Shisato, Whispering Hunter MTG Card

Shisato, Whispering Hunter - Champions of Kamigawa

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	4
Rarity	Rare
Type	Legendary Creature — Snake Warrior
Released	2004-10-01
Set symbol
Set name	Champions of Kamigawa
Set code	CHK
Power	2
Toughness	2
Number	242
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	John Bolton

Key Takeaways

Shisato grants control by depleting opponents’ hands and manipulating untaps, giving you a card advantage.
Resource acceleration is viable through its capacity to sustain board dominance and disrupt opponents.
Shisato’s abilities, while powerful, require careful deck construction to mitigate its demands and costs.

Text of card

At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice a Snake. Whenever Shisato, Whispering Hunter deals combat damage to a player, that player skips his or her next untap step.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Shisato, Whispering Hunter offers a repeatable mechanic to disrupt opponents by forcing them to discard cards at a regular interval. By keeping Shisato on the battlefield and properly executing its upkeep mechanic, you ensure that the enemy is consistently losing resources, which can translate into a significant card advantage for you.

Resource Acceleration: Although not a direct ramp card, Shisato can indirectly accelerate your resources if you are playing a snake tribal deck. Every time Shisato deals combat damage and its ability triggers, you maintain a stronger board presence while your opponents are set back, effectively giving you a better position to deploy more threats or use your mana more effectively than your rivals.

Instant Speed: While Shisato, Whispering Hunter itself is not an instant, its ability to potentially keep opponents from holding up mana for instant-speed interaction by narrowing their hand size can be quite powerful. This can make it easier for you to resolve your own spells and reduces the likelihood of opponent’s playing spells at instant speed, tipping the scales in your favor as the game progresses.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Shisato, Whispering Hunter demands that a player discards a card during their upkeep. This can deplete your hand quickly, especially in long, drawn-out games where maintaining card advantage is crucial for victory.

Specific Mana Cost: Shisato’s mana cost is steeped in green, requiring three green mana and one of any color to cast. This specificity can make it challenging to integrate into multicolored decks, potentially limiting deck-building options and flexibility in play strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a four-mana cost, Shisato, Whispering Hunter sits at a higher curve, which impacts how soon it can affect the game. There are numerous cards with lower mana costs that could be played sooner, thus providing quicker and potentially more impactful effects on the battlefield.

Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Shisato, Whispering Hunter offers a unique control mechanism by locking opponents out of crucial spells. It’s a fit for any deck looking to delay or disrupt opposing tactics, and its specific targeting of commanders makes it a potent piece in Commander format.

Combo Potential: This card shines in combinations that capitalize on its ability to keep certain creatures from untapping. Pairing Shisato with ways to tap or otherwise control those creatures multiplies its impact, turning it into a linchpin for locking down the opponent’s game plan.

Meta-Relevance: In metas where creature-based strategies dominate, Shisato, Whispering Hunter can be a game-changer. Its ability to systematically neutralize key creatures each turn can tilt the battlefield in your favor and give you the upper hand in creature-heavy match-ups.

How to beat

Shisato, Whispering Hunter may seem intimidating at a glance as it holds the potential to lock opponents out of their creature spells. This legendary creature quickly becomes the hunted when you’re equipped with the right strategy. To effectively counter this card, keeping your hand stocked is key. Diversify your deck with cards that allow for consistent draw power and less reliance on creature-based gameplay. Consider incorporating instant-speed removal spells, such as Path to Exile or Assassin’s Trophy, which can remove Shisato before its ability disrupts your game plan.

Additionally, since Shisato requires tapping to activate its ability, countering this function with cards that can either tap or remove creatures at instant speed will catch your opponent off guard and leave Shisato vulnerable. Moreover, employing hexproof or shroud-enabling cards can protect your creature base, negating Shisato’s disrupting whispers. Adeptly navigating the terrain with a blend of direct answers and preventative measures can ensure that Shisato, Whispering Hunter becomes more of a silent threat than a dominant force on the battlefield.

Cards like Shisato, Whispering Hunter

Shisato, Whispering Hunter offers a unique control over opponents by dictating their creature untapping during their upkeep. This ability echoes the powers of other MTG legends and spells that manipulate the tap-untap dynamics. For instance, take the card Frost Titan. While Frost Titan does not prevent creatures from untapping, it does tap a potential threat upon entering the battlefield and whenever it attacks, thereby keeping a specific threat at bay for an entire cycle. Additionally, Frost Titan’s passive ability requires opponents to pay extra mana to target it, providing a layer of protection that Shisato lacks.

Another comparison is with Derevi, Empyrial Tactician, a commander staple known for its ability to tap or untap any permanent upon entering the battlefield or when it deals combat damage. Again, Derevi offers a more targeted approach compared to Shisato’s global constraint but lacks Shisato’s continuous effect every upkeep. However, Derevi does bypass the command tax, making it a resilient recurring threat.

The interplay between these cards is delicate, as they each present unique tactical advantages. Shisato, Whispering Hunter stands out with his ability to limit opponents’ moves turn after turn, demonstrating the nuanced power MTG cards can hold especially in games with longer duration.

Derevi, Empyrial Tactician - MTG Card versions

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Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Shisato, Whispering Hunter MTG card by a specific set like Champions of Kamigawa, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Shisato, Whispering Hunter and other MTG cards: