So I really like the idea of Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker as a general, sacing as many 1/* as you want, and getting them all back, but I can't see a good way of easily protecting a mono black general, so I decided to go with Ghost Council. The deck I'm trying to prepare has Shirei as a very dependent card, but maybe depending on my tutor spells might not be enough. The white cards are useful to protect him though (give protection to any colour, etc).
Can anyone suggest a good way to protect a mono black general against red burn magic and blue boomerang? If so I won't have to worry about getting tutors to bring Shirei into play.
The easiest ways to protect a card are things like Sword of Fire and Ice, Sword of Light and Shadow, and Lightning Greaves. Above and beyond those cards I am not really sure what you can use in Mono-Black to provide protection. The main problem with the cards I just listed is that none of them can be equiped at instant speed, thus they all potentially fall victim to instant speed removal spells.
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"As the size of an explosion increases, the number of social situations it is incapable of solving approaches zero." -- Varsuvius, Order of the Stick
I have a Shirei deck that I love playing. Shirei is a one-man engine, and I really think you should consider building with him as your general. Every card in my deck has some function in the "sacrifice for the win" strategy. The deck kind of has earned a reputation at my local store for doing absurd things, and once it gets going, can bury a table under card advantage and asymmetrical disadvantages. Another reason it's fun is because there is a surprising amount of stuff you can do with sacrifice creatures, I always feel like I have an out to a troubling situation somewhere in my deck.
Thanks for the list, Jim. So how often do you have problems with Shirei being disposed of one way or another? The main reason I wanted to go with Ghost Council to add some white was things like Benevolent Bodyguard and Mother of Runes. Seems to me with those cards Shirei would be REALLY indestructible. But it does seem stupid to basically play as if Shirei is my general, but have Ghost Council be the one always available to me.
Also looking at your list I have most of those cards also on my giant list I'm trying to wittle down into 100 cards. Great minds think alike.
To answer your question, I usually don't play Shirei unless I need to, or I can protect him, or I think that the risk of spot removal is low. The games I lose are really not because Shirei gets removed, but because I get ganged up on, don't draw enough mana, or don't draw the spells I need. I think it's a bigger problem of getting all the pieces, saccable creatures, sac outlets, and shirei into place than it is protecting Shirei.
I think a breakthrough I made while learning to play this deck was realizing it actually can survive without Shirei. Initially, I played more cards that protected Shirei, but now I've whittled that down to two. First, there are some proxy Shireis in the deck, like Coffin Queen. Second, the deck can generate a ridiculous amount of card advantage, and so you can usually dig into an answer for a threat to survive for longer.
I think the risk of spot removal on Shirei is fairly low, and, in 1v1, sometimes you can play Shirei and get so much card advantage you seal the game. The low amount of spot removal might be a meta thing for me, but it seems like the only spot removal that's regularly played is x-burn and then white one manas like Swords to Plowshares.
The problem with benevolent bodyguard and mother of runes is that I don't think they actually make Shirei more resilient than other, better cards. First, I think the biggest danger is white and black board sweepers, which protection doesn't help against. Second, you could just play Sword of Fire and Ice or Sword of Light and Shadow, which are better cards individually.
Finally, Shirei is a deck built on synergy. The individual creatures suck, which is part of why I love playing this deck so much...you play all these crappy guys that end up working together in crazy, convoluted ways.
I've been working on this deck for nearly a year and have it about where I want it. The list I posted isn't my most current list, but it's close. If you post the list you're thinking of playing, maybe I've played some of the cards you're thinking of and can help you cut down to 100 cards. Great minds think alike indeed.
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Can anyone suggest a good way to protect a mono black general against red burn magic and blue boomerang? If so I won't have to worry about getting tutors to bring Shirei into play.
Thanks.
WRGUBScion of the Ur-DragonWRGUB
UChisei, Heart of OceansU
URJhoira of the GhituUR
BShirei, Shizo's CaretakerB
With enough tutors (I run about 7), I only need Shield of Kaldra and Lightning Greaves to protect Shirei.
Here's my list:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showpost.php?p=3732524&postcount=3
Also looking at your list I have most of those cards also on my giant list I'm trying to wittle down into 100 cards. Great minds think alike.
WRGUBScion of the Ur-DragonWRGUB
UChisei, Heart of OceansU
URJhoira of the GhituUR
BShirei, Shizo's CaretakerB
To answer your question, I usually don't play Shirei unless I need to, or I can protect him, or I think that the risk of spot removal is low. The games I lose are really not because Shirei gets removed, but because I get ganged up on, don't draw enough mana, or don't draw the spells I need. I think it's a bigger problem of getting all the pieces, saccable creatures, sac outlets, and shirei into place than it is protecting Shirei.
I think a breakthrough I made while learning to play this deck was realizing it actually can survive without Shirei. Initially, I played more cards that protected Shirei, but now I've whittled that down to two. First, there are some proxy Shireis in the deck, like Coffin Queen. Second, the deck can generate a ridiculous amount of card advantage, and so you can usually dig into an answer for a threat to survive for longer.
I think the risk of spot removal on Shirei is fairly low, and, in 1v1, sometimes you can play Shirei and get so much card advantage you seal the game. The low amount of spot removal might be a meta thing for me, but it seems like the only spot removal that's regularly played is x-burn and then white one manas like Swords to Plowshares.
The problem with benevolent bodyguard and mother of runes is that I don't think they actually make Shirei more resilient than other, better cards. First, I think the biggest danger is white and black board sweepers, which protection doesn't help against. Second, you could just play Sword of Fire and Ice or Sword of Light and Shadow, which are better cards individually.
Finally, Shirei is a deck built on synergy. The individual creatures suck, which is part of why I love playing this deck so much...you play all these crappy guys that end up working together in crazy, convoluted ways.
I've been working on this deck for nearly a year and have it about where I want it. The list I posted isn't my most current list, but it's close. If you post the list you're thinking of playing, maybe I've played some of the cards you're thinking of and can help you cut down to 100 cards. Great minds think alike indeed.