Shirei of the Weak

Commander / EDH Mono-Black Multiplayer Reanimator Value Engine Weenie

Matso

Creature (33)

• 1x Big Game Hunter
• 1x Blood Artist
• 1x Blood Pet
• 1x Bone Shredder
• 1x Cadaver Imp
• 1x Crypt Ghast
• 1x Dutiful Attendant
• 1x Fume Spitter
• 1x Grim Haruspex
• 1x Heap Doll
• 1x Hex Parasite
• 1x Krav, the Unredeemed
• 1x Marionette Apprentice
• 1x Marionette Master
• 1x Marsh Flitter
• 1x Mindless Automaton
• 1x Myr Retriever
• 1x Orcish Bowmasters
• 1x Pawn of Ulamog
• 1x Pilgrim's Eye
• 1x Pitiless Plunderer
• 1x Plaguebearer
• 1x Scarecrone
• 1x Sifter of Skulls
• 1x Sling-Gang Lieutenant
• 1x Smothering Abomination
• 1x Syr Konrad, the Grim
• 1x Viscera Seer
• 1x Warren Soultrader
• 1x Weaponcraft Enthusiast
• 1x Yahenni, Undying Partisan
• 1x Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
• 1x Zulaport Cutthroat

Artifact (16)

• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Blasting Station
• 1x Darksteel Plate
• 1x Desecrated Tomb
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Genesis Chamber
• 1x Jet Medallion
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Meekstone
• 1x Netherborn Altar
• 1x Oblivion Stone
• 1x Phyrexian Altar
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Spawning Pit
• 1x Sword of Sinew and Steel

Enchantment (8)

• 1x Bastion of Remembrance
• 1x Chthonian Nightmare
• 1x Dictate of Erebos
• 1x Grave Pact
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Phyrexian Arena
• 1x Phyrexian Reclamation
• 1x The Meathook Massacre

Sorcery (4)

• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Diabolic Intent
• 1x Feed the Swarm
• 1x Yawgmoth's Will

Commander (1)

Land (36)

• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Deserted Temple
• 1x High Market
• 1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 1x Phyrexian Tower
• 1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse
• 1x Spymaster's Vault
• 1x Strip Mine
• 21x Swamp
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Vesuva
• 1x Volrath's Stronghold
• 1x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip

Instant (2)

• 1x Sudden Spoiling
• 1x Tragic Slip

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RISE and OBEY

Introduction

This was my first commander. "Shirei" literally translates to Command in Japanese, thus the name of the deck. I started out with 30 copies of Shadowborn Apostle and a bunch of demons, but quickly grew bored of opening every game with four useless creatures and the same combo. So began my journey exploring all the niche black/artifact creatures that have zero or one power.

This commander scales in power for each player in the game, since you get to repeatedly abuse your creatures' ETB/dying triggers on everyone else's turn.

You might enjoy Shirei if:

• You like recursion.
• You want a commander with a unique mechanic.
• You like doing stuff: every.. single.. turn.
• You want lots of unusual creatures which are horrible in most other decks.
• You like recursion.
• You like sacrificing your own things.
• You want to win with incremental advantage.
• You like recursion.

You might hate Shirei if:

• You like hitting people with big creatures.
• You think cards in graveyards should stay there.
• You only play 1v1.
• You hate watching the life slowly drain out of your opponents along with their joy for being.

I'm going to break down most of the cards in the deck and the function they serve, point out a few alternates and why I don't include them. Despite tinkering with this deck for years I'm still learning, and recent sets have been generous.

Mana Base

This deck does not function without Shirei on the battlefield, so he draws a fair amount of hate. Despite the incredibly low mana curve you will want a deep mana base for re-casting Shirei and Yawgmoth's Will. There are three major sources of mana for this deck: lands, creatures, and mana storage.

The first and best land in most mono black decks is Cabal Coffers. It's not Legendary either so it's a great target for Thespian's Stage and Vesuva. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx makes those wonderful {B}{B}{B} enchantments even more useful. Deserted Temple is basically a second Coffers or Shrine, and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth is nice for boosting your swamp count, which your creatures rely on as well.

There are three mana doublers you get to choose from: Crypt Ghast, Nirkana Revenant, and Magus of the Coffers. I only run the first one: Ghast has only two power so you have a couple ways to make him recur. I used to run the Revenant as an alternate win condition and to boost Exsanguinate. Sadly artifacts like Gauntlet of Power and Caged Sun turn off Shirei's reanimation ability.

Finally, you have Pitiless Plunderer, Sifter of Skulls, Pawn of Ulamog, and Warren Soultrader. All are obscenely powerful with your creatures dying each turn and can quickly lead to a blow out. Black Market has been removed because it's far less versatile.

All of this sometimes leads to too much mana without enough places to sink it. That is one of the reasons Plaguebearer is still in the deck despite being an over-costed effect except against tokens.

Sacrifice Outlets

Sacrifice outlets are all-important to your game plan. Without them Shirei's ability to recur creatures is neutered. They can basically be broken down into three tiers: free activated abilities, activated abilities with additional costs, and tap/sac or self-sac abilities.

Viscera Seer lets you filter cards, sacrifices itself, and recurs with Shirei. This is one of the best cards in your deck. The other free outlets are Ashnod's Altar, Phyrexian Altar, Spawning Pit, Yahenni, Undying Partisan, Warren Soultrader, and Blasting Station. However, the station means sacrificing each of your creatures during the end step and can leave you vulnerable (worth it if you have token generation and just want to machine gun people to death). Yawgmoth, Thran Physician is an unbelievable new sacrifice engine: life often being less of a premium than mana. Sadly can't put a counter on himself, but he makes other two power creatures recur with Shirei.

Krav, the Unredeemed is the only remaining sacrifice outlet which costs mana, but he's worth it.

The "lower" tier creatures include Fume Spitter, Heap Doll, Scarecrone, Mindless Automaton, Orcish Bowmasters and Blood Pet. These are suicidal sacrifices. Spitter is removal and can recur your two power creatures, Doll rapes graveyards, Pet fuels mana sinks, Bowmasters build an army, and the other two provide draw.

Lands with sacrifice abilities are great (High Market and Phyrexian Tower), because they're basically free even if you only get to use them when you untap. Westvale Abbey   is just a fun one-off effect. Similarly Smothering Abomination only provides one sac during upkeep. Bone Shredder is equally slow but kills itself. Sling-Gang Lieutenant is unusual: it can sacrifice itself and the tokens produced with its ETB effect.

Recursion

This is in addition to Shirei! Always bear in mind that 23 of your creatures will rise again if Shirei stays on the battlefield. In the event your commander is removed, everything does eventually come back. This build only includes two pieces of protection for our cemetery overlord because often you can pull Shirei directly out of the graveyard and get back to business.

Creatures first because once Shirei sticks for a few turns Cadaver Imp and Dutiful Attendant will refill your arsenal. Volrath's Stronghold is another great option and not often targeted. Buried Ruin, Scarecrone, and Myr Retriever get back your key artifacts. Phyrexian Reclamation is really amazing for rebuilding a board in a turn or two, and Yawgmoth's Will can just turn the entire game around. Chthonian Nightmare is new, it reminds me of Recurring Nightmare and is just a good value engine piece.

Card Draw

Card draw is King. Some people dislike discarding cards at EOT; I consider having to discard down to seven the opposite of a problem. Keep in mind when you're discarding that you want a complete set of redundant engine pieces in hand for when Shirei or the entire board gets blown up.

Phyrexian Arena has become a staple in black decks with all the reprints. Krav, the Unredeemed lets you draw as many cards as you have fodder to sacrifice and gains you life. Necropotence is awesome. Scarecrone and Mindless Automaton are as good or better than Mind's Eye in this deck. Grim Haruspex replaced Harvester of Souls because of it's lower CMC, and both it and Smothering Abomination can trigger for a LOT of cards.

Tool Box

Oblivion Stone is one of two ways this deck can remove enchantments. Fortunately rebuilding your board is often a fast process. Feed the Swarm is the other, and the only piece of targeted enchantment removal available in black. Crypt Rats sweeps creatures, and is gross if Shirei is wearing Darksteel Plate. Grave Pact and Dictate of Erebos pretty much double as creature sweepers as well. The Meathook Massacre is an amazing board wipe that also miraculously drains life.

Big Game Hunter, Bone Shredder, and Plaguebearer all provide conditional removal. I also have a pair of instant speed answers: Tragic Slip is easy to set up and also takes care of indestructible threats. Slip doubles as a combat trick to save one of your higher powered creatures. Sudden Spoiling stops combo and can make weenies effective in combat.

Bojuka Bog and Heap Doll serve as graveyard hate. Darksteel Plate and Lightning Greaves offer protection. Meekstone exists to handcuff your opponents. Demonic Tutor and Diabolic Tutor can fetch whatever is needed (early game that means protection, draw, or land if no Expedition Map). Hex Parasite kills plainswalkers and other counters. Finally, Orcish Bowmasters punishes opponents for drawing and builds an army.

Sword of Sinew and Steel is repeatable artifact removal and takes care of planeswalkers. This card is currently undervalued and will likely end up in every mono black deck.

Win Conditions

How do you actually finish the game? Both Blood Artist and Zulaport Cutthroat are consistent wincons. They may seem slow, but when you start cycling four or five creatures every turn they drain life totals quickly. Bastion of Remembrance is an enchantment version of the same effect, and Syr Konrad, the Grim does double duty. There are actually two big beaters in the deck: Krav, the Unredeemed and Yahenni, Undying Partisan. I have used both Gray Merchant of Asphodel and Exsanguinate, but have moved away from massive blowout wins in favor of iterative drain. Marionette Master and Marionette Apprentice can both generate tokens and use them as ammo (the synergy with Spawning Pit is amazing). Finally, with the amount of ETB effects, it's fairly easy to assemble an army of tokens and swarm your opponents.

Token Production

Where do you get a token army? So glad you asked. Genesis Chamber might seem balanced and fair in the first few turns of the game, but if you're not playing against Norin the Wary you outpace your opponents quickly. For an additional mana Desecrated Tomb provides a similar effect, totally one-sided, with flying tokens. Spawning Pit turns two 1/1s into a 2/2 for the piddling price of {1}. Marsh Flitter and Sling-Gang Lieutenant build an army of goblins to swarm with or be sacrificed, and Sifter of Skulls or Pawn of Ulamog can provide you with a massive source of mana and death triggers. Marionette Master, Marionette Apprentice, and Weaponcraft Enthusiast make drawing a token generator easy in just about every game. Lightning Coils is a card I tried and ended up removing: it forces you to attack every turn or lose value, rather than building an overwhelming advantage.

Personal Choices

I like Skullclamp. Yes, it makes most creatures not come back, but I'll get them later and early game extra draw can be invaluable. Also zero power dudes can wear the clamp and still recur, and I'm happy clamping tokens.

For a long time Shizo, Death's Storehouse served absolutely no purpose in the deck except for style points, as I'd long since removed Blade of the Bloodchief and have literally never killed a single opponent with commander damage. The inclusion of Krav, the Unredeemed and Yahenni, Undying Partisan make it more useful.

I don't play Contamination or discard because they're not fun. For whatever reason I enjoy beating my friends more when they have access to resources and still can't do anything to stop me. As my playgroup's decks become more competitive and/or I need to deal with excessive counter spells I might consider adding it and Sadistic Hypnotist

I've chosen card draw over additional tutors so I see a wider variety of the cards in my deck from one game to the next. This may hurt my win rate but it keeps things interesting. At one point I included Beseech the Queen and several transmute cards, the best of which is Dimir House Guard because it's a sac outlet. Jar of Eyeballs is very powerful and can let you impulse through a good chunk of your deck every turn, just bear in mind it is a lot of maintenance.

Strategy

You are a necromancer: drain the life out of all things slowly, iteratively, inevitably. Get Shirei on the board as soon as you also have a reliable way to sacrifice creatures and some ammmo, then start whittling away your opponents life or building a token army. Few of your other creatures are likely to draw removal. Fetch some protection for Shirei and manage to refill your hand once or twice, and you will start to overwhelm the field.

Cards which absolutely nuke you: Rest in Peace, Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite, MImic Vat, Angel of Jubilation, and similar effects.

Be aware that this deck, despite having a few expensive toys, is still not super competitive. It is far too dependent on the commander to function and Shirei is a weak 2/2 for 5 mana. I am one of the more competitive players in a group which discourages infinite combo, mass land destruction, and degenerate use of sweepers; making Shirei a finely tuned and annoyingly resilient addition to the table.

Cutting Board

Currently there is nothing I want to remove. There is so much synergy and redundancy in the deck that building an engine is easy.

Top Ranked	Achieved #25 position overall 6 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Mono-Black 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Reanimator 4 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Tokens 4 years ago
Date added	9 years
Last updated	1 week
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	5 - 0 Mythic Rares 37 - 0 Rares 27 - 0 Uncommons 10 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.72
Tokens	2/2 C Artifact Creature Spawn, Bat 1/1 B, Eldrazi Scion 1/1 C, Eldrazi Spawn 0/1 C, Goblin 1/1 R, Goblin Rogue 1/1 B, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Human Soldier 1/1 W, Morph 2/2 C, Myr 1/1 C, Orc Army, Servo 1/1 C, Treasure
Folders	Cool decks, +1 Non-Budget, Optimized EDH, EDH Inspirations, cEDH, References, Interesting decks, Inspiration, Interesting Commander Decks, Shirei