[Deck] Merfolk

[Ricardio]

I love merfolk as much as the next guy but in the current meta with the big three being so dominate, merfolk needs to move to the back of the bus. Decks like punishing maverick and UR/x delver variants eat the fish alive. Now that snaps are everywhere, its as if they are running double spot removal. Merfolk needs something other than Kira for protection. Cavern won't do it sadly.

[FANAttIC]

http://sales.starcitygames.com//deck...p?DeckID=45985
I was shaving Cursecatchers for a while (2 copies in main) because they are not good (except for Hive Mind) and had 3 Chalices in side for rug, zoo, ur delver and elf matchups.
This one goes even further.
I really like his sideboard.

[catmint]

Chalice in Merfolk. How funny is that....did someone test it. Is it really strong playing it T2?

[tezzerator69]

@catmint
I haven't tested it yet but I think they do:
http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/dec...2&iddeck=60214
http://www.thecouncil.es/tcdecks/dec...3&iddeck=59820

Quote from FinnF
http://magic-league.com/deck/76821/l...#Merfolk162719
'by FinnF on 2012-04-26 18:48 CET

Thanks for the nice feedback, guys.

It has basically been said already, but chalice at 1 is in general really powerful against a lot of decks, especially among the top tier ones. A major problem for Merfolk is the large amount of spot removal and most of that is at 1cmc, so specifically here chalice helps a ton!

About cavern, personally I don't think it will be a good choice for Merfolk. You can't really cut islands, because opposing wastelands could make it too difficult to reach UU, which you generally need. You don't really want to cut mutavaults/wastelands either. Also, I think most of the times you will just end up fighting counterwars over their spells, so you are not really blanking as much of their countermagic as you would maybe initially think (it is however a nice way of working around something like spell snare).

Shooter: Basically you really don't want to see 2 moxen, so that's why I only played 3. However, I will by no means say that 3 is the correct number. While the list worked very well last night, it could probably still need some tuning.'

What do you think guys?

[rnightingale]

Chalice in Merfolk. How funny is that....did someone test it. Is it really strong playing it T2?

Well... Finn made it to 1st Place using that build.

http://magic-league.com/deck/76821/l...#Merfolk162719

I kinda dislike those two Ancestrall Vision.

[jares]

It has basically been said already, but chalice at 1 is in general really powerful against a lot of decks, especially among the top tier ones. A major problem for Merfolk is the large amount of spot removal and most of that is at 1cmc, so specifically here chalice helps a ton!

I really like the logic for the inclusion of Chalice of the Void. I'm thinking, though, that maximizing its influence on the game could be done by maxing-out on Chrome Mox, as the Moxen also help with maintaining the tempo of the deck in the absence of Aether Vial. I'm looking at Jace, the Mind Sculptor as the slot that could be considered to be flex slots (though I might be mistaken here).

I'll probably be testing the lists above, but with the following revisions:

• [-2] Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• [+1] Chrome Mox
• [+1] Daze

Kind Regards,
jares

[FANAttIC]

I am glad something is happening with fish. We'll see if this is only a blip on the radar.
Maybe a brave soul can play similar list in a week at BoM 6.
More info: http://www.bazaar-of-moxen.com/

[KobeBryan]

No vial though...with 19 lands.

Is that a good idea?

[KobeBryan]

Well... Finn made it to 1st Place using that build.

http://magic-league.com/deck/76821/l...#Merfolk162719

I kinda dislike those two Ancestrall Vision.

I dislike the Chrome Mox and Force of will.

you are throwing away WAYYY too many cards.

[Vacrix]

Chalice is actually pretty good in Merfolk. I remember getting my ass kicked by it a while ago. So is this the new face of Folk? Honestly I like Finn's list. Looks legit. How well does Jace compliment Merfolk's usually game plan though?

[FANAttIC]

I'll probably be testing the lists above, but with the following revisions:

• [-2] Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• [+1] Chrome Mox
• [+1] Daze

I like that. First turn Chalice or random dude puts mental pressure on opponent so he is more likely to ignore possible Daze in order to get even on board.

[GoldenCid]

I dislike the Chrome Mox and Force of will.

you are throwing away WAYYY too many cards.

I understand you but it works,,,the same happens in sea stompy!

[jares]

I like that. First turn Chalice or random dude puts mental pressure on opponent so he is more likely to ignore possible Daze in order to get even on board.

I've also found that, without Chrome Mox in the opening hand, this build really takes a step back because of the absence of Aether Vial. I've also found Ancestral Vision to be sub-par, though I can't think of a better replacement as of the moment. The presence of Chalice of the Void really limits the variety of cards that you can play in this build. I've thought of Standstill, though that card would be less effective without Aether Vial.

Kind Regards,
jares

[Vandalize]

This new Chalice of the Void tech is AWESOME in merfolks, lol. I've been toying arround with a list, and it seems to be pretty powerful (just because Chalice handles Legacy by its own).

My list:

4 Wasteland
4 Mutavault
2 Cavern of Souls (still testing)
10 Island

4 Merrow Rejeerey
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Coralhelm Commander
4 Silvergill Adept
2 Phantasmal Image
2 Merfolk Soreveign

4 Force of Will
4 AEther Vial
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Daze
3 Chrome Mox
2 Dismember

SB: 3 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 3 Submerge
SB: 3 Spell Pierce
SB: 2 Relic of Progenitus
SB: 2 Hibernation
SB: 2 Umezawa's Jitte

Don't cut AEther Vial, you won't always have Chalice of the Void in hand, and the drawback of topdecking it after you landed CotV isn't as abysmal. It's still one of the best cards avaliable for Fish.

Chalice of the Void makes combo matchup better (mostly because we can back it up with FoW + Daze + Pressure). And it blanks Legacy's removal. What could be more sweet?

[Justin]

I'm still stunned by the inclusion of Clalice in Merfolk. I suppose it could be very good in the right meta. It certainly helps in the Storm combo matchup, but then again, Merfolk already has a positive matchup there. It also helps a lot against Can Thresh, a very negative matchup because of all the burn.

However, Chalice is not so hot against Maverick and Stone Blade. Merfolk generally has an unfavorable matchup with Stoneforge Mystic decks, which are pretty popular. Including Chalice does not address this.

[Heresia]

Hi guys, I'm french and I've been playing chalice in merfolks since a year now, and I think i'm one of the first (or the first?) who use this build. And it appears me to be the best solution right now in merfolks, answering removal (Kira's job), answering combo (cursecatcher's job) and a lot of cc1. Especially for delver decks, it's awesome. And you have to keep vial in the build : vial turn 1 chalice turn 2 is certainly the best start in legacy. Anyway, vial is a turn 1 or is dead card in the hand during the play, so it has no conflict with chalice. Believe me guys, i've been testing it, chalice is certainly the best merfolk's build at the moment.

[jares]

This new Chalice of the Void tech is AWESOME in merfolks, lol. I've been toying arround with a list, and it seems to be pretty powerful (just because Chalice handles Legacy by its own).

Don't cut AEther Vial, you won't always have Chalice of the Void in hand, and the drawback of topdecking it after you landed CotV isn't as abysmal. It's still one of the best cards avaliable for Fish.

Chalice of the Void makes combo matchup better (mostly because we can back it up with FoW + Daze + Pressure). And it blanks Legacy's removal. What could be more sweet?

I was just thinking that the inclusion of Aether Vial might have less of an impact because it won't have 1cc creatures to put into play, allowing it to only be relevant two turns after it's put into play. Having said that, I've been sorely missing a turn-1 play for the version with Chalice of the Void whenever Chrome Mox isn't in the opening hand. I feel that we might be missing something that would go well alongside the Chalice...

Kind Regards,
jares

[ScatmanX]

I was just thinking that the inclusion of Aether Vial might have less of an impact because it won't have 1cc creatures to put into play, allowing it to only be relevant two turns after it's put into play. Having said that, I've been sorely missing a turn-1 play for the version with Chalice of the Void whenever Chrome Mox isn't in the opening hand. I feel that we might be missing something that would go well alongside the Chalice...

Kind Regards,
jares

That's why she used Ancestral Visions. There's Dismember too.

[jares]

That's why she used Ancestral Visions. There's Dismember too.

Yeah, that's what I figured too. Unfortunately, I've found Ancestral Vision to be sub-par, especially when drawn late in the game, and Dismember isn't really something that you would want to rush into on the first turn. I would like to see more options other than what has already been noted so far - unfortunately, I can't think of any as of the moment.

Kind Regards,
jares

[jares]

I was messing around with Flusterstorm after considering that it's one of the few 1cc cards that would be able to have some effect even with Chalice of the Void in play. It's been okay so far, though that really depends on the match-up; it'll probably useful to someone in the future.

Cheers,
jares