Hey guys,
So a while back I decided to try and build Arcanyst Shidai as it looked pretty fun. All I can say is, it’s been a rough journey. I started out with a list looking similar to this:
The problem with a list like this though is that it’s very inconsistent as you basically rely on being able to get a board presence in order to snowball into a win.
After much tweaking and refining, I’ve come to this list:
It’s less dependant on the arcanyst synergies and has a much more consistent early game. I certainly seem to be winning more often with this version so I must be doing something right 
As for my choices for cutting/adding;
Araras Prophet
Even with this as a turn 1 play, you never see the feathers 90% of the time, resulting in it being dead weight. Just not worth running for the small chance of a payoff.
Ki Beholder
This is a great 3 drop in general. Stops an enemy minion from moving for 1 turn, is ranged and is a great target for killing edge. He can put some real work in if they can’t answer him.
Phoenix fire/Killing edge
I wanted the deck to be less stalling for a snowbally combo and more aggro. These cards allow you to do that. Killing edge in general is just a really nice buff card that can win you games.
Bloodrage Mask
Just there to synergise with the heavy spell use and get that extra chip damage in to get the lethal.
I did experiment with Battle Panddo’s but I cut them as I didn’t feel like they were that useful.