Shiranui Guide Published on December 24, 2019 by Axel Bendytendy Mithyard Rezileen Sakura Updated on September 7, 2020 Address recent meta shifts + Reformat for easier new player reading

Introduction

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 and turned Shiranui into an explosive combo deck. However, with the Feb 2020 banlist hitting both and , 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, , to synchro climb from the initial levels 6 and 7 into the game-ending levels 8 and 10 . The gimmick of the archetype is that 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 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 from the banished pile (via ’s effect) to allow for another synchro summon. This synchro climb also recycles 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.

Core Cards

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

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

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

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

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

On normal summon, can special summon either the level 2 tuner, , or the level 3 tuner, , 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 into the level 6 or level 7 off just one card (i.e. this is a 1-card combo). If the skill or is involved, then this one card combo can even lead into a first turn level 8 or level 10 . This effect is by far the best option for getting 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 into the level 8 or into the level 10 . Keep the special summoning restriction to Zombie monsters in mind when using cards like . If one activates ’s effect, then one cannot chain ’s effect in grave to a trap card that turn, since would not be summoned as a Zombie. This effect is a HOPT. On banish, can trigger a one-sided 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 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 that was already sent to the grave on a previous turn. When used in combination with in variants of the deck, this effect allows one to discard 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.

On board, 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, , or the level 3, . can even tribute himself – doing so would allow him to dodge on-field effect negation like . Early game, this effect is used to get out of the deck to then ideally put into the grave with a tech card like . This sets up for next turn the deadly + 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 . Mid-to-late game, this effect can also be used to send monsters to the grave for or another effect. For instance, if one has in grave from a previous turn and the level 6 on board, then one can use to tribute to summon another tuner from deck. Then, one can use the effect of in grave to banish itself and the now in-grave to special summon the level 8 , while also still having and the other tuner ready on board for another synchro summon. ’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. . This effect is a HOPT. On banish, 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 ). This effect is most often used for the deadly + combo as mentioned in the “Mid-to-Late Game Combos and Plays” section. This combo leads into a game-ending 5500 ATK level 8 . 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 ’s effect (e.g. via , the level 7 , or even the level 8 ’s effects). When used in combination with in 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.

On board, can trigger a effect to mill a Zombie monster from one’s deck to grave. Early game, this effect is often used to mill to set up a synchro summon from grave next turn. Ideally, survives the first turn to then mill next turn for the deadly + combo as mentioned in the “Mid-to-Late Game Combos and Plays” section. Early game, this effect can also be used defensively by milling to grave. This way, if the opponent deals with and sends it to grave, then ’s second effect can trigger to banish the 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 and get a draw and discard when dies to unload a hand full of s onto the field and grave. One can also potentially draw into an important handtrap like with this play to better survive the turn. Mid-to-late game or after a mill from , this effect becomes an incredibly flexible way to get any Shiranui monster from deck to grave to abuse with e.g. and . This effect is a HOPT. On being sent to grave, can special summon a Zombie monster from hand by banishing a non- Zombie monster from grave as a cost. This effect comes up a lot in the initial mill off . For an example, see the section on . This effect often triggers on the field from being destroyed, tributed, or used for a synchro summon. Two particularly powerful plays that come up are (1) using as tribute for a card like and (2) using for the synchro summon of . In the former case, one not only gets to destroy an opposing card with , but one also gets to special summon a Zombie monster from hand to replace . In the latter case, ’s on-summon effect will trigger first on Chain Link 2 to destroy every card on the field, allowing ’s effect to then trigger on Chain Link 1 to special summon a Zombie monster from hand for a follow up play. Late game, ’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. variants), since their effects require an already established graveyard. For that reason, neither and are used that often in the standard, balanced builds of Shiranui.

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

On normal summon, 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 – which can tutor a tuner from deck – alongside for a synchro summon. Note that if ’s effect is used to summon , then will get banished when it leaves the field instead of going to the grave. This means that one will NOT have ’s effect from grave next turn without another means of setting him up. Thus, it is recommended to almost NEVER summon off ’s effect, as getting banished for just a lone lv 6 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 , 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 ). This includes the big level 10 , which can even pop cards with its effect when revived. On banish, 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 . One of the power plays that this deck has to out opposing, disruptive monster effects is to destroy the problematic monster by banishing from the deck with . When used in combination with or in 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.

On board, 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. from grave via quick effect is incredibly powerful, giving one a form of interaction and disruption on the opponent’s turn. ’s ability to banish the monsters he battles makes him an inherent out to monsters that are normally difficult to destroy, like and opposing . This effect also allows him to neuter problematic monsters that would normally float on destruction like . This effect is a HOPT. On banish, 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 in combination with . ‘s effect can trigger off the mill to banish from grave and add e.g. a milled to hand for a combo starter. Further plays can then be made to bring back the banished 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 , which has a HOPT in-grave effect, and the level 3 , which has a HOPT on-board effect. Both tuners can be easily accessed from the deck via and ’s effects, or special summoned from hand or grave by . Between these two, the level 2 is arguably more powerful and is the central focus of the standard, balanced build of Shiranui.

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

On board, 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, 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 and the level 6 in grave, then one can activate ’s effect to banish both and special summon the level 8 from the extra deck. Note that the Synchro Monster summoned off ’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. or ’s effects respectively. ’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 and then either bring back or summon another copy of him to climb into the level 10 . See the “Combos and Plays” section of the guide for further detail. ’s effect bypasses restrictions on synchro summoning, allowing one to special summon the likes of , , and without needing . This effect is a HOPT.

On board, 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 , then this effect does not come up too often. Typically, one just uses as a vanilla tuner monster that’s easily accessed from the deck. This effect is much more powerful when running . It gives one a means of recovering Shiranui monsters banished off or 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 and a level 4 Shiranui non-tuner monster banished, with in hand. Upon normal summon, can tutor out , which then tributes himself to bring back the two banished Shiranui monsters for a level 10 synchro summon with into . Keep the restriction to Zombie monsters in mind when using cards like . If one activates ’s effect, then one cannot chain ’s effect in grave to a trap card that turn, since 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: On board, , 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 . He makes up for being a “vanilla” by having an impressive 2500 ATK stat. Typically, is summoned early game (e.g. Turn 1) to get into the grave for a synchro summon from the grave next turn. Ideally, also hits the grave by next turn so that one can banish both and from grave to special summon . On banish, allows one to target an opposing monster and lower its ATK by 500. This effect mainly comes up when is banished with in grave or by ’s effect. The 500 ATK debuff can actually come up in securing lethal damage, usually in combo with a big . Note: when is banished with to summon , ’s effect will trigger on Chain Link 1 and ’s effect will immediately trigger afterward on Chain Link 2. This technicality can chain block counter traps like from negating and destroying . 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 hits the field – and most monsters in the meta have higher ATK than those smaller Shiranui monsters – this effect rarely comes up.

Level 7: is the archetype’s main way to freely banish its own Shiranui monsters. When on board, 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, can banish HERSELF to trigger all 3 effects. Early game, is typically used to banish Shiranui monsters (usually from grave) to either trigger their on-banish effects or to set them up for 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, ’s on-resolution effects can become incredibly powerful forms of spot removal, as they DO NOT TARGET.

Level 8: is meant to be the bridge between the level 6 and the level 10 . 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 , one typically does not care about the ATK boost that 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 with to destroy an opposing face-up card, or banish to bring back a banished for another synchro summon. As a win condition in itself, can hit incredibly high ATK stats, up to 5500 ATK usually from banishing . 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 , which in combination with the now in grave can lead to a . Note that if is destroyed on one’s own turn and returns a to the grave, then that ’s effect can be used IMMEDIATELY that same turn to e.g. summon . This is because “return”-ing a card to the grave is different from “send”-ing a card to grave; thus, ’s restriction that says his effect cannot be used the same turn that he is “sent” to grave does not apply here.

Level 10: 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, 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 WILL NOT destroy anything. ‘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, also aids the deck’s grind game. On board, allows one to banish a Shiranui monster from grave to protect one’s Zombie type monsters from destruction. This protection includes himself. This effect makes 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 to not only protect but also destroy a face-up opposing card in the process.



Synergetic Tech Cards

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

These three Zombie Synchro Monsters can be special summoned off ’s in-grave effect, as it can bypass the restriction of normally needing . Of these three, is the most aggressive, as his effect negates the effects of problematic monsters like and that float or generate advantage upon battle destruction. can play a major role in winning the mirror match though – see the “Matchups” section for more details. Meanwhile, 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. and .

Note that ’s effect lingers as long as the monsters destroyed in battle remain in the grave. To put it into perspective, suppose runs over an or an opposing . In the former case, ’s effect will then prevent from changing its attribute in grave for an play later. In the latter case, his effect shuts off the opposing 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 ’s effect over .

Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon is a level 7 Zombie Synchro Monster that particularly shines in the Shiranui mirror match. can get incredibly large in that matchup, gaining 100 ATK and DEF for every Zombie monster on board and in both player’s graves. 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 or or even a from the opponent and use it against them. 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 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 or , 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 and either or a Shiranui tuner in hand. On normal summon, special summons the other Shiranui monster. If it is , 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. or 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 or . This thus leaves only one tech slot in the extra deck.

Samurai Skull

is arguably a poor man’s , but has its advantages in some respects. Unlike , ’s mill effect triggers on summon and thus cannot be stopped by e.g. and . ’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, ’s field presence discourages total field wipes from e.g. or multiple s and s. That said, does not synergize as much with the Shiranui archetype as does . Unlike , cannot mill again after it has been summoned, so it is far less effective at setting up the grave. Furthermore, lacks ’s secondary effect, which can banish a Shiranui monster to trigger an on-banish effect; this particular aspect of is especially irreplaceable in Grass variants of Shiranui. Dragon’s Mirror and Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon While initially viewed as a meme, is now worth considering as a way to unclog one’s monster zones if one does not own . started rising in popularity in Shiranui after the Feb 2020 banlist removed and from the deck, but fell back down to non-usage with the release of in the Fortress of Gears minibox. Both and can be used late game to clear away one’s monsters that were hit by . is also useful as a countermeasure against decks using , since the can still be used for fusion summoning . Additionally, after using , the opponent will likely be below 3000 LP, which is lethal range for . Of course, one should note that is no longer as popular of a skill after it was hit by the May 2020 banlist. Do note though that is a Dragon monster, not a Zombie monster. Thus, if one were to activate ‘s effect to summon a tuner from the deck, then CANNOT be used as a followup, since one will be locked into special summoning only Zombie monsters for the rest of the turn. ’s typing also means that it cannot be used as synchro material for the synchro summon of e.g. . However, the tokens that are summoned off ’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 to load one’s grave with Shiranui monsters off one card and then proceed to spam their on-banish effects with . is an incredibly powerful card if it gets milled among and other Shiranui main deck monsters. If one banishes as one of the two targets of , then one can trigger ’s effect to discard back into the grave. Since does not have a HOPT effect, it can be used again afterward to trigger more Shiranui on-banish effects. Furthermore, because 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 and , this way to play Shiranui is no longer as effective. Outside of opening the 1 copy of , Grass variants of Shiranui now have to rely on weaker mill options such as with the Lightsworn engine, , and . While these cards can still potentially get the combo plays going, they unfortunately often either mill too few cards (i.e. ) or are too slow due to being trap cards (i.e. and ). 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 , can actually be run at 3 copies. In the standard, balanced builds, can be a nice, late-game recovery card to summon back the likes of and 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 at all. For more combo-focused builds, is ideally used to discard a to grave and summon from deck. This sets up ‘s quick effect to banish 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 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 as of the July 2020 banlist. The standard Shiranui builds can still run 1 copy of either or , since they only utilize 2 copies of . 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 and . Meanwhile, 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 : trigger a one-sided effect to draw the player a card and then discard.

Banish : target and destroy an opposing face-up card on the field, i.e. essentially a free effect.

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

Banish : return another Shiranui monster in grave back to the hand, i.e. essentially a . Forbidden Lance and other anti-backrow cards Shiranui, being a synchro-based deck, does not appreciate disruptive traps like and . The deck also dislikes , which stops the effect of in grave. 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. is the most commonly used substitute for , as it is quickplay, allowing one to chain to and make their Shiranui monsters immune to cards like and for the turn. This spell also helps in the Invoked matchup as a way to potentially make an opposing fizzle. See the “Matchups” section for further detail on that. Unfortunately, is not a complete substitute for since it cannot out , but at least Shiranui can somewhat rely on for that. Other anti-backrow substitutes for include: : This can pop face-down traps without giving them a chance to respond, making it perfect for sniping off e.g. or counter traps like . 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.

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

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

Ballista Squad can be seen as the replacement for and , now that Shiranui can no longer use those cards as of the Feb 2020 banlist and July 2020 banlist. 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 , with the limitation of only destroying one potential monster instead of two. However, has its own advantage in that it can also hit backrow.

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

(3) Its cost can be used to send one’s from the field to the grave, making + an amazing 2-card opener for the deck. The idea is have tribute himself to get out Turn 1, and then tribute off with on the opponent’s turn for disruption. This sets up the deadly + combo as mentioned in the “Mid-to-Late Game Combos and Plays” section. Note that CANNOT accomplish the same thing as in the above-mentioned play. This is because will be on the field as opposed to being in the hand for to discard. Thus, an opening of + is much weaker, as it cannot guarantee that hits the grave for the followup play. The only instance where can help set up is if one opens with a in hand to discard, but such an opening does not set up the full + combo either (at least not with just 2 cards). To put it further into perspective on why is so good with Shiranui, compare the card to , one of the most powerful cards in the Shiranui archetype. Duel Links does not have yet, but is a pretty close substitute in both its cost and effect. Needle Ceiling can accomplish a lot of what does and more, but has a much more restrictive activation condition. On one hand, a 2-card opening of + can potentially board wipe the opponent’s monsters while also setting up the deadly + combo as mentioned in the section and the “Mid-to-Late Game Combos and Plays” section. also combos well with and , as these Synchro Monsters protect one’s own monsters from being wiped, while the opponent’s still get destroyed. However, 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, can be a dead card. On a last note, there is a cute interaction between and that can sometimes steal games. If is used to destroy and “return” a to grave on one’s own turn, then ’s effect can be used immediately that same turn to summon e.g. . This is of course assuming that ’s effect has not already been used yet that turn. This is thanks to the technicality mentioned in the subsection on 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 , , , , and . However, some of these popular choices can be replaced with cheaper (though less effective) alternatives such as over and or over . 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 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 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 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 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 being able to pierce through those 0 DEF position monsters for lethal. can also stun the opponent’s follow-up plays by banishing their from the grave.

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

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

Mid-to-late game, 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 out). This can open up some combo plays that normally require ’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 and . Assuming one has their grave set up with Shiranui monsters, can be used to trigger their on-banish effects while also ritual summoning e.g. to the field as a respectable boss monster. not only has his own built-in protection from destruction through , 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 is a quick effect that can trigger at any stage of battle. In particular, the ability to trigger ’s destruction effect in the damage step, when few cards can respond, can be a powerful form of removal.

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 ’s effect. One can then tune with e.g. into or even and reap the benefits of both AND ’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.

Skills

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 being the strongest monster that they can normally pump out early game. Thus, most players prefer to use either or to give the deck a stronger first turn, either going for a first turn or respectively.

It is worth mentioning that some players have found some success with and . The issue with these skills is that they do not address the deck’s mediocre first turn as mentioned above. Furthermore, 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 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 . For example, consider having the two card combo of and another level 4 monster in hand. On normal summon, tutors from deck. Then one can use and reveal the other level 4 monster in hand to raise the on-board ’s level to 8, leading to a level 10 synchro summon. The caveat with this play is that, without any prior setup, 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 ’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 opening play into a opening play with in hand. One would use the skill and reveal to make plus into a level 7 synchro summon. This play puts on board to pressure backrow while still setting up in grave for next turn.

(3) It can modify what would normally be a summon into a summon if there is a in hand to reveal for . This combination turns plus into a level 8 synchro summon for , which can then banish the to draw and discard a card. This play, while rare, gives the deck a Turn 2 OTK option with an immediate 4500 ATK . Level Duplication Similar to , 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 . For example, consider again the two card combo of and another level 4 Zombie monster in hand. On normal summon, tutors from deck. Then one can use and reveal the other level 4 Zombie monster in hand to make the on-board level 4, leading to a level 8 synchro summon. From there, one can then activate ’s effect on summon to banish the 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 next turn or even a summon if goes to grave. And of course, this play also gives the deck a Turn 2 OTK option with an immediate 4500 ATK .

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

(3) Mid-to-late game, it can turn a plus pairing on board into a summon instead of the usual summon. Reveal a level 4 monster in hand to make level 4 and enable a level 10 synchro summon. This can then pop at least 1 card on summon by returning the 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 , then 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 was incredibly beneficial in that matchup. However, if the meta does call for an immediate , then the extra draw from the plus opening is arguably more valuable.

(2) is arguably better the more optimized the deck because of the extra draw from banishing . An optimized Shiranui build with multiple copies of ideal techs and backrow like , , and 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 from might be more valuable to make up for the lack of better techs and backrow.

Example Decks

Current Standard Build

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 . Or if one expects to see a lot of Dark Magician decks on ladder, then one can include cards like and . and are also good choices, with 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

PAST META Sample Decks

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.

Combos and Plays

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 and use her effect to special summon from hand or (ideally) deck.

(2) Use + to synchro summon level 7 .

(3) Activate ’s effect to banish 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 ’s effect. In general, this play also allows one to unload a potential 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:

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 and use her effect to special summon from hand or (ideally) deck.

(2) Use + to synchro summon level 6 .

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

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

The end game state here is:

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 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 and use his effect to special summon .

(2) Activate ’s effect to tribute either Shiranui monster on board to special summon from deck.

(3) Use the remaining level 4 Shiranui monster on board + to synchro summon level 7 .

(4) Activate ’s effect to banish 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 ’s effect as well as a targeting destruction on any opposing face-up card with ’s on-banish effect.

The end game state here is:

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 and use his effect to special summon .

(2) Activate ’s effect to tribute either Shiranui monster on board to special summon from deck.

(3) Use the remaining level 4 Shiranui monster on board + to synchro summon level 6 .

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

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

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

The end game state here is:

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 and in grave

Mid-to-Late Game Combos and Plays

Shiranui Spectralsword + Shiranui Solitaire in grave

(1) Activate ’s effect in grave to banish itself and to special summon and trigger ’s on-banish effect to special summon back from the banished pile.

(2) Use the on board + to synchro summon and activate his effect to banish and gain 2500 ATK.

(3) Activate ‘s effect on banish to decrease an opposing monster’s ATK by 500.

This is the deadly + combo that often ends games. The combination of a 5500 ATK and -500 ATK debuff from ’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 or with ’s effect instead of , if the -500 ATK debuff is not needed.

The end game state here is:

on board with 5500 ATK!

A -500 ATK debuff on an opposing monster if were banished off ’s effect

Guaranteed follow up play next turn with 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 and in hand, and sitting on the made from 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 .

(2) Activate ’s effect to tribute himself and special summon another from deck.

(3) Use the on board + to synchro summon and activate his effect to banish and gain 2500 ATK.

(4) Activate ‘s effect on banish to decrease an opposing monster’s ATK by 500.

(5) Activate ’s effect in grave to banish itself and to special summon any level 6 Zombie Synchro Monster and trigger ’s on-banish effect to special summon back from the banished pile.

The end game state here is:

on board with 5500 ATK!

LV 6 Zombie Synchro Monster on board with 2450 or 2500 ATK

One recycled back on board for use next turn

Guaranteed follow up play next turn with the second 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 on board + to synchro summon and activate his effect if needed.

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

The end game state here is:

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 in grave

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

(1) Normal summon .

(2) Activate ’s effect to tribute and special summon from deck.

(3) Activate ’s effect in grave to banish itself and to special summon and activate his effect if needed.

(4) Use the on board + to synchro summon .

(5) Activate ’s effect to banish from grave and trigger his on-banish effect to special summon back from the banished pile.

The order in which one summons and can actually be switched. If one fears an opposing backrow card, then one can summon first and snipe away the backrow. The monster banished to trigger here CANNOT be though. This is because one needs to banish off ’s effect instead to bring back 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 ends up being only 3500 ATK.

The end game state here is:

on board with 3000+ ATK (more if his effect were triggered)

on board with 2400 ATK

on board with 2500 ATK

1 non-targeting spell or trap destruction

Option 4: End on Shiranui Sunsaga + Shiranui Squiresaga

(1) Normal summon .

(2) Activate ’s effect to tribute and special summon from deck.

(3) Use the on board + to synchro summon .

(4) Activate ’s effect in grave to banish itself and to special summon .

(5) Activate ’s effect to banish from grave and trigger his on-banish effect to special summon back from the banished pile.

(6) Use the on board + to synchro summon and activate his effect if needed.

(7) Activate ‘s effect to boost all of one’s monsters by +300 ATK and also destroy a backrow card.

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

The end game state here is:

on board with 3500+ ATK and destruction protection

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 in grave

The 2x Shiranui Sunsaga play with Level Augmentation

This is a 2-card, two turn combo that puts out a big on the first turn for massive field presence and a second 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 and use her effect to special summon from hand or (ideally) deck.

(2) Activate to boost the level of either monster on board by revealing in hand.

(3) Use + to synchro summon level 10 .

The end game state here is:

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 in grave

Second Turn: End on 2x Shiranui Sunsaga

(1) Activate ’s effect in grave to banish itself and to special summon and activate ’s on-banish effect if desired.

(2) Normal summon .

(3) Activate ’s effect to tribute himself and special summon another from deck.

(4) Use the on board + to synchro summon and activate his effect to banish from grave, which then triggers ’s on-banish effect to special summon back from the banished pile.

(5) Use the on board + to synchro summon the second and activate his effect if needed.

Note that 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 from destruction effects like . One cannot rely on protection from at this point in the combo because there will be no Shiranui monsters in grave to banish.

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

The end game state here is:

TWO 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 in grave

Playing vs. Sealed Tombs

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

Stopping ’s graveyard effect for follow-up plays.

Stopping from being a valid Turn 1 play, as he can no longer banish Shiranui monsters from grave to protect himself.

Stopping 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 ) as well as the turn after is clicked. While 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 or 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 , 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 .

Playing vs. Artifact Lancea

is a handtrap that, like , can stun the Shiranui deck’s combo plays for a turn. Usually, will be chained to ‘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 , one wants to play conservative with their backrow against to live another turn. Note that it is often easy to read when the opponent has 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 in hand. This lets one know ahead of time when to play conservatively to not lose to a timely stun.

Playing vs. No Mortal Can Resist

The skill is the most deadly for Shiranui – that skill can essentially wipe away all the resources in one’s grave, including . 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 is to actually keep banished and out of the grave on the opponent’s turn. For non-Grass Shiranui, this can be done by banishing off or ’s effects. in particular will be able to put back into the grave when destroyed for a followup next turn. Meanwhile, Grass Shiranui has more avenues to banish their (e.g. with ) as well as more ways to recover the banished with multiple copies of .

As of the May 2020 banlist, 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 is Dark Magician, via . So if one is playing against an Ishizu Dark Magician, then definitely keep in mind. Otherwise, the Ishizu player is more likely playing .

Playing with That Grass Looks Greener

Side Deck:

First, see the subsection on and in the “Synergetic Tech Cards” section of the guide for a basic overview.

Note that as of the Feb 2020 banlist hitting both and , this variant of Shiranui is no longer considered top tier. However, it can still be played for fun with the Lightsworn engine (i.e. ) and as ways to make up for the missing copies of . 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 and . 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

“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 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

is the other key card besides 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, 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.

: Draw a card, then discard a card, i.e. a effect. Note that one can just discard to go +1 in card advantage and also use again in the same turn, as its effect from grave is not a HOPT.

: 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 ‘s effect). On one’s own turn, this effect facilitates the synchro climbs of the deck. On the opponent’s turn, gives this effect a use defensively by banishing during the battle phase to summon a Shiranui monster and block an opposing direct attack.

: Destroy an opposing face-up card. allows for this effect to be used anytime during the opponent’s turn, making it the main form of disruption for the deck.

: Add a Shiranui monster back to hand from grave. This effect is mainly used to get back a combo starter such as or to normal summon.

: Lower an opposing monster’s ATK by 500. It is actually rare to want to banish with instead of , 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 first and then second with , then gets banished first, putting it on Chain Link 1, while 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 . Consider the following examples:

The opponent has on board and one banishes and in that order with . ’s effect triggers on Chain Link 1 targeting the , while ’s effect immediately triggers after on Chain Link 2. Because ’s effect ends up on Chain Link 2, CANNOT chain to ’s targeting effect and negate, allowing one to safely destroy it.

The opponent has set and one banishes and in that order with . Similar to the above example, CANNOT be chained to ’s effect and negate. It can however be chained to and negate ’s effect.

The opponent has set and one banishes and in that order with . ’s effect triggers first on Chain Link 1, while ’s effect triggers second on Chain Link 2. This causes ’s effect to resolve LAST. Thus, ’s effect to summon a monster IS NOT the LAST action to happen on the Chain Link, causing to miss timing and be unable to hit the newly summoned monster.

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

The other key thing to keep in mind when using is the count of each Shiranui monster in grave. Ideally, there should be a in grave to banish off 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 without a 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 . A common mistake is to banish 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 s 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 mill can do that if and are both among the cards milled. Even just milling and (but no ) can be fine, since that combination can be used to block a direct attack.

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

Keep an eye out for the following combo, as it not only gets 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 ’s effect upon being sent to grave to banish and special summon the Zombie in hand.

(2) Activate ’s effect on banish to add back to hand.

(3) Normal summon and activate his effect to special summon .

(4) Activate ’s effect to tribute and special summon a Shiranui tuner from deck.

(5) Synchro summon using and the Shiranui tuner.

(6) Because was summoned off ’s effect, he gets banished upon leaving the field. Activate ’s effect on banish to special summon .

(7) If the Synchro Monster summoned in step (5) were , 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:

on board with 1800 or 2100 ATK

or on board with 2500 ATK and 2400 ATK respectively

A third Zombie monster on board

‘s quick effect live with in grave for disruption on the opponent’s turn

1-2 extra cards in hand, depending on whether the 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 and then to get on board. It does not have to be via this combo – e.g. a combination of ’s effect to banish from grave and to banish 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 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:

and : As discussed in the “Combos and Plays” section of the guide, simply having with ’s effect live in grave leads to an instant 5500 ATK as well as a -500 ATK debuff on an opposing monster. This lets the 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.

: Getting 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 to steal lethal undisrupted.

: Look for ways to summon and synchro with in case backrow destruction is needed next turn, and try not to use up those resources. will allow one to go into , , or even to clear the opposing board. Some of the common ways to set up these synchro summons are: Having both and ready to banish to get on board. Having ready to banish to add back to hand to normal summon. This is shown in the replay video above in the “Establishing a Board” subsection. The board wipe led to an easy lethal with the and combo into a 5500 ATK . Saving in hand to normal summon next turn and special summon from grave.

+ : If one does not mill for the above-mentioned combo with , then be on the look out for ways to get next turn for his on-board effect. This is an alternative combo for getting out the deadly 5500 ATK . After using ’s effect next turn, use ’s on-board effect to get back , assuming there is an open monster zone. From there, synchro climb into like in the usual and combo.

“Turn 2” Plays - Looking for an OTK

The main Turn 2 OTK option for Grass Shiranui is the 5500 ATK . 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 ’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 . In general, one needs to mill and have access to and , with the latter usually accessed through or for the initial synchro summon into .

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

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

(1) Activate ’s effect upon being sent to grave to banish and special summon the Zombie in hand.

(2) Activate ’s effect on banish to add back to hand.

(3) Normal summon and activate her effect to special summon from deck.

(4) Synchro summon using and .

(5) Activate in grave to banish and and add to hand.

(6) Activate ’s on-banish effect to draw a card and discard .

(7) Activate in grave to banish and another Fire attribute monster and add to hand.

(8) Activate ’s on-banish effect to special summon from the banished pile. If the other Fire attribute monster were , then activate ’s effect to destroy an opposing face-up card.

(9) Synchro summon using and and activate ’s effect to banish and boost to 5500 ATK.

(10) Activate ‘s on-banish effect to decrease an opposing monster’s ATK by -500.

Note that opening with in hand can also work – in that case, and 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 and instead in step (6) to special summon back the . 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 ’s effect upon being sent to grave to banish and special summon the Zombie in hand.

(2) Activate ’s effect on banish to add back to hand.

(3) Normal summon and activate his effect to special summon from grave.

(4) Synchro summon using and . Because was summoned off ’s effect, he gets banished upon leaving the field.

(5) Activate in grave to banish and in that order and add to hand.

(6) Activate ’s effect to destroy an opposing face-up card, then activate ’s on-banish effect to special summon from the banished pile. ’s effect is Chain Link 1 and cannot be negated, while ’s effect is Chain Link 2, allowing the to dodge .

(7) Synchro summon using and and activate ’s effect to banish and boost to 5500 ATK.

(8) Activate ‘s on-banish effect to decrease an opposing monster’s ATK by -500.

Note that opening with in hand can also work – in that case, and 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 ’s effect upon being sent to grave to banish and special summon the Zombie in hand.

(2) Activate ’s effect on banish to add back to hand.

(3) Normal summon and activate his effect to special summon from hand.

(4) Activate ’s effect to tribute to special summon from deck.

(5) Activate in grave to banish and and add to hand.

(6) Activate ’s effect to destroy an opposing face-up card.

(7) Synchro summon using and .

(8) Because was summoned off ’s effect, he gets banished upon leaving the field. Activate ’s on-banish effect to special summon the banished .

(9) Synchro summon using and and activate ’s effect to banish and boost to 5500 ATK.

(8) Activate ‘s on-banish effect to decrease an opposing monster’s ATK by -500.

Note that opening with in hand can also work – in that case, and 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 ’s effect upon being sent to grave to banish and special summon the Zombie in hand.

(2) Activate ’s effect on banish to add back to hand.

(3) Normal summon and activate her effect to special summon from deck.

(4) Synchro summon using and .

(5) Activate ’s effect to banish from grave and destroy an opposing spell or trap card.

(6) Activate in grave to banish and and add to hand.

(7) Activate ’s on-banish effect to draw a card and discard .

(8) Activate in grave to banish and another Fire attribute monster and add to hand.

(9) Activate ’s on-banish effect to special summon from the banished pile. If the other Fire attribute monster were , then activate ’s effect to destroy an opposing face-up card.

(10) Synchro summon using and and activate ’s effect to return back to the extra deck and destroy any opposing card.

Note that opening with in hand can also work – in that case, and 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 and instead in step (6) to special summon back the . From there, proceed directly to step (10).

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

Matchups

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: , ,

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 , , , , , , , and :

can destroy the Blackwing player’s Black Whirlwind or normal summoned monster (if not ) before ’s effect resolves, thus stopping the search effect and possibly any more combo play. can also do the same thing. and are also important for removing , which many Blackwing decks run nowadays, as it can be searched with in combination with the field spell skills.

can be used similarly to in this matchup by chaining to and destroying the normal summoned monster to stop the search effect. It can also destroy as well.

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 is after the Blackwing player has committed both their effect and their normal summon for the turn. Do note that the Blackwing player can still come back from a if they have in grave.

and can also make ’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.

can be chained to ’s search effect and remove it from the field before the search resolves, stopping it entirely. also provides another out to . in combination with can also be used in place of as a out.

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

is self-explanatory vs. an all Dark attribute deck.

is worth mentioning for this matchup. It actually has use in stopping the effect of the main Blackwing combo starter, . The trick is to use on the opponent’s draw or standby phase so that they cannot use ‘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 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 can be useless at that point vs. an established board, and the threat of becomes a possibility. It is typically very difficult to play around an early , as the Shiranui archetype has little to no comeback ability if its initial monster effect gets negated. If one opens and , then one could consider just setting those two instead of e.g. summoning and just losing to a . Otherwise, if the Blackwing player has , then they have it unfortunately.

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

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 and to banish 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 ’s on-banish effect.

Some additional notes that apply when playing with :

One wants to use ’s on-banish effect to pop either the normal summon or a synchro monster. If the Blackwing player did not open , 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 – in that case, one wants to wait since that card is immune to card effect destruction. If the Blackwing player does open or , then ’s effect should usually be used to destroy when he is synchro summoned or if he is synchro summoned ALONE on the field.

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

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Blue-Eyes

Popular Skills: ,

Without That Grass Looks Greener

This matchup is favorable for Shiranui thanks to ’s high ATK and protection from destruction. These factors let the Shiranui player just sit on until they gather enough resources to make a push, as the Blue-Eyes player can neither beat over with their 3000 ATK beaters nor destroy him with ’s effect. Thus, turboing out as early as possible, especially with , 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 and , as well as to discard their 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 . Playing around 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 first, one could read the delays and deduce that there was no , 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 . This is safe because Blue-Eyes usually cannot OTK through backrow without setting up their and establishing a board first.

Turn 4: One baits out the counter trap with ’s effect, not minding if gets negated, since the important part is to just get him in grave for the plus 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. and are then used to bait and remove the remaining backrow, paving the way for to really pressure the matchup.

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

One might notice that does provide an inherent out to by tagging into . 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 being summoned in DEF) nor is it efficient on resources, with being destroyed in the end phase.

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

An even better scenario would be to stop the synchro summon all together by disrupting the synchro materials with cards like or . Do watch out for though. Avoid targeting her with e.g. or she can spawn a . Instead, one usually wants to make miss timing if the Blue-Eyes player tries to target her to proactively trigger her effect. Simply chaining a card that does not target to the Blue-Eyes player’s card will make her miss her activation window, stopping the 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 or that may come out after a set is destroyed and sent to the grave. Alternatively, one can run to avoid this issue, as his effect will negate the effects of any that get destroyed in battle by one’s Zombie monsters.

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Crystrons

Popular Skills: , ,

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 , , and (to a lesser extent) are key to winning this matchup.

Going first against Crystrons, one ideally opens with disruptive backrow such as and to stop their synchro plays. The targets for disruption are usually the Crystron tuners, and . 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 or on one’s own turn. 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 and . Both of these monsters can wipe away one’s board when summoned, and in particular can even remove from the grave and stop one’s followup plays. Furthermore, when destroyed, 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:

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

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

in grave

either in grave or on the field

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

The trick to stopping this bread-and-butter Turn 3 from Crystrons is in playing negation techs like , , and .

is the BEST card against Crystrons. It can not only negate the board wipe, but it can also negate the effects of , , and even while ignorning . That is, CANNOT negate . This is because applies a “weak” negation that only lasts during the chain link. However, , 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.

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

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

is also worth mentioning as a way to stop from banishing one’s 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 and . is also another great option for non-targeting destruction. These effects not only play around , but also the tag out abilities of and . Against variants of Crystrons, the non-targeting additionally gets around ’s negation.

One last thing to note is the importance of against Crystrons. ‘s effect allows one to safely attack into the Crystron player’s high-level Water monsters without fear of . 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 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 and to banish 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 ’s on-banish effect.

Note that, since Crystrons often run large deck sizes, often becomes a dead card in this matchup. One instead has to rely on the mills off and .

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Cyber Dragons

Popular Skills:

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 or , it is usually a win for Shiranui. For that reason, is the best skill for this matchup to turbo out .

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

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

Going second, one wants to open with backrow removal like or a card like for the . Getting rid of 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 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 or , both of which are susceptible to backrow.

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

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

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

Finally, on Zane’s 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. s, or if one already has 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 and to banish 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 ’s on-banish effect.

This matchup becomes less of a coinflip and more in Shiranui’s favor with . This is because the Grass variant has more resources and ways to extend its plays after getting hit by . should be the go-to Turn 2 to force out the . 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 . with in grave is incredibly hard for Cyber Dragons to play through. This is because their main fusion spell, , 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 plus combo.

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Dark Magician

Popular Skills: , , , , ,

Without That Grass Looks Greener

This is a difficult matchup for Shiranui because of and . The matchup is all about whether the Shiranui player can deal with these two cards, especially . Going first, one can thankfully rely on staples such as and . Going second however is usually an auto-loss unless one draws tech cards that counter , such as , , , , , and .

and going first: Going first is a huge luxury vs. Dark Magician since it lets one use cards such as to destroy the immediately upon activation. This is usually the correct play since 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 .}

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

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

: This card is nice in that it can snipe a 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 if they have another effect to chain to – in this case, they would chain the other effect, and then chain to that.

: 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 to the effects of , , or so that their Dark Magician monsters get summoned on Chain Link 2. This makes miss timing and be a dead card in hand. Still, is worth mentioning as an easily accessible, F2P tech for this matchup.

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

Other tech cards that can be great in this matchup are damage step cards like , since 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 and . Once those two threats are dealt with, the rest of the Dark Magician core is actually very manageable for Shiranui. especially is a massive win condition in this matchup, since Dark Magician players often leave a vulnerable 1600 ATK in ATK mode. A 5500 ATK deals lethal damage over a after a -500 ATK debuff from , so the bread-and-butter + 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 and to banish 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 ’s on-banish effect.

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

Some notes for this matchup:

Aim to destroy the on the opponent’s turn if one is using the plus or 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 out, and they activate , to which one responds by chaining to banish . Because the opponent has turn player’s priority, after is summoned, will trigger first on Chain Link 1, and THEN ’s effect will trigger on Chain Link 2. This lets one resolve ’s effect first and destroy before the opponent gets a banish. This is obviously good for the Shiranui player. Suppose it is one’s own turn. The opponent has out and flips up , to which one responds by chaining to banish . Because one has turn player’s priority, after is summoned, ’s effect will trigger first on Chain Link 1, and THEN will trigger on Chain Link 2. This lets the opponent resolve first before one gets to destroy it with ’s effect. The same result would happen if were chained to . Either way, this is obviously NOT good for the Shiranui player.

can be chain blocked and destroyed with ease with plus . 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 . 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 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: ,

Without That Grass Looks Greener

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

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

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

Going second and countering a typical Darklord opening board can be very challenging. Getting one’s normal summon effect negated by , 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. can help against a set by making one’s Shiranui monster immune to the negation. However, if 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 . Even then, will not work if there are multiple Darklord monsters on board to copy .

and can be lifesavers here –

can remove 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 . A lucky snipe on can swing the matchup heavily in one’s favor.

can be used to banish 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 in hand). This can potentially give one an opening to start up the