Shiranui Spectralsword

I’ve had to do a lot of defending of this card, and I’m going to do so here as well. Shiranui Spectralsword is a must in Shiranui decks, especially non-hybrids. His ability to bring out powerful monsters at no charge is unrivaled in today’s game, and he would be banned if not for his restriction.

What’s important to note is that Spectralsword was infinitely boosted in power by Solitaire. The reason is because it allows you to tech Spectralsword (despite my defense of him, I still only recommend 1-2 copies in a deck) and still use his effect multiple times per duel. The main play at the moment is to banish Spectralsword and Solitaire to summon Archfiend Zombie Skull (yes, you can summon Zombie Skull. Spectralsword says “special summon” not “synchro summon”) and then use Solitaire’s banished effect to summon Spectralsword, then synchro into Crystal Wing. This by itself is an amazing, outrageous play. You’ve already used both Spectralsword and Solitaire and now they are in the grave, so getting to summon Crystal Wing for free is just outrageous. But wait, there’s more! Thanks to Solitaire, Spectralsword is back in the grave and now, next turn, you can banish it and Zombie Skull to go into Shogunsaga… for free. But wait, there’s more! If you can get another Spectralsword or the same one back into the grave (not hard at all), then you can banish him once more along with Shogunsaga once he’s in the grave to summon Homuragami. We’re talking 4 legit synchro monsters for free that you can trigger at any time from the grave after waiting the one required turn.

Where I’ve had to defend Spectralsword is in his apparent lack of speed. I hear all the time: “You have to wait a turn. That’s not good enough.” But that logic is severely flawed. Zombies are the easiest type to get into the grave. If you have Solitaire in the hand, you can turn him into Uni-Zombie and dump Spectralsword, and you’re set. You haven’t lost anything, and zombies are easy to protect and re-summon. What exactly did you lose? Continue with your play! You can’t last one turn to summon Crystal Wing, which wrecks all other decks? There’s no defense for not running at least one Spectralsword when you get to summon so many massive monsters for free from the graveyard. Spectralsword is an unparalleled beast and should see a lot of play for years to come.

Advanced: 4/5

Future Potential: 4.5/5

• I like to think of this card as Plaguespreader and Vayu combined.
• You can use this card as a tuner twice, on field and in grave.
• Not being able to use its graveyard effect during the same turn it was sent there is a downside.
• However, it's worth noting that this prevents the player from abusing this card, if such a thing is possible.
• Unfortunately, do you have to banish another Zombie monster (and Zombie decks want their monsters in grave).
• It's vital for Shiranui decks, but also splashable in other Zombie variants..

3/5

Hello Pojo Fans,
 
Shiranui Spectralsword is the archetype's Tuner, and continues the standard trends the monsters of the archetype have: 0 DEF, FIRE, and Zombie-Type.
 
As the Tuner, Spectralsword will double the tuning ability alongside Plaguespreader Zombie (if run). While tuning with the monster is pretty normal, it has a Vayu-like ability while in the grave. Banish it and another Zombie and you can summon a Zombie Synchro that matches the total level. No restrictions on the new Synchro summoned this way, which is a big plus. Typically this kind of effect would negate the Synchro Monster's effect(s) or make it unable to attack or destroy it at the End Phase. Restricting it to a Zombie does limit it: only two Zombie-Type Synchro monsters do not require Plaguespreader Zombie (both within this archetype).
 
It's an okay monster, but Plague I think will work better in the deck in place of this. While Plague won't benefit from archetype-specific support, it gives more flex to Synchro Summons.
 
Advanced-2/5
Art-4/5
 
Until Next Time

The tuner of the bunch. Since Shiranui is a Synchro based deck, it is a little weird that the main effect doesn't actually perform a Synchro Summon. Anyway, Shiranui Spectralsword is a Level 2 Fire Zombie-type Tuner monster with 800 Atk and 0 Def. It's not uncommon for a Tuner to be so weak compared to the other Main Deck monsters, but more Atk would have been appreciated. All of the other stats are just standard Shiranui like yesterday's card and some other cards this week. They are ok.
 
The only effect of Shiranui Spectralsword is worded differently than a hard once per turn. Instead the effect can only be used once per turn. I believe if it's negated you can activate another Shiranui Spectralsword from the grave, but I could be wrong. All she has to do to Special Summon any Zombie-type Synchro Monster from the Extra Deck is to banish herself and any other Zombie-type nonTuner from the grave whose Levels equal the Level of the Special Summoned monster. There are some drawbacks. She targets the nonTuner as cost which can disappear before resolution, resulting in nothing. This isn't an effect that can spam Shiranui because it can't be activated the turn she's sent to the grave. Since it doesn't Synchro Summon a monster properly, they can't be Special Summoned from the grave or banished zone later. While Shiranui Spectralsword's effect will trigger other Shiranui banish effects, she has none of her own to take advantage of. All that being said, having a free Special Summon from the grave that isn't archetype specific in cost or effect is very good. More targets in the future will continue to keep this engine available and viable for many decks. 
 
Score: 3.5/5
Art: 4/5
 
-WarlockBlitz