[Deck] Merfolk

[Piceli89]

As I was happy to announce Merfolk Lord #9-12 in the form of Sovereign, I'm pleased to give you a potential Lord #13-16 ust spoiled as a speculation on MTGS:



Man, this is good when you're having dead mana in mid-late-game, which in Merfolk happens a lot in the form of un-needed lands. I't also a 2/2 for 2,bein slightly better than Silvergill in terms of p/t.
You can tap 2 to have a pseudo Serra Avenger, and tap a lot to have a big lord. The problem is that it requires double spcific mana, which may be problematic.
Discuss.

[Svenanole]

As I was happy to announce Merfolk Lord #9-12 in the form of Sovereign, I'm pleased to give you a potential Lord #13-16 ust spoiled as a speculation on MTGS:



Man, this is good when you're having dead mana in mid-late-game, which in Merfolk happens a lot in the form of un-needed lands. I't also a 2/2 for 2,bein slightly better than Silvergill in terms of p/t.
You can tap 2 to have a pseudo Serra Avenger, and tap a lot to have a big lord. The problem is that it requires double spcific mana, which may be problematic.
Discuss.

First post :)

I havnt proxied it up, but just using theoretical magic...

I could see it taking over Wake Threshers Role as a 2 of beater in the deck.

It pwn's moat and pwn's Trygon Predetor

The lord list just looks sick-

4 LoA
4 Reejery
3 Soverigns
2 Commanders


Its also fantastic under lanstill/vial.

The only complaint- level up is that sorcery speed.

[dyzzy]

As I was happy to announce Merfolk Lord #9-12 in the form of Sovereign, I'm pleased to give you a potential Lord #13-16 ust spoiled as a speculation on MTGS:

Check the last page, bro. He was already mentioned in this thread.

I really want to like this guy, but I definitely don't think of him as a lord. If anything, he just replaces Wake Thrasher as he is loads better. For 1 extra mana you get flying and, with a lord out, unburnable. Assuming they don't just burn him out first, that is. Well, I guess he draws removal away from your lords.

[Cesarius]

Not really fond of the new guy. Having a mana sink that's open to removal is just asking for trouble. And disappointment.
Then again, I agree with dyzzy to throw it in the Wake Thrasher slot. I'm definately going to try that.

[Svenanole]

I just tested it out and its AWESOME. If this card goes unanswered, it wins you the game.

Here is why-
1) It flies, you have no clue how deadly this is vs Zoo or moat
2) You have 8 or so counters to back up removal
3) You can vial in Spinners/Lords if they target it with removal
4) Wields Jitte like a GOD
5) Late in the game, when you want to play it, you have the mana open to beef it up. What else are you going to spend it on?

Anyone who is in doubt- test it. Its the finisher that this deck needed.

[Finn]

The fact that this deck plays Aether Vial makes him look good imo. He has a lot going for him in regards to some of this deck's weaknesses too. Count me in favor of serious testing.

Hey, where's the rarity symbol for this picture?

[luckme10]

It's a rare, but this picture is a mockup. Coincidentially, the same picture Nightmare used to make his "joke" all merfolk gain shroud awhile back in this thread.

[Avier]

I think part of being a good magic player is learning to evaluate cards and know what fits with the gameplan of the deck you are playing. I can't see a Merfolk that costs so much being played, like you said what can you cut for it... Nothing and flying seems irrelevant.

I have yet to test it, but the fact that you said flying is irrelevant seems like ignorance. Moat is a prime example of why this guy is a solid card. By no means is he the best merfolk ever, but he certainly warrants play testing. Its important to note that he also is a beater under standstill. If you can slip him under the enchantment its obviously a good situation. If you manage to pump him enough that he pumps your other dudes thats great, but not a necessity.

Merfolk Beater
2UU
Flying
3/3

I would play this card over Wake Thrasher. The fact that I can pay it in increments is even better. If he ever gets to pump your other dudes thats just great.

Jitte is 100x's better and it even gives you life...... Not to mention removal, jitte wins games not Sejirir Merfolk. We are not playing standard. Of course a lord and Senjiri can kill a cat, but I hear zoo has a little bit of removal.

I still don't understand why people are playing Jitte in the main. Sure, its a very good card, but its not the card for Merfolk. If you want to beat Zoo, which is a good thing to want to beat, you should probably play a different deck. If your dead set on playing Merfolk, and still want to beat Zoo, Kira, Propaganda, Mind Harness, or Back to Basics are better, not only against Zoo, but against the field.

The most popular decks at the 5ks have been Merfolk, Zoo, Dredge, and Countertop Prog.

Jitte is better against Dredge and Merfolk. Kira is better against Zoo and Countertop. Propaganda is good against Merfolk, Zoo and Dredge. Back to Basics is mediocre against Zoo, but is solid against the greedier decks and is your only out (besides FoW) against Lands. Simply put, play Kira and Propaganda as opposed to Jitte. Besides, Kira, if resolved, will win games against some decks.

Your argument saying that Serji eat removal spells seems irrelevant to me. If they have a removal spell, once you attempt to equip Jitte they just kill it in response. I'm not saying the white splash for Serji + Swords is good. Simply adding green for Goyf is giving people a 5% win increase, but your reasoning is poor.The counter argument that you should have lords out to protect your creatures is also flawed, if you have enough lords to keep your dudes out of removal range, you should be winning anyways.

Submerge is probally worth testing as 3-4 of in the side, but I'm not sold on it yet for merfolks... It's often too narrow and doesn't help versus goblins and merfolks.

Submerge is a great card. Again, the argument that is doesn't beat Goblins is irrelevant. If you want to beat Goblins don't play this deck. No card is going to make that a winnable match up.

Hey, where's the rarity symbol for this picture?

Rare.

[DukeDemonKn1ght]

Personally, I actually like the new guy. I don't think he's quite good enough to make me want to run 4 copies, especially since he competes with Mutavault for your spare mana, and swinging with 'Vault is just better. However, I like that he's another decent two-drop, and I like that he can get evasion by only spending an extra on him. I wouldn't necessarily count him as a "lord" for the purposes of deck construction, because costing to get the "all other Merfolk" bonus is asking kind of a lot. But this is actually a pretty tempting "scaleable fish" (to make a really bad pun).

I think he merits testing, and I hope the artwork is dope. I can see myself running him, but I want dope artwork in compensation for having to have that fugly-ass "level up" card box design in my deck.

[luckme10]

I feel Merfolk has always been tight on the mana curve. Insofar as to use seals, which allow for the preemptive casting of spells for deterrent. Having said this, I'm not really sure how much of an opportunity one would have to play this Merfolk and level it so that it would become efficient. If, however, I am mistaken, I'll be happy to switch back from uw merfolk to mono, as my spare mana is used up on mirror entity.

[kitsunewarlock]

Sounds odd, but one of the best boons this card has for me is simply that he is a two-drop and not a 3 or 4 drop. I think I'm going to drop my pair of Sovereigns for 2 of these. While sovereign can be a blast (especially under a standstill or with a Jitte), they clash with Kira (although he is in the side-deck so its a pretty easy switch, Kira ends up clashing with Jitte as well). Furthermore, this makes Vial at 2 even more important. Having 10 two-drops and only 4 three drops (rejeery) seems better than having 8 and 6...especially when half of those two-drops cost FIVE at times...

That being said, my meta has a TON of merfolk decks. I mean, last time I played more than half my matches were mirror matches. Round 1, 2, 3 and 6 were all mirror matches, if I recall correctly. This guy looks extremely powerful in the mirror match.

[Svenanole]

Here is my new list in case you guys are wondering. Let me know if you guys have any questions or comments. I decided to come over here after mtgsalvation some dude thought it was cool to suggest that spreading seas are good at stopping 43 lands then continue on to say that coralhelms are jank. I just LOL'd at him.

I decided to drop Jitte from the list completly. It wasn't doing enough for me, and when it would hit the board, it would be hated out right away, so i put in pithing needle instead because its more versatile. I also am suspecting mirror matches to start using coralhelms. I kind of want to sower that :)

Spinners are in there for Zoo, she (it?) really, really helps that matchup. (the coralhelms and spinners make zoo manageable now)

Countertop is a bye post board with putting in pierces, gy hate and submerges

I havn't played a reanimator deck in a long time, so i kind of left the sideboard for that kind of weak, i guess we can always sower their archnon. It is in my meta, but i havn't paired against it in a long time.

Goblin's is non-existant in my meta (thank goodness)

Anyways the list-

4 Curse
4 Silver
4 LoA
4 Reejery
3 Soverigns
3 Coralhelms

4 Force
4 Daze
4 Vial
4 Standstill
2 Echoing Truth

12 Islands
4 mutavault
4 wasteland

SB
3 Spell Pierce
2 Relic's
1 Crypts
3 Submerge
2 Sowers
2 Spinners
2 Pithing Needle

Let me know what you guys think

[pingveno]

The fact that this deck plays Aether Vial makes him look good imo. He has a lot going for him in regards to some of this deck's weaknesses too. Count me in favor of serious testing.

This.

Another thing that needs to be recognized as well is the fact that this guy is great topdeck post Firespout or whatever. It is 1 card that can swing and win by itself without overextending. Compare topdecking a merfolk soveirgn with no other creatures. Compare topdecking any other creature in the deck. Everything else needs at least one other merfolk to be good, not him.

As I was happy to announce Merfolk Lord #9-12 in the form of Sovereign, I'm pleased to give you a potential Lord #13-16 ust spoiled as a speculation on MTGS:

Beat you to it last page.

[dyzzy]

If you want to beat Goblins don't play this deck. No card is going to make that a winnable match up.

In my experience, Jitte makes Goblins winnable. Heck, maybe even favorable.

Here's the list I wanna test (with my Spellstutters and the new guy):
Lands (20):
11x Island
4x Mutavault
3x Wasteland
2x Riptide Laboratory

Creatures (23):
4x Cursecatcher
4x Silvergill Adept
4x Lord of Atlantis
4x Merrow Reejerey
2x Merfolk Sovereign
2x Coralhelm Commander
3x Spellstutter Sprite

Spells (17):
4x Aether Vial
2x Umezawa's Jitte
4x Daze
3x Standstill
4x Force of Will

SB:
2x Tormod's Crypt
2x Relic of Progenitus
3x Spell Pierce
3x Hydroblast
2x Echoing Truth
3x Submerge/Seal of Removal

[sadface]

You can vial in Spinners if they target it with removal

No, you can't. Kira needs to be in play ("on the battlefield"?) when his removal spell/ability goes on the stack.

[Avier]

In my experience, Jitte makes Goblins winnable. Heck, maybe even favorable.

A friend of mine has played Goblins for years, the match up is certainly not favorable. I have tested the match up numerous times, primarily with Jitte, as I was a large proponent of the card for over a year, and Jitte is your only out in the deck. The problem is, if Jitte is out and has counters, that means your winning anyways. Perhaps you countered the Ringleader, or they did't have a stellar hand, but at the point Jitte is active, you've probably already won. The second problem is that for most lists (all that I have seen) Jitte has two slots. We can't exactly dig for it, so it has to be in the opening hand.

I would love to hear how you made Goblins a favorable match up. I would love to be able to beat them regularly, but not at the expense of the rest of the format. If you are saying that two Jitte's turns a terrible match up into a favorable one, let alone a 50/50 one, please explain what I am doing wrong.

[luckme10]

Why Hello anti zoo!

Dormant Gomazoa - {1}{U}{U}
Creature -- Jellyfish
5/5
Flying
Dormant Gomazoa enters the battlefield tapped.
Dormant Gomazoa doesn't untap during your untap step.
Whenever you become the target of a spell, you may untap Dormant Gomazoa.

[Bahamut056]

ok so jellyfish aside...

hydroblast has multiple uses in both zoo and gobs, but why does no one consider Flashfreeze? I know it makes you keep mana untapped, but it has so much versatility

[_erbs_]

The jellyfish seems good at first look but its crap after it sinks in.

Lets say you get bolted and you vial in this dude. okay he untaps after 1 swing his in dormant mode again. You have to wait another bolt or any targeted spell to target you.

As for the Coralhelm Commander
Its been a very very very long issue that i've discussed here but i got blasted by people saying merfs don't need more 2 drops because the curve is just right.

Well i personally will try 2-3 pcs reducing my lord count to maybe 8.

[Phoenix Ignition]

As for the Coralhelm Commander
Its been a very very very long issue that i've discussed here but i got blasted by people saying merfs don't need more 2 drops because the curve is just right.

This seems out of context. At the time you were arguing this there were probably no other good 2 drop merfolks. If they made Reejery or Sovereign with the same abilities that cost 2, I'm sure everyone would use them instead. It just makes sense, and you can leave the vial at 2 to vial in 90% of your creatures. Only thing it's bad for is EE, Deeds, Counterbalance, and Chalice.