Well, there's also the fact that it can help you mana screw your opponent HARD if they're running a non-diversified quantity of fetch lands in their mana base (ie 4x, 4x, etc. rather than a bunch of 1x, 2x, etc.). In that case, it basically acts like extra copies of Stifle, which is pretty brutal. And Needle takes care of Mishra's Factory, Deed, Top, EE, etc. etc. etc.Originally Posted by 1rakete
Also, saying "Jitte > Jitte" doesn't really take into account the fact that many people consider Jitte bad in this deck and prefer not to run it. Myself included.
Basically, my argument is that what Needle lacks in "being the best answer to one specific thing", it makes up for in "being a good answer to about 33% of the stuff that's out there." Activated abilities are a pretty huge chunk of the game mechanics, and if you know what to name with Needle, testing has shown me that it can be good like whoa.
I mean, let's take the list that you submitted: Lavamancer, Jitte, EE, Keg, Shackles, etc. Can you name another card that can singlehandedly answer all of these things? For one colorless mana? I don't know, it still seems pretty decent to me...
Bless your heart, we must consider Blue/White Tempo's strategy and win percentages in an entirely different deck thread. -4eak
Of course not, PN's strength is its flexibility. Its weakness is the fact that it's reactive, and not generally a complete answer (like leaving your opponent with a 1/1 Lavamancer or sometimes even letting him capture a creature with Shackles).
The first time you play an opponent who is also playing Vial (such as the mirror), you will curse the day you put Needles in your sb. Bounce, while leaving much to be desired imo, has been better than a Needle for me almost all the time.
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I am suprised no one is discussing the UW Lifelink/First Strike Merfolk.
Not good enough to replace CMC2 cantrip Merfolk in UW?
Here is another one. Still looks subpar, but interesting....
Thada Adel, Acquisitor 1UU
Legendary Creature - Merfolk Rogue (rare)
Islandwalk
Whenever Thada Adel, Acquisitor deals combat damage to a player, search that player's library for an artifact card and exile it. Then that player shuffles his or her library. Until end of turn, you may play that card.
2/2
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=4863843
But those are 3 or 4 different cards while Needle is a one-stop answer to all of those.
Team Giancoli. Rocking the mediocrity since 2008.
Nobody thinks Thada Adel could have potential in certain matchups? I'm thinking perhaps the mirror match if your opponent is playing jittes. However, unlike llawan, thada adel could have applications in other matchups as well, and is naturally a merfolk. I think it might be a really interesting sideboard card.
When I tested needle in the deck I was always a little disappointed. I agree with Finn that bounce is the best.
I would be happier if were a Merf that gave another Merf flying or a Merf that would give another Merf shroud. I mean, who cares abt artifacts anyway? This card aint improving the aggro match-up by any means.
I've a question for you. I've read the last pages of the topic and see no discussion about the white splash. I know it was talked about some times ago.
Is the splash worth it for Absolute law and swords and probally the new merfolK ? HAs anyone recently try it, if so, how was it ?
-Team Laval !-
The thing is: the new Merfolk is really bad. Lifelink only matters at all against Storm, Zoo Goblins, and I guess burn matchup. But Zoo doesn't care at all about a 2/1 if they have a lot of creatures (lifelink or not), and if they are trying to get there with burn, at most this draws a burn out. It's not great against Storm, and it's going to be unequivocally the worst Merfolk in the deck in every single other matchup.
I had my fingers crossed we'd see a good UW merfolk that would solidify the splash, but this is not it.
If the new 1U 2/1 lifelink first strike merfolk is true I could see this as a potent deck for it:
4 Cursecatcher
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Merrow Reejerey
4 Silvergill Adept
4 New Merfolk 1U bla bla...
3 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Standstill
4 Aether Vial
1 Umezawa's Jitte
4 Island
2 Misty Rainforest
4 Mutavault
2 Scalding Tarn
4 Tundra
4 Wasteland
Really helps out against zoo and stuff, but I have not seen any confirmation of this card yet. Perhaps it will appear on the spoiler soon. :)
About Thada: In this format what is worth to steal? I can only think of jitte.
The new merfs => 1U 2/1 gets lifelink and 1st strike is very weak as compared to other 1 drops like kird ape nor the new white 2/3 lion. Im still hoping they would make a UW merf thats worth it, maybe something along the lines of => UW 3/2 merfs you control gets 1st strike or UW 2/2 if you control a plains merfolks you control gets protection from white, if island blue and so on.
Yeah perhaps. I just thought it would help the Zoo/aggro matchup. This + Lord is able to deal with every creature except goyf. Along with swords it's nice. It's lifelink ability is also very nice getting an extra turn (or two) to deal those extra damage.
Extra special for sideboard tech:
Ta Mere plays Natural Order from Hand
<Ta Mere> Ok?
<Daredevil> Ok
Ta Mere puts Dryad Arbor to Graveyard from Play
Ta Mere puts Natural Order to Graveyard from Play
Ta Mere is looking its sa Bibliothèque...
Ta Mere puts Progenitus into play from Library
Ta Mere shuffles library
Ta Mere stops looking its sa Bibliothèque...
<Ta Mere> End my turn
It is now turn 16 (Daredevil)
It is now the Beginning Phase, Untap Step
Daredevil untaps his/her permanents
It is now the Beginning Phase, Upkeep Step
It is now the Beginning Phase, Draw Step
Daredevil draws a card
It is now the Precombat Main Phase
Daredevil taps Island
Daredevil taps Island
Daredevil taps Island
Daredevil taps Island
Daredevil plays Llawan, Cephalid Empress from Hand
<Daredevil> Ok?
Ta Mere taps Tropical Island
Ta Mere plays Brainstorm from Hand
<Ta Mere> Ok?
<Daredevil> Thinking
<Daredevil> Ok
Ta Mere draws a card
Ta Mere draws a card
Ta Mere draws a card
Ta Mere puts Brainstorm to Graveyard from Play
<Ta Mere> Thinking
<Ta Mere> ^GG
<Daredevil> gg
<Ta Mere> TOP DECKING
Stealing a dreadnought with stifle in hand is good I hear :D.
Also stealing tops is not a bad strategy, even if you won't use them urself, the factor is that you deny the opponent to use them.
Team Legal Actions.
Same goes for stealing trinisphere, LED, chalice...you probably won't want it, but you having it means they don't.
And stealing a grindstone to mill a Painter's Stone opponent would be EPIC.
I don't see this card being any good in an aggro deck such as Merfolk.
However, it's fun to see that you can steal top, order your top deck. Tap top to draw then seach again your opponent's library for top and so on. Top in your opponent's deck change it into a freaking good old Shadowmage Infiltrator. And as Wrath_Of_Houlding said in his previous post, stealing grindstone makes painter's player's life hard. Very hard. Notice that it's also a good protection against jitte, if you get the time to attack with it. Indeed rare are the decks playing only 1 jitte, so that if you opponent played 1 jitte, you can probably tutor for another one and therefore legendary rule his copy.
Point is, if you can find space for Thada, you can find space for C-E Selkie, which is the better choice of the two imo.
I agree with this one...
The Kird Merfolk looks nice though for the U/W lists out there.
1U for 2/1 First Strike and Lifelink is pretty sick
I am convinced that WotC is "dumbing" the game because of all the stupid posts they come across on MTG-related forums
Really, you think so? What would you cut and which matchups, precisely, would a 2/1 first strike lifelink creature help against?
Last edited by Forbiddian; 01-25-2010 at 09:33 PM. Reason: Whoa, typo.
Kirdfolk:
Well if you have a plains, he eats Goblins, and unpumped Nacatls, Kirds, White Kirds. Only unpumped ones? Well yeah, but we have Wasteland and I play 2 Tidal Warrior, some play Stifle, all of which deny Kird style pumps. If you have any of your lords, then he eats pumped ones anyways. It's also nice to have a creature other than your lords/sygg that they will have to think about removing. But is there room for another 2 drop? LoA and Silvergill definitely won't be cut for this guy, so it would have to be a 3 drop.
Thada:
I WANT to like this card, which makes me suspicious of it. It sounds really good in certain matchups, and dead in others. It's not a fast card, and is slower at dealing damage than Sovereign, Thrasher, Vendillion Clique and Reejeray. When they play artifacts and it hits, it ranges from awesome to decent. Jitte would be the nuts, Top is good if you're playing fetches and not bad if you're not, Shackles can be good if you ever seen one in their deck. Even if you can't utilize the ones in their deck, you deny them a chance to draw it, which is good when you're out of counters. BUT when they don't play artifacts, then you just played a legendary gray ogre that walks through Islands, and that's just terrible.
Hi Dudes.
I Know that's nothing to do with the new ww cards, but has anyone already been testing cotv in the zoo and combo MU? seems good to cut the zoo player almost 70% of their ressources, and just keep our fow for qasali. I'm aware that it would require a cut in cursecatcher and maybe aether vial in pre-side games, but seems like it could be worth it.
Any testers'opinions in a full zoo metagame?
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