My first guide of the year is no other than Ginsetsu and her Youkai friends. Why? It’s not because of the meta. It’s because Akagi is also love and Forte Dark Dragoon (@dorkdragoon) keeps on drawing her <3.

DISCLAIMER:

The guide is based on my personal opinion on how Youkai Shadow fares in the current meta as of now. I am glad to answer questions and discussions you may have about the guide!

Forte’s drawings are comfy ❤

Both are smug as heck!

Overview

Moving on from the fandoms, Youkai Shadowcraft is a Midrange style deck since it can play aggressively or defensively based on the situation. It is rated as a tier 1 deck by most players and websites because setting up a win condition is relatively easier to do and more reliable compared to other decks. Youkai Shadowcraft use gimmicks that focus on followers with either 1 attack or defense. We will start off with the core of the deck or what at least 99% of players use.

Deck Skeleton (no pun intended)

definitely not tiermaker “cough cough*

The core card in Youkai Shadowcraft is Shuten-Doji. It is a 4 cost 1/4 follower with Bane. It also has a Necromancy(8) ability to gain an evolution point when played, which unlocks a lot of this deck’s power. When evolved, the leader gains the following effect: “When you play a follower that originally either has 1 atk or def for the first time of each of your turns, it gains Storm”. All you need is to evolve Shuten-Doji to obtain a guaranteed win condition. This wincon turns Youkai Shadow into a burst style deck where it is possible to chip your opponent down to zero.

The next card is our lovely waifu Ginsetsu, Great Fox – a 9 cost 1/9 follower. She can be used in 2 ways – accelerating at 2 or 5 cost to summon 1/3 One-Tailed Foxes with Ward and Rush for defense and tempo; or summoning normally at 9 cost to get 4 foxes with additional +1 atk and Drain. But wait… There’s more! The foxes also have last words that gives +2 atk to all allied Ginsetsu when destroyed. Paired with Shuten-Doji’s leader skill, you can have a 8 atk Rush+Drain plus a 9 atk Storm!

I will quickly brief through the other cards since I assume that you know what they do. (if not, read it yourself :P). Ceres, Eternal Bride is an annoying follower due to her Clash effect while also providing a token named Eternal Vow that discounts all Shadowcraft cards by 2 (nudge nudge* play Ginsetsu for 7 cost). Miyako, Pudding Poltergeist and her Union Burst (UB) skill can make an enemy follower as threatening as a pudding (0/1 stat). Yuki-Onna can stop an enemy follower from attacking or destroying it on Enhance. Helio, Sacrosanct Spirit summons another body when destroyed. Kasha and Demonic Procession are your main draw 2 cards while Bone Crane’s last words can be used for Demonic Procession’s Burial Rite. At least 99% of the time you will see people play 3 copies each. All of these followers except Bone Crane has an original stat of 1 atk or 1 def which is used to combo with Shuten’s leader effect.

Shinobu, Masoleum Medium is your main board clear with her UB skill or just for tempo with her evolution skill. Legendary Skeleton uses Necromancy(8) to evolve as an overstated follower for 2 cost. Some players post their list to be 2 of each but there’s nothing wrong with running 3 copies since they compliment the core cards so well.

For Ghoul, Thoth, Sora, Nicola, and Spectre, I see people run 0-3 copies of these cards depending on the player’s liking. I even saw lists where Manifest Malice is cutted to 1-2 copies to give way for other cards. Ghoul and Thoth is used to cycle the deck faster where players choose either of the two. Sora, Arcane Fist is great for tempo and value with her Evolve skill. Nicola, Forbidden Strength on the other hand is infinite value with his last words and can give you a Forbidden Art for added reach while Spectre is like Legendary Skeleton without the necromancy skill.

For techs, I see most people play 1 copy of Shiva since extra 4 damage reach is helpful for a burst style deck. Some also run 1 copy of Corpsewyrm Fafnir for a complete board reset or Guilt, Existential Blader as another draw engine.

For some reason I also see cards like Zanshiki-Warashi and Mechasaw Deathbringer. While they are both good cards in terms of value, it takes quite a bit of set-up to maximize their full potential and they may interfere with the main game plan. Lara, Soul Taker can create many interesting gimmicks especially when paired with the Demonic Procession’s Burial Rite for a total of 5 cost. Ephemera, Sword Angel and Dawn’s Splendor were popular at the start of the expansion but people rather want Shadow cards for the Eternal Vow discount later on. I faced someone on ladder who uses Mino, Crafty Reaper which is for burst damage and a guy who posted a list with Fatal Fields. All of these cards has their own gimmick against certain match-ups which can be used to catch someone off guard especially in tournaments.

Mulligan

The Mulligan for Youkai shadow depends on the play style used. Here’s a table for mulligans with the corresponding play style. The table is still generalized but I’ll try to explain it more specific in Match-Ups.

Aggressive playstyle vs: SB/Ntr Rune, Leod Sword,

Midrange/Control playstyle vs: Youkai Shadow, Guardian/Ntr/Control Forest, Evo/Levin/Ntr Sword, Ntr Dragon, AF/PP Portal, Elana/Ward/Ntr Haven

Defensive playstyle vs: Amataz Forest, Aggro Blood/Dragon,

For aggressive playstyle, you want to curve your tempo and output as much chip damage as possible to keep your wincon within reach as time goes by. For midrange and control playstyle, you want to control the board as much as possible and snowball your lead. For defensive playstyle, you want to fight for the board and prevent your opponent’s wincon.

Match-ups

vs Spellboost Shikigami Rune: (Not Favorable) Against SB Rune, you need to pull the most oppressive 1234 curve as much as possible for early chip damage (t1 Miyako, t2 Bone-crane/Leggo Skeleton, t3 Helio/Kasha and so on) since they have no cards that restore hp then finishing it off with pure tempo or with extra reach from Shuten-Doji leader effect . In this matchup the best defense is offense as the rune player will be forced to use all resources for regaining the board. They are usually able to regain the board by t6 on average but at that point you should have enough hp and time to set-up for lethal (hopefully). Going second makes the early chip damage weaker than going first but it is easier to set-up t4 Shuten-Doji and if possible t5 Ceres into Vow into Ginsetsu! It is possible to race SB Rune mid to late game to lethal as long as you don’t see a t6 Kuon/Triple Zealot played and Shuten-Doji’s leader effect is active. Yuki-onna is either good at board-locking SB Rune’s precious board spaces or to finish them off on t8 with 6 damage. Ginsetsu and her token foxes can help secure your late game burst while avoiding your opponent’s lethal through drain at the same time. Since 2 Ginsetsu counts for 18 damage overall. Demonic Procession into Eternal vow paired with legendary skeleton and Yuki-onna can prevent opponent lethal. Pic from TK Dubski vs Natura Rune: (Favorable) Natura Rune is a ticking time bomb but it will only kill you as early as t8 or later. Going aggressive can deal chip damage and also delay their wincon at the same time as they have to, again, use resources to deal with the board instead of planting trees. The card to look for is Pyromancer’s 2 damage board clear and Karyl, Catty Sorceress’s Evolve skill but they can be played around to buy some more time. Shuten-Doji’s leader effect should be enough to burst lethal at t8 or earlier. vs Leod [Ambush] Sword: (Not Favorable) Leod Sword can be a pain but it is still winnable with the right cards in hand. You can race sword with your 12345 curve (Yes, t1 Miyako for MVP) where your 5pp card is the accelerated Ginsetsu that summons 3 1/3 foxes with ward – a play that’s on par boardwise compared to their Enhanced Elegance in Action. Try to play around Elegance in Action and Ivory Sword Dance as much as possible. It’s difficult to play around Clash of Heroes since Leod will be too buffed at that point so we can only hope for the best. Teching Shiva can delay their wincon from happening; and should you play Mechasaw Deathbringer he can save you the game by running into an unsuspecting opponent’s Assassin. (Yabai!)

vs Youkai Shadow Mirror: (Even as long as you know what you’re doing) The shadow mirror is pretty interesting since anyone can win either first or second but it is very predictable. If going second, t4 Evolved Shuten-Doji is always the play while a t5 Evolved Shuten-Doji or a Ceres is the play for going first. For example, if going to t4 as first, you can play your spare Shuten-Doji and your opponent has to kill it with an evolved Shuten-Doji or evolve something else making you first on getting Shuten-Doji’s leader effect. If you reach t4 as second, you want your evolved Shuten-Doji to be at least 4 health to counter their next best play, Ceres. Turns 4 and 5 is an important pivot whether or not you can leverage and snowball your lead. These 2 crucial turns will decide who will be the aggressor and defender. Just like any burst deck, Youkai Shadow has a limited amount of burst damage to go face per turn (Ex. t8 = 6 by Yuki-Onna enhance, t9 = 9 by Ginsetsu) so try to use this information as an advantage whether you want to trade, go face, or both. Dropping Miyako t4 would be underwhelming but that extra 1 damage is crucial to set up Ceres. vs Guardian Forest: (Even because 3 def is annoying) Guardian Forest goes even with Youkai Shadow in terms of early and mid-game where shadow aims for tempo while forest aims for removal and the deployment of tokens. The more interesting part of this match-up is on turn 7 and later where union bursts are active and Greenwood Guardian becomes a 3/3 eventually with ward and Lymaga, Forest Champion starts invoking. Most Shadowcraft followers have 4 def and below which is easy for Rino, Clean Sweep Archer to clear with good RNG. On Youkai Shadow’s side, their counter-part is Shinobu, Masouleum Medium union burst 2 damage board clear which is 1 off of the Guardians’ usual defense. The Forest player only needs 2 Greenwood Guardians with Ward to trade equally to all 4 foxes; leaving other followers on board while also setting up for a future Lymaga invoke. The key cards to look out for are Ceres with her clash effect and well-timed Manifest Malice, Shinobu and Miyako. It is still possible to race lethal with Ginsetsu due to all the healing and it takes a lot of resource for Guardian Forest to kill a 9 defense follower, but always be mindful whether you can clear all their “obstacles” along the way. Their draw cycle is limited to Kokkoro, Faithful Guide, and the deck may run out of fuel without her.

vs Natura Forest: (Even?) To be honest, I have not faced Natura Forest yet, but this matchup analysis is based on my experience of how Natura Forest “should” work. Their most oppressive combo is t3 Naterran Great Tree + Fairy Blossom which can remove any tempo advantage if not dealt with accordingly. Their mid-game tempo is not as strong as Shadow’s but Natura Forest is the most flexible in terms of removals and creating pseudo-tempo (I have to kill this or the Omnis will overwhelm me). The drawback of Natura Forest is their lack of damage from hand (aside from Shiva and surviving followers) in the early game; storm damage only starts as early as t6 (Omnis and Beast). Because of this, Youkai Shadow can take their time setting up for lethal. When facing Natura Forest, always remember the 2 5s to frustrate them – namely (5 followers and 5 defense) although I saw lists running the new Rino, Clean Sweep Archer so look out for her. vs Control Forest [Many Variants]: Even Control Forest is more focused on removal or neutralizing the board compared to their Natura counterpart. Their finishers usually vary between Whirlwind Rhinoceroach, Prince of Cocytus and Zeus, the Supreme but their cores are the same utilizing Primal Giant and Carbuncle, Immortal Jewel for healing and May, Eager Elf and Irene, Harvest Defender for removal. These decks usually don’t have a board early and mid-game as they focus on setting-up their combos and removal. Youkai Shadow can try to play below the belt by curving out early game. With the loss of tools like Whispering Woods, your followers will still be hitting the face until they die. But don’t be too slow or else you will either die to OTK roach or the game will drag on until they drop Cocytus or Zeus. Control forest ‘is extremely vulnerable to bricking’ when they lose their draw cycle which you can tell by paying attention to how they clear the board. You can take advantage of that information to make their lives… miserable. vs Evolve/Levin Sword: (Even) Out of all of the current decks, Evolve/Levin Sword is the easiest deck to pull set-up Union Burst cards as their core revolves around evolving themselves. Even the union burst card itself Shizuru, Sisterly Sabreur evolves herself. Their UB can reliably be activated on t7, which is the deck’s primary tempo swing (Big Pecorine and Big Shizuru). They can also be really oppressive with a perfect 1234567 curve but may slow down half-way since they need to draw at times using Aether of the Warrior Ring and Elegance in Action. Evolve Sword packs more self-evolve cards like Lecia, Sky Saber, Twinsword Master and Steadfast Samurai ; Levin Sword on the other hand focuses on more card draw with Mina, Levin Vice Leader and Levin Scholar, while also clearing like a madman with Levin Justice. Similar to Youkai Shadow, it usually aims for a burst lethal at the end especially when Kagemitsu, Matchless Blade Evolve skill is paired with Regal Wildcat’s skill. The way to win against these decks is to prevent their lethal by threatening your own with chip damage and Ginsetsu utilities (Ward+Heal+Face); forcing them to trade while turning their big ‘busty’ followers into dust or pudding. vs Natura Sword: (Not Favorable) While Natura Sword retains their package and burst potential that already gave Shadow a lot of trouble last expansion (Leod, the Crescent Blade and Mistolina, Forest Princess), they got a new card that gains storm when buffed called Fox Lancer which makes hitting face even more reliable. There are a lot of times Shadow has to put two or more followers on board for draw or tempo which is vulnerable to Mistolina’s effect. The best way for Youkai Shadow to fend off Natura is to prevent their lethal with heal and ward (Ceres pre-evolved is fine, accelerating Ginsetsu for 5 or using a vowed Ginsetsu for 7) and try to play around Mistolina’s gimmicks. If you are able to survive until you can drop Ginsetsu, then it is possible to make a comeback (or hope your opponent never gets Bayleon). vs Natura Dragon: (Even) I feel like Natura Dragon has the same game plan as Natura Rune since they both aim to play/cut down trees along the way. Because of this, the same game plan for Natura Rune can be applied here (tempo for chip damage and burst for lethal). The goal against Natura Dragon is to outpace their lethal set-up (Valdain corrosion + final burst for lethal with either Kaya, Draconine Brawler UB, Inori, Timid Dragonmaiden UB or Wildfire Tyrannosaur’s Fanfare ). You have to also be wary against Mammoth God’s Colleseum; set up the board in such a way that you can still afford to go face after getting board cleared. It is very hard to comeback from a losing position against Natura Dragon since they have the flexibility to control the game by either to heal or dealing more face damage especially with choose cards like Ian, Dragon Buster and Garyu, Supreme Dragonkin.

vs AF/PP Portal: (Favorable) I honestly want to say EZ win but that would be incorrect. We must respect all classes (and those who are pro with it)! The reason why portal has not seen much success is because their wincon is a slow t10 Maisha (or earlier if the Portal player knows his/her stuff) and needs good setup just to survive halfway. While for PP Portal their most straight forward finisher is on t11… You have a lot of time to kill them but don’t take too much time because they can turn the tides very fast given the right hand. You also don’t want to face people who preevolves Ines, Maiden of Clouds especially if your list doesn’t run Sora. But wait, there has been a rise of PP Portal has an earlier lethal set-up by buffing a puppet via Phatom Blade Weilder, Doll Operation and Maisha’s Purgation Blade while getting the cards needed with the help of Omniscient Kaiser’s draw cycle… Just don’t fall for it… Kill them before they kill you.

vs Elana Haven and Ward Haven: (Favorable) This expansion brought a new archetype called Ward Haven and with the loss of repose cards such as Servant of Repose and Realm of Repose, Elana Haven gets another 6 cost card named Wilbert, Grand Knight. Wilbert’s leader effect can be frustrating if you try to brute force your way against their wards but perfectly placed removals like Shinobu and Miyako can do the trick. Funnily enough, Ceres value trading and Ginsetsu’s foxes with drain neutralizes Wilbert’s leader effect. vs Natura Haven: (Favorable) The new Natura Haven decks also get a couple new toys to play with, namely Wilbert, Grand Knight and Saren, Orphanage Matron. Other than that their core remains the same. Fight for the board, but keep a close eye out for Haven’s favorite card Kel, Holy Marksman. Try setting up Ceres to mitigate their chip damage as they usually need to evolve a follower to get over her. Avoid taking too much unnecessary damage or else you’re helping your opponent set-up lethal or you might get trapped and eventually can’t even afford to attack wards. Natura Haven’s most precious resource is actually the 4 remaining board spaces which decreases with every amulet and follower in play. There are times where you can take advantage their ‘board-locked’ state for unsuspecting comebacks.

vs Amataz Forest: (Favorable) Amataz Forest lost one of its reliable buffers Lily, Crystalian Conductor and as a result, finding lethals became a bit harder than last expansion. They did get Kokkoro, Faithful Guide in return but she will just clog the hand space until they reach their UB turn thus the deck just aims to use her as card cycle most of the time. Youkai Shadow can pressure the board such that they are forced to trade and at the same time keep them away from lethal with Ceres and foxes with Ward. vs Aggro Blood/Dragon: (Favorable) I put them together because both decks aim to kill their opponent as fast as possible. Even though the game plan for Youkai Shadow is the same as against Amataz Forest, these decks are different from Amataz since they are board reliant while Amataz is combo reliant thus fighting for the board is much more important. Always remember that you are not dead until you reach 0 hp. Note: When deciding on creating a guide I forgot to think of adding pics per match-up so I’ll try to put more pics after I post this.

Some Micro-decisions

1.) Maximize value on Eternal Vow if possible: Using Eternal Vow on t6 is not necessarily the best play. If your game state is advantageous or even, you can try to be a bit greedy by drawing more cards first before vowing. For example, Miyako and Demonic Procession are both 1pp and will only reduce by 1 with Vow t6. But if you either use Miyako with UB active or Demonic Procession then vow at t7, you are able to either reduce the pudding spell by 2 or possibly reduce 2 more Shadowcraft cards by 2 maximizing value.

Playing Demon Procession(skeleton br) + Miyako before playing Eternal Vow to maximize value while still clearing the board.

2.) When ‘to trade or go face‘: As a burst deck, it is important to kill your opponent as fast as possible while preventing your opponent from doing the same. In the first picture,(Shuten active) we have many choices for this turn but since we have the health advantage, Yuki-onna is the best play to threaten for lethal. It is also a safe play since we can always fight back when they spam more followers or a early t8 Ginsetsu comes with our own Ginsetsu, Shinobu and Miyako.

3.) Use information to your advantage: In this pic below, we are at a health disadvantage, and the opponent evolved Helio to try to seal the game before turn 9 (Both players have Shuten-Doji leader effect active, No vow on opponent side). We can disrupt the opponent’s game plan by using Vow immediately, use Yuki-Onna to prevent further face damage and following it up with Miyako next turn. Since we also want to be prepared for the opponent’s next move, Sora should not be played yet to save shadows for Legendary Skeleton to do work – whether going face or trading with his necromancy skill.

Now we have an even game

The opponent still carries out his/her game plan and hits face with another enhanced Helio. The most likely card the he/she will use next turn is an enhanced Yukki-Onna for lethal. With this information, we start by trading Thoth and Yuki-Onna to a follower, go face with Legendary Skeleton, play Ceres, Miyako and her pudding spell which is enough to prevent the opponent’s lethal while setting ourselves for lethal at the same time with Shinobu’s UB active next turn.

No double shinobu UB and everything was cleared except the 5/5 gg!

Although most of my examples given are from the Shadow Mirror it can also be applied to any other matchups. Maybe these examples are too easy for you guys, but I just want to put an emphasis on the importance of these game-changing decisions.

4.) Optimize your Ginsetsu plays: Even though Ginsetsu is a powerful card, it will not outright win you the game especially when used poorly. There are times where you want to prioritize value trading the foxes or sacking them for an eventual lethal but as with all things, it all depends on the situation. It’s a good thing to keep in mind as you pilot the deck.

5. Just keep playing: By playing a lot, you’ll get to familiarize any deck you face and you will have the experience to outsmart them. (No high roll pls haha)

Some Relevant Statistics (Coming Soon)

In Conclusion

Overall, Youkai Shadowcraft is a relatively strong deck that can go toe to toe with any deck in the meta making it highly popular in ladder as well as in tournaments. Depending on how the meta shifts, the deck will mostly stay at tier 1 and card choices – especially those at the 2 cost slot – will eventually narrow down.

That’s it for now. I don’t know if you learned anything new or not because many of you guys already grind this deck to GM. I do not believe my ratings on the match-ups (favorable, unfavorable or even) are absolute. High roll for every deck exists and it takes time for the meta to settle and for people to familiarize themselves with every deck. I feel like some of the match-ups I wrote might be either too situational or too abstract but at least I was able to relay how I feel about them. Thank you for reading the guide, and see you in the next post! じゃあね

Other Remarks:

I want to thank my teammate TK Kaguya for helping me out in editing the guide despite my awful grammar. I wish I can make the guide even more concise and digestive but there is always a first time for every thing.

Chotto Matte!

Why do I see a weird Shadow list that got top 2 in the recent JCG tournament by ゼオン (Zeon)?

We will never know…

Link of the JCG tourney: sv.j-cg.com/compe/view/match/1965/435233/

Contacts:

Twitter: twitter.com/Yahiko_Daichi

Team Discord: discord.gg/9mmGdmF