fiendish Chain as well as battle traps like Wall of Disruption.

Going first against Darklords, one ideally draws an ample amount of backrow to prevent the Darklord player from establishing their board. Fiendish Chain especially is the best card for stunning Darklords – that card can negate their attempt to copy Banishment of the Darklords or Darklord Contact while also stopping the big Darklord monster from attacking. If one is facing a Lightsworn variant of Darklords, then also consider using Fiendish Chain to negate Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn. Do this if the Darklord player has yet to fill their grave with Darklord monsters. In this scenario, they are likely relying on Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn to mill a Darklord monster to then revive with Darklord Contact. Thus, negating Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn can put a stop to their entire turn.

Contrary to the usual Shiranui plays, getting Shiranui Spectralsword in grave Turn 1 can actually be detrimental if the Darklord player is playing Ishizu. Doing so risks the Shiranui Spectralsword getting wiped by No Mortal Can Resist. It is actually more ideal to leave Shiranui Spectralsword on the field and then get him into the grave on the opponent’s battle or end phase with e.g. Ballista Squad or Needle Ceiling after the Darklord player no longer has the opportunity to click No Mortal Can Resist.

Going second and countering a typical Darklord opening board can be very challenging. Getting one’s normal summon effect negated by The Sanctified Darklord, either through a hard activation or a Darklord monster’s quick effect, can be devastating, as the Shiranui archetype has little to no comeback ability if the initial combo starter gets negated. Forbidden Lance can help against a set The Sanctified Darklord by making one’s Shiranui monster immune to the negation. However, if The Sanctified Darklord is in grave and there is a Darklord monster on board to copy it, then the only real way to avoid the negation is with Forbidden Chalice. Even then, Forbidden Chalice will not work if there are multiple Darklord monsters on board to copy The Sanctified Darklord.

Cosmic Cyclone and Gold Sarcophagus can be lifesavers here –

• Cosmic Cyclone can remove The Sanctified Darklord from the game if the Darklord player had no option but to set it. While this will often not be the case, it can actually come up, though the Darklord player will usually set other cards as well to hide The Sanctified Darklord. A lucky snipe on The Sanctified Darklord can swing the matchup heavily in one’s favor.

• Gold Sarcophagus can be used to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster from the deck to trigger his on-banish effect on a Darklord monster, forcing that particular Darklord to use up its HOPT effect before being destroyed (assuming no Darklord Tezcatlipoca in hand). This can potentially give one an opening to start up the usual combo plays.

If one does manage to get their Shiranui combo plays going, then a simple board of Shiranui Sunsaga backed by a Floodgate Trap Hole or even Paleozoic Canadia can actually be tough for the Darklord player to out. Shiranui Sunsaga’s monstrous 3500 ATK means that none of the Darklord monsters can naturally run him over in battle. This forces the Darklord player to rely on Darklord Desire’s effect as their main out. However, Darklord Desire is not a Turn 1 play, and so it is highly susceptible to getting hit and neutered by e.g. a Floodgate Trap Hole that was set on a prior turn.

When relying on Shiranui Sunsaga in the above-mentioned manner, one does need to be wary of Darklords resorting to deck-out as a win condition. Shiranui Sunsaga is only one monster and thus cannot clear a full board of DEF mode Darklords by himself if he has already used his on-summon effect. Meanwhile, Darklords can special summon each other back from the grave and shuffle back cards into their deck to stall. One still needs to make an aggressive push – most likely with a second Shiranui Sunsaga – to seal the game.

As a general note, Darklords can only make plays if they have enough LP to pay their 1000 LP cost effects. If one can make a big push early (e.g. via a Shiranui Sunsaga direct attack) and get the Darklord player to below 1000 LP, then even though it was not lethal damage, it is likely enough to cripple their deck and steal the win. The only way that the Darklord player can heal up at that point is through a hard, on-field activation of The Sanctified Darklord, which can be hit by e.g. Ballista Squad the turn it is set, or through Darklord Morningstar, which is susceptible to Floodgate Trap Hole.

Siding in battle traps like Wall of Disruption and Drowning Mirror Force can mitigate the disadvantages of going second in this matchup. Darklords, as a deck, rely on tech cards like Cosmic Cyclone to out backrow, and they generally only run 1-3 tech cards or risk bricking. As a result, opening and setting multiple battle traps against Darklords can slow the pacing of the game down and allow one to eventually get the Shiranui combo game going.

With That Grass Looks Greener

Most of what is already mentioned above in “Playing without That Grass Looks Greener” still applies. Just instead of relying on backrow or techs to disrupt the opponent, the Grass variant of Shiranui has access to the quick effects of Burgeoning Whirlflame and Shiranui Samurai to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster from grave on the opponent’s turn. Furthermore, these quick effects also allow for more proactive and aggressive plays on one’s own turn with Shiranui Spiritmaster’s on-banish effect.

The Grass variant of Shiranui cares less about who goes first in the matchup vs. Darklords. With a decent mill off That Grass Looks Greener, Grass Shiranui can often have enough resources to overwhelm a typical Darklord board.

The general idea of how to break through a Darklord board is to gather enough resources to get through both a monster effect negation from The Sanctified Darklord and a destruction protection from Darklord Tezcatlipoca. If one does not have all the resources immediately on Turns 2 or 3, then it is recommended to slow play by establishing a board and setting up for next turn. The following replay video shows a good case of this (and also nicely shows all the Shiranui Synchro Monsters coming into play) – in particular, Shiranui Shogunsaga forced out the The Sanctified Darklord and Darklord Tezcatlipoca (by banishing Shiranui Spiritmaster), allowing for Shiranui Sunsaga to get game:

Note that while the above video was recorded before the Feb 2020 banlist, most of the plays made are still valid, though getting the necessary mills is no longer consistent.

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Elementsabers - Invoked

Popular Skills: Destiny Draw, Sorcery Conduit

Without That Grass Looks Greener

Contrary to what one might think, the Elementsaber matchup can often go either way. While it is true that Elementsaber Molehu and Invoked Purgatrio can be massive headaches to the Shiranui archetype, which is synchro and fire based and made up of 0 DEF monsters, Shiranui as a deck actually has quite a number of ways to out these threats. This is thanks to the large amount of tech space in Shiranui, allowing the deck to run hard counters to Elementsabers in Artifact Lancea and Forbidden Lance, both of which also double up as good generic staples. The key to winning this matchup is to basically not allow the Invoked player to play their game and fusion summon.

• Artifact Lancea: This staple can be chained to Invocation to make it fizzle and fail to fusion summon the likes of Invoked Cocytus and Invoked Purgatrio unless the Elementsaber player has the fusion materials in hand. As of the May 2020 banlist, it is actually very unlikely now for Elementsaber decks to have the fusion materials in hand to play around Artifact Lancea. This is due to both Invoked Cocytus and Elementsaber Malo being Limited 1, forcing many players to no longer run Elementsaber Malo, thus giving up the ability to fuse Invoked Purgatrio from hand. While some of these players have started running other Fire monsters such as Fortune Fairy En in place of Elementsaber Malo, these other Fire monsters are not searchable (whereas Elementsaber Malo was searchable via Palace of the Elemental Lords). Thus, most Elementsaber players can no longer readily play around Artifact Lancea.

• Artifact Lancea also not only stops the more dangerous Invoked Fusion Monsters from being summoned, but it also stops Aleister the Invoker from being banished, even if the fusion summon goes off successfully. This is important since it stops Invocation’s grave effect, which can otherwise recycle both itself and Aleister the Invoker. Stopping this recursion makes it easier to out grind Elementsabers in the long game.

• Forbidden Lance has two key uses in this matchup. The first is its general use as a way to make one’s Shiranui monsters immune to cards like Floodgate Trap Hole and Fiendish Chain. Elementsabers are a control deck and thus run a lot of backrow. So having muliple copies of Forbidden Lance for this matchup helps one play through all the backrow.

• Forbidden Lance has a second use in this matchup in that it can possibly make an Invocation fizzle, similar to what happens when Artfiact Lancea is used. One can chain Forbidden Lance to Invocation and target the Aleister the Invoker on the field – this prevents that specific Aleister the Invoker from being used for the fusion summon, potentially making Invocation fizzle if the Elementsaber player does not have another Aleister the Invoker in hand or grave.

• If one does not open with an Artifact Lancea or Forbidden Lance, then another way to play around Invocation and prevent the opponent from using it to banish one’s Shiranui Spectralsword from grave is to actually not synchro summon on the first turn. If one sees that the opponent is playing Yami Yugi with no skill activation at the start of the duel, then one can probably assume that it is an Elementsaber player (especially if the deck size is 22+ cards). Going with this read, one can opt to leave Shiranui Squire + Shiranui Spectralsword on the field Turn 1 instead of synchro summoning. This will likely prevent the opponent from being able to activate Invocation come their turn because there are no Fire monsters in grave for them to banish. From there, a card like Ballista Squad can be used during the opponent’s battle or end phase to set up Shiranui Spectralsword in grave for one’s next turn.

• Cosmic Cyclone is also worth mentioning in this matchup; chain it to Invocation and banish it so that the Elementsaber player cannot recycle it nor their Aleister the Invoker.

Besides the Invoked engine, the other cards to worry about in this matchup are Elementsaber Molehu and Elementsaber Lapauila, both of which can readily activate their effects if Palace of the Elemental Lords is on the field. It is also important to look out for delays from these two monsters even if Palace of the Elemental Lords is not on the field, since they can both still discard an Elementsaber monster from hand to activate their effects.

Note that if Palace of the Elemental Lords is used to search an Elementsaber monster, then the Elementsaber player must skip their battle phase next turn. This can give one an extra turn to establish their board before going on the offensive.

• Elementsaber Molehu is the more annoying threat since he can disrupt one’s synchro summons and attacks by flipping down one’s Shiranui monsters. He is however vulnerable to Fiendish Chain or can just be destroyed with a Ballista Squad. Shiranui Solitaire can also help by tributing off the flipped down monsters to enable an actual play (similar to how he can clear away monsters hit by Floodgate Trap Hole).

• Chaining down an Elementsaber Molehu with Fiendish Chain and then running him over with a big Shiranui Shogunsaga is actually a common win condition for this matchup. Be wary though of the ATK boosts from Palace of the Elemental Lords possibly putting the opponent out of lethal range.

• Elementsaber Lapauila can be the more dangerous Elementsaber because he can negate one’s backrow. Playing around Elementsaber Lapauila usually requires multiple backrow: one to bait the negate and another to actually subdue Elementsaber Lapauila. Alternatively, if both Elementsaber Molehu and Elementsaber Lapauila are out and relying on Palace of the Elemental Lords to trigger their effects, then one could try baiting out Elementsaber Molehu‘s effect first so that Elementsaber Lapauila cannot be used after. This play is possible because Palace of the Elemental Lords can be help activate an Elementsaber monster’s effect once per turn, so the opponent must choose to either use it for Elementsaber Molehu or Elementsaber Lapauila.

• Revived King Ha Des is amazing for taking out the Elementsaber monsters. Any Elementsaber monsters that get destroyed in battle while Revived King Ha Des is face-up on the field get their effects disabled in the grave. This prevents the Elementsaber player from changing the attributes of their Elementsabers in grave to fuel their Invocation fusion summons.

As a final note, avoid hitting the Elementsaber player to below 2000 LP before sealing up the game. Otherwise, this would give the Elementsaber player their Destiny Draw for any card they want to potentially steal the game.

With That Grass Looks Greener

Most of what is already mentioned above in “Playing without That Grass Looks Greener” still applies. Just instead of relying on backrow or techs to disrupt the opponent, the Grass variant of Shiranui has access to the quick effects of Burgeoning Whirlflame and Shiranui Samurai to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster from grave on the opponent’s turn. Furthermore, these quick effects also allow for more proactive and aggressive plays on one’s own turn with Shiranui Spiritmaster’s on-banish effect.

Some additional notes that apply when playing with That Grass Looks Greener:

• When using e.g. Burgeoning Whirlflame and Shiranui Spiritmaster defensively, one usually wants to save Shiranui Spiritmaster’s on-banish effect that turn for the Invoked Purgatrio. Usually, the opponent will only be able to summon one Invoked Purgatrio that turn, so getting rid of it can stop all their offensive momentum.

• A smart opponent will recognize when their Invoked Purgatrio can get disrupted though and might instead go into Invoked Cocytus to slow play. This is where Shiranui Samurai shines – he can simply banish Invoked Cocytus by ramming into it after activating his on-board quick effect.

• Make sure to put Shiranui Solitaire’s effect on Chain Link 2 when banishing him off Burgeoning Whirlflame to dodge Floodgate Trap Hole, as mentioned in the “Playing Optimally with Burgeoning Whirlflame” subsection of the guide.

• Nine-Tailed Fox can be great in this matchup to clear away monsters hit by Floodgate Trap Hole or Fiendish Chain.

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Gouki

Popular Skills: Balance, Endless Trap Hell, Sealed Tombs

This can be an annoying matchup for Shiranui, since competitive Gouki decks often run many trap cards as well as multiple copies of Necrovalley. The former can stop one’s usual Shiranui synchro plays while the latter shuts off Shiranui Spectralsword in grave as well as Shiranui Sunsaga’s protection. However, Gouki live and die by their backrow and floodgates, so if one can push through those, then the Gouki monster themselves are no real threat to the likes of Shiranui Sunsaga.

• vs. Necrovalley: This is the biggest threat of the matchup, often just stealing the game for Gouki. Part of the annoyance here is due to the Shiranui deck being unable to run more than 1 copy of Cosmic Cyclone. Thus, Shiranui has to often rely on traps like Ballista Squad to remove Necrovalley, requiring one to play a slower and more patient game. Because the outs to Necrovalley are relatively few, it is recommended to conserve one’s Cosmic Cyclone or Ballista Squads (and Bad Aims, etc) for the Necrovalley. Even if Necrovalley is not on the field yet, one should always consider the possibility that the Gouki player can draw it next turn; and so, it is best to play conservative in this matchup with one’s spell/trap removal unless there is lethal that turn.

• vs. Ballista Squad: Much like Shiranui, Gouki synergizes a lot with Ballista Squad, since the Gouki monsters can search one another when tributed off the field. This lets them always have another Gouki ready in hand to replace the one that they just lost. Their reliance on Ballista Squad makes getting out Archfiend Zombie-Skull as fast as possible a great boon to the matchup to protect one’s Zombie monsters. Shiranui Sunsaga is also great for deterring Ballista Squad, but not if Necrovalley is also on board.

• vs. generic backrow: Gouki decks tend to play the entire staple trap lineup, including multiple Fiendish Chains, Paleozoic Canadias, and Floodgate Trap Holes, and even Treacherous Trap Hole if they are using Odion for Endless Trap Hell. Much like the Elementsaber and Shiranui mirror matchups, Forbidden Lance and one’s own Ballista Squads shine here, with the former letting one protect one’s monsters from the traps, and the latter letting one unclog by tributing off any monsters that have been hit by Floodgate Trap Hole. Note that if Necrovalley is not on the field, then one might not mind letting e.g. a Treacherous Trap Hole resolve if it means there will be a Shiranui Spectralsword in grave next turn for a follow-up play.

As for the Gouki monsters themselves, the main Gouki to look out for is Gouki Twistcobra, which can via quick effect tribute any Gouki (even if face down) on the field to boost another Gouki’s ATK by the original ATK of the tributed Gouki. Gouki players can reliably abuse this effect thanks to the swarming power of Gouki Suprex, which can special summon Gouki Twistcobra from hand. It is important to know that Gouki Twistcobra’s effect can be used both offensively and defensively:

• vs. an offensive Gouki Twistcobra play: When the Gouki player attacks with the first of their two Gouki, it is often best to hold off on using backrow. Gouki Twistcobra can just tribute off the Gouki that is being targeted by the backrow to essentially make it useless, and then the Gouki player can still attack with their second Gouki, which will have the combined attack of both. So it is usually better to use one’s backrow on the second Gouki attack if Gouki Twistcobra is present.

• vs. a defensive Gouki Twistcobra play: Gouki Twistcobra‘s effect can be used defensively in two ways. The first is the obvious boost to make a Gouki’s ATK bigger than that of the attacking monster. Make sure to calculate the combined ATK value of the Gouki on the field before attacking.

• vs. a defensive Gouki Twistcobra play: The second use of Gouki Twistcobra‘s effect defensively is to make an attack fizzle in damage step. This is the Gouki player’s main way to avoid lethal from a big Shiranui Shogunsaga. On damage step, the Gouki player activates Gouki Twistcobra to tribute off the Gouki monster that Shiranui Shogunsaga is attacking. This makes Shiranui Shogunsaga’s attack come to a full stop because it is during the damage step. To counteract this play, one really wants to remove Gouki Twistcobra from the field before attacking, usually with something like Ballista Squad or a board wipe with Shiranui Sunsaga.

Shiranui Sunsaga is really the key to outing a defensive Gouki Twistcobra, since his board wipe effect can just destroy the Gouki to clear the way for direct attacks. Watch out of course for backrow like Karma Cut when making the push. Speaking of key monsters, Revived King Ha Des can also be great in this matchup, since his effect negates all the Gouki search effects when they are destroyed by battle. This can be crucial for the grind game by stopping the Gouki player’s flow of always having another Gouki ready in hand.

At the end of the day, the biggest factor to winning this matchup is patience. Play conservative with one’s spell/trap removal and backrow, bait out the opposing backrow, and wait for an opportunity to wipe the Gouki player’s monsters and push for game.

Side Deck / Tech Choices

HERO

Popular Skills: Bring it!, Master of Fusion, Switcheroo

The matchup vs. HEROes is actually manageable if one opens up with the appropriate backrow to disrupt their OTK combos, namely Ballista Squad (or Raigeki Break to a lesser extent), Fiendish Chain or Divine Wrath, Artifact Lancea, Forbidden Lance, and Sphere Kuriboh being the key cards. Otherwise, the Shiranui archetype does not have any inherent ways to stop a Turn 2 HERO OTK. On the bright side, HEROes are a glass cannon archetype with no inherent disruption of their own – this means that Shiranui can usually set up in their face without any worry.

• When interacting with a HERO player during their bread-and-butter combo, one wants to hold Ballista Squad for Vision HERO Increase when he uses his effect from the spell/trap zone. By chaining to Vision HERO Increase’s effect and removing him from the field before it can resolve, his effect essentially gets negated. Cosmic Cyclone can also be used similarly here. Stopping Vision HERO Increase is key because his effect would otherwise summon Vision HERO Vyon from the deck to search Polymerization for a deadly fusion play.

• Alternatively, if one opens with a negation tech like Fiendish Chain or Divine Wrath, then one might want to consider negating the effect of Elemental HERO Stratos to search a HERO or Vision HERO Faris to tutor Vision HERO Increase. In the former case, negating Elemental HERO Stratos can potentially end the HERO player’s turn, since they have burned their normal summon already. The only way for the HERO player to continue their combo is by having Vision HERO Faris already in hand. Meanwhile, negating Vision HERO Faris can stop Vision HERO Increase from coming out, which, as already stated, stops the fusion plays with Vision HERO Vyon.

• Artifact Lancea can also stop the fusion plays by being used before Vision HERO Vyon activates his ignition effect. Either chain Artifact Lancea to Vision HERO Vyon’s mill effect or Toggle ON and use it immediately after the mill effect resolves. This stops Vision HERO Vyon from banishing to search Polymerization. Be careful though against players using Master of Fusion, since they can still add Polymerization to their hand if they already lost 1000 or more LP.

• Forbidden Lance can be used to stop Mask Change, which otherwise can be used to let the HERO player dodge spot removal and negation effects (barring Divine Wrath) on their monsters. Chain Forbidden Lance to Mask Change and target the HERO that is being targeted by Mask Change. This makes that HERO unaffected by Mask Change, stopping the likes of Masked HERO Anki or Masked HERO Blast from being summoned.

• There is not much one can do if the HERO player opens the nuts with multiple Mask Changes – the best bet is to tech in multiple Sphere Kuriboh and hopefully open with them to stop lethal from Masked HERO Anki. Sphere Kuriboh is also excellent against Vision HERO Trinity, if he actually comes out.

Backrow aside, an early Shiranui Sunsaga (via Level Augmentation) is not the worst of plays in this matchup, since HEROes rely on battle to do damage and can have trouble getting over Shiranui Sunsaga’s 3500 ATK plus destruction protection. The main threats to a Shiranui Sunsaga play are Vision HERO Trinity, Vision HERO Adoration, and Masked HERO Blast.

• Vision HERO Trinity: This card is self-explanatory, being able to hit 5000 ATK and attack 3 times. One might actually want to let Shiranui Sunsaga die to a Vision HERO Trinity attack so that Vision HERO Trinity cannot attack him again for more damage.

• Vision HERO Adoration: One needs to careful of this card’s ignition effect to lower Shiranui Sunsaga’s attack. Chaining to and removing the HERO monster next to Vision HERO Adoration with e.g. Raigeki Break will stop his effect, if one cannot just negate it.

• Masked HERO Blast: This is probably the most annoying HERO in the matchup since his ATK debuff is permanent, and he can bounce backrow. This makes Fiendish Chain unable to negate his ATK debuff effect, since he can just chain his other effect to bounce and “negate” Fiendish Chain. Thankfully, the HERO player only has 1 copy of Masked HERO Blast and cannot “protect” him with Mask Change. This makes Masked HERO Blast an easier target for Ballista Squad than the other HERO monsters.

Some final caveats that might come up in this matchup:

• Elemental HERO Strato‘s second effect to destroy one’s spells/traps can actually be stopped by removing the face-up HERO monsters next to him from the field. For example, if the HERO player summons Elemental HERO Solid Soldier, then special summons Elemental HERO Stratos, then flipping the Elemental HERO Solid Soldier face down with Paleozoic Canadia will make Elemental HERO Stratos’s effect do nothing.

• Needle Ceiling is an excellent card for this matchup since HERO decks like to spam the board with monsters. HERO players also cannot dodge Needle Ceiling with Mask Change since Needle Ceiling does not target.

• Some HERO decks like to play Destiny HERO Plasma, especially if they are running Aster (i.e. the Bring it! skill). It is usually best to deal with Destiny HERO Plasma with e.g. Ballista Squad or Floodgate Trap Hole ASAP before it can steal a key monster like Shiranui Sunsaga. Alternatively, one can just slow play vs. him if there is nothing noteworthy for Destiny HERO Plasma to steal, since the HERO player likely has few resources left to make a big push after summoning him.

• Gold Sarcophagus is worth mentioning as an out to Destiny HERO Plasma by banishing Shiranui Spiritmaster from deck.

• As said in the beginning, HERO decks have no inherent disruption of their own, so any backrow that they set are likely just Mask Changes or Cosmic Cyclones. This lets the Shiranui player do their usual plays without fear of being interrupted.

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Neos - Invoked

Popular Skills: Switcheroo

The Neos - Invoked matchup is similar to the Elementsaber - Invoked matchup, since the main threat here is also the Invoked engine. The differences between these two matchups are that:

• (1) Neos - Invoked decks actually have easy access to a Fire monster in hand to play around Artifact Lancea when fusion summoning Invoked Purgatrio.

• (2) Neos - Invoked decks run a much more dangerous lineup of traps, including Karma Cut and Ultimate Providence, which take advantage of the massive hand advantage that the deck generates.

Both of these factors make Neos - Invoked arguably a more annoying matchup than Elementsaber - Invoked.

First off, some reminders from the Elementsaber - Invoked matchup that also apply here:

• Artifact Lancea: This staple can be chained to Invocation to make it fizzle and fail to fusion summon the likes of Invoked Purgatrio unless the Neos - Invoked player has the fusion materials in hand. However, Unlike the Elementsaber players, Neos - Invoked players often have a Fire monster in hand, since their deck is all about gaining card advantage with repeated searches of Volcanic Shell.

• At the very least, Artifact Lancea can still prevent the Neos - Invoked player from banishing one’s own Shiranui Spectralsword from the grave, and it also stops Aleister the Invoker from being banished, even if the fusion summon goes off successfully. This is important since it stops Invocation’s grave effect, which can otherwise recycle both itself and Aleister the Invoker. This is not only important for the grind game, but it can also deter the Neos - Invoked player from going on the offense, since their monsters are otherwise too weak to deal with the likes of Shiranui Sunsaga without the boost from Aleister the Invoker.

• Forbidden Lance has two key uses in this matchup. The first is its general use as a way to make one’s monsters immune to the powerful backrow that Neos - Invoked decks run, including Karma Cut and Raigeki Break.

• Forbidden Lance has a second use in this matchup in that it can possibly make an Invocation fizzle, similar to what happens when Artfiact Lancea is used. One can chain Forbidden Lance to Invocation and target the Aleister the Invoker on the field – this prevents that specific Aleister the Invoker from being used for the fusion summon, potentially making Invocation fizzle if the opponent does not have another Aleister the Invoker in hand or grave.

• If one does not open with an Artifact Lancea or Forbidden Lance, then another way to play around Invocation and prevent the opponent from using it to banish one’s Shiranui Spectralsword from grave is to actually not synchro summon on the first turn. If one sees that the opponent is playing Bandit Keith with a thicker deck than usual (e.g. 22+ cards), then one can probably assume that it is a Neos - Invoked player. Going with this read, one can opt to leave Shiranui Squire + Shiranui Spectralsword on the field Turn 1 instead of synchro summoning. From there, a card like Ballista Squad can be used during the opponent’s battle or end phase to set up Shiranui Spectralsword in grave for one’s next turn.

• Cosmic Cyclone is also worth mentioning in this matchup; chain it to Invocation and banish it so that the Elementsaber player cannot recycle it nor their Aleister the Invoker.

The Invoked engine aside, the other cards to worry about in this matchup are the powerful “discard traps”: Karma Cut, Raigeki Break, and Ultimate Providence. Normally, discard traps are hard to utilize in Duel Links because of the smaller starting hand size. However, the Neos half of the Neos - Invoked deck is very efficient at sending a copy of Volcanic Shell to grave. From there, that copy of Volcanic Shell can be used to fetch another copy from deck to generate the hand advantage needed for the discard traps. These discard traps make anti-backrow cards incredibly important for the matchup.

• Forbidden Lance aside, generic backrow removal like Cosmic Cyclone and Night Beam, as well as the usual Ballista Squad, help a lot, especially for sniping off the Ultimate Providences. Since Ultimate Providence is a counter trap, Forbidden Lance cannot be chained to it. Thus, the best the way to deal with Ultimate Providence is to remove it before it can be used to negate. Similar to the Blue-Eyes matchup, it is recommended to slow play if one suspects a Ultimate Providence based on the delays; e.g. rather than summoning Shiranui Squire and walking into Ultimate Providence, one can set Shiranui Spectralsword and Ballista Squad instead to snipe off Ultimate Providence and set up the grave for next turn.

• Summoning Shiranui Sunsaga or Archfiend Zombie-Skull as soon as possible can also help play through Ultimate Providence, since they protect one’s monsters from destruction even if the negation from Ultimate Providence goes through. However, be wary of Karma Cut, which bypasses the protection of either Synchro Monster. At the very least, if a properly synchro summoned Shiranui Sunsaga does get hit by Karma Cut, then he can still be brought back later via Shiranui Solitaire.

With all that said, the last part of the Neos - Invoked deck – i.e. the Neos part – is actually the most vulnerable and often lets Shiranui steal the win.

• The play starter for the Neos - Invoked deck, Keeper of Dragon Magic, is an easy target for lethal with a big Shiranui Shogunsaga. Keeper of Dragon Magic only has 1800 ATK, so the typical Shiranui Solitaire plus Shiranui Spectralsword combo from grave deals over 4000 LP damage from running it over. Often the full 4000 LP damage is not even needed, since the Neos - Invoked player has likely lost a chunk of LP already from their Volcanic Shell effects.

• After two Volcanic Shell LP payments or a single Cosmic Cyclone payment, Elemental HERO Brave Neos himself also becomes a target for lethal with the usual Shiranui Solitaire plus Shiranui Spectralsword combo. Just be wary of any Aleister the Invokers in the opponent’s hand, since those can be used to boost Elemental HERO Brave Neos as well.

• Once Keeper of Dragon Magic and Elemental HERO Brave Neos hit the field, they are likely staying until the Shiranui player deals with them. This actually opens up the possibility of clogging the Neos - Invoked player’s field with a big Wall of Disruption, since they will almost always start with at least those two monsters on the field. Weakening the Keeper of Dragon Magic and Elemental HERO Brave Neos and rendering them useless allows one to just focus on dealing with the third monster slot, making it easier to build up resources and establish one’s board.

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Ritual Beasts

Popular Skills: See You Later!, Shadow Game, The Tie that Binds

Without That Grass Looks Greener

This matchup can be easy or hard depending on whether one has an optimized Shiranui build. Artifact Lancea in particular just shuts down Ritual Beasts and can singlehandedly win the matchup. Early, destructive backrow like Ballista Squad is also amazing for stopping the Ritual Beast player’s combos before they can even start. Furthermore, Revived King Ha Des is a big pain for Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda, which is the main defensive card of Ritual Beasts. Without any of these aforementioned techs though, the matchup can actually be rather difficult for Shiranui.

The reasons for why this matchup can be difficult without an optimized build are:

• The contact fusion and tag-out mechanic of Ritual Beasts allows them to render most typical backrow – e.g. Floodgate Trap Hole and Fiendish Chain – ineffective. It also allows the Ritual Beast fusion monsters to tag out into Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda in response to Shiranui Squiresaga or Shiranui Sunsaga’s non-targeting destruction effects. Even though the non-targeting effects can still remove the newly summoned Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda, she can just float right back into a Ritual Beast fusion monster upon destruction.

• Ritual Beasts have non-destruction based removal in Spiritual Beast Pettlephin, which can straight up bounce one’s Shiranui Synchro Monsters back to the extra deck. Since the monsters get bounced rather than sent to the grave, one cannot even make the usual follow up plays next turn with Shiranui Spectralsword.

However, with optimized techs, the matchup swings heavily in favor of Shiranui:

• Artifact Lancea is the best staple card for this matchup since it can completely shut down Ritual Beasts for a turn. Activate it from hand immediately after the main deck Ritual Beast monsters get summoned, and they will not be able to contact fuse into their bigger fusions nor bounce anything with Spiritual Beast Pettlephin. This usually leaves the Ritual Beast player completely vulnerable to an OTK if one has already established Shiranui Spectralsword in grave.

• Ballista Squad, Raigeki Break, and Divine Wrath – i.e. cards that destroy monsters – are the best for disrupting the Ritual Beasts player’s initial play. Ignore the summon of Ritual Beast Tamer Elder and wait for the second Ritual Beast monster to be summoned. If it is anything besides Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda, then destroy it immediately with e.g. Ballista Squad to stop further plays. Or if one has Divine Wrath, use that to negate and destroy e.g. Spiritual Beast Cannahawk or Spiritual Beast Rampengu. However, if the second monster is indeed Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda, then destroy Ritual Beast Tamer Elder instead.

• Even though it was mentioned above that Floodgate Trap Hole and Fiendish Chain are not too effective against Ritual Beasts overall, they do actually have a use in the beginning of the game in flipping down or negating Spiritual Beast Cannahawk and Spiritual Beast Rampengu BEFORE the Ritual Beast player has an established banish pile. Basically, in order for Ritual Beasts to get their combos going, they need 3 Ritual Beast main deck monsters banished, with at least one of them being a “Ritual Beast Tamer” and at least another being a “Spiritual Beast”. In order to fill their banish pile, Ritual Beast players rely on the ignition effects of Spiritual Beast Cannahawk and Spiritual Beast Rampengu to get their combos started. So if one can hit them with a Floodgate Trap Hole or even a Paleozoic Canadia on summon, or negate the effect with Fiendish Chain, then even though the Ritual Beast player can still contact fuse away the monsters, they will NOT be able to make further plays. This gives one an opening next turn to take the game.

• If the Ritual Beast player does already have an established banish pile and gets their combos going, then the main use of Floodgate Trap Hole and Fiendish Chain is to stop Spiritual Beast Pettlephin from bouncing a card on one’s side of the field. Granted, if the Ritual Beast player normal summoned Spiritual Beast Pettlephin, then they are still able to loop it and special summon it again for another bounce attempt. Note though that Spiritual Beast Pettlephin, as well as the other Ritual Beast main deck monsters, have a HOPT on being special summoned. This means that one could potentially use a timely Floodgate Trap Hole on a Ritual Beast fusion monster if at least all but one of the banished Ritual Beast monsters have been special summoned that turn – then, the Ritual Beast fusion cannot tag out to dodge the Floodgate Trap Hole.

• This is a matchup where Revived King Ha Des shines. If Spiritual Beast Tamer Winda gets destroyed in battle while Revived King Ha Des is face-up on the field, then her float effect will get negated. This shuts down the main line of defense for Ritual Beasts and allows Shiranui to just aggressively beat them down with bigger monsters.

Some miscellaneous tips on this matchup:

• This is one of the few matchups where Shiranui Samuraisaga’s on-board effect might actually come up. If needed, Shiranui Samuraisaga can return a banished Shiranui Squire or Shiranui Spiritmaster to grave to switch Ritual Beast Ulti-Cannahawk to DEF. This can save one from lethal vs. a board of e.g. Spiritual Beast Pettlephin, a Ritual Beast Tamer, and Ritual Beast Ulti-Cannahawk. Chain Shiranui Samuraisaga’s effect to Spiritual Beast Pettlephin’s bounce effect to prevent an exact lethal from Ritual Beast Ulti-Cannahawk plus the Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio that gets contact fused.

• Toggle ON and use one’s backrow on Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio BEFORE it attacks. Once Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio declares an attack, it becomes unaffected by all other card effects, which can make one’s backrow useless.

• Note that Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio is unaffected by the ATK boosts from Spiritual Beast Apelio when it attacks. So do not be fooled by e.g. a 3100 ATK Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio – it will go back down to 2600 ATK when it attacks and will NOT be able to run over e.g. Shiranui Shogunsaga.

With That Grass Looks Greener

Most of what is already mentioned above in “Playing without That Grass Looks Greener” still applies. Just instead of relying on backrow or techs to disrupt the opponent, the Grass variant of Shiranui has access to the quick effects of Burgeoning Whirlflame and Shiranui Samurai to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster from grave on the opponent’s turn. Furthermore, these quick effects also allow for more proactive and aggressive plays on one’s own turn with Shiranui Spiritmaster’s on-banish effect.

This matchup is very manageable for the Grass variant of Shiranui since Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect actually destroys the Ritual Beasts instead of just flipping them face down or negating them. Destroying the small Ritual Beast monsters like Spiritual Beast Cannahawk, Spiritual Beast Rampengu, and Spiritual Beast Pettlephin is much more devastating because the Ritual Beast player cannot recover with a contact fusion (whereas they can if disrupted by a mere e.g. Paleozoic Canadia).

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Shiranui (Mirror Match)

Popular Skills: Level Augmentation, Level Duplication

As with all mirror matches, the matchup usually comes down to who draws better and manages to execute their game plan first. Getting out Shiranui Sunsaga should be the main priority, as Shiranui inherently lack an actual out to their own boss monster. Thus, whoever gets out Shiranui Sunsaga first usually wins the duel.

Some additional notes to consider:

• (1) Level Augmentation is arguably the best skill for the mirror match, as it allows one to turbo out Shiranui Sunsaga before the opponent Turn 1 and most likely control the entire pace of the duel from there.

• (2) The main form of interaction in this matchup should be to try and stop the opponent from synchro summoning as much as possible. Aim for the tuners generally with Floodgate Trap Hole and Paleozoic Canadia when deciding on what to flip face down. Flooding a Shiranui Spectralsword in particular is great for limiting the opponent’s followups. Artifact Lancea and Chaos Hunter are also a great techs here for stopping Shiranui Spectralsword’s “synchro-from-grave” effect.

• (3) Given how Shiranui can pop off once Shiranui Spectralsword is in grave, both players should and will try to avoid destroying the opposing Shiranui Spectralswords as much as possible. This includes not attacking into a potential set or floodgated Shiranui Spectralsword until there is a guaranteed victory plan. This also means that cards like Ballista Squad and Shiranui Solitaire are valuable here to get one’s own Shiranui Spectralsword in grave to start up the combos. Of course, crashing one’s Shiranui Spectralsword into a higher ATK monster is always an option if one can afford the LP damage.

• (4) Synchro summoning Shiranui Squiresaga early – e.g. Turn 1, before she can get hit by Floodgate Trap Hole – can be incredibly advantageous here as she can use her effect to pick apart the opposing backrow. Her 300 ATK boost effect can also come up as a way to let one’s monsters run over their opposing counterparts.

• (5) A tech Synchro Monster that really shines in this matchup is Doomkaiser Dragon, which can steal and revive a Shiranui monster from the opposing graveyard. This effect is not limited to reviving the main deck Shiranui monsters – as long as an opposing Shiranui Synchro Monster was properly synchro summoned, Doomkaiser Dragon can summon it. Most of the time though, Doomkaiser Dragon will be stealing an opposing Shiranui Spectralsword to help synchro climb. Alternatively, one can steal the opposing Shiranui Spectralsword and just pass if there are no further plays to make – doing so at least gets the Shiranui Spectralsword out of the opposing grave so that the opponent cannot use his effect.

• (6) Revived King Ha Des is also amazing in this matchup. Any opposing Shiranui Spectralsword that gets destroyed in battle while one’s Revived King Ha Des is face-up on the field gets its effect negated in grave. That means no “synchro-from-grave” follow-up play for the opponent next turn.

• (7) Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon is another Synchro Monster that shines in the mirror. The 100 ATK and DEF boost for each Zombie monster on the field and in grave can potentially make Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon even bigger than Shiranui Sunsaga in long games. Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon also has an effect that can steal and revive Shiranui monsters from the opposing grave and thus can be used similarly to Doomkaiser Dragon.

• (8) Shiranui Shogunsaga can be especially dangerous here – with a 2500 ATK boost from banishing Shiranui Samuraisaga, Shiranui Shogunsaga can get lethal over even a Shiranui Squire. On the flipside, this also means that Shiranui Squire can be liability here as she can give the opponent lethal via their own Shiranui Shogunsaga. Avoid ending a turn with her in ATK mode as much as possible.

• (9) Make sure to have a follow-up play for an opposing Shiranui Sunsaga after destroying an opposing Shiranui Shogunsaga. Upon destruction, Shiranui Shogunsaga can put Shiranui Spectralsword from the opposing banish pile back into the grave. Then, the opponent can just banish Shiranui Spectralsword and Shiranui Shogunsaga from grave next turn for Shiranui Sunsaga.

• (10) If the opponent’s Shiranui Sunsaga does make it out, then the best outs to it are flipping it face down with e.g. Paleozoic Canadia or negating its protection effect with e.g. Fiendish Chain. Either way, one can then destroy Shiranui Sunsaga without triggering his protection effect. Karma Cut can also be a great way to remove Shiranui Sunsaga, though be mindful that the opponent can bring him back by potentially banishing Shiranui Solitaire next turn.

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Witchcrafters

Popular Skills: Power of Dark, Show of Nightmares

This matchup can go either way, but favors whichever player techs more for the matchup. The Shiranui player can run cards like Karma Cut, Bad Aim, Fiendish Chain, and the usual Ballista Squad to deal with Witchcrafter Madame Verre, which is the main boss of Witchcrafters. However, because all of these cards are backrow cards, the Witchcrafter player can run cards like Storm, Galaxy Cyclone, and Night Beam to remove them before they can touch Witchcrafter Madame Verre.

• In this matchup, it is important to hide one’s most useful backrow by setting as many cards as possible so that the Witchcrafter player has to guess which cards to hit with their backrow removal. This means that one might actually want to consider setting Artifact Lancea as well. Plus, if Artifact Lancea does get destroyed, then it gets summoned to the field and can still be used for its usual effect.

• As implied above, the main target for all the backrow is Witchcrafter Madame Verre. Do not bother with the low level Witchcrafters (i.e. Witchcrafter Genni, Witchcrafter Pittore, and Witchcrafter Schmietta) since they can all dodge backrow with their quick effects. Witchcrafter Madame Verre is the biggest threat, since she can just negate all of one’s Shiranui monster effects on the field. This includes all of the starter effects (i.e. that of Shiranui Squire, Shiranui Solitaire, Gozuki), preventing one from setting up Shiranui Spectralsword in the grave. This also means Witchcrafter Madame Verre can just turn Shiranui Shogunsaga and Shiranui Sunsaga into (useless) vanilla beaters that cannot even beat over Witchcrafter Madame Verre, because she can boost her DEF with her second effect.

• That said, there is a way to avoid Witchcrafter Madame Verre’s negation with Ballista Squad. Because she only negates monster effects on the field, tributing the monster that activated the effect with Ballista Squad will allow the effect to resolve successfully, since the monster has left the field. This can be particularly deadly vs. Witchcrafters if it is used to let Shiranui Sunsaga’s effect go through and wipe the board.

• Bad Aim and Chain Disappearance are two fringe cards that actually come up for this matchup. Bad Aim can be chained to the Witchcrafter spells when they add themselves back to hand in end phase to destroy Witchcrafter Madame Verre. Meanwhile, Chain Disappearance can banish all copies of Witchcrafter Madame Verre from the opponent’s deck, though a smart Witchcrafter player that plays around Floodgate Trap Hole will also inherently dodge Chain Disappearance.

• Gold Sarcophagus in combination with Shiranui Spiritmaster can be another out to Witchcrafter Madame Verre, since she cannot negate Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect to destroy on banish due to him not being on the field.

• Keep track of how many spells are in the Witchcrafter player’s hand. If they are low on spells in hand, then they might not have enough to boost with Witchcrafter Madame Verre’s second effect and leave their monsters vulnerable to being run over. A well-timed Shiranui Shogunsaga after forcing the Witchcrafter player to waste their negate with Witchcrafter Madame Verre can steal the game.

The Witchcrafter spells themselves also bring about interactions (or rather lack of interactions) that one needs to look out for:

• Witchcrafter Collaboration: If the Witchcrafter player uses this card on their Witchcrafter monster, then one needs to Toggle ON and activate disruptive backrow (e.g. Fiendish Chain) before the Witchcrafter monster declares its attack. Otherwise, Witchcrafter Collaboration will prevent all backrow interaction during the attack(s).

• Witchcrafter Unveiling: This card makes one unable to respond to the Witchcrafter player’s Spellcaster effects once it resolves. This is especially dangerous in combination with Arcanite Magician, since it allows him to just activate his effect to destroy any card without worrying about interruptions. To disable Arcanite Magician in this instance, one needs to Toggle ON as soon as he gets summoned if Witchcrafter Unveiling has resolved that turn and hit him with e.g. Fiendish Chain before the opponent activates his effect.

• Witchcrafter Genni: While not a Witchcrafter spell, Witchcrafter Genni’s effect in grave can copy any of the spell effects by banishing herself and the spell. One way to stop this is to use Artifact Lancea as soon as Witchcrafter Genni hits the grave; her effect banishes for cost, so waiting until she activates her grave effect will be too late.

Finally, there are a few other aspects of the Witchcrafter deck to watch out for:

• The Synchro Monster toolbox: Witchcrafters use the Lightsworn engine, which gives them access to Minerva, Lightsworn Maiden and Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn. These tuner monsters enable the Witchcrafter player to synchro summon threats like Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier, Black Rose Dragon, Fortune Lady Every, and Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn. One should keep an eye out for a potential level 6 or 7 synchro summon and be ready to flip down or destroy the tuner monster before it happens. Most of the aforementioned Synchro Monsters are huge headaches for Shiranui, since they either bounce or banish, thus bypassing the protection effects of Shiranui Sunsaga and Archfiend Zombie-Skull.

• Witchcrafter Masterpiece: This card in the grave is the main line of defense for Witchcrafters if their board ever gets broken. Witchcrafter Masterpiece can be used from the grave to special summon a Witchcrafter monster from deck based on the number of spells banished. Usually, the Witchcrafter player will use this to summon a low-level monster like Witchcrafter Genni, which then tags out in main phase into another Witchcrafter Verre to reestablish their board. The key words to note here though are “main phase” – one can possibly play around Witchcrafter Masterpiece by trying to enter the battle phase early with a respectable board and pressure the opponent to do their Witchcrafter Masterpiece into Witchcrafter Madame Verre play early. One can then resume the main phase to deal with the newly summoned Witchcrafter Madame Verre.

• Kiwi Magician Girl: While not commonly used, this card does show up in odd Witchcrafter builds every now and then, and it completely shuts down most of the staple traps in the Shiranui deck lineup. If a Witchcrafter player drops Kiwi Magician Girl next to Witchcrafter Madame Verre, then there is likely not much to do besides taking the loss and moving on to the next game.

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Common Ladder Decks

This subsection is here to just give some brief tips against some of the more common, though non-meta decks on the ladder. These decks are relatively popular because they are cheap or have some form of nostalgia for some players. Shiranui should not have much trouble with any of these decks, but there are still some caveats to keep in mind:

vs. Evil Eye:

• This is actually a hard matchup for Shiranui due to Medusa, Watcher of the Evil Eye being able to banish one’s resources from grave. Ideally, one goes first vs. Evil Eye and flips down Medusa, Watcher of the Evil Eye with e.g. Paleozoic Canadia or locks her down with Fiendish Chain before Evil Eye of Selene gets equipped. Flipping down Medusa, Watcher of the Evil Eye immediately on summon is usually the play, because it also stops the Evil Eye player from special summoning their Basilius, Familiar of the Evil Eye from hand. However, for Fiendish Chain, one can afford to wait until Evil Eye of Selene is activated and lock down Medusa, Watcher of the Evil Eye before it resolves. It has to be before Evil Eye of Selene resolves, since otherwise, that card will protect Medusa, Watcher of the Evil Eye from targeting effects.

• Toggle ON with Artifact Lancea and be ready to activate it as soon as Evil Eye of Gorgonio hits the Evil Eye player’s grave. This stops them from banishing Evil Eye of Gorgonio for a search.

• Be careful playing too passively in this matchup, since Evil Eye can OTK out of nowhere if the Evil Eye player is low on LP. Evil Eye of Gorgonio boosts their Medusa, Watcher of the Evil Eye’s ATK by the LP difference of the players, which can get pretty large if the game drags on. The ATK boost can especially be deadly if there are also boosts from Evil Eye of Selene stacked on top.

• The ATK boosts from Evil Eye of Selene are permanent, so removing Evil Eye of Selene from the field will not reduce the ATK of the equipped monster.

• Be careful attacking into an Evil Eye monster if the Evil Eye Domain - Pareidolia field spell is in play, since that will make both players take the battle damage. This can potentially end the duel in a TIE if both players hit 0 LP due to this effect.

vs. Invoked - Variants:

• Many Invoked decks, such as Invoked - Magician Girls and Invoked - Roids, are arguably just weaker versions of Elementsaber - Invoked and Neos - Invoked. In all these variants, the Invoked engine is the main threat, so everything that is mentioned in the Elementsaber - Invoked and Neos - Invoked matchups above in regards to countering Invoked applies against these decks as well.

vs. Lightsworn - Variants:

• Kiteroid is the main nuisance when trying to push for lethal vs. Lightsworns. If possible, try to get lethal with a big Shiranui Shogunsaga over a weak monster – rather than direct attacks – to play around Kiteroid. A neat interaction here is that a 5500 ATK Shiranui Shogunsaga, after banishing Shiranui Samuraisaga, deals exactly 3000 LP damage over a Judgment Dragon that was weakened by Shiranui Samuraisaga’s -500 ATK effect. 3000 LP is the exact LP that Lightsworn players will be at after using Judgment Dragon’s effect once.

• Fortune Lady Every is often a Lightsworn deck’s main line of defense and can be annoying because of her ability to revive herself and banish one’s monster. One ideally prevents the synchro summon in the first place by destroying or flipping down the tuners with e.g. Ballista Squad or Paleozoic Canadia. But if Fortune Lady Every does hit the board, then try to lock her down with a Fiendish Chain instead of destroying her. This gives one time to establish a board that includes Revived King Ha Des, whose effect will put a stop to Fortune Lady Every once she gets run over in battle.

• Chaos Dragon Levianeer is the biggest threat of a Lightsworn deck, so Artifact Lancea can put in a lot of work here to stop Chaos Dragon Levianeer from coming out. Toggle ON with Artifact Lancea in hand and keep track of the Lightsworn player’s grave. As soon as the Lightsworn player has some combination of 3 Dark and Light monsters in grave, activate Artifact Lancea. This stops the Lightsworn player from banishing anything to summon Chaos Dragon Levianeer.

vs. Lunalights:

• Leaving a monster in ATK mode without any backrow or handtraps for disruption is the worst possible thing to do vs. this deck. This is because Lunalights can use Lunalight Crimson Fox to lower one’s monster to 0 ATK and then get lethal by attacking that monster twice with Lunalight Cat Dancer. As silly as it may sound, leaving one’s Shiranui monsters in DEF is safer vs. this deck. A Shiranui Sunsaga in DEF actually stops Lunalights cold, since they have no way to deal with him outside of battle.

• Ballista Squad can be invaluable against Lunalights to dodge an OTK. Use it to tribute off the 0 ATK monster that got hit by Lunalight Crimson Fox. Even though one might still take damage from Lunalight Cat Dancer, at least it will not be lethal damage from Lunalight Cat Dancer attacking twice.

• A combination of Artifact Lancea + e.g. Fiendish Chain can play around the anti-targeting protection that Lunalights have when they have Lunalight Crimson Fox in grave. Use Artfiact Lancea first and let it resolve, then Lunalight Crimson Fox can no longer be banished to stop targeting effects.

• Sometimes a Lunalight player will misplay and actually revive their Lunalight Crimson Fox alongside Lunalight Cat Dancer via Lunalight Emerald Bird’s effect. They do this because they want to tribute off Lunalight Crimson Fox for Lunalight Cat Dancer’s effect. However, this play leaves their Lunalight Cat Dancer vulnerable to targeting effects since Lunalight Crimson Fox is no longer in grave. Use this opportunity to hit Lunalight Cat Dancer with e.g. Fiendish Chain as soon as Lunalight Crimson Fox is revived.

vs. Neo Space / Favorite Hero

• When playing against Favorite Hero Neos, know that one can still chain targeting cards like Fiendish Chain to Favorite Hero and lock down the Neos before Favorite Hero resolves.

• Avoid trying to run over monsters against Neos if Masked HERO Koga is on board, since he can use his quick effect to lower one’s ATK during the damage step. It is best to instead deal with Masked HERO Koga via destruction effects like that of Shiranui Sunsaga or Needle Ceiling.

• A lot of what is said in the Neos - Invoked matchup above in regards to the Neos component of that deck applies here as well. In particular, Keeper of Dragon Magic is still a big target for lethal damage with Shiranui Shogunsaga.

vs. Stromberg:

• DO NOT ATTACK when Golden Castle of Stromberg is on the field unless Archfiend Zombie-Skull or Shiranui Sunsaga are on the field to protect from destruction.

• Note that Pumpkin Carriage protects Golden Castle of Stromberg from targeting and destruction, so one needs to deal with it first before using a card like Ballista Squad or Cosmic Cyclone to destroy Golden Castle of Stromberg.

vs. Superheavy Samurai:

• Be careful when attacking directly if Superheavy Samurai Gigagloves is in grave. That card can be banished on a direct attack to reduce the attacking monster’s ATK to 0. From there, the Superheavy Samurai player can threaten lethal by swinging a big monster over the 0 ATK monster. Ideally, one wants to wait on attacking directly until one gets out 3 large monsters. Then, one can go for lethal, as Superheavy Samurai Gigagloves can only block one attack. Alternatively, one can risk attacking into Superheavy Samurai Gigagloves if one has the backrow (e.g. Floodgate Trap Hole) ready to disrupt the Superheavy Samurai player’s OTK attempt next turn.

• Do not use Floodgate Trap Hole on Superheavy Samurai Wagon as that card will just flip itself back up when its effect on summon resolves.

• Prevent Superheavy Samurai Flutist from hitting the graveyard if possible by flipping it face down with e.g. Floodgate Trap Hole. Once in grave, Superheavy Samurai Flutist can banish itself to negate a card that tries to target a Superheavy Samurai monster, e.g. one’s Fiendish Chains. A combination of Artifact Lancea + e.g. Fiendish Chain can get around this – use Artfiact Lancea first and let it resolve, then Superheavy Samurai Flutist can no longer be banished to stop targeting effects.

Guide formatted and uploaded by RandomPl0x.
Thumbnail designed and created by RandomPl0x.