So, in this deck we attempt to make not-storm Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker as a throwback to when Seth used Shirei as a storm deck with Shadowborn Apostle
So to begin, the land base is running a fair few basic swamps, 22, but those are just so we have color fixing. Barren Moor is either a land, or a draw and both are good. Bojuka Bog is some of our, admittedly limited graveyard removal. Cabal Coffers (with Thespian's Stage and Vesuva to copy it) and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth are staples in any mono-black deck. Maze of Ith protects from Voltron, or just really big creatures, and can be tapped for Black with Urborg out. Voltath's Stronghold allows us to get our creatures back if Shirei dies for some reason, which can let us begin the pain again. Westvale Abbey
is absurdly easy to trigger, and Ormendahl is amazing. Phyrexian Tower is great, not only is it a Phyrexian card, but it lets us generate two black while being a sac outlet. Finally, what would Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker be without Shizo, Death's Storehouse itself?
For special artifacts,firstly, we have the deck's best - Meekstone which does absolutely nothing to us, but can cripple other decks. Lightning Coils can produce a lot of tokens that can either be used as sac outlets or simply be swung for 15 damage. Ashnod's Altar and Phyrexian Altar give us mana and sac outlets. Skullclamp combined with our 1/1 creatures draws us many, many cards. The rest of our artifacts are equipment and ramp, special mention to Blade of the Bloodchief as it makes anything on board huge. It also gives us our only real infinite combo. Smokestack is not only a sac outlet, but also controls the game. If you feel it to be too staxy (ignoring the pun), than something like Smallpox is an easy replacement.
Speaking of, for spells we have Pox which is a bit...mean. Damnation because we can run it so why wouldn't we? Decree of Pain is bad for us to cycle, but in the right situation it can make a good wipe. Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor and Diabolic Tutor are tutors and worth more than gold. Killing Wave is a dirty boardwipe that is arguably better than Damnation, since it gets around indestructibility and procs our sacrifice triggers like Altar's Reap. We don't even want to save anyone aside from Shirei. In dire straits, Living Death can potentially win us the game. Mind Sludge turns into "Target player discards their hand" in the late game, and Syphon Mind is so much value it hurts. Shred Memory is mostly for the transmute, but it can be last second graveyard removal.
Our enchanting enchantment line-up is...odd, I suppose. Bitterblossom is up first, which I justify since it gives us 1/1 things to sac. Black Market is a threat that can force enchantment destruction, if the opponent doesn't want us to gain a billion mana. Contamination is a little on the staxy side of things, but I feel as if it is simply too good to be left out. Dictate to Erebos and Grave Pact were similar includes, in that both are necessary to gain full value out of the deck's purpose.Infernal Tribute is card draw and a sac engine, what more could you want? Mind Slash is discard and a sac engine. Both are amazing, and Gate to Phyrexia is quite possibly the best sac engine in the deck since it hits artifacts, which black...can't really do any other way.
Now. For the main event. Creatures. To kick off, we have Augur of Skulls, Noxious Toad, Sadistic Hypnotist, and Brain Weevil for what black does best - discard. Oddly enough, black also has mana dorks in the form of Basal Thrull, Blood Pet, and Workhorse. All rather odd creature ramp, but all very good in this deck. Pilgrim's Eye searches out the swamps we need due to being a 1 power creature. Our best creatures are Blood Artist and Zulaport Cutthroat due to their creature death effects. Bone Shredder is a Shriekmaw that comes back every turn and Big Game Hunter works in a similar way. Sidisi, Undead Vizier is a tutor that sacrifices which is great, and Demon of Death's Gate can also do this for a beefy creature. Crovax the Cursed does this somewhat, but is more of a value attacker than anything. Gray Merchant of Asphodel GARY! is a god and with all the black in this deck can literally drain people to death. Harvester of Souls is a must, as we sac multiple creatures a turn which can draw us lots of cards, especially combined with Mindless Automaton. Bottle Gnomes is life gain up the wazoo that also sacs itself.
As we rap it up, special creatures are given their own paragraph. Mortician Beetle and Carrion Feeder are win conditions, in that they can potentially swing in for absurdly huge damage. Hope of Ghirapur is stax as hell and in 1v1 is the nastiest thing on the planet. Heap Doll can be used as an infinite, albeit slow, graveyard hate. It That Betrays is amazing in any sacrifice deck, and can let you steal your opponents best permanents. Finally, Pentavus.
Pentavus is our infinite combo. Equip it with Blade of the Bloodchief, and create a token. Then, use Ashnod's Alter for infinite mana and sac outlets, or use Phyrexian Altar for simply infinite sac outlets.
Now you know why you should remember the 6th.
