It’s the semifinal of a Kamigawa Block PTQ. I’m playing White Weenie, having battled my way through Gifts decks and Black Hand each and every round. I’ve tested against the obvious matchups, happily avoided the insane Honden and Blue/Red Ire representatives, and I feel pretty confident with both my deck and my ability.
My opponent is Stewart Shinkins, notorious Irish pro. Later, he’d go on to a top three finish in his homeland’s National Championship, but that was a month or so away. This weekend, he’d traveled across the sea to my manor, planning to attend both of the weekend’s northern-based PTQs.
Stewart is, for want of a better word, knackered. He slouches in his chair, a hung-over haze about him, sporting dark glasses and stubble. His lands are laid haphazardly, his play seems sloppy, his attitude defeatist and tired. Even though I know him to be a skilled spell-slinger, I feel confident.
Look at him, I think, masking a smile. He’s fecked. This should be a doddle.
He lays a Forest, makes some random guy and passes the turn. It’s showtime!
I begin with a Plains, and lay a Lantern Kami. I have land, creatures and a Jitte in hand. It’s not the God-Draw, but it ain’t far off.
When I lose, some five or six turns later, I’ve managed to reduce my opponent from twenty life… to nineteen.
Game two was similar, only worse.
…
I’ve had very little success at the sharp-end of this fair game. Of course, these things are relative: I’ve six Pro Tour appearances under my belt, which I’m pretty proud of. At five of them, I’ve scrubbed out on Day 1… something that tells me that when it comes to the Big Show, I may not quite have the grapes. Maybe next time, I whisper to myself, the mantra of the Optimistic Loser.
My strongest finish in a premier event came at Grand Prix: London 2002, during Odyssey Block. I made the Top 8, with a deck designed by a friend that I picked up the previous evening. A deck that hosed the dominant deck of the format, the powerful Mono-Black Control.
When Stewart massacred me in the semifinal of our PTQ, after waltzing with ease through the Gifts decks in the Swiss rounds, on the way toward taking the slot… I just knew I had to play the deck at the second PTQ the following morning.
I built it up, and took it to my next PTQ. With it, I made the semifinals, crushing a number of Gifts Ungiven decks in the process.
I played the same version, card for card, in my next (and final) PTQ, again making the semifinal stage, and again crushing Gifts Ungiven decks en-route to first place in the Swiss and subsequent Top 8.
Without boring you with bad beat tales, I lost both semifinals against White Weenie by playing like an absolute moron. Both saw me one-nil up and in control of game two, before making hideous decisions to lose the second and third games. I felt that I could’ve and should’ve won both matches 2-0, were it not for poor reasoning on my part. Not that my opponents did anything wrong, of course: I simply let them back into the matches with slipshod play, and they capitalized accordingly.
The deck has been piloted by various people on six occasions, in five separate PTQs in Great Britain and Ireland. On each of the six occasions, it made it into the Top 8. That’s a 100% record, folks.
- It has game against White Weenie.
- It has more game against Black Hand.
- It has game against Deck-X.
- It crucifies Gifts Ungiven decks.
And it’s a riot to play.
Sadly, Mr Shinkins has yet to come up with a catchy name for his creation. So I’ll come up with something ridiculous of my own.
The Shinkatron, version one:
Main-deck
4
“>Sakura-Tribe Elder
4
“>Sakura-Tribe Scout
4
“>Kodama’s Reach
3
“>Sensei’s Divining Top
4
“>Meloku, the Clouded Mirror
4
“>Keiga, the Tide Star
4
“>Godo, Bandit Warlord
3
“>Ryusei, the Falling Star
3
“>Umezawa’s Jitte
1
“>Tatsumasa, the Dragon’s Fang
1 Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro
13 Forest
2 Island
1 Mountain
4
“>Tendo Ice Bridge
1
“>Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
1
“>Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1
“>Minamo, School at Water’s Edge
2
“>Miren, the Moaning Well
Sideboard
4
“>Glacial Ray
4
“>Consuming Vortex
4
“>Hisoka’s Defiance
3 Kodama of the North Tree
NB: At this point, Stewart would like me to acknowledge Tsuyoshi Fujita, whose 20th placed G/R/u Legends deck (DECKID=5345) from PT: Philly was the song from which Stewart riffed. Credit where credit is due, say I!
The above list is the one which Stewart supplied after his PTQ win. It is not exactly the list I played the following day: the single copy of Sachi seemed excessively random, so she hit the snakey showers and was replaced by the fourth Sensei’s Divining Top.
The game-plan of the Shinkatron is deceptively simple. Ramp up that mana, and cast that fat-assed monster. The perfect start goes a little like this:
T1: Land, Sakura-Tribe Scout.
T2: Land, Land (using Scout’s ability), Kodama’s Reach
T3: Land, Land (using Scout’s ability), Godo or Keiga or Ryusei.
And of course, there’s four Meloku for some funky man-making frolics.
As we head toward the inevitable matchup analysis, a proviso: the list above is not the current version of the deck. That can be found at the end of the article. The discussion and advice I’m about to impart is based on the above list. I’ll honestly notate the strengths and weaknesses of the above build against the expected field, and hopefully demonstrate later how the new build shores up any potential pot-holes.
But first, some general pointers.
- Unless your opening grip has some sort of mana accelerant (or Sensei’s Divining Top), then ship it back. I don’t care how many big fat monsters you’re holding. Making them turns six through eight is no good if you’re dead on turn 5.
- If possible, save your Meloku and use it as a Terror. After all, Meloku is one of the marquee cards of Kamigawa Block. Even folks playing Mono-Red find room to run the 2/4 guy-producing flyer (NB: this may be an exaggeration).
- Make sure you utilize your funky lands. Sure, Miren is a given, but the pump available with Okina and the first strike option found in Shinka are little tricks a dazed opponent may overlook.
And now, onto the matchup analysis. I hope you’re strapped and sedated.
The Shinkatron versus Gifts Ungiven
Gifts Ungiven decks come in a number of differing forms. There’s the plain Gifts decks, which run Green and Black and Blue, sweeping things away with seemingly infinite Kagemaros and Sickening Shoals. There are those that splash Red, laying down mountains and waiting for Godo. There are even decks that neglect the disruption of Black for the comfort of White, killing everything in sight with Final Judgment, tapping opponents for the entire game with Yosei after Yosei after Yosei.
The Shinkatron beats them all.
Hell, it’s what the deck was designed for.
Of the three Gifts variants outlined above, Plain Gifts is the easiest matchup. To put it simply, there are just too many things to kill. Turn 3 or 4, make Ryusei. That’s a four-turn clock, buster. Traded with a Kagemaro? Fine. Untap, make Keiga. Oh, you’ve killed that? Okay, here’s Godo with a trusty Tatsumasa. Swing, smash, got any trades?
It’s even better when the Gifts guy needs to Shoal your Irish fatty. Either he taps a helluva lotta mana to hard-cast the thing, or he ends up pitching a Kagemaro or Myojin of Night’s Reach. If you have Okina in play, even a Kagemaro pitch won’t kill a dragon. And nothing kills Tatsumasa, the Dragon’s Fang.
After boarding? Four counterspells and three untargetable guys. Now that’s some good lovin’.
Of course, all the cool kids run with Godo these days. Still, it’s not a problem. Fighting against Godo Gifts sees us rely a little less on the six-mana berserker, and a little more on Meloku. We should still win the Godo war, as we have more of the pesky lads (barring their recursions, natch), but it does mean we can’t rely on one of the all-star performers: Tatsumasa.
Finally, we have White Gifts. This is not a difficult matchup, but I found it to be the most taxing of the three Gifts matchups discussed. Yosei spoils our fun a fair bit, as does the Myojin of Cleansing Fire, but the biggest bite to our ball-sack is the bloody Patron of the Kitsune. When our removal generally consists of dealing five to everything via a dead Ryusei, blokes with a toughness of six have some value. The White Myojin is the same, of course… but that bad boy can be defied by Hisoka games two and three.
There are a few tricks and flicks to explore with this deck. While most have relevance in every matchup, it is perhaps the Gifts battle that lets them truly shine. For starters: ten mana, Tatsumasa and a Miren the Moaning Well sees us able to attack for five and gain five life each and every turn. There’s the usual Double Dragon stunt, dealing ten damage to everything without wings or stealing two of your opponent’s top blokes. But by far the best interaction is that between Meloku and the Sakura-Tribe Scouts. Believe me, I’ve seen nothing as obscene as Meloku backed with two or more land-snakes, and I’m connected to the bloody internet.
As for the problems posed by the Gifts deck… the most pertinent is Meloku. Watching your opponent create infinite blockers is a pain in the arse, especially since they fly and are therefore immune to a Ryusei-based Wrath of God. Sadly, a home-team Meloku is one of the thinnest of the Irish fatties, and is therefore easier to remove. With the Gifts deck able to seemingly recur creatures at will, the Meloku battle can be a tough one. It shouldn’t matter, as the Shinkatron is able to kill quickly and efficiently in a variety of ways, but it is something that bears consideration nonetheless.
Other than that, there’s the Patron of the Kitsune, and maybe Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni… but don’t worry too much. The matchup is a cake-walk.
Key cards in game one: Godo Bandit Warlord, Tatsumasa the Dragon’s Fang, Meloku the Clouded Mirror.
Key cards in games two and three: Meloku the Clouded Mirror, Kodama of the North Tree, Hisoka’s Defiance.
Problem cards: Meloku the Clouded Mirror, Patron of the Kitsune, Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni.
The Shinkatron versus White Weenie
After wearing my arse for a hat during our semifinal match, Stewart told me he felt that White Weenie is the toughest matchup of the Tier One decks currently on the scene. After the drubbing I received at the hands of the Shinkatron, I must say I disagreed. Nevertheless, White Weenie has been the deck to bring me down in both of my subsequent PTQ appearances, so maybe he has a point.
White Weenie is fast: this much we know. Therefore, acceleration is especially key in this matchup. The more early-game Sakura-Tribe Elders we see, the better.
And once we hit the critical mana, there’s (usually) no guy better to cast than Ryusei, the Falling Star. For a start, he’s a blocker… but with Miren the Moaning Well in play he’s also a Red Wrath of God and Stream of Life rolled into one. Even Eight-and-a-Half-Tails has no answer to his global damage sweep, as when he deals his five he’s in the graveyard and thus no longer targetable by the funky fox’s prevention ability.
The other key card is, unsurprisingly, Meloku. Keeping this guy alive to create a blocking army is of utmost importance. If you’re unable to Shatter their Jitte with a Jitte of your own (either raw-dogged or hunted down by Godo), then be careful not to let the counters number four. Remember to sacrifice your blocking token to the Miren before damage goes on the stack.
The path to victory in this matchup depends entirely on the speed with which you create your dragons. Turn three is preferable, but turn four is also fine. Turns five-plus, and it begins to look dodgy.
So what problems does the White Menace bring to the table? Early game, the ever-annoying Umezawa’s Jitte helps pile on the beats, but it’s a beatable card. Especially since the Shinkatron has three real Jittes and four virtual ones. Tatsumasa is essentially a dead card in this matchup, as it is very slow unless forced down turn three and equipped to Godo turn four. Likewise, Keiga is largely redundant, if a 5/5 flying monster can ever be deemed as such.
The greatest early-game threat, in game one at least, is the Samurai of the Pale Curtain. Ryusei loses a lot of his charm without his kill-em-all effectiveness. Luckily, the White Weenies need to swing to win, which may allow you to rid the table of the graveyard-denying fox with some judicious blocking.
Of course, it’s easy to see this deck’s nightmare card, from White Weenie at least: the mana-denying Hokori, Dust Drinker is a bagful of bumming. Stewart claims that his single Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro is warranted as a main-deck answer to the virtual Hokori lock (after all, the eight mana-producing snakes are shamans). Maybe she is, maybe she isn’t. I’ve not tested with her so I’m in no position to comment. Nevertheless, it’s imperative to save the Glacial Ray for this White Weenie Rude-Boy in games two and three. As for game one… the land-laying Scouts are a great help, but I think it’s best to simply hope that your foe has tweaked his deck toward a beatdown field and left the four-casting-cost catastrophe in the board. Unfortunately, with Gifts being the deck du jour, main-deck Hokori is a likelihood rather than an exception.
Don’t be alarmed, however, by this apparent negativity. As I’ve said, I believe the matchup to be much closer than the above makes out. I’ve battled White Weenie with the deck on four occasions, winning twice and losing 2-1 in both the other games (both semifinals, which sucks the Pope’s rope), and my losses stemmed through terrible play on my own behalf leading to chances adeptly taken across the table.
Sure, White Weenie is fast. But the Shinkatron can be faster. With a quick start, you’re laughing.
Key cards in game one: Meloku the Clouded Mirror, Ryusei, the Falling Star, Miren the Moaning Well, Umezawa’s Jitte, Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro and Sakura-Tribe Scouts (if they’re playing Hokori main-deck).
Key cards in games two and three: Meloku the Clouded Mirror, Ryusei, the Falling Star, Miren the Moaning Well, Umezawa’s Jitte, Glacial Ray.
Problem cards: Hokori, Dust Drinker, Samurai of the Pale Curtain, Charge Across the Araba.
The Shinkatron versus Black Hand
Playing against Black Hand is funny. Your game-plan is very similar to the one you deploy versus White Weenie, except Black Hand is slightly slower and doesn’t have the troublesome cards that White Weenie possesses.
Black Hand swings with 6/3 monsters, which when blocked by a Ryusei can be absolutely devastating. The monsters they play, such as Raving Oni-Slave and Takenuma Bleeder, reduce their life-total and make your dragon-based swings lead to even quicker victories than normal. Their removal is nice, but when each of their spot-destruction spells results in a Wrath of God (or in the defection of a key general in their army), it’s no big shakes. As for discard, or Cranial Extraction? A mere trifle. One dragon may fall, but another with rise in his place soon after.
There are, of course, some problems to face. Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni can be potentially catastrophic. However, the Consuming Vortex from the sideboard help turn the tempo-tide in your favour pretty severely, as well as being a virtual game-win when used against the turn two Raving Oni-Slave (and an actual game-win against a pine-fresh token from the Tomb of Urami).
Kiku, Night’s Flower can cause problems, so be sure to side in the Glacial Rays if you suspect that this particular petal will be gracing the game two garden. Other than that, I’d say that the only thing to fear is, well… fear. Both the ability (from Shizo, Death’s Storehouse) and the emotion itself. This match is easier than White Weenie, and Black Hand is currently in decline. Simply swing with dragons, cast more monsters (preferably untargettable), create tokens with Meloku and win the game.
Key cards in game one: Ryusei, the Falling Star, Miren, the Moaning Well, Meloku the Clouded Mirror, Umezawa’s Jitte.
Key cards in games two and three: Consuming Vortex, Glacial Ray, Ryusei, the Falling Star, Miren, the Moaning Well. Kodama of the North Tree
Problem cards: Ink-Eyes Servant of Oni, Shizo Death’s Storehouse, Nezumi Graverobber.
The Shinkatron versus Deck-X
Ah, the mighty Deck-X. Japan’s ultra-modern metagame-warping creation.
To be honest, I’ve not tested much against Mr. Fujita’s latest offering. I’ve played a few matches, of course, and found that if the Deck-X player is without the Honor-Worn Shakus, the deck is little more than a bad version of White Weenie. Quite frankly, this fact doesn’t strike fear into my heart.
As with White Weenie, it’s imperative to decimate their ground-based legend force with an early Ryusei and Miren combination smackdown. This serves multiple purpose, as it negates their previous swingage via a five-point lifegain. It prevents them from future attacks, hopefully running them out of two-drop juicelings. Furthermore, it negates the usefulness of the Honor-Worn Shakus, slowing them down to a snails pace while you get biz-ay with the 5/5 flying bastards.
There is, however, some sugar to be poured in our gas-tanks. Meloku is an obvious threat, but that’s the same against the majority of Kamigawa Block decks, so there’s nothing new to be learnt about him. Alas, there is an almost 100% chance that you’ll be facing a full complement of main-deck Hokori, Dust Drinkers. Remember those Glacial Rays, people!
The only other thing to worry about is Yosei, the Morning Star. Usually, if his ability to tap you down for turns becomes an issue, you’re sure to lose the game. He’s generally dependent on a decent Shaku draw, so with a little luck he’ll not be an issue.
In conclusion, Deck-X does indeed pose a few problems. However, they are extremely dependent on the appearance of certain cards, namely the Shakus. Without them, it’s as easy as pie. With them, it’s a little trickier, but by no means an awful matchup.
Key cards in game one: Meloku the Clouded Mirror, Godo, Bandit Warlord, Ryusei, the Falling Star, Umezawa’s Jitte, Miren, the Moaning Well, Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro and Sakura-Tribe Scouts.
Key cards in games two and three: Glacial Ray, Meloku the Clouded Mirror, Ryusei, the Falling Star, Miren, the Moaning Well, Umezawa’s Jitte.
Problem cards: Honor-Worn Shaku, Yosei, the Morning Star, Hokori, Dust Drinker, Meloku the Clouded Mirror.
The Shinkatron versus the Rest of the Field
Mono Blue
To be honest, this matchup felt quite difficult. In my second PTQ, I faced two Mono-Blue decks, playing one twice (round one and quarterfinals) and the other once (round four). I won the first handily while my opponent played around my non-existent Gifts Ungivens, then I eked out a 1-0 win in round four, and had a come-from-behind 2-1 victory with an epic game three in the quarter-finals.
Countermagic is annoying, this much is certain. However, there are routes and plans around it. If your opponent uses the counters on your mana-producers, then you’ll need a Ryusei to hit home. With that, a Wrath of any pesky Jushi Apprentices should hopefully take their late-game inevitability and place it firmly in your court. If, however, they let you search out land with impunity, saving countermagic for the actual threats, then Meloku becomes the deciding factor. Forcing through one of these (and having him stick around a few turns) is vital. Hinder is a worry, but Hisoka’s Defiance isn’t that much of a problem, as Meloku and Godo dodge that particular bullet. One thing is certain: you don’t want to be caught by an Overwhelming Intellect.
Unless you’ve seen multiple spirit targets, don’t be tempted by the sideboard Hisoka’s Defiance. Most of their threats are wizards, and their countermagic is likely to be anything other than arcane. Glacial Ray is an idea, as it kills the turn 2 Jushi (and Azami, if they’re that way inclined). It can also cheaply deal the final damage if they spend all their time countering your dragons.
One thing to look out for is Threads of Disloyalty. While it should largely be a dead card, it is key against a mis-timed Tatsumasa.
Key cards: Meloku the Clouded Mirror, Miren, the Moaning Well, Ryusei, the Falling Star, Keiga, the Tide Star, Glacial Ray, Kodama of the North Tree.
Problem cards: Jushi Apprentice, Meloku the Clouded Mirror, Threads of Disloyalty (!), Disrupting Shoal, Hinder, Overwhelming Intellect.
Hondens
This matchup, while on the fringe, is probably worth mentioning, especially if you have luck like mine. There’ll inevitably be one person running with the Honden deck at any given PTQ, and he’ll inevitably face you in round one.
The key to this matchup is the Honden of Cleansing Fire, as the life-swings available through this can badly affect the speed of your game. The others are of little worry. Honden of Infinite Rage with have little impact on your creatures, but may put you on a swift clock if you don’t see a Miren. Honden of Life’s Web doesn’t create flyers, so Meloku has that one trumped. Honden of Night’s Reach is cute, but with Sensei’s Divining Top and a number of significant threats, having zero cards in hand is not the nightmare it should be. Honden of Seeing Winds is also not to be feared, though it can accelerate your opponent into the White Honden of Doom.
My advice here? Make Godo as early as possible, swinging for sixteen on turn 4 with the aid of a trusty Tatsumasa. Even with the life-swing shrine, that’s a race you should win with comfort.
One more thing: if you see Genju of the Realm, remember to board in your Consuming Vortex.
Key cards: Godo, the Bandit Warlord, Meloku the Clouded Mirror, Tatsumasa, the Dragon’s Fang, Consuming Vortex.
Problem cards: Genju of the Realm, Honden of Cleansing Fire.
…
As I’ve mentioned, I’ve had some limited success this season with the Shinkatron list given at the top of the article. However, in talking with Stewart, he informs me that the below list is the current incarnation of the Shinkatron. I present it to you untested, but I know that this version made a final of a PTQ in Ireland. As for the changes themselves, I’ll whiz through them after the list itself.
The Shinkatron, version two
Creatures (24)
- 4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
- 4 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
- 1 Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro
- 2 Ryusei, the Falling Star
- 2 Kodama of the North Tree
- 2 Keiga, the Tide Star
- 3 Godo, Bandit Warlord
- 2 Arashi, the Sky Asunder
- 4 Sakura-Tribe Scout
Lands (9)
Spells (27)
By moving two Kodama of the North Tree maindeck, the matchup against Gifts Ungiven gets even better.
Arashi, the Sky Asunder is, by all accounts, the absolute star of this new build. It’s easy to see why, of course: an uncounterable way to deal with Meloku and pals is an obvious boon, as it helps us win the Meloku war without relegating our own Moonfolk Wizards to the ranks of the removal spell.
Arashi and Kodama maindeck also help lower our mana-curve a touch. I doubt this is entirely relevant, but it’s something to bear in mind. That said, the creature-base is largely interchangeable. The four Melokus (Meloki?) are a must, as are the 2 Arashi, but it pays to tweak the Dragon make-up to suit your own particular metagame. Awash with White Weenie? Stock up on the Ryuseis. Gazillions of Gifts Ungiven? Crack out the Kodamas.
Frankly, I always found the Consuming Vortex from the board to feel slightly sub-par. I always had trouble justifying their inclusion. Replacing them with Wear Away, to take out both Honor-Worn Shakus from Deck-X and any Hondens from the Honden deck, seems to have value. And they also kill Jittes! Bonus.
We know that Overwhelming Intellect is a wrecking-ball against the Shinkatron. Therefore, three of our own seems excellent mirror-match technology. They’re also the proverbial bomb-slapdown against Gifts and Heartbeat decks.
Apparently, three Sensei’s Divining Tops and one Sachi, Daughter of Seshiro is exactly correct. I’m sure Mr Shinkins is right on this point: I don’t like arguing with Stewart, for although he’s as thin as a 2-D snake, he is technically bigger than me.
So there you have it: The Shinkatron, in all its guts and glory, dissected and analysed for your entertainment pleasure.
I wish I had the opportunity to take this deck to another PTQ. I honestly feel it shows great strength against the current metagame. It’s fun to play, consistent as hell, a touch surprising, and both simple and complex at the same time.
The Shinkatron is a fun, funky, and above all competitive Kamigawa Block deck. Build it up and go wild with it. You’ll not be sorry. Even if you don’t give it a whirl, I think you’d best prepare for those that do.
And if you play Gifts, beware the guy packing a smile and a fistful of Legendary Dragons. Because he will be your downfall, of that there is no doubt.
Good luck at your PTQs, and above all… have fun.
Thanks for listening
Craig Stevenson
Scouseboy on MTGO
[email protected]