Over Christmas, the Magic Online bug re-bit me, due to my best friend living far away. My previous MTGO heyday was 2006–2008, the era of sixty-card Singleton and Tribal Wars as casual formats. But when I found out this time that junk rares were five cents, I was hooked. Besides, since MTGO decks are glorified text files, I only need to own one of a card before I can stick it in every Commander deck (hello, Druidic Satchel).

I've spent almost seventy dollars to make eight decks about as good as my paper decks. Four of those eight are ports of those paper decks, but a fifth stands out as not only a unique construction but as one that is only affordable due to MTGO.

Meet Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker, one of the most unique commanders I've worked with. If you have half the parts for this in real life, consider finishing the deck. It's probably too targetable for a game of more than four players, but everything it does is fun. Plus, Shirei's abilities steer deck construction away from a large chunk of Commander staples, making the deck feel fresher to play.

(This CMDR Decks video from September shows a Shirei build with only six non-Swamps in common with mine.)

What Makes Shirei Different?

Second, not only does Shirei have to be on the battlefield at the end step for the ability to trigger, it has to be the same copy of Shirei from when the 1-power creature died. So, absent a Darksteel Plate or similar effect, Shirei can't turn Damnation into Plague Wind, making most sweepers a losing proposition. Combined with the Equipment issue and the need to stick a bunch of 1-power creatures in your deck, that's asking for a bunch of unusual Commander cards.

What Makes MTGO Commander Different?

Because drafting fuels the overwhelming amount of online supply, the rarer sets online are different than what you might be used to. Invasion and Odyssey blocks were the first blocks online, so they're the Limited Edition Alpha and Limited Edition Beta of MTGO, relatively speaking. Small sets from two-set Draft blocks, such as Dark Ascension, have similar supply issues, as do the Commander products. But the Masters Edition series has made loads of older cards easy to find. I've never held a Gate to Phyrexia—it's a $7 uncommon just because it's from Antiquities—but thanks to Masters Edition IV, it's a nickel online.

Commander gameplay is also slightly different. Both players will draw even in a duel, but mulligans are regular rather than partial Paris. I therefore default to more lands and landcyclers online than if I were building a paper deck. Fiery Fall's not much of a spell, but it beats being mana-screwed.

Now, you might be saying to yourself, "Why doesn't he get to the deck?" To show that I listen to your concerns when I stalk your brain, here's the deck:

"I Am Serious...And Don't Call Me Shirei"

• Commander (1)
• 1 Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker

• Mana Sources (44)
• 37 Swamp
• 1 Bojuka Bog
• 1 Star Compass
• 1 Pristine Talisman
• 1 Druidic Satchel
• 1 Twisted Abomination
• 1 Crypt Ghast
• 1 Magus of the Coffers

• Swampy Devotion (6)
• 1 Strata Scythe
• 1 Nightmare Lash
• 1 Lashwrithe
• 1 Mutilate
• 1 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 1 Abhorrent Overlord

• Hand Robbers (5)
• 1 Nezumi Shortfang
• 1 Black Cat
• 1 Cabal Interrogator
• 1 Needle Specter
• 1 Larceny

• Shadow Combos (5)
• 1 Dauthi Cutthroat
• 1 Dauthi Trapper
• 1 Dauthi Embrace
• 1 Stronghold Overseer
• 1 Phyrexian Splicer

• Death Synergies (10)
• 1 Blood Artist
• 1 Nether Traitor
• 1 Skirsdag High Priest
• 1 Cadaver Imp
• 1 Necroskitter
• 1 Sangromancer
• 1 Harvester of Souls
• 1 Massacre Wurm
• 1 Oversold Cemetery
• 1 Dark Prophecy

• Shirei's Ragtags (12)
• 1 Plaguebearer
• 1 Shepherd of Rot
• 1 Big Game Hunter
• 1 Royal Assassin
• 1 Bone Shredder
• 1 Kiku, Night's Flower
• 1 Hell's Caretaker
• 1 Silent Arbiter
• 1 Akroan Horse
• 1 Arcbound Reclaimer
• 1 Guiltfeeder
• 1 Stuffy Doll

• Other Creatures (7)
• 1 Graveborn Muse
• 1 Necrotic Ooze
• 1 Blood Speaker
• 1 Bloodgift Demon
• 1 Seizan, Perverter of Truth
• 1 Helldozer
• 1 Steel Hellkite

• Other Spells (10)
• 1 Gate to Phyrexia
• 1 Basilisk Collar
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Umezawa's Jitte
• 1 Crystal Ball
• 1 Mimic Vat
• 1 Suffer the Past
• 1 Crypt Incursion
• 1 Diabolic Tutor
• 1 Increasing Ambition

Buy This Deck

Twenty-three of the deck's forty creatures receive Shirei's notice without any tricks. So what do they all do?

Swampy Devotion

Black gains an advantage over other colors by having three Equipments—Strata Scythe, Nightmare Lash, and Lashwrithe—dedicated to its basic land type. By definition, any creature equipped with one of these three will survive a Mutilate, which is critical for Shirei's wording. If you stick Lashwrithe on Shirei, not only will he survive to return your team, he'll bring back all your team, since Mutilate reduced every other creature to 1 or less power on its deathbed. Given the shadow subtheme discussed in a moment, the Equipments allow Shirei or any other creature to be surprisingly painful; victory by commander damage is realistic in this deck.

Many of the best 1-power black creatures have multiple black mana symbols, so devotion is a natural fit, especially as Shirei can keep a good bit of it on the field. Gray Merchant of Asphodel could not have asked for a better home, and I have created over a dozen Harpies with Abhorrent Overlord before.

Hand Robbers

If you're in a duel, this is the most vital category. Nezumi Shortfang activating from turn three on can virtually end a game in short order. Turn-three Needle Specter into turn-four Nightmare Lash (thanks, manaless equip cost!) is similar. Larceny is at its best if you can drop it on a turn during which your creature count enables a complete hand discard, but it's not bad with evasive creatures regardless.

Shadow Combos

Dauthi Trapper, Dauthi Embrace, and Phyrexian Splicer all can give shadow, which is lovely for sneaking damage through. (Phyrexian Splicer has other great uses, of course; I contained a Wonder-aided flying commander Lord of Tresserhorn last week by splicing its flying onto my Black Cat.) Stronghold Overseer, one of black's premier mana sinks, is normally more useful as a pseudo-Fog, but it can push through plenty of damage as well.

On the flipside, Dauthi Cutthroat can destroy creatures with shadow, so Trapper/Embrace/Splicer turn the Cutthroat into an Avatar of Woe. Having your source of evasion also be your source of creature-kill is loads of fun.

Death Synergies

Apart from Nether Traitor, Necroskitter, and Dark Prophecy, this is primarily a list of the usual suspects. Dark Prophecy has been so good in this deck that I'd strongly recommend it for any deck with a bunch of creatures the size of this one; as long as some of your other cards gain life, you'll be fine.

Shirei's Ragtags

Filled with unthemed creatures that Shirei cares about, this is probably my favorite group in the deck. Bone Shredder is Shirei's pet student; as with Karmic Guide in a Karador, Ghost Chieftain deck, you never pay the echo, and the commander recurs it for value. Hell's Caretaker is slower but can be equally effective. Plaguebearer is a niche card absent Magus of the Coffers or Crypt Ghast, but at the very least, it kills tokens effectively; it's also among the few 1/1s in this deck that become dramatically better as the game progresses. Shepherd of Rot has six Zombie pals in the deck (including Gray Merchant of Asphodel), so it can speed up a game easily.

Stuffy Doll and Silent Arbiter usually don't have enough synergy to go in random Commander decks, but nobody denies their utility; here, the chance to recur them puts them over the top. Arcbound Reclaimer enters the battlefield as a 2/2 but leaves as a 0/0; regaining Lashwrithe, Steel Hellkite, or Mimic Vat is fantastic, especially as black rarely is able to interact much with artifacts. Guiltfeeder is another excellent Equipment-holder, potentially devastating as a 0/4 fear but much more so when it's an 8/12 or 13/17 fear.

And speaking of 0/4s, a continuously reanimating Akroan Horse is both amusing and effective. Not even death can stop a wooden statue.

Other Creatures

Many of these are Demons, cohered by the wonderful Blood Speaker. Bloodgift Demon, Seizan, Perverter of Truth, Harvester of Souls, Stronghold Overseer, and Abhorrent Overlord are a diverse enough package (here at Demoncorp, we pride ourselves on diversity!) to warrant Blood Speaker's inclusion. Other than the discard package, Steel Hellkite and Helldozer are the deck's best answers to noncreature permanents; Necrotic Ooze plays backup to them and several other creatures.

Other Spells

None of these is particularly synergistic with deck themes other than Gate to Phyrexia. Swiftfoot Boots, Umezawa's Jitte, and Basilisk Collar are some of the premier Equipments that never mess with Shirei's recursion ability; those are surprisingly hard to find. Suffer the Past and Crypt Incursion are my two favorite graveyard-exile spells, as their mucking about with life totals can mess up combat math as well.

Conclusion

If you've been building a lot of good-stuff Commander decks and want a commander who forces you off the beaten path, Shirei's a great choice. When I only have time for one or two MTGO Commander games, Shirei's usually one of the decks I play. He's perhaps the finickiest mono-black commander, but he's loads of fun. Put a Shirei deck together if you have a chance—he's one of my favorites and easily could be one of yours.