[Deck] Merfolk

[Arne]

Last Sunday I played a 14man tournament with merfolk and ended up 3rd behind a countertopdeck with painter/stone and a RGb AggroLoam deck.

I went 4-2-0

This is my list:

//Lands:
13 Island
4 Wasteland
3 Mutavault

//Creatures:
4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergil Adept
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Merrow Rejeerey
4 Merfolk Sovereign

//Stuff:
4 Aether Vial
4 Daze
4 Standstill
4 Force of Will
2 Echoing Truth
2 Umezawa's Jitte

//Sideboard:
4 Hydroblast
1 Echoing Truth
1 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Stifle
2 Threads of Disloyalty
4 Spell Snare


To be honest, I created the sidebaord/pile in a rush so it's really subpar.

I lost the first match to AggroLoam, won the second and third to UBW countertop/faeries and UGR countertop with Coatl, Lost the fourth to Canadian Thresh and won the fifth and sixth to Merfolk and the winner of the tournament playing UGwb countertop with painter/stone.

[dyzzy]

Silvergill Adept is the best Merfolk, as long as you play enough Merfolk. Trust me, as soon as you have to pay for Silvergill Adept, he isn't that glorious all of a sudden.

Or you could Vial him out. I love doing that.

I recently got 3-0 (taking first) in a small local tourney with this list:

Lands (20):
12 Island
4 Mutavault
4 Wasteland

Creatures (18):
4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Lord of Atlantis
3 Merrow Reejerey
3 Merfolk Sovereign

Spells (22):
4 Aether Vial
3 Stifle
2 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Daze
3 Standstill
2 Echoing Truth
4 Force of Will

SB:
3 Chalice of the Void
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Hydroblast
3 Back to Basics
3 Threads of Disloyalty

SB is pretty crap because apparently my meta changes every time there's an event and I never prepare for it correctly (eg. few months ago it was combo heavy, so I prepared for combo, then suddenly it was like half zoo and Goblins, etc.). Luckily I played against fairly favorable matchups: Merfolk (his was more control, I had more threats), Stax (Echoing Truth on Prisons and O-rings hiding Silvergills is pro), and Empty the Warrens/Arc Slogger (pretty straight forward, counter anything relevant).

Somehow I've never even seen a Goyf on the other side, so I'm unsure about Threads... but knowing my luck, as soon as I remove it I'm going to lose to a Goyf. Chalice seems unnecessary too, because of lack of ANT (again, of course I'm going to play against ANT as soon as I cut it). I also never use Relic, but I know at least 2 people who play Ichorid so it should probably stay. I want to put Propaganda back (friend told me to cut it for Threads), and Pithing Needle is probably a good idea.

Question about playing the mirror: Merfolk player I played sided out Vials for Needles to stop my Vials. Is this a good idea? I think it hurt him a lot.

[DukeDemonKn1ght]

Question about playing the mirror: Merfolk player I played sided out Vials for Needles to stop my Vials. Is this a good idea? I think it hurt him a lot.

I would side out Standstill in the mirror long before I would ever side out Vial. Whereas it's hard to break the symmetry of Standstill in the mirror, Vial is always pretty dope, since it will help you get your army out quicker than the opponent.

However, based on your list, the only sideboarding I would have done for the mirror is -3 Stifle, +3 Threads. Standstill is somewhat of a liability in the mirror, and you might just end up pitching it to FoW. On the other hand, Stifle might as well be completely dead, unless he was running fetches.

EDIT: On a separate question, I'm a little confused how the "Orb of Insight" works... For example, the word "Merfolk" generates twelve hits in Zendikar. However, the card Lullmage Mentor has three individual occurrences of the word "Merfolk" in its text alone. Does "Orb of Insight" count that as three hits, or just one? (Sorry to ask an inherently dumb question, I'm just trying to keep track of how many Merfs have yet to be spoiled...)

[lorddotm]

It counts those three instances.

I don't think anything playable is coming out of Zendikar.

[DukeDemonKn1ght]

It counts those three instances.

I don't think anything playable is coming out of Zendikar.

Yeah, I'd be a little bit surprised myself... With all the Goblins though, I'd hope we'd get at least one playable, even if it's a spell rather than a creature.

[lorddotm]

Yeah, I'd be a little bit surprised myself... With all the Goblins though, I'd hope we'd get at least one playable, even if it's a spell rather than a creature.

There is that one spell that counters things and they gotta pay 2, but that doesn't really help against Zoo or Goblins or anything that we don't already crush.

[DukeDemonKn1ght]

There is that one spell that counters things and they gotta pay 2, but that doesn't really help against Zoo or Goblins or anything that we don't already crush.

Yeah, "non-creature" is kind of a deal-breaker for me though, so I'm not planning on using Spell Pierce.

[Nekrataal]

Yeah, "non-creature" is kind of a deal-breaker for me though, so I'm not planning on using Spell Pierce.

In a version with Stifle (Denial Package) this wouldnt be too bad. But Merfolk is not TA, so I guess it is a rather rare choice.

[dlg]

New Merfolk:

Merfolk Wayfinder
2u
Creature - Merfolk Scout Uncommon
Flying
When Merfolk Wayfinder enters the battlefield, reveal the top three cards of your library. Put all Island cards revealed this way into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
1/2

Exactly what we DONT need...

[Skeggi]

Or you could Vial him out. I love doing that.

Thanks for pointing that out captain Obvious, I was unaware. You don't always have an Aether Vial. With less Merfolk in the deck, you can't rely that you have another Merfolk in your hand besides Adept; in fact she's one of the worst topdecks lategame.

Question about playing the mirror: Merfolk player I played sided out Vials for Needles to stop my Vials. Is this a good idea? I think it hurt him a lot.

This is not a good idea. I can't think of a situation where you would side out your Vials. Perhaps if you put in so much hate against the other deck - like 15 cards - and you have to side out quite some of your men and your Standstills, then the Vials may be sided out. But in general, you cannot side Vial out. If your only weapon in your sideboard against Merfolk are Pithing Needles, you can use them. Side out your Standstills and you can place Pithing Needle on Vial, Wasteland, Mutavault or Jitte. Whichever your opponent has more of than you.

Exactly what we DONT need...

Well... thanks for your post then

[Nightmare]

I split for first (actually took second) with Uw Merfolk at a 40 player event in Binghamton, NY on Saturday. Here's the list:

4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Merrow Reejerey
4 Merfolk Sovereign
4 AEther Vial
4 Standstill
3 Swords to Plowshares
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Wasteland
3 Mutavault
3 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
3 Tundra
5 Island
Sideboard:
1 Swords to Plowshares
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Hibernation
2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
4 Blue Elemental Blast
4 Path to Exile

I played through a field of RED DECKS to the finals:

R1 - Zoo (loss)
R2 - ANT (win)
R3 - Slivers (win)
R4 - Zoo (win)
R5 - UGRw Counter-Top (win)
R6 - draw (ID)
T8 - Aggro Loam (win)
T4 - Ichorid (win)
T2 - TES (prize split/loss)

[Skeggi]

I played through a field of RED DECKS to the finals:

R4 - Zoo (win)
R5 - UGRw Counter-Top (win)

T8 - Aggro Loam (win)

Nice, good job , congratulations on your finish. That list looks impressive, very anti-red orientated indeed. Can you tell us something more about your sideboarding actions please? Was Hibernation useful? Those big green things often do quite some damage when they're allowed to swing once. Wouldn't you prefer real removal?

[Wargoos]

I split for first (actually took second) with Uw Merfolk at a 40 player event in Binghamton, NY on Saturday. Here's the list:

4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Merrow Reejerey
4 Merfolk Sovereign
4 AEther Vial
4 Standstill
3 Swords to Plowshares
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Wasteland
3 Mutavault
3 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
3 Tundra
5 Island
Sideboard:
1 Swords to Plowshares
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Hibernation
2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
4 Blue Elemental Blast
4 Path to Exile

I played through a field of RED DECKS to the finals:

R1 - Zoo (loss)
R2 - ANT (win)
R3 - Slivers (win)
R4 - Zoo (win)
R5 - UGRw Counter-Top (win)
R6 - draw (ID)
T8 - Aggro Loam (win)
T4 - Ichorid (win)
T2 - TES (prize split/loss)

I can't express how proud I am of you T_T
If you had played Ug you would've been first - I am sure of that - because ,u know, Bryant looses to forests ;)

Anyways. Congratz, how where the Hibernations and the Kira's out of the sideboard?
Aren't law's not better than kira's?
Did you ever miss Stifles in the main or wish you had a needle effect?

[Nightmare]

Sure.

When we arrived at the venue, my board was much more suited for an open metagame:

1 Swords to Plowshares
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Hibernation
2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
3 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Disenchant
3 Stifle

As we prepped for the event, we noticed there were a massive number of mountains being sleeved up and written on lists. Di and I decided that we needed to do something about that if we planned on doing well, so we came up with a plan to play effectively 12 StP effects post-board.

Rounds 1 and 4, I boarded:

+4 Path
+1 StP
+2 Kira
+4 BEB

-4 Standstill
-2 Sovereign
-4 Vial
-1 Daze

The intention here is to remove every card that isn't either a guy, or a way to kill a guy. You lose a bit by removing the Sovereigns, but you get the Kiras as evasive protection/threats. It was a good plan, and it worked round three, although I ended up boarding out two BEB for 2 Hibernation when I saw he played Knight of Reliquary over Woolly Thoktar, since it reduces the amount of red blast targets.

Vs Combo, I really had no boarding I could do, since I've ignored the combo matchup entirely, but I took out 3 StP for 2 Kira (extra threats) and a Relic (didn't know if ANT played IGG, but it keeps him off thresh for Cabal Ritual, and I know it's ok vs TES).


Vs. Slivers, I boarded:
-3 StP
-3 Standstill
+4 Path
+2 Kira
I was sure he played no basic lands, so Path is better than StP. I wanted to protect my own guys, so Kira is my pseudo-Crystalline. I won mostly through Islandwalk, and making sure my Mutavaults stuck, while his didn't.

For the thresh-ish matchup:
-2 Sovereign
-3 Daze
-1 Standstill
+2 Hibernation
+2 Relic
+2 Kira

Kira should be the nuts in this match, but really, I just need to stick as many Lords as possible, to keep him off Firespout or Shackles-ing me out of the game. It's worth noting that Reejery lets you untap Shackles, which was relevant in our game 2.

Aggro-loam:

-2 Daze
-2 Sovereign
-4 Standstill

+2 Relic
+3 BEB
+1 StP
+2 Hibernation

You can't get card advantage. It's not going to happen. You have to focus on out-tempoing them. The best way to do that is to spit out guys, and blow up every one of his. It's different from the Zoo matchup, because they play sweepers over spot removal, which is a pain in the ass unless you stick some lords. I actually got the nuts in game three:

Turn 4, with 3 land a Vial (@3), LoA, and Adept in play: Vial in Reej, play Reej, play Cursecatcher, play Adept (reveal LoA), play LoA tapping both blockers, swing 11. I'm out of Firespout range, and my hand is still Force, Daze, Hibernation.

Ichorid:

-4 Standstill
-3 Vial

+4 Path
+2 Relic
+1 StP

I would love to board more stuff, but I wasn't really prepped for this matchup. Still, in this instance, Ichorid's deck was its own worst enemy, as my opponent managed to fail to play through Cursecatchers and Force of Will. I saw no Relics. Apparently, I didn't need them.

Hopefully that's some insight. I loved Kira. I may have played Absolute Law if I had them with me, but it may not have been better than what I did run. I still don't know about Hibernation, other than them being the nut high against Elves. I didn't miss Stifle, and I didn't need a Needle, although it may have been nice vs. Thresh, on Shackles.

[akiratheoni]

Apparently there's a Merfolk spoiled on Salvation (minus the name) that goes a little like:

???
Creature - merfolk ? (r)
Whenever an opponent shuffles his or her library, you may put a +1/+1 counter on ~.
1/1

Thoughts? Obviously good against fetchlands; how big will this merfolk get on average, do you guys think?

EDIT: Good job on the finish, Nightmare :)

[tivadar]

Apparently there's a Merfolk spoiled on Salvation (minus the name) that goes a little like:

???
Creature - merfolk ? (r)
Whenever an opponent shuffles his or her library, you may put a +1/+1 counter on ~.
1/1

Thoughts? Obviously good against fetchlands; how big will this merfolk get on average, do you guys think?

EDIT: Good job on the finish, Nightmare :)

Hmm, that is rather pretty. I... oh no, I might have to say it!... think that's actually playable! Obviously he'd suck in the mirror, but he'd be pretty stellar against most other decks. Even against mono-goblins they'd still be matronning.

The question now becomes:
a) is he better than cursecatcher (very possibly)
b) is there any other creature we'd take out for him (probably not, though thrasher would be the only possibility)

[thesilentpyro]

I think I would also consider whether there are other cards I would consider taking out for it--for example, for lists still running Stifle, if I were to run the new guy, Stifle would be the first thing to go, as the best thing to do with Stifle is to prevent fetch lands, and fetchlands are more likely to help this dude than anything else is.

[Nightmare]

Not good enough. Sorry.

[Wrath_Of_Houlding]

Not good enough. Sorry.

Yea, gotta agree with this. Its absolutely not as good as Cursecatcher...there are other cards for beef, his value is in utility.

[arebennian]

Caller of Gales
Creature - Merfolk Wizard (U)

1U/Tap : Creatures you control gain flying until end of turn.

1/1