[Deck] Merfolk

[Arsenal]

I don't understand why Saito doesnt use any wastelands, isnt that the a core card of a tempo deck?

I think he always wanted to hit 3 mana on turn 3 for his TNN (running 4). And Cavern means that TNN is guaranteed to resolve. Basically, he was on the "all-in" TNN plan.

EDIT: Essentially, I think he'd have no qualms with going "Island, Island, Cavern = TNN" during his first three turns (while also doing other stuff during the first 2 turns of course).

[Windmill]

Hi fellow Merfolk players. I'm new to legacy, and chose to start out with fish. I'm not sure if that was a good choice or not, but I'm actually really excited that I did right now. Merfolk is going through lots of changes and so I get to be part of the development of the next phase of the deck!

I've played Merfolk twice. Once before TNN, the next after TNN but I didn't have access to FOW so you can imagine it was a much worse deck. Recently played in a local tournament with TNN and I went 2-2. I won twice against reanimator, and I lost once against affinity (though I won one game there!) and against another combo deck that I don't know what it is called - but I needed FOW in that match-up. If I'd had it, it'd have been a different story.

Based on that experience, I've been crafting this deck:

Main Deck

Creatures
4 x Cursecatcher (the people going 3-of... I don't understand, this guy rocks!)
4 x Silvergill Adept
4 x Master of Pearl Trident
4 x Lord of Atlantis
3 x Phantasmal Image (wondering about 4-of? I love this guy, he is amazing)
3 x TNN (maybe this should be 2-of? Maybe another Reejery?)
1 x Merrow Reejery (I always find him underwhelming. I don't want to tick my vial up to 3 for him. But 8 lords feels like a little bit too few. So I've kept 3cc at a total of 4 creatures)

***note***

Spells
4 x FOW
3 x Daze (Daze or FOW is necessary in an opening hand against many many decks. But the problem is daze quickly becomes played around. I don't mind the trend to 3 daze)
3 x Spell Pierce (always amazing)

Artifacts and Enchantments
4 x Aether Vial

Land
13 x Island (I've been going 12-of but it just isn't enough. Almost wondering if I should go 14? Mutavault is very powerful but I'm tired of having to muligan, it really hurts my match-ups against aggro and I'm finding myself needing to muligan a lot due to mana issues. Should probably also be a cavern of souls? Though my merfolk rarely get countered so it seems like very little benefit)
4 x Wasteland
3 x Mutavault

Note: This leaves 3 flexi spots to deal with my local meta. Still unsure what to put here. Right now I have 2 jittes and a spell pierce.

Sideboard (keep in mind this doesn't include items temporarily in my flexi spot)
2 x Grafdigger's Cage
1 x Tormod's Crypt
2 x Standstill (great against combo - but not great against midrange/aggro so I think its only SB for now)
3 x Pithing Needle
3 x Tidebinder Mage (great synergy with image makes me choose this over submerge)
4 x flexi spots

PLEASE HELP! My meta has everything: aggro, midrange, combo and control.

[SupREME-10]

I can definitely see Mutavault and/or Wastelands being cut a little from the deck to ensure a Turn 3 True-Name Nemesis, you want 13+ islands.

Master of Waves is excellent but at the 4 CMC slot he can be tight to cast as he out curves the deck a little.

Cheers

[luckme10]

What up fellas, I've been away for a while.

So, first of all, I was wondering can someone post the sideboard that Saito ran, or a link? I'm having a hard time making some of the stuff out in that twitter picture, which is the only place I've been able to find it so far (probably a little lazy, I know).

Also, I've seen some naysaying on using equipment with TNN, and I haven't tested it but seems like Basilisk Collar is perhaps the best equipment to use on that little bugger. It helps you in the damage race, essentially making him give a 6 life point swing, and defensively it lets you kill that Goyf or whoever instead of just infini-chumping it.

And as someone who's been away from the meta, Master of Waves seems powerful against some problematic matchups, but seeing him in some folks' main decks is a little surprising. I can see how he's an awkward way to use sideboard slots, but isn't he just really bad in the matchups where your opponent has removal for him?

Also, as far as TNN, does anyone foresee a price drop, or is it just bite the bullet time if I want to get back into playing Legacy Fishez?

Saito Merfolk - GP DC 2013 - from https://twitter.com/TomoharuSaito/st...81435842785280

4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 True-Name Nemesis
4 Aether Vial
3 Merrow Reejery
2 Master of Waves

4 Force of Will
3 Daze
3 Standstill

13 Island
4 Mutavault
4 Cavern of Souls


SB: 3 Submerge
SB: 3 Umezawa's Jitte
SB: 3 Spell Pierce
SB: 4 Swan Song
SB: 2 Back to Basics

[FANAttIC]

TNN is not essential to seeing success with Fish although he obviously is quite powerful when used appropriately/against many bad match ups.

As far as cost, I guess we'll have to see how he ends up playing out in the meta. I personally think that he won't be banned, although there are a lot of people crying for it (it doesn't warrant it). I personally got one and wish I could get another 1-2 right now because I really like him. Time will tell. I think once the EDH sets discontinue it'll start to climb again so... sooner the better I suppose (and make sure no big events are going to occur anytime in the near future driving the price up).

If Top and Show and Tell are still around there is no rational reason to ban TNN.

[Spaker]

If Top and Show and Tell are still around there is no rational reason to ban TNN.

I really wish that TNN get ban. This card, while not "broken", is just not fun to play with or against. Totally non-interactive card between players. The semi-final between Owen T. and Sam Black at the GP DC became poor as soon as TNN hit the field.

Legacy doesn't need that card IMO.


Regards,

Spaker

[kingtk3]

If Top and Show and Tell are still around there is no rational reason to ban TNN.

Show and tell, reanimator, storm, food chain, painter... any combo basically ignores TNN, not to mention decks with mass removals or faster clocks.

Inviato dal mio Galaxy Nexus utilizzando Tapatalk

[FANAttIC]

Like I said, if Top and Show are not banned yet then there is zero chance TNN will be.

[Tokugawa]

Is Progenifish a poor design? Yes.

A boring card? Yes.

Banned-level power?No.

Since "broken" cards like SnT, Cradle and one-drop planeswalker are all in the format...

[JJ-JKidd]

I really wish that TNN get ban. This card, while not "broken", is just not fun to play with or against. Totally non-interactive card between players. The semi-final between Owen T. and Sam Black at the GP DC became poor as soon as TNN hit the field.

Legacy doesn't need that card IMO.


Regards,

Spaker

Just to many solutions to the card--TNN. Play red for Pyro or REB.

[Windmill]

Hi guys,

I've been playtesting my deck a bit. I've been asking around my (small) local meta, and here are decks I can definitely expect to see:

• U/W Miracles
• Affinity (uggghhh)
• Burn
• Goblins
• Reanimator
• Canadian Threshold
• Dragon Stompy (don't need any help, he gets wrecked by my deck in almost any form)
• Combo decks in general (including S&T)

With TNN in-tow, I expect to probably face a Stoneblade deck at some point too.

With this in-mind, I have created the following decklist:

Main Deck

Creatures
4 x Cursecatcher
4 x Silvergill Adept
4 x Master of Pearl Trident
4 x Lord of Atlantis
3 x Phantasmal Image (flimsy but pre-board, he can act as cheap TNN targets, and post-sideboard he can double-up my Tidebender Mages
3 x TNN
2 x Merrow Reejery (my least favorite, but I feel like the deck needs more lords? Sometimes, PI doesn't have a lord to copy and I'm sad)

Spells
4 x FOW
3 x Daze
3 x Spell Pierce

Artifacts and Enchantments
4 x Aether Vial
2 x Jitte

Land
13 x Island
4 x Wasteland
3 x Mutavault

Sideboard
2 x Grafdigger's Cage
1 x Tormod's Crypt
2 x Standstill
3 x Tidebender Mage
2 x Dismember
1 x Spell Pierce
3 x Null Rod (works against equipment decks AND affinity. Is stopping my vial from working worth it?)
1 x Echoing Truth (I'd like to have 2 in here but can't find space - great against accidental moats etc)

Is this looking good?

Affinity: Played, I got DESTROYED. 3 Mutavaults hurts in that match-up because my mutavaults can block his etched champions, but over all it is a sacrifice I have to make. I think that TNN + Jitte helps but with only 2 Jittes I often don't draw them, period. Null Rod should go a long way here.
U/W Miracle Control: I'm now afraid because they have an uncounterable mass-removal spell (wtf?) what does this mean for me?
Canadian Threshold: Dismembers + Tidebender Mage + TNN helps this considerably now.
Reanimator: I've hosed them without graveyard hate before. I'd like 4 in case someone plays Dredge though, but can't find space to justify it.
Burn: I went 1-2 to burn in my first ever legacy/constructed tournament. Don't know if that was luck/playstyle/deck. G
Goblins: Terrible match-up but can sideboard in Tidebender to deal with blocks. TNN helps, along with Jitte.

[Spaker]

Just to many solutions to the card--TNN. Play red for Pyro or REB.

I agree : there is some solutions to deal with this guy. Reb/Pyro is one of them. But those cards like golgari charms, REB/pyro, Zealous persecution are too narrow. I think you shouldn't be spending your time looking through your all deck for a single card to take care of a creature like TNN.
But I think that "protection against player x" clearly belongs to the multiplayer : commander.

I'll reformulate :
Do I think that legacy has the tools to play around it, and can adapt to it ? ---> yes, definitely.
But should legacy welcome that card and adapt ? ---> no, because it is just not fun, not interactive. It only belongs to multiplayers format : commander.

Take a look at the Geist of St Traft : IMO, it's a beautiful-designed card that swims in the same area of play.
Very strong attack-power, can end the game in 3 turns, but so weak at the same time.
While it doesn't eat all removals spells, it dies to a simple 2/2. So you can't just drop it and go straight against the player.
AND : it's terrible when you need to defend.
That is, unlike TNN, a great card.


That said, it's just my opinion.

Regards,


Spaker

[Windmill]

So what are peoples current thoughts on standstill? Yes, it absolutely hoses control and combo if it resolves. But right now in the current meta - is it worth it? I actually think that with the right sideboarding, Merfolk thanks to TNN is shaping up to be quite powerful, especially when combined with Phantasmal Image (which has great synergy with Tidebender Mage) :) right now, my sideboard has 2 slots for it, and I've taken them out of the main (and have 2 Jittes, you can see my list above) because the card was dead in too many match-ups.

Would it be better then instead, to put in more counters? I thought I could put in a 4th daze and something like Flusterstorm.

[Captain Hammer]

Hi guys,

Below is the list that I'm currently running, I would really appreciate your feedback or any needed changes or problems that you see. Thank you.

4 Aether Vial
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of Pearl Trident
3 Phantasmal Image
3 Merrow Reejerey
2 True Name Nemesis
2 Spell Pierce
2 Standstill
4 Wasteland
3 Mutavault
13 Island


After seeing the GP decklist, I'm wondering if perhaps Master of Waves deserves the slots currently being occupied by Merrow Reejery. I'm also wondering if perhaps Cavern of Souls is superior to Wasteland and/or Mutavault in the deck as it makes the creatures uncounterable and generates the colored mana needed to cast your creatures if Aether Vial doesn't survive.

[JJ-JKidd]

New Saito build:

https://mobile.twitter.com/TomoharuS...27859385384960

[beez]

New Saito build:

https://mobile.twitter.com/TomoharuS...27859385384960

What is the top left hand corner card above Cursecatcher?

[benthetenor]

Cosi's Trickster

[Captain Hammer]

Not sold on Cosi's Trickster. Is anyone here?

I think I would prefer a 2/2 split of Phantasmal Image and Master of Waves in place of Cosi's Trickster.

Deck looks solid otherwise.

So how do people feel about Cavern of Souls instead of Mutavaults. I think that choice makes a lot of sense. You can't argue with the results.

[thecrav]

Not sold on Cosi's Trickster.

I can definitely understand the appeal. With all the 3+ color decks in legacy, your opponent is likely to have to give Cosi's at least +2/+2

[BVB09]

Cosi's Trickster is a horrible topdeck. And even a 3/3 for 1 doesn't solve any of our problems.
I have cut Reejerey and I'm running 2 Thassa. Scry 1 in a deck full of bad topdecks is extremely good. Also I'm running 4 TNN and 4 Phantasmal Image so reaching devotion is not a problem