  Shirei
and the Clerics.
Description of deck by it's author
(quoted):
Let's talk about the deck title for a second.
Every time I hear the title, I think that a Doo Wop band from the 50's
is about ready to take the stage. Make sure that you sing the title with
a little 50's flair. Alternatively, you can pronounce the title like you
are an announcer on stage. "Now presenting that band with the hippest
sound: Shirei. And. The Clerics! (Sound of teenage girls screaming)."
The basic theme of the deck is simple. Use cheap
creatures with sacrificial abilities to create virtual card advantage
through Shirei. Another option is to either use the Caretaker as an
adjunct to Shirei or to reanimate a dead Shirei (or cycled Scion).
This deck does play with a solid number of clerics, so I
made sure to include Scion of Darkness and Dark Supplicant as a backup
plan. With a Shirei out, sacrificing three clerics will result in those
clerics coming back into play to do it all again next turn. Spitting out a
Scion every turn can overpower a lot of players rather quickly.
Another Scion option is to cycle him early for a card,
then use Hell's Caretaker to reanimate him back into play. With Shirei
out, you should be able to get back whatever you sacrifice to the
Caretaker. If you need to, you can even sacrifice the Caretaker to itself
to bring back a Scion, then it comes back due to Shirei.
There are several powerful creatures to reuse. The first
group are the White stalling machines. One Kami of False Hope combines
with a Shirei to present a problem that is up there with Isochron
Scepter-Orim's Chant in difficulty to swing through. An opponent simply
cannot attack through it. However, they do have other options, like burn,
so they can also off Shirei and solve all problems.
In answer to the first problem, we have defensive
creatures like Sanctum Guardian and the Pilgrims. Burn is typically either
Black or Red, which is great since we have both Pilgrims in this deck.
They can sacrifice to prevent damage from that color, then be used again
and again as they are recurred with Shirei. Alternatively, you can simply
sacrifice Sanctum Guardian to prevent anything. Sanctum Guardian is our
universal defensive outlet. You can sacrifice it to prevent virtually any
damage to you or a creature. That's a pretty powerful ability, especially
with the recycling Shirei.
The other problem is solved by Benevolent Bodyguard. The
Bodyguard can help to protect Shirei against evil removal. Shirei is a
very important component of the deck, and it is vital that you use every
method available to protect him. Pilgrims and Guardians can protect Shirei
from burn, but Bodyguards have to be used against other forms of removal.
Between Bodyguards, Pilgrims, Guardians and Hell's Caretakers, you have a
lot of ways of protecting Shirei or getting him back.
There are a few other cards that really operate well
with Shirei. Chief among them is Bile Urchin. All by itself, an Urchin can
slowly kill an opponent. If you draw a second, then your opponent's death
clock becomes very quick.
As a quick rules note, remember that Shirei brings back
creatures at the end of the current turn. That means that you can
sacrifice a creatures for an effect on your turn, and it comes back, and
then on your opponent's turn, and it comes back. One Bile Urchin
essentially causes an opponent to lose two life every go around, instead
of just one. It's a very steady death.
I wanted to use a few removal options. Capashen Unicorn
can take out artifacts or enchantments. Having a nice reusable disenchant
effect can really help advance your cause against certain decks. I also
tossed in a pair of Nova Clerics. You'll rarely want to pop one off, but
this deck doesn't run any enchantments, so you can when necessary. The
Nova Cleric can also be sacrificed to Dark Supplicants.
Remember to play defense. Block with a Bile Urchin, then
sacrifice it. Block with a Capashen Unicorn, then sacrifice it. Use your
1/4 Sanctum Guardians to good effect defensively. Feel free block away
when Shirei is out, because creatures will come back anyway. Who cares if
Hell's Caretaker gets smashed by a Kavu Chameleon when it will come back?
Since this deck is designed to be played on Magic: The
Electronic, my suggestions for other possibilities will be similarly
themed. If I wanted to add a third color, I really like Hapless
Researcher. I think it would be a great complement to the deck. You could
also run Daring Apprentice. This might be one of the few decks where that
card could be considered viable.
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