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

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

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

The Play Starters: Shiranui Squire (3x), Shiranui Solitaire (2-3x), Gozuki (0-2x)

These three monsters are the main starters of the deck, with Shiranui Squire being the most important, Shiranui Solitaire being the next important, and Gozuki being nice to have, but not absolutely necessary. These starters get Shiranui Spectralsword out of the deck to then put into the grave to initiate the synchro climb next turn.

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

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

• Shiranui Squire

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

• Shiranui Solitaire

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

• Gozuki

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

The Combo-Oriented Monsters: Shiranui Spiritmaster, Shiranui Samurai

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

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

• Shiranui Spiritmaster

  • On normal summon, Shiranui Spiritmaster can special summon another Shiranui monster from hand or grave, with the condition that the special summoned monster gets banished when it leaves the field.
    • Early game, this effect is used to swarm the field with either a Shiranui tuner or Shiranui Solitaire – which can tutor a tuner from deck – alongside Shiranui Spiritmaster for a synchro summon.
    • Note that if Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect is used to summon Shiranui Spectralsword, then Shiranui Spectralsword will get banished when it leaves the field instead of going to the grave. This means that one will NOT have Shiranui Spectralsword’s effect from grave next turn without another means of setting him up. Thus, it is recommended to almost NEVER summon Shiranui Spectralsword off Shiranui Spiritmaster’s effect, as getting Shiranui Spectralsword banished for just a lone lv 6 Shiranui Samuraisaga is NOT worth it.
    • Late game, this effect can be used to not only bring back and recycle tuners in the grave (particularly the level 3 Shiranui Spectralsword Shade, which has no in-grave effect), but it can also bring back any of the Shiranui Synchro Monsters if they were originally, properly synchro summoned on the field (i.e. not through the effect of Shiranui Spectralsword). This includes the big level 10 Shiranui Sunsaga, which can even pop cards with its effect when revived.
  • On banish, Shiranui Spiritmaster allows one to target and destroy an opposing face-up card on the field.
    • This effect USED TO BE incredibly accessible off Gold Sarcophagus, but not anymore after the May 2020 banlist hit Gold Sarcophagus. Before, one of the power plays that this deck had to out opposing, disruptive monster effects (e.g. that of Elementsaber Molehu) is to destroy the problematic monster by banishing Shiranui Spiritmaster from the deck with Gold Sarcophagus.
    • When used in combination with Burgeoning Whirlflame or Shiranui Samurai in That Grass Looks Greener variants of the deck, this effect provides a means of disruption on the opponent’s turn, allowing one to pop an opposing face-up card as a quick effect. See the “Playing with That Grass Looks Greener” section of the guide for further detail.
    • This effect is a HOPT.

• Shiranui Samurai

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

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

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

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

• Shiranui Spectralsword

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

• Shiranui Spectralsword Shade

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

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

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

• Level 6: Shiranui Samuraisaga

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

• Level 7: Shiranui Squiresaga

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

• Level 8: Shiranui Shogunsaga

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

• Level 10: Shiranui Sunsaga

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

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

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

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

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

Red-Eyes Zombie Necro Dragon

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

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

Generic Synchro Monsters

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

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

The main concern with running generic Synchro Monsters in the deck is the limited extra deck space. Typically, one wants at least 1x copy of each of the Shiranui Synchro Monsters plus another level 6 Zombie Synchro Monster like Revived King Ha Des or Archfiend Zombie-Skull. This thus leaves only one tech slot in the extra deck.

Samurai Skull

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

That said, Samurai Skull does not synergize as much with the Shiranui archetype as does Gozuki. Gozuki‘s secondary effect to banish a Zombie monster from one’s grave upon being sent to the grave is unfortunately irreplaceable.

Dragon’s Mirror and Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon

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

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

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

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

That Grass Looks Greener and Burgeoning Whirlflame + a mill engine

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

Note that with the Feb 2020 banlist hitting both Spell Specialist and That Grass Looks Greener, this way to play Shiranui is no longer as effective. Furthermore, the May 2020 banlist hit to Charge of the Light Brigade has also made the Lightsworn mill engine no longer a viable substitute for the missing copies of That Grass Looks Greener. The best options now for milling outside of the 1 copy of That Grass Looks Greener are Needlebug Nest and Dice It, both of which are unfortunately slow due to being traps.

Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui’s Story

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

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

For more combo-focused builds, Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui’s Story is ideally used to discard a Shiranui Spiritmaster to grave and summon Shiranui Samurai from deck. This sets up Shiranui Samurai‘s quick effect to banish Shiranui Spiritmaster on either player’s turn for disruption. Thus, one would probably want to max out on copies of Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui’s Story as well as Shiranui Spiritmaster here, plus run Shiranui Samurai at 1-2. At the time of this guide update, these combo-focused builds are still developing and have yet to have any major tournament success.

Gold Sarcophagus

Gold Sarcophagus used to be 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. However, as of the May 2020 banlist, Gold Sarcophagus can no longer be run in Shiranui decks as it competes with Shiranui Squire for the Limited 3 deck slots.

If used, then this card can trigger any of the following effects:

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

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

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

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

Forbidden Lance and other anti-backrow cards

Shiranui, being a synchro-based deck, does not appreciate disruptive traps like Floodgate Trap Hole and Fiendish Chain. The deck also dislikes Necrovalley, which stops the effect of Shiranui Spectralsword in grave. Cosmic Cyclone used to be the universal answer to all these cards, but Shiranui unfortunately can no longer play it due to the May 2020 banlist.

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

Other anti-backrow substitutes for Cosmic Cyclone include:

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

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

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

• Unending Nightmare: This is a slower, but more powerful Twister as it can be used multiple times while its on the field. It is slow because it is a trap.

Ballista Squad

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

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

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

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

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

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

Needle Ceiling

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

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

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

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

Generic Staple Backrow

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

Invoked Engine

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

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

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

• The Invoked engine can improve normally bad matchups for Shiranui, such as vs. Ritual Beasts, as well as give one an advantage in the mirror match. This is all thanks to Invoked Purgatrio being able to pierce through entire boards of DEF position monsters for lethal. And in the mirror match especially, Invocation can stun the opponent by banishing an opposing Shiranui Spectralsword from the grave.

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

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

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

Vendread Engine

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

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

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

The standard, balanced builds of Shiranui have the flexibility to run any skill they want, since the deck’s core cards are self-sufficient enough to get the game plan going without relying on a specific skill. At the time of this guide update, the most popular skill for Shiranui is Level Augmentation, which helps faciliate additional synchro plays.

More combo-oriented variants might want to consider the skill Spell Specialist to more consistently open either That Grass Looks Greener or Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui’s Story. As of the Feb 2020 banlist, Spell Specialist has been nerfed to no longer be as consistent as before, but it still gives larger sized decks a good chance to open at least one spell card.

• Level Augmentation

This skill enables additional synchro plays that normally would not be available, such as:

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

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

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

At the time of this guide update, it is recommended to play Level Augmentation with Sera as the character, as she can bluff the Mind of the Plana skill. This can be especially advantageous in a side deck format where one can swap Level Augmentation for Mind of the Plana during games 2 and 3 without needing to switch characters (which would otherwise give the skill switch away to the opponent).

• Level Duplication

Similar to Level Augmentation, Level Duplication enables additional synchro plays that are normally unavailable, particularly plays that turbo out the level 8 Shiranui Shogunsaga. For example, with Shiranui Squire plus Shiranui Spectralsword on board and a level 4 monster in hand, Level Duplication turns the usual level 6 synchro summon into a level 8 synchro summon. Furthermore, on summon, Shiranui Shogunsaga can banish Shiranui Squire to draw and discard a card in addition to threatening massive damage off his 4500 ATK.

That said, Level Duplication is less versatile than Level Augmentation, but it can more consistently get out an early Shiranui Shogunsaga. Level Duplication with Artifact Lancea in hand is also an option for getting out Shiranui Squiresaga, without needing to run the level 3 Shiranui Spectralsword Shade.

• Spell Specialist

Despite the nerfs from the Feb 2020 banlist, Spell Specialist is probably still the preferred skill for the Grass variant of Shiranui. The community has yet to fully understand the exact way the skill has changed, but from empirical testing, it appears to give a 30-card deck about a 91% chance of opening at least one spell card, assuming that the deck is built with 3 copies of a key spell, such as Ghost Meets Girl - A Shiranui’s Story, plus 4 one-off cards as the only spells in the deck. Of course, one of these 4 other spells should be That Grass Looks Greener.

Beginner’s Free-To-Play (F2P) and Budget Builds

See the F2P Decks Guide for more information and instructions on how to build a competent Shiranui deck on a new account. A new player can pretty quickly make the following build in a few days of starting Duel Links:

A budget player can further improve this build rather easily by (1) buying the Sphere Kuriboh, Paleozoic Canadia, and Mirror Wall bundles from the shop and also (2) grinding a bit to unlock Odion and Curse of Anubis:

Level Augmentation

Additionally, see the following video for Dkayed’s King of Games run with his own F2P Shiranui build:

Current Standard Build

Level Augmentation

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 more copies of Needle Ceiling. Or if one expects to see a lot of Dark Magician decks on ladder, then one might swap out cards for Chaos Hunter and Typhoon. Floodgate Trap Hole and Paleozoic Canadia are also popular backrow cards for Shiranui. See the “Synergetic Tech Cards” section for ideas on how to customize the deck to one’s own liking and budget.

Recent Tournament Top Decks

Jun 2020 1st Place MCS 31 - ZaGaZaGa

Level Augmentation

Jun 2020 Top 16 MCS 31 - kuraki

Level Duplication

Jun 2020 Top 32 MCS 31 - Sakku

Level Augmentation

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.

Apr 2020 1st Place MCS 29 - SIMON

Level Augmentation

Apr 2020 1st Place Giveaway 22 - Luxun

Level Augmentation

Mar 2020 Top 8 MCS 28 - Mithyard

No Mortal Can Resist

Side Deck:

Feb 2020 #9 Global KC Cup 14 - Kanzawa

Spell Specialist

Feb 2020 1st Place Meta Weekly 111 - Tenma

Sealed Tombs

Feb 2020 Top 4 MCS 27 - aleebr

Spell Specialist

Jan 2020 Top 4 MCS 26 - AndyTsang

Spell Specialist

Side Deck:

Jan 2020 Top 4 MCS 26 - gift

Spell Specialist

Side Deck:

Dec 2019 2nd Place MCS 25 - Mithyard

Sealed Tombs

Side Deck:

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

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

Early Game Combos and Plays

Shiranui Squire in hand

Option 1: End on Shiranui Squiresaga

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

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

The end game state here is:

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

Option 2: End on Shiranui Samuraisaga

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

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

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

The end game state here is:

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

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

Option 1: End on Shiranui Squiresaga

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

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

The end game state here is:

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

Option 2: End on Shiranui Samuraisaga

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

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

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

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

The end game state here is:

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

Mid-to-Late Game Combos and Plays

Shiranui Spectralsword + Shiranui Solitaire in grave

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

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

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

The end game state here is:

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

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

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

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

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

The end game state here is:

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

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

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

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

The end game state here is:

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

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

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

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

The end game state here is:

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

Option 4: End on Shiranui Sunsaga + Shiranui Squiresaga

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

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

The end game state here is:

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

The 2x Shiranui Sunsaga play with Level Augmentation

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

Shiranui Squire + Shiranui Solitaire in hand

First Turn: End on Shiranui Sunsaga

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

The end game state here is:

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

Second Turn: End on 2x Shiranui Sunsaga

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

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

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

The end game state here is:

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

Playing vs. Sealed Tombs

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

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

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

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

Playing vs. Artifact Lancea

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

Playing vs. No Mortal Can Resist

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

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

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

Note that as of the Feb 2020 banlist hitting both That Grass Looks Greener and Spell Specialist, this variant of Shiranui is no longer considered top tier. To add insult to injury, the May 2020 banlist also hit Charge of the Light Brigade and Gold Sarcophagus to further limit the ways that Grass Shiranui can fill its grave. As a result, this variant of Shiranui is more for fun now, rather than for competitive play. Still, 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 consistent.

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

This section of the guide is divided into three subsections:

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

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

Playing Optimally with Burgeoning Whirlflame

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Turn 1” Plays - Establishing a Board and Followups

There are two main goals to accomplish when going first:

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

Establishing a Board

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

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

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

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

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

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

The end game state here is:

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

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

Establishing Followup Plays

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

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

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

“Turn 2” Plays - Looking for an OTK

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blackwings

Popular Skills: Harpies’ Hunting Ground, Peak Performance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Going second though is much more difficult as cards like Floodgate Trap Hole can be useless at that point vs. an established board, and the threat of Blackbird Close becomes a possibility. It is typically very difficult to play around an early Blackbird Close, as the Shiranui archetype has little to no comeback ability if its initial monster effect gets negated. Typically, one has no choice but to just go for the initial combo plays despite a potential Blackbird Close. If the Blackwing player has Blackbird Close, then they have it unfortunately.

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

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Blue-Eyes

Popular Skills: Alternative Evolution

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Crystrons

Popular Skills: Heavy Starter, Mythic Depths, See You Later!, The Tie that Binds

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

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

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

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

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

• Crystron Sulfefnir in grave

• Crystron Prasiortle either in grave or on the field

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Cyber Dragons

Popular Skills: Cyber Style

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Dark Magician

Popular Skills: Balance, No Mortal Can Resist, Power of Dark, Sealed Tombs, The Tie that Binds, A Trick up the Sleeve

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

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

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

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

• Dicephoon: This card is worth mentioning as a budget alternative to Forbidden Lance, Twister, and Typhoon. It has an advantage over those cards in that it does not target, so one can actually use it at the start of the turn to pressure the Dark Magician player into flipping up their Magician’s Navigation early, or risk it getting destroyed. Of course, the (big) downside of Dicephoon is that it can also backfire depending on the die roll.

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

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

• Shiranui Squiresaga can also be a great way of dealing with Dark Magical Circle if one gets to go first. Get her out Turn 1 vs. Dark Magician to pressure the Dark Magician player to activate their Magician’s Navigation early on one’s Turn 3. If they do not use their Magician’s Navigation before the main phase, then one can activate Shiranui Squiresaga‘s effect immediately at the start of the main phase to potentially snipe and destroy the Magician’s Navigation. If they chain the Magician’s Navigation to Shiranui Squiresaga‘s effect, then one can instead just snipe away the Dark Magical Circle. Finally, if the opponent does use Magician’s Navigation preemptively during one’s draw or standby phase to banish Shiranui Squiresaga, then that means Dark Magical Circle is no longer a threat that turn, and one can proceed with the typical plays.

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

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

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Darklords

Popular Skills: Destiny Draw, No Mortal Can Resist

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Side Deck / Tech Choices

Elementsaber - Invoked

Popular Skills: Destiny Draw

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

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

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

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

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

• If one does not open with an Artifact Lancea or