Shirahoshi — Standard Strategy Guide

Affiliate links: card links on this page go to TCGplayer, and we earn a commission on purchases at no extra cost to you. How this works

Archetype Overview

Shirahoshi is a Green-Yellow board deck whose Leader never attacks. It cheats Neptunian Characters into play for a single DON!!, locks the opponent's board rested, and wins by attacking with more and bigger bodies than the other side can answer. The list below finished Top 4 at ChinoizeCup #125 TUESDAY (2026-10-20), a 120-player event, played by Limitless user kevyzhou. Around 45 dollars buys the full list, so few competitive decks are cheaper to own.

The Engine: Your Leader Is a Second Mana Source

Everything starts with the Shirahoshi Leader. Once per turn, you rest 1 DON!! and turn your top Life card face-up to play a Neptunian or Megalo from your hand. Its cost only has to be at or below the number of DON!! on your field. In practice, a cost-5 or cost-6 Character costs you 1 DON!!, and the rest of your DON!! stays free for a second play from hand. That gives you two meaningful Characters per turn from the midgame on, while the opponent spends their full DON!! on one.

The cheat targets are built to swing the board:

• Spotted Neptunian looks at 5 and finds the next Neptunian or Shirahoshi. It keeps the engine fed.
• Bird Neptunian (the cost-5 version) rests an opposing Character of cost 8 or less when it attacks with 3 or more Neptunians out. It can also set a DON!! active.
• Megalo K.O.s a rested Character with 8000 power or less on play.
• Scaled Neptunian draws one card per Neptunian you control, then trashes the same number. It can attack Characters the turn it lands.
• Topknot Neptunian is a 6000 Blocker that can flip a face-up Life card back face-down to stand back up at end of turn.

Why the Plan Is Strong

The removal is a closed loop. Green here doesn't K.O. active Characters. It rests them, then punishes them for being rested:

• Rest: Bird Neptunian and Shanks put opposing Characters to sleep.
• K.O.: Megalo removes rested Characters.
• Lock: Lord of the Coast keeps one rested Character down through the next Refresh Phase. Electrical Luna does the same to every rested Character of cost 7 or less.

Any opponent who attacks with Characters rests them for you, which turns their own aggression into targets.

Shanks ties the loop together. It has Rush and 12000 power. On play, it rests the opponent's entire board and sets 2 DON!! active. Those 2 DON!! are enough to activate your Leader for a Megalo and K.O. something that Shanks just rested. That turn usually decides the game.

Your board is hard to remove. The cost-2 Shirahoshi lets you turn a Life card face-up instead of losing a Character of base cost 6 or less to an opponent's effect. That covers nearly every Neptunian you play. As long as it's your only cost-2 Shirahoshi, your Neptunians also get +2000 power on the opponent's turn. Effect-based removal and attacks into your board both get worse.

You can rebuild Life. The cost-3 Shirahoshi trashes itself to add the top card of your deck to your Life and give your Neptunians +1000 for the turn. Sweet 3 Generals draws, adds a Life card, and gives up to two opposing Characters -3000 power. Few decks can put Life back on top. This one does it repeatedly, which matters because your Leader's cost leans on your Life.

What It Costs You

Every Leader activation flips a Life card face-up, so your opponent sees what's coming before it reaches your hand. Some of your protection also spends Life cards, and the strongest turns use them as a resource. Life, DON!!, and hand all have to be budgeted at once.

Your Leader can't attack, so every point of pressure comes from Characters. If the board is wiped, you have no fallback. Your defense is real but specific:

• Topknot Neptunian blocks.
• You're Just Not My Type! adds +4000 on Counter.
• Several bodies carry +2000 Counters.

The cost-5 Bird Neptunian has no Counter value at all. It's a pure board piece.

Who Should Pick It Up

Play Shirahoshi if you like winning on board through sequencing rather than racing Life totals. You're managing three resources every turn: DON!!, Life, and which Character the Leader cheats in. Ordering errors get punished. For example, the cost-5 Bird Neptunian's DON!! effect stops Character effects from setting DON!! active for the rest of the turn, so using it before Shanks throws away Shanks's 2 DON!!.

If you want a forgiving deck that plays itself, look elsewhere. If you want a cheap, high-ceiling midrange list that rewards tight play, this is a strong pickup.

Core Strategy & Game Plan

Shirahoshi is a board deck whose Leader never attacks. All of your damage comes from Characters, so the list does three things: put down more bodies than you paid for, keep them alive through removal, and rest or freeze anything the opponent could block or swing back with. You win by turning DON!! efficiency into a wider board, then turning that board into one attack step where the opponent has nothing active.

The Leader Engine: One DON!! for a Whole Character

The Leader's activation rests one DON!! and flips your top Life card face-up. In exchange, you play a Neptunian Character or Megalo from hand with a cost up to the number of DON!! on your field. Rested DON!! still count toward that number, so your ceiling is your total DON!!, not what you have left untapped. In practice, every Neptunian in the deck costs you 1 DON!!.

• The engine turns on at 4 DON!!. Your cheapest targets cost 4: Spotted Neptunian, Lord of the Coast and Megalo. Before that, you are hard-casting the cost-2 and cost-3 Shirahoshi.
• Point the activation at your most expensive reachable card. You get it once per turn. Use it on the biggest card you can reach and hard-cast the cheaper one with the leftover DON!!. At 6 DON!!, the Leader into Topknot Neptunian plus a hard-cast 4-drop gives you two bodies for six.

Bird Neptunian (EB04-016) makes the engine even cheaper. Its Activate: Main sets one DON!! active, which refunds the Leader's cost. The catch is the rider: after you use it, you can't set DON!! active with Character effects for the rest of the turn. That matters on exactly one turn. Shanks' On Play untaps 2 DON!!, so on a Shanks turn, resolve Shanks first and activate Bird afterward.

Life Is Your Second Resource

The Leader and Shirahoshi (OP12-102) both spend Life by flipping your top card face-up, so both want a face-down card on top. Managing that top card is what keeps the engine running.

• Shirahoshi (OP12-102) is your removal shield. When an opponent's effect would remove your Character with base cost 6 or less, you can flip a Life card instead. That covers everything except Scaled Neptunian and Shanks. On the opponent's turn, it also gives your Neptunians +2000, but only if it's your only cost-2 Shirahoshi. Never put a second copy on board. Keep extras in hand as +1000 Counters.
• Topknot Neptunian resets the fuel. It turns a top Life card back face-down and sets itself active at the end of the turn. That gives you one more flip for the Leader or the shield, and Topknot gets to attack and still be up as a Blocker.
• Shirahoshi (EB03-052) and Sweet 3 Generals refill Life. Both add a card from the top of your deck to your Life. Trash the cost-3 Shirahoshi before your attacks, not after, because its +1000 to all Neptunians only lasts that turn.

The Rest-and-Freeze Package

Your interaction has two halves. The first half rests opposing Characters. Bird Neptunian (EB04-016) does it when attacking, as long as you control 3 or more Neptunians. Shanks rests every opposing Character at once.

The second half punishes rested Characters:

• Megalo K.O.s one rested Character with 8000 power or less.
• Lord of the Coast keeps one rested Character from untapping.
• Electrical Luna keeps every rested Character with cost 7 or less from untapping.

Order matters. Rest first, then punish. Attack with Bird to rest a target, then use the Leader to play Megalo and K.O. it, or cast Electrical Luna after combat so everything the opponent attacked with or had rested stays down through their next turn. Sweet 3 Generals adds -3000 to two Characters, which can push a target under Megalo's 8000 limit or shrink an attacker before a combat trade.

Posture

You are the proactive midrange deck. Develop every turn, and let the cost-2 Shirahoshi, Topknot Neptunian's Blocker and your Counters absorb pressure: +2000 on Megalo and the vanilla Bird Neptunian (OP11-033), and +4000 from You're Just Not My Type!. Your 5 Life is real, but it is also engine fuel. Don't spend Counters to save a Life card you were going to flip anyway. Save them for the turns when losing a Character costs you board width.

The Ideal Game

1. 1–3 DON!!: Land the cost-2 Shirahoshi early so the shield and the +2000 are online before your real threats arrive. Add the cost-3 copy if you have spare DON!!.
2. 4 DON!!: Use the Leader on Spotted Neptunian to dig for a Neptunian or Shirahoshi. Pick Megalo instead if the opponent has a rested target. You have 3 DON!! left for the cost-3 Shirahoshi, Electrical Luna, or DON!! on an attacker.
3. 5–6 DON!!: Use the Leader on a Bird or Topknot Neptunian and hard-cast a 4-drop. You want three Neptunians on board so the EB04-016 Bird's attack trigger is live from here on.
4. 7–9 DON!!: Use the Leader on Scaled Neptunian. Its On Play draws once for each Neptunian you control, including itself, then trashes the same number. That is filtering, not card advantage: dig toward Shanks and Megalo and pitch spare cost-2 Shirahoshi. Its Rush: Character lets it attack a rested Character that turn. Sweet 3 Generals is your other hard-cast here.
5. 10 DON!!: Hard-cast Shanks. The Leader can't play it because it isn't a Neptunian. Shanks rests every opposing Character and untaps 2 of your DON!!. Spend 1 of those on the Leader to play Megalo and K.O. their best rested Character with 8000 power or less, then activate Bird for another DON!!. Shanks has Rush, and the opponent has no active Blockers, so swing with everything.

Card Choices & Breakdown

The Leader and the Life Engine

Every slot in this list serves one Leader ability. Shirahoshi can't attack. Instead, once per turn, you rest 1 DON!! and flip your top Life card face-up to play a Neptunian or Megalo from hand with cost up to the number of DON!! on your field. That is a free Character every turn, but each use costs a face-down Life. The Characters below either give you something to cheat out, or give you Life to spend.

Shirahoshi Characters: 10 Slots

The ten Shirahoshi Characters come in three printings. Two of them matter most:

• Cost 2 (OP12-102): This is the protection piece. If the opponent's effect would remove one of your Characters with base cost 6 or less, you flip a Life card face-up instead. That covers everything except Scaled Neptunian and Shanks. On the opponent's turn, it also gives every Neptunian +2000, but only if you control no other cost-2 Shirahoshi. Keep extra copies in hand as +1000 Counters instead of stacking them on the board.
• Cost 3 (EB03-052): Trash it to add the top card of your deck to your Life, and your Neptunians gain +1000 that turn. It pays back the Life your Leader and the cost-2 Shirahoshi spend, and it adds a little extra power on the turn you swing.

Every copy carries a +1000 Counter, so extras are never dead cards.

Searchers and Bodies

• Spotted Neptunian (4): Look at 5 and take a Neptunian or Shirahoshi. A full set makes your early turns consistent, and every hit is a legal target for the Leader next turn.
• Bird Neptunian (cost 6, OP11-033, 4): A vanilla 7000 with a +2000 Counter. It is the best Leader target once you have 6 DON!!, because you get a 7000 body for one rested DON!!. Late in the game it doubles as one of your biggest Counters.
• Topknot Neptunian (4): A 6000 Blocker. Its ability turns a face-up Life card back face-down and sets it active at end of turn. That resets the cost of your Leader's ability and leaves you a Blocker after you attack. Run all four: it is your main defensive body and your way to undo Life damage you dealt yourself.
• Scaled Neptunian (4): Draw one card per Neptunian, then trash the same number. With a wide board this filters you toward Shanks or Counters. At 7 DON!! the Leader can cheat it out, and Rush: Character lets it attack a Character immediately.

The Rest-and-Punish Package

The deck's removal works by resting a target first, then punishing it.

• Bird Neptunian (cost 5, EB04-016, 4): When it attacks while you have 3+ Neptunians, it rests one opposing Character with cost 8 or less. Its Activate: Main sets one DON!! active, which refunds the DON!! your Leader rests. The drawback is real, though. After using it, Character effects can't set DON!! active that turn, which shuts off Shanks. It has no Counter value, which is why the vanilla Bird Neptunian fills the other four Bird slots.
• Megalo (4): Rest it to K.O. an opposing rested Character with 8000 power or less. It is the only non-Neptunian the Leader can play, so here is the standard line. Attack with Bird Neptunian to rest a target. When that battle ends, use the Leader to drop Megalo and K.O. the target. Its +2000 Counter means it's never a blank card in hand.
• Lord of the Coast (2): Keeps one rested Character from refreshing. Its Trigger K.O.s a rested cost-3-or-less Character. It's a second rest-matters payoff, but it overlaps with Electrical Luna, so two copies is enough.

Off-Plan Top End

• Sweet 3 Generals (3): This isn't a Neptunian, so you hard-cast it. You also need 2 more DON!! to rest on your turn for the On Play, which means about 8 DON!! in total. That gets you a draw, a Life card and -3000 on two Characters. Its Trigger plays it on the opponent's turn, but the On Play only works on your turn, so a Triggered copy is just a 4000 body. That expensive setup is why it's a 3-of.
• Shanks (3): At 10 cost, this is the finisher. It's a 12000 Rush, it sets 2 DON!! active and rests every opposing Character. Those 2 refunded DON!! let you activate the Leader in the same turn. Rest one to cheat out Megalo and K.O. a freshly rested Character, or Lord of the Coast to lock one down. Run three because it is dead early and you only need to find it once.

Events

• My name is Shirahoshi!! (4): This is the list's biggest Event commitment, with a full playset in a deck that otherwise runs only four Events.
• You're Just Not My Type! (2): A 1-cost +4000 Counter that can save your Leader or a key Character. Its Trigger K.O.s a cost-2-or-less Character. Two copies is enough because the Character Counters already handle most fights.
• Electrical Luna (2): Every opposing rested Character with cost 7 or less stays rested through their next Refresh Phase. Cast it after a Bird Neptunian attack, or after the opponent swings wide, to strand their board. Its Trigger rests one Character, which can set up Megalo. Run two because it is a situational card and has no Counter value.

The Decklist

Leader

Characters (42)

Events (8)

At a Glance

• Neptunian density: 22 Neptunian Characters, plus 4 Megalo. That gives your Leader's ability 26 legal targets before you count any Shirahoshi Characters. It also powers Scaled Neptunian's draw and the cost-5 Bird Neptunian's attack trigger.
• +2000 Counters: 8 cards, from 4 Megalo and 4 cost-6 Bird Neptunian. The cost-5 Bird Neptunian and Shanks have no Counter, so those 7 cards are dead in hand on defense.
• Triggers: 9 cards among those with text listed: Lord of the Coast, Sweet 3 Generals, You're Just Not My Type! and Electrical Luna. Your Leader turns Life face-up as a cost, so you will know what you are taking before it is hit.
• Hard-cast only: Sweet 3 Generals and Shanks can't come off the Leader ability. Plan your DON!! for them separately.
• Price: about $45 at TCGplayer market prices (approximate).

The core of this list is the Neptunian body count and the four-of engine pieces. The five flex lines are Lord of the Coast, Sweet 3 Generals, Shanks, You're Just Not My Type! and Electrical Luna. Together they total 12 slots, and they are where you tune for your room. Cut anything from the core and your Leader ability starts missing.

Opening Hands & Mulligan

Your mulligan question is simple: does this hand give your Leader something to play once you have four DON!!? Shirahoshi cannot attack. Its whole job is to rest one DON!! and turn a Life card face-up to drop a "Neptunian" Character or Megalo from hand at a discount. A hand that can't feed that ability gives you a 5000-power Leader that does nothing. You draw 5 and may redraw once, and your 5 Life cards are set after that decision, so judge the five cards on their own.

What every keep needs

• A 4-cost Leader target: Spotted Neptunian, Megalo or Lord of the Coast. These are the cheapest cards the Leader can put into play, and they come online the turn you reach four DON!!.
• A follow-up at 5 or higher: Topknot Neptunian, either Bird Neptunian, or Scaled Neptunian. The Leader turns these into cheap plays later, and they make up most of your board.
• Enough counter to survive the early hits: Megalo and the cost-6 Bird Neptunian each give +2000. You're Just Not My Type! gives +4000 for 1 DON!!. Most of the rest give +1000.

Spotted Neptunian counts as half of a second piece. Its On Play looks at five cards and takes any "Neptunian" card or Shirahoshi, so a hand with Spotted and one more real card usually builds itself.

Snap keeps

• Spotted Neptunian + any 5-cost Neptunian + one cheap Shirahoshi Character.
• Megalo or Lord of the Coast + Topknot Neptunian or Bird Neptunian + a counter card.
• The cost-2 Shirahoshi + two Leader targets. The cost-2 copy is your best early play. On your opponent's turn it gives every Neptunian +2000, provided you have no other base-cost-2 Shirahoshi. Its removal replacement also protects your developing board.

Send it back

• No 4-cost or 5-cost Neptunian/Megalo at all. Even with Shanks and Sweet 3 Generals, you have no plays until late. Neither card can be played through the Leader.
• Two or more of Shanks and the cost-5 Bird Neptunian. Neither has a Counter value, so the hand plays nothing early and blocks nothing.
• A pile of Shirahoshi Characters with no Neptunians. Extra cost-2 copies switch off each other's power boost. The cost-3 copy only pays off once Neptunians are on board, so without them it is just a counter.
• Event-heavy hands. Electrical Luna needs rested opposing Characters to do anything, so it is not an early keep reason.

Going first

You have 1 DON!! on turn 1 and no 1-cost Characters, so you pass. On your second turn you have 3 DON!!, but no Leader target costs 3 or less. Hard-cast the cost-2 Shirahoshi so your opponent's next attacks run into its effects, or the cost-3 copy if that is all you have. Turn 3 (5 DON!!) is your real start. Rest 1 DON!! to Leader-play a 5-cost, then hard-cast a 4-cost with the remaining four. Two bodies in one turn is why going first demands a hand with both a 4 and a 5. A hand with only one Leader target is weaker on the play than it looks.

Going second

Your extra DON!! moves everything up a turn:

• Turn 1 (2 DON!!): play the cost-2 Shirahoshi.
• Turn 2 (4 DON!!): Leader-play a 4-cost for 1 DON!!, then spend the other 3 on the cost-3 Shirahoshi or hold up counters.
• Turn 3 (6 DON!!): Leader-play the cost-6 Bird Neptunian and still hard-cast a 5-cost.

This tempo is why you can keep slightly greedier hands on the draw. One Leader target plus Spotted Neptunian or strong counters is fine. Watch your Megalo timing. Its K.O. only hits rested Characters, so check whether your opponent's attackers are still rested before you spend it as a removal play. If they aren't, it can just be a body and a +2000 counter.

Matchups that change the keep

• Aggro and Leader pressure: keep counters over curve. A hand with You're Just Not My Type!, Megalo and a cost-2 Shirahoshi beats a perfect curve that can't block. Topknot Neptunian goes up in value because it is a Blocker. Remember the Leader's cost turns Life face-up, so plan to activate it on turns when you are not about to take a run of hits.
• Removal-heavy control and midrange: the cost-2 Shirahoshi becomes a near-mandatory keep reason. It lets you turn a Life card face-up instead of losing a Character of base cost 6 or less, which covers every Neptunian in the list. Spotted Neptunian also matters more here, because it refills what gets answered.
• Wide boards: keep Megalo and Lord of the Coast over pure stats. Lord's On Play keeps a rested Character rested, so the two pair well when your opponent has to attack into you. A single Shanks is a fine card to hold in these hands, because its On Play rests their whole board. Just don't keep it as one of only three real cards.

Sequencing & Key Lines

Early Turns: Make Every DON!! Count Twice

Your Leader can't attack, so the first turns are about bodies. The Leader's activation puts a Neptunian or Megalo onto the field for one rested DON!!, as long as its cost is no higher than your DON!! count. That makes four DON!! the first real breakpoint.

• Going first, turns 1–2 (1 and 3 DON!!): No Neptunian is cheap enough for the Leader yet. Hard-cast the 2-cost Shirahoshi or the 3-cost Shirahoshi on turn 2. Lead with the 2-cost if you have it, so its protection and defensive buff are online before your first real Characters arrive.
• Going second, turn 1 (2 DON!!): Drop the 2-cost Shirahoshi. It comes in active with 0 power, so it is not a target for attacks.
• Going second turn 2, or going first turn 3: Activate the Leader into Spotted Neptunian first. Its search can find another Neptunian or a Shirahoshi, which tells you what to do with your remaining DON!!. Then hard-cast with what's left.

Never put a second 2-cost Shirahoshi on the field. Its +2000 only works if you have no other 2-cost Shirahoshi, so a second copy switches off the buff for both. Use the extra copy as a +1000 Counter or as a discard for Scaled Neptunian.

The Bird Refund

From five DON!!, using the Leader on the cost-5 Bird Neptunian is close to free. You rest one DON!! to play it, then Bird's Activate: Main stands that DON!! back up. You get a 7000 body and still have your full DON!! pool for hard casts.

Bird's effect has a catch. After it resolves, you can't set DON!! active with Character effects for the rest of that turn. Only one Bird refund happens per turn, and it shuts off the DON!! return on Shanks. Plan every turn so Bird's activation comes last among your DON!!-untapping effects.

Life Is a Resource: Order the Face-Up Costs

Three effects draw on the top of your Life:

• The Leader's activation turns it face-up.
• The 2-cost Shirahoshi's replacement effect turns it face-up instead of losing a Character.
• Topknot Neptunian turns it back face-down.

Turning a card face-up doesn't lower your Life total. It does show the opponent what you'll pick up when you take damage. Two cards refill Life with a fresh card from your deck:

• Trashing the 3-cost Shirahoshi adds the top card of your deck to your Life.
• Sweet 3 Generals' On Play, cast on your turn, does the same.

Before you activate the Leader, ask whether you will need the protection effect on the opponent's next turn. If you will, refill or flip back first so a face-down card is on top.

Topknot Neptunian also gives you a free attack. Activate it, swing with the 6000 Blocker, and it becomes active at end of turn, ready to block on the opponent's turn.

Trash the 3-cost Shirahoshi before combat. The +1000 to your Neptunians only lasts that turn.

Rest, Then Punish

Every card here rewards a rested opposing Character, so set them up in this order:

1. Attack with the cost-5 Bird Neptunian while you control three or more Neptunians. Its rest effect hits a Character of cost 8 or less, including a Blocker you want out of the way.
2. Follow up on the newly rested target with the Leader into Megalo (K.O. a rested Character with 8000 power or less) or Lord of the Coast (it skips its next Refresh).
3. Swing Scaled Neptunian into anything still rested. Its Rush: Character lets it attack Characters the turn it lands.

Play Scaled Neptunian after your Neptunian count peaks. It counts itself, so more Neptunians means a bigger draw. Then trash dead weight: the redundant 2-cost Shirahoshi or a lock Event you won't reach.

The Shanks Turn

Ten DON!! arrives on your fifth turn going second and your sixth going first. The order is fixed:

1. Cast Shanks. All DON!! rests, two come back active, and every opposing Character is rested.
2. Choose your branch:
   • Narrow board (one real threat): Leader into Megalo to K.O. the threat. Then use the Bird refund and attach the spare DON!! to an attacker.
   • Wide board (two or more Characters of cost 7 or less): Use the Bird refund to reach three active DON!!, then cast Electrical Luna. Their whole board stays rested through their turn, so it can't attack and can't block your next swing. This branch uses up your Leader activation's DON!!.
3. Attack with the 12000 Rush Shanks into a board with no Blockers left.

Going the other way, Bird first and then Shanks, loses the two-DON!! refund and gives up the whole branch.

What to Hold

• You're Just Not My Type!: It's +4000 for one DON!! on any of your Characters or the Leader. Keep one DON!! open for it on turns when a big body is at risk in battle.
• Electrical Luna: Save it for the turn when Shanks or several Bird rests have the opposing board rested. Cast into a mostly active board, it does almost nothing.
• Sweet 3 Generals: Its draw, Life refill and -3000 only happen when you cast it on your own turn. When it's revealed as a Trigger, it's just a 4000 body.

Playing Around Removal

The format's most common interaction is effect-based removal. The 2-cost Shirahoshi is your answer, but it only covers Characters with base cost 6 or less. Scaled Neptunian and Shanks are unprotected.

• Into a removal-heavy opponent, build your board from 6-cost-and-under Neptunians first. Commit Scaled Neptunian only once you have the draw value locked in.
• Get the 2-cost down before you rest your attackers. Its Opponent's Turn +2000 is what keeps a rested Spotted Neptunian or Bird from getting picked off in battle.
• If it is your only copy, protect it ahead of everything else. A lone 2-cost Shirahoshi is worth more to the opponent's plan than any single Neptunian.

Matchup Matrix

Rocks.D.Xebec

This is the matchup to prepare for. Xebec took 8 of 32 Top 8 slots from 46 of 256 entries (source: Limitless TCG online platform, 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-19). It also made Top 8 at events both before and after the 2026-10-12 ban. The lists are rigid: all eight Top 8 builds ran the same eight cards at four copies each (source: Limitless TCG online platform, 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-19). Learn those eight cards, because you will face nearly identical decks every round.

Your plan is the full-board lock. At 10 DON!!, play Shanks to rest every opposing Character and set 2 DON!! active. Then activate the Bird Neptunian with the DON!! ability for a third active DON!!. Its restriction only stops Character effects after it resolves, so Shanks has already paid out. Now cast Electrical Luna so every rested Character with cost 7 or less stays rested through their next Refresh Phase. Before you hit that turn, spend DON!! on Blockers and Counters, not on a cleared board you can't hold.

Luffy & Ace

Second in Top 8 slots, with six finishes from 31 entries (source: Limitless TCG online platform, 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-19). Its seven 4-of core is just as fixed as Xebec's. Your Leader can't attack, so you can't race. Keep your Life stacked with Sweet 3 Generals and the 3-cost Shirahoshi, and save You're Just Not My Type! for the attack that would actually swing the game. With the 2-cost Shirahoshi on board and no second copy, your Neptunians are 2000 bigger on their turn. Make them attack into that. For that side of the matchup, see our Luffy & Ace Standard guide.

Monkey.D.Luffy

All three OP17-079 Top 8s in the window came before the ban date. The first counted event after the ban was won by the OP13-001 Leader (source: Limitless TCG online platform, 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-19). Against either one, keep Topknot Neptunian as your defensive anchor. Its untap costs you a face-down Life card, so spend that only when it buys a full blocking turn. Your Leader can play Megalo for 1 DON!!, which kills a rested attacker cheaply and leaves DON!! free for Counters. For that side of the matchup, see our Monkey.D.Luffy Standard guide.

Kalgara

This Leader is a small share of the field that converts well: 3 Top 8 slots from 9 entries, including a post-ban event win (source: Limitless TCG online platform, 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-19). Treat it as a real threat even if you see it rarely. Your best turns here need three or more Neptunians in play, which turns on the rest effect of Bird Neptunian and makes Scaled Neptunian draw deep. Use Spotted Neptunian early to find bodies, and drop cheap Neptunians off your Leader to build the count fast. For that side of the matchup, see our Kalgara Standard guide.

Sabo

Sabo had 2 Top 8 slots from 18 entries, both before the ban (source: Limitless TCG online platform, 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-19). Whatever its interaction looks like, your answer is the 2-cost Shirahoshi. Opponent effects that would remove your base-cost-6-or-less Characters can turn a Life card face-up instead. Shanks isn't covered, so keep him in hand until the lock turn. For that side of the matchup, see our Sabo Standard guide.

The rest of the field

• Go-wide aggro (Favored): Characters that attack end up rested, and nearly all of your interaction punishes that. Megalo kills rested targets. Lord of the Coast and Electrical Luna stop them from untapping. Sweet 3 Generals gives two Characters -3000, which pulls bigger bodies under the Megalo line.
• Removal-heavy control (Even): Each turn of protection costs you face-up Life. Rebuild your Life with Sweet 3 Generals and the 3-cost Shirahoshi so you don't run out.
• Single oversized threats (Unfavored): Megalo stops at 8000 power, Electrical Luna at cost 7, and the rest from Bird Neptunian at cost 8. Against a Character above those limits, rest it with Shanks, then attack it with Scaled Neptunian (Rush: Character, 8000 power). Shrink it with Sweet 3 Generals first if 8000 isn't enough.

Tech Choices & Variations

Most of this list is fixed. The flex sits in three places: the rest-and-lock package, the Counter Events, and the non-Neptunian top end. Every change below swaps counts between cards already in the list, because the card text here is what you can verify. If you look outside the 50, use the same tests described below.

What not to touch

The Leader can only play "Neptunian" type Characters or Megalo. That makes the 26 cards it can put into play (the four-ofs of Spotted Neptunian, Megalo, Topknot Neptunian, Scaled Neptunian and both Bird Neptunian printings, plus the two Lord of the Coast) the engine. Don't cut Leader-playable cards for off-type tech. Every Neptunian you cut also weakens the three-Neptunian check on Bird Neptunian and the draw count on Scaled Neptunian. My name is Shirahoshi!! is already at the four-copy maximum. Treat it as locked.

The flex slots

Swaps worth considering

• Third Electrical Luna for a Sweet 3 Generals. Shanks rests all of your opponent's Characters. Electrical Luna then keeps every rested Character costing 7 or less from untapping. Order matters if you want both in one turn:
  1. Play Shanks off 10 DON!! and let it set 2 DON!! active.
  2. Activate an on-field Bird Neptunian for a third active DON!!.
  3. Cast Electrical Luna with those three.
  Don't activate Bird first. Its restriction would stop Shanks from setting DON!! active that turn. The cost of this swap is real: you lose a draw, a Life refill and a self-playing Trigger.
• Third Lord of the Coast for an Electrical Luna. You trade a mass lock for a single-target lock on a body that counts as a Neptunian. That body gives a +1000 Counter, can be played by the Leader, and has a Trigger that K.O.s a rested cost-3-or-less Character. Pick this if your opponents win off one or two big threats rather than a wide board.
• Third You're Just Not My Type! for an Electrical Luna. This is the defensive tilt. The Event costs only 1, gives +4000 during battle, and its Trigger cleans up a cost-2-or-less Character.
• Fourth Shanks for a Sweet 3 Generals. You get more closing power. The trade-off is that Shanks has no Counter value and is dead in hand until 10 DON!!. A drawn Sweet 3 Generals is never fully dead, because it still Counters for +1000.

The Shirahoshi split

The cost-2 Shirahoshi only grants its Opponent's Turn +2000 to Neptunians if you have no other cost-2 Shirahoshi. Extra copies on the field don't stack, so you don't want to draw multiples of it. Its replacement effect still protects your board, though. The cost-3 Shirahoshi adds Life, which feeds the Leader's activation cost.

When you tune these slots, aim for Life to refill about as fast as your Leader and Topknot Neptunian use it. If you flip Life face-up faster than you refill it, cut a Shanks before you cut Life gain.

Trigger and Counter budget

Every swap moves two numbers you should track:

• Triggers. Lord of the Coast, Sweet 3 Generals, You're Just Not My Type! and Electrical Luna all have Triggers.
• Counter values. Megalo and Bird Neptunian (OP11-033) give +2000. Shanks and Bird Neptunian (EB04-016) give none.

Adding Shanks lowers both numbers. Adding Lord of the Coast keeps both intact. That is why the third Lord of the Coast is the lowest-risk swap here.

Tuning for your local field

In the most recent data, Rocks.D.Xebec (OP17-039) took 8 of 32 online Top 8 slots, and Luffy & Ace (ST30-001) took 6 (source: Limitless TCG online events, 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-19). Those four events were all 64-player online events. Treat that as a signal about the field, not a forecast for your store.

The usable rule is simple:

• If your locals plays Character-heavy boards that stay rested after attacking, lean toward Electrical Luna and Lord of the Coast.
• If your locals is fast Leader pressure, move a slot to You're Just Not My Type!.
• If you can't tell, stick with the list as registered. A Top 4 finish in a 120-player field is the best evidence you have that the current 2-2-2 split holds up.

Budget Options

The full list comes in at about $45 at TCGplayer market prices, so this is already one of the cheaper ways into a competitive Standard Leader. A cut-down version saves you very little. If $45 fits your budget, buy the full list. The rest of this chapter is for players who need to spread the purchase out, or who are missing a few copies the week of an event.

Where the Money Probably Sits

No per-card prices are listed here, so check current market prices before you buy. In a list this cheap, the cost usually concentrates in a few cards rather than spreading evenly. The likeliest candidates are:

• Shanks: a three-copy, cost-10 finisher from the newest set code in the list.
• Sweet 3 Generals: another three-copy card from the same set.
• The Shirahoshi Leader and Characters: the deck is built around them, so demand for them tracks demand for the archetype.

Whatever you buy, get the base prints. Premium printings play identically.

What You Cannot Cut

The engine has to be complete before you play a single game:

• The Shirahoshi Leader.
• Every Shirahoshi Character copy. The OP12-102 copy turns a removal effect into a Life flip for any Character with base cost 6 or less. The EB03-052 copy puts a card back on Life and pumps your Neptunians.
• All four Spotted Neptunian, which find Neptunians or Shirahoshi.
• The full Neptunian and Megalo body count: Megalo, Topknot Neptunian, both Bird Neptunian printings, Scaled Neptunian and Lord of the Coast. These are the cards your Leader puts into play off a Life flip. Cutting them makes the Leader ability whiff.
• All four copies of My name is Shirahoshi!!. The list runs it as a full playset, so treat it as core.

Acceptable Swaps

Every swap below stays inside the 60 cards already in the list. You raise counts on cards that sit below four copies, and you don't bring in outside cards.

The cost of losing Shanks. This is the bigger loss of the two. Without it, the only way you rest an opponent's Character on your own turn is Bird Neptunian (EB04-016) attacking with three or more Neptunians in play, and that hits one target per attack. Your game gets slower and more grindy. Against wide boards you have to win through attrition, using Life manipulation and Counters, instead of one big turn.

Why Lord of the Coast is the first replacement. It is a Neptunian, so your Leader can play it straight from hand. Its On Play keeps an opposing Character rested through the opponent's next Refresh Phase, which sets up Megalo. Its Trigger also does work while you are on defense. Electrical Luna does the same lock across every rested Character with cost 7 or less, which is the closest you can get to a mass effect without Shanks.

What not to do. Don't fill missing slots with off-plan cards just because you own them. Every non-Neptunian, non-Megalo Character you add is a card your Leader cannot play. The Leader's ability is the reason to pick this deck.

Upgrade Path

1. Step 1: the engine. Buy the Leader, the Shirahoshi Characters, Spotted Neptunian, the Neptunian and Megalo package, and the four My name is Shirahoshi!!. Fill the Shanks and Sweet 3 Generals slots with the swaps above. This version plays the real game plan. It just has no finisher.
2. Step 2: Sweet 3 Generals. Buy these first of the two missing cards. You will cast one far more often than a cost-10 card. It also fixes the hand-size problem the budget build has in longer games, and its Trigger gives you free value when it flips off Life.
3. Step 3: Shanks. Adding even one or two copies brings back the closing turn. Cut the extra Electrical Luna first, then the extra Lord of the Coast.
4. Step 4: back to the listed counts. Return the Counter Events and Shirahoshi Characters to the exact numbers in the list. Then tune from there using the Tech Choices chapter.

Because the full deck is so cheap, aim to finish all four steps before a large event. The budget build is fine for locals. Against a field of strong Leaders, though, giving up Shanks means giving up the turn that ends close games.

Common Mistakes

1. Activating the 5-cost Bird Neptunian before Shanks

The 5-cost Bird Neptunian untaps one DON!!, then stops you from setting DON!! active with Character effects for the rest of the turn. Shanks sets DON!! active with a Character effect. If you fire Bird first on your Shanks turn, you lose two active DON!! to save one. The same rule means a second 5-cost Bird activation that turn does nothing.

Fix: On any turn you plan to play Shanks, resolve Shanks first and activate Bird after. One 5-cost Bird activation per turn is the ceiling. Plan your DON!! math around that.

2. Tapping out before using the Leader

The Shirahoshi Leader ability costs one active DON!!. The cost cap is the number of DON!! on your field, not the number still active. A common leak is spending every DON!! on hard casts and leaving nothing to rest for the free play. At 6 DON!!, you can hard-cast a 5-cost Character and still rest the sixth DON!! to put the 6-cost Bird Neptunian into play from hand.

Fix: Count backwards from the Leader activation. Always keep one DON!! active for it, or get one back with the 5-cost Bird or Shanks before you activate.

3. Running out of Life cards to flip

Three parts of the engine need a Life card to turn:

• the Leader ability
• the protection from the 2-cost Shirahoshi
• the untap from Topknot Neptunian

When your Life runs low, all three shut off together, and you end up with a deck of vanilla bodies. Players who spend Life on early free plays without refilling it find that the engine is gone just when the opponent starts removing their board.

Fix: Treat the 3-cost Shirahoshi and Sweet 3 Generals as fuel for the engine as well as value cards. Both put a card on top of your Life. Refill before you need the protection, not after you've lost it.

4. Putting a second 2-cost Shirahoshi on the board

The 2-cost Shirahoshi gives your Neptunians +2000 on the opponent's turn only if you have no other base-cost-2 Shirahoshi. If you play the second copy "for redundancy," every Neptunian loses that +2000 right when the opponent attacks. The removal protection doesn't need a second copy anyway.

Fix: Keep one on board. Hold extra copies as +1000 Counters. Only play the second if the first is gone.

5. Playing Megalo, Lord of the Coast or Electrical Luna into an active board

Megalo only K.O.s rested Characters. Lord of the Coast and Electrical Luna only lock Characters that are already rested. If you cast any of them before anything on the other side is rested, the card is just a body or a dead Event. The rested targets come from two places:

• Characters that attacked on the opponent's last turn.
• Characters you rest yourself, with an attack from the 5-cost Bird Neptunian (when you have three or more Neptunians) or with the On Play of Shanks.

Fix: Rest first, then punish. Swing with the 5-cost Bird, resolve the rest, then use the Leader to play Megalo for the K.O. On a Shanks turn, every opposing Character is rested. A Leader-played Megalo then removes one, and Electrical Luna keeps the rest locked through their Refresh Phase.

6. Hard-casting Sweet 3 Generals without the extra two DON!!

Sweet 3 Generals isn't a Neptunian, so the Leader can't play it. Its On Play also needs you to rest two more DON!!. If you cast it with exactly 6 DON!!, you get a 4000-power body and none of the draw, Life refill or -3000 power. It also gives nothing when it comes off a Trigger, because the On Play only works on your turn.

Fix: Budget 8 DON!! for a real cast. Use the -3000 power on blockers before your attacks, not after. When it flips as a Trigger, count it as a free blocker body and nothing more.

7. Firing Scaled Neptunian or Shanks without the board to cash them in

Scaled Neptunian draws one card per Neptunian you control, then makes you trash the same number. With a thin board, that's a 7-cost card for almost nothing. Shanks rests every opposing Character for exactly one turn. Your Leader can't attack, so if you don't have enough attackers already on board, the opening goes to waste.

Fix: Play Scaled Neptunian once you have several Neptunians out, and trash excess bodies, not your Counter cards. Save Shanks for the turn your board can actually push damage through a field that can't block. On that turn, use the two refunded DON!! for your Leader activation or a pump from the 3-cost Shirahoshi.

8. Forgetting Topknot's untap

Topknot Neptunian turns a face-up Life card face-down to set itself active at the end of your turn. That lets it attack and still be a Blocker. Players either forget the activation or have no face-up Life card when they need it.

Fix: On turns you attack with Topknot, make sure a Leader activation has already flipped a Life card face-up. Then activate the untap before you pass.

Tournament Prep & Final Notes

What to Practice Before the Event

This list wins on turns where you chain four or five activated abilities in the right order. It loses when you fumble that order or miscount DON!!. Do your reps on those turns, not on general play.

• The Shanks turn. Practice it until you can do it without thinking. Shanks rests all of your opponent's Characters, and that sets up Megalo to K.O. a rested target with 8000 power or less. The 5-cost Bird Neptunian can also tap down anything that stays standing. Drill the full sequence from several board states, including ones where you need the Leader to put Megalo into play after Shanks resolves.
• DON!! math with the Leader. Shirahoshi's Leader ability checks the number of DON!! cards on your field. It does not check how many are active. Resting a DON!! to pay for the ability does not lower that number. Practice counting what you can drop each turn: a cost-6 Bird Neptunian at six DON!!, or a 4-drop Spotted Neptunian or Megalo much earlier. Remember the ability only finds "Neptunian" type Characters or Megalo. Your Shirahoshi Characters, Sweet 3 Generals, and Shanks are not eligible.
• Life-state tracking. Several cards care about your top Life card: the Leader flips it face-up, the 2-cost Shirahoshi flips it face-up, and Topknot Neptunian flips it face-down. Get used to announcing and checking the state of your Life stack before every activation. If you lose track halfway through a turn, you can make an illegal play or pass on a free one.

Interactions to Know Cold

• Shanks before Bird, always. The 5-cost Bird Neptunian sets a DON!! active, but afterward you cannot set DON!! active using Character effects for the rest of the turn. Shanks's On Play is a Character effect. If you activate Bird first, you lose Shanks's two-DON!! refund. The same restriction means a second 5-cost Bird activation in the same turn does nothing for DON!!. Plan for one Bird untap per turn.
• Only one 2-cost Shirahoshi. The 2-cost Shirahoshi gives your Neptunians +2000 power on your opponent's turn only if you control no other Shirahoshi with base cost 2. A second copy turns the buff off. The 3-cost Shirahoshi has base cost 3, so it doesn't interfere.
• What the protection covers. The 2-cost Shirahoshi replaces removal by your opponent's effects, and only for Characters with base cost 6 or less. It does not protect Scaled Neptunian or Shanks. It also does nothing against losing a Character in battle.
• Topknot's reset. Topknot Neptunian turns a top Life card face-down and comes back active at end of turn. That pairs naturally with the Leader's face-up flip. Before round one, ask the judge how flips are handled when the top card is already in the "wrong" state. Don't argue it mid-match.
• Bird's attack condition. The 5-cost Bird Neptunian only rests a target on attack if you have three or more Neptunian Characters. Megalo, the Shirahoshi Characters, Sweet 3 Generals, and Shanks don't count toward that.
• Counter gating. You're Just Not My Type! only grants +4000 because your Leader is Shirahoshi. Its Trigger is a separate K.O. on a cost-2-or-less Character.
• Locks stack differently. Lord of the Coast keeps one rested Character down. Electrical Luna keeps every rested Character with cost 7 or less down. Both only work on Characters that are already rested, so rest your targets first and cast the lock second.

Time Management

Your Leader cannot attack, so every point of damage comes from Characters. Your big turns are long: Leader activation, a Scaled Neptunian draw-and-trash, Bird untaps, attacks, and then locks. Settle your sequence before you touch a card. Announce each activation clearly, then resolve it. Scaled Neptunian is the main time sink. Decide what you're trashing while you count your Neptunians, not after you draw. If you're short on time, you can skip optional value plays like a marginal 3-cost Shirahoshi trash, as long as it doesn't change lethal or your defense.

Know the Room

Rocks.D.Xebec (OP17-039) held the most Top 8 slots of any Leader in qualifying online events, with Luffy & Ace (ST30-001) next (source: Limitless TCG online platform, 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-19). Spend your practice games against those two before anything else. For the Luffy & Ace side, start with our Luffy & Ace Standard guide. Also check that your event uses the banned list effective 2026-10-12 (source: Bandai official Banned/Restricted list, effective 2026-10-12). Opposing lists built before that date may look different from what you face now.

Final Assessment

This list earned a Top 4 at ChinoizeCup #125 in a 120-player field. The card text shows why it can compete. It has a cheap engine that puts Characters into play off the Leader. Its protection makes your mid-cost board hard to clear with effects. Shanks, Megalo, and the lock pieces can turn a stalled board into a one-turn swing. At an estimated $45, it is one of the more accessible ways into a competitive Standard deck.

The costs are real, though. Your Leader contributes nothing on offense, and you need a board before you can deal damage. Your best turns ask for precise ordering under time pressure. If you're willing to drill the Shanks turn and keep your Life stack straight, this is a strong, rewarding pick. If you prefer decks that win by attacking from turn two, look elsewhere.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the Shirahoshi deck win games?

The Leader never attacks, so all damage comes from Characters. The deck cheats Neptunian Characters into play for a single DON!!, rests and locks the opponent's board, and wins by attacking with more and bigger bodies than the other side can answer.

How does the Shirahoshi Leader ability work?

Once per turn, rest 1 DON!! and turn your top Life card face-up to play a Neptunian or Megalo from hand with cost up to the number of DON!! on your field. Rested DON!! still count, so every Neptunian effectively costs 1 DON!!. Neither Shanks nor Sweet 3 Generals can come off the Leader.

What is the Shanks turn and how should I sequence it?

At 10 DON!!, hard-cast Shanks to rest every opposing Character and set 2 DON!! active. Then use the Leader on Megalo to K.O. a rested target, or activate the cost-5 Bird Neptunian for a third DON!! and cast Electrical Luna. Always resolve Shanks before Bird, or Bird's restriction cancels Shanks's DON!! refund.

Why should I never have two cost-2 Shirahoshi on the board?

The cost-2 Shirahoshi only gives Neptunians +2000 on the opponent's turn if you control no other cost-2 Shirahoshi, so a second copy switches the buff off. Keep extra copies in hand as +1000 Counters, and only play another if the first is gone.

What are the hardest matchups for Shirahoshi?

Single oversized threats are unfavored because Megalo stops at 8000 power, Electrical Luna at cost 7, and Bird Neptunian's rest at cost 8. The guide suggests resting the threat with Shanks, then attacking it with Scaled Neptunian, shrinking it with Sweet 3 Generals first if needed.

How much does the Shirahoshi deck cost and what are the budget swaps?

The full list is about 45 dollars at TCGplayer market prices. Without Shanks, play +2 Lord of the Coast and +1 Electrical Luna. Without Sweet 3 Generals, raise the 3-copy Shirahoshi Character slots to 4 and add +1 You're Just Not My Type!.

What should I practice before taking Shirahoshi to an event?

Drill the Shanks turn from several board states, DON!! math with the Leader ability, and tracking whether your top Life card is face-up or face-down before every activation. The deck wins on turns where you chain several abilities in the right order.

Why does managing Life matter so much in this deck?

The Leader ability, the cost-2 Shirahoshi's protection and Topknot Neptunian's untap all rely on your top Life card. When Life runs low, all three shut off together. Use the cost-3 Shirahoshi and Sweet 3 Generals to refill Life before you need the protection.

Metagame Context

Built from kevyzhou's Top 4 list at ChinoizeCup #125 TUESDAY (120 players, 2026-10-20), via the Limitless platform. Metagame context comes from a research brief dated 2026-10-19 covering 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-19, drawn from the Limitless TCG online platform; Limitless TCG event results; Bandai (official One Piece site). Card text and prices: optcgapi.com and tcgcsv.com (TCGplayer prices).

Source: tournament results. Decklist and placements as reported by the event organizer.