[Deck] Merfolk

[SlopeeJ]

I don't understand why you would side out your dazes for spell pierces? You are correct they are not as good on the draw, but they are still really good. Unless you are not playing creatures within your first 1-4 turns daze is way better. Also wouldn't submerge be awesome in your sb, its free and you wouldn't rely on white as much? Would help vs elves and I'm sure I don't have to mention goyf. Same with the disenchants, echoing truths bounce anything but also do a lot more. Have you tested out more lords in place of Sejiri Merfolk or at least 2 so you can add the 4th swords?

Spell pierce just seems out of place in Merfolk.

Also its official siding out daze vs dredge is wrong, even on the draw

[Mayk0l]

Yes it is. But yeah, Zoo and Goblins are tough. And what Goblin decks are those?

Monored Goblins. It's rough. Zoo too. I've given up those MU's with the Mono-U version of this deck. ANT can be rough too, a competent ANT player will (almost) never lose to Merfolk. But, it's such a popular deck, a lot of people are playing it, including a lot of people that don't know how.

On Reanimator, I don't understand what the deal is with this fear of Reanimator. I've said it in an earlier post but I'll say it again: we have quite an arsenal against the deck.

I played against Reanimator yesterday. The first game my opponent tells me she puts me on Countertop (that's what I usually play), I put her on Zoo (that's what she usually plays, and it's the deck she played in Madrid). She Reanimates a turn 2 Inkwell, dropping herself to 9 life.. Hmm.. I'm just happy it's not Zoo. I have Cursecatcher, LOA, LOA and just win. Second game I open with Cursecatcher, double Crypt. Turn two LOA gets FoWed (which, I think, gave away the fact that she had no Show and Tell). I drop another Lord (hey, I play a lot of those guys). Waste some lands, and win before she finds Show and Tell for Blazing Archon. Maindeck Sower + Vial is also pretty awesome against Reanimator. We race an Inkwell, and steal anything else. I had the Sower in hand for the Archon but didn't have to use it.

I know it's nothing more than an anecdote, but I'm posting this to keep the spirits up ;)

Spell pierce just seems out of place in Merfolk.

Why? I've considered playing it Maindeck. I feel the same about Stifle as you about Spell Pierce. Also, why doesn't anyone play Wake Thrasher? I play it as a three off and it's awesome every single time. I cut it once, but a friend of mine urged me to put it back in the deck as it's the single solid late game topdeck this deck has got. It's just huge.

[SlopeeJ]

Why? I've considered playing it Maindeck. I feel the same about Stifle as you about Spell Pierce. Also, why doesn't anyone play Wake Thrasher? I play it as a three off and it's awesome every single time. I cut it once, but a friend of mine urged me to put it back in the deck as it's the single solid late game topdeck this deck has got. It's just huge.

That is great that we feel the same way about stifle, but spell pierce is in the same category as stifle. It can be good in the first turns (stifle can be later with funny tricks) When is spell pierce that great? In the first 1-4 turns when you should be playing vials, standstills, mutavaults and fish not keeping mana open for a spell pierce or stifle. Spell pierce is especially not as good as daze, so siding out daze for pierce seems wrong (unless there is some matchup tech I'm missing). That is why fish has force of will and daze. Pierce seems even worse as a sb card, Merfolk needs all the cards it can vs its bad matchups and goyfs. Do you really need more counters when more creatures maindeck could be swimming through.

What decks would you sb in spell pierce and what would you take out? Spell Pierce is a great card for tempo/disruption decks like thresh, but (imo) Merfolk wants to tap out every turn so Pierce isn't a good fit. Daze/force/cursecatcher win the counter wars...

[Mayk0l]

What decks would you sb in spell pierce and what would you take out? Spell Pierce is a great card for tempo/disruption decks like thresh, but (imo) Merfolk wants to tap out every turn so Pierce isn't a good fit. Daze/force/cursecatcher win the counter wars...

The reason I play Spell Pierce (as a four off in the Sideboard, considering it Maindeck) is the overabundant, disgusting popularity of ANT in the Dutch Meta. I face it so many times (with any deck I play) that I feel I need more answers to it. Thus, Spell Pierce has become an auto four-off for me in the Sideboard. The increasing popularity has lead met to consider it MD.

Why?
Against ANT, you *are* the Tempo deck. You drop Vial, dudes, Waste their lands and win. Spell Pierce is awesome in this setting. What to side out is easy. I side out Sowers of Temptation (that's two of them) and two Sovereigns. Why? Because a clock is a clock. Tapping out turn 4 or 5 for another Lord usually doesn't matter because you're on the verge of dealing lethal anyway. Spell Pierce gives you extra time to get to that point. Now one might argue that whilst Pierce gives you time, the Lords I side out actually give me speed, that's not necessarily true: often I notice I have a hand with 3 Lords in it, and with the mana I have, I can only play one/turn. By the time you have a Lord (of Atlantis) + something else, I would much rather drop a Wake Thrasher. Actually, you'll want to get a Thrasher down as soon as you can (and drop Reejerey or Sovereign the turn after). Thrasher is almost always a better clock than another lord. I believe that Wake Thrasher in play and Pierce in hand is better than Thrasher in play and Lord in hand. What I'm trying to say is: ANT is usually so fast, you don't want to clog your hand with stuff you're not going to cast. Since ANT doesn't remove your creature, you can side some out.

[(nameless one)]

Should I run E-truth or Stifle on main? I have 4x FoWs, 3x Daze and 3x Spell Pierce as my permission suit.

Also I only own a single Jitte. Is it worth running?

[Raptor]

I don't understand why you would side out your dazes for spell pierces? You are correct they are not as good on the draw, but they are still really good. Unless you are not playing creatures within your first 1-4 turns daze is way better. Also wouldn't submerge be awesome in your sb, its free and you wouldn't rely on white as much? Would help vs elves and I'm sure I don't have to mention goyf. Same with the disenchants, echoing truths bounce anything but also do a lot more. Have you tested out more lords in place of Sejiri Merfolk or at least 2 so you can add the 4th swords?

Spell pierce just seems out of place in Merfolk.

Also its official siding out daze vs dredge is wrong, even on the draw

Siding out daze vs dredge or combo is definitly a bad idea, but I didn't play versus them. I don,t know why you said that...

Daze has a mental effect that you need to know, if they saw it one time, most opponents will play around it the rest of the round to play their big spells.
Spell pierce is better agaisnt aggro deck such elves. They will have a lot of mana and you don't want to get tempo'd by them because you returned a land and spell pierce will help counter the Natural order and their survival. They don't always reach 2 mana. And you will probally keep a mana open for swords anyway. Against deck such has enchantress and might quinn, it helps tempoing them. They will usually wait 1 turn to play their business spell, and they probally can't take the risk to play around spellpierce. Same goes for landstill.
Also, most decks which you side them in (except combo) won't play something that relevant until turn 3-4 anyway.

Submerge doesn't get rid of the creatures and that's a major problem. If I were going for this green kind of effect, I would definitly run 4 hibernations before even thinking about submerge.
With white, I can have a permanent answer for almost anything. I have creature removal, so why need a bounce creature. I have enchantment artifact removal + spell pierce, so why need a bounce for these, you have spell pierce too agaisnt landstill. Yes, it's more polyvalent, but I don't think it warrents a slot in white build.

4th can be good, but there is match up in the metagame where it's dead, so I prefer not having 4death cards in the main. Not to mention the gain life can be annoying.

[Purgatory]

Hey guys, I'm gonna take the Uw build (exact same as in OP, with a couple of tiny changes to the manabase) to a tournament in a couple of weeks, and I need some help with my sideboard. I expect the metagame to be wide-open, since it mostly is, and the last time I was there I faced off against everything from Paintercombo to Black/Red Death.

Here's what my sideboard currently looks like:

2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
4 Path to Exile
4 Spell Pierce
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Echoing Truth

It feels stable like heck in testing, but I'm not sure yet.

[Raptor]

Hey guys, I'm gonna take the Uw build (exact same as in OP, with a couple of tiny changes to the manabase) to a tournament in a couple of weeks, and I need some help with my sideboard. I expect the metagame to be wide-open, since it mostly is, and the last time I was there I faced off against everything from Paintercombo to Black/Red Death.

Here's what my sideboard currently looks like:

2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
4 Path to Exile
4 Spell Pierce
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Echoing Truth

It feels stable like heck in testing, but I'm not sure yet.

How many Swords do you run main deck ?
I would probally run a playset of swords before entering a single path.
Spell pierce is good if you expect combos, enchantress and landstill. Otherwise, you might want some other cards such as hibernation in your side.
Have you thought about running disenchant instead of echoing truth ? You already have answers versus creatures so echoing truth would most likely be for enchantment or artifact.
Also, you might want to lower the count of GY hate, you should already win to merfolk and reanimator and lands is an auto-lost.

[Reagens]

Has sword of fire and ice ever been tested in a metagame where zoo and the mirror are abundant?
It has some merits over jitte I think since it also draws a card besides killing one of their critters. Or is the mana extra compared to jitte too detrimental?

[Purgatory]

How many Swords do you run main deck ?
I would probally run a playset of swords before entering a single path.
Spell pierce is good if you expect combos, enchantress and landstill. Otherwise, you might want some other cards such as hibernation in your side.
Have you thought about running disenchant instead of echoing truth ? You already have answers versus creatures so echoing truth would most likely be for enchantment or artifact.
Also, you might want to lower the count of GY hate, you should already win to merfolk and reanimator and lands is an auto-lost.

As I said, I run the Uw from the OP, but with a slightly different mana base, so I run 4 Swords in main.

Thanks for the feedback anyway, youve given me some food for thought.

[(nameless one)]

I have a not-so-secret tech against noobs and netdeckers alike:

Ice Age Snow-Covered Island

Its awesome because there will be a time when that one player will Wasteland it. Of course Wasteland fizzles because its a basic land (although the card itself does not say it, thank you for errata!). Why dont you try it yourselves guys!

[SlopeeJ]

I don't think wasteland would fizzle, you have to have valid target for the wasteland to be saced and the island is basic so there is no target


10/1/2008: Effects that target nonbasic lands can't target basic snow lands.

[dyzzy]

I have a not-so-secret tech against noobs and netdeckers alike:

Ice Age Snow-Covered Island

Its awesome because there will be a time when that one player will Wasteland it. Of course Wasteland fizzles because its a basic land (although the card itself does not say it, thank you for errata!). Why dont you try it yourselves guys!

You wouldn't even be able to target it with Wasteland. In fact, if they try to do so and you pull this crap, then you could very likely get dq'ed for Cheating - Fraud.

Cheating — Fraud Definition
E. A player observes his opponent or teammate make an illegal play but does not call a judge because it is to
his advantage.

[DrHealex]

LoL, oddly enough.. you will be likely to be given a game loss for not registering your island as snow-covered. I've seen/heard it happen more that I would have liked to.

[DukeDemonKn1ght]

You wouldn't even be able to target it with Wasteland. In fact, if they try to do so and you pull this crap, then you could very likely get dq'ed for Cheating - Fraud.

Also, there's this little argument: If the average opponent you play against is really that moronic (enough to try to Waste a snow-covered basic), you should probably just beat them by being a smarter player.

[Forbiddian]

Also, there's this little argument: If the average opponent you play against is really that moronic (enough to try to Waste a snow-covered basic), you should probably just beat them by being a smarter player.

I quoted him on Salvation ftw. He said the same thing there, too.

Although who knows if he's right since "fizzles" is no longer an actual word in Magic, so he might have meant, "you reset the game state to just before the wasteland ability was declared."

[(nameless one)]

I'm sorry guys. I'm just trying to get some giggles. Since it worked at MTGS, I figured why not here. Forbiddian seemed to enjoy my joke on MTGS.

Besides, I'm just trying to keep the thread going since no one has answered my question: Stifle or E-Truth on main? Is it a meta call or what?

[dyzzy]

I'm sorry guys. I'm just trying to get some giggles. Since it worked at MTGS, I figured why not here. Forbiddian seemed to enjoy my joke on MTGS.

Besides, I'm just trying to keep the thread going since no one has answered my question: Stifle or E-Truth on main? Is it a meta call or what?

IMO E Truth over Stifle all the time. Maybe you can try to fit both in? (I had 2 E Truth, 3 Stifle MD for a long time so it's possible)

I'm probably in the minority on this one though.

[(nameless one)]

I have been tinkering around with my list. This is how my list looks like:

12 Snow-Covered Islands (j/k)
4 Wasteland
3 Mutavault

4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Merrow Reejerey
3 Merfolk Sovereign

4 AEther Vial
4 Standstill

4 Force of Will
3 Daze
3 Spell Pierce

3 Stifle/E-Truth
1 Umezawa's Jitte

I am guessing our "mana denial" through Stifle isn't really a primary strategy? I notice that less and less people have been using it. Originally E-Truth comes in from my sideboard. Would Stifle be good in side?

Also, does Back to Basics hurt us as well (I do run 7 nonbasics).

And would one Jitte be enough? I only have access to one but I am still debating over it if I want to use it. Possibly a fourth Sovereign? Would Swords of F&I be a good alternative?

[Raptor]

I have been tinkering around with my list. This is how my list looks like:

12 Snow-Covered Islands (j/k)
4 Wasteland
3 Mutavault

4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Merrow Reejerey
3 Merfolk Sovereign

4 AEther Vial
4 Standstill

4 Force of Will
3 Daze
3 Spell Pierce

3 Stifle/E-Truth
1 Umezawa's Jitte

I am guessing our "mana denial" through Stifle isn't really a primary strategy? I notice that less and less people have been using it. Originally E-Truth comes in from my sideboard. Would Stifle be good in side?

Also, does Back to Basics hurt us as well (I do run 7 nonbasics).

And would one Jitte be enough? I only have access to one but I am still debating over it if I want to use it. Possibly a fourth Sovereign? Would Swords of F&I be a good alternative?

Back to basics do not hurts us so much comparing to the damage that it will do to a deck like lands and landstill. You don't really side it versus any other deck.
Spell pierce main is pretty weird, you'd better have +1 jitte +1daze and probally +1 lord. If you expect a lot of merfolk where you live, you should definitly run 2x wake trashers instead of 2x sovereign.
Well, mana denial can be good if you're opponent seems screwed. But it's mainly for annoying things: persist of Kitchen finks, pernicious deed, waste on mutavault etc. Seeing that E.Truth have saved my butt and my butt and my friend's butt so many times, I wouldn't cut it.
Also, you should definitly run 4 mutavault. This card is SO good to not run 4. Even in my white splash build I run 4 mutavault, 4 wasteland.