Mer-fishes

[Travis Lannoye]

I was browsing through some Extended forums over my lunch break yesterday, and I came across a Merfolk thread. It looked like the style of deck I can appreciate (a mixture of aggro and control), and it's even good enough to be played in Legacy, so I decided to try it. The original list in the thread was U/W, but I found that there are more than enough good blue cards to make a solid list, and white doesn't add anything spectacular enough to make me want to muck up my manabase.

Merfishes 1.0

4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Merrow Reejerey
4 Merfolk Sovereign
2 Wake Thrasher
(22)
4 Ponder
4 Mana Leak
4 Rune Snag
3 Cryptic Command

(15)
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Mutavault
15 Island
(23)

Sideboard (a.k.a. other cards to try):
4 Flashfreeze
4 Negate
4 Essence Scatter
4 Spell Pierce
4 Spell Snare
4 Repeal
4 Remand
4 Hurkyl's Recall
4 Ancestral Vision
3 Umezawa's Jitte
3 Sword of Fire and Ice
3 Loxodon Warhammer
3 Kira, Great Glass Spinner
4 Relic of Progenitus
4 Tormod's Crypt
4 Grimoire Thief
4 Sage's Dousing
4 Condescend

This deck is dirt cheap to make (compared to something like Zoo which costs about a grand) and has viable answers to almost every threat.

I'm on the fence about whether or not I need the 3rd set of lords (Merfolk Sovereign) or if I'm better off with more counters, or some bounce spells, or some equipment. Also, debating on whether or not I should run Ponder, Ancestral Vision, or both. At first, I ran Ponder, but the idea of getting that extra three cards on turn 5 is really tempting.

Ready, discuss!

[JediCheese]

I would keep it U/W. It doesn't really cost you anything (other than a little life once and a while) and you gain access to some really powerful cards (Path and Sygg come to mind offhand).

If you are going mono-blue you should think about Vedalken Shackles.

My last $0.02 is think about Cosi's Trickster. It's almost guaranteed to be a 2/2 (especially on the play) and can easily get 3/3 vs many decks.

[Travis Lannoye]

Dec 17, 2009 11:21:32 GMT -5 JediCheese said:

I would keep it U/W. It doesn't really cost you anything (other than a little life once and a while) and you gain access to some really powerful cards (Path and Sygg come to mind offhand).

I haven't played nearly games to determine if white is a necessary inclusion, but it's definitely on my radar, and I own a set of Hallowed Fountains. Plus, there's also Wanderwine Hub, which should be as good as a Tundra.

Dec 17, 2009 11:21:32 GMT -5 JediCheese said:

If you are going mono-blue you should think about Vedalken Shackles.

That's not a bad idea. However, there are two things that bother me about it: the fact that creatures are getting bigger in Extended, and the fact that it's another $10 rare that I don't have.

Dec 17, 2009 11:21:32 GMT -5 JediCheese said:

My last $0.02 is think about Cosi's Trickster. It's almost guaranteed to be a 2/2 (especially on the play) and can easily get 3/3 vs many decks.

I thought about him, certainly a viable option.

Thanks for the discussion. More is always welcome.

EDIT: New rules allow me to tap out at EOT and maximize my Wake Thrasher tech.

[John Galli]

I know your not a big fan of the man (and neither am I), but Sam Black just wrote an article on his legacy merfolk that he took to 5th place at the recent St. Louis 10k event. A lot of the cards will probably have similarities to what you run in extended so it might be worth a look-
www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/18462_Black_Magic_The_SCG_10k_Open_Weekend.html

You'll probably want Jitte in your mainboard, and don't forget about ancestral visions

[JediCheese]

There is a downside to Wanderwine Hub: unsearchable with fetchlands.

On the Vadalken Shackles front, Ebay price trackers are saying it's a $8.50 rare. And while Extended is the land of big creatures, we are still talking about 2/2 or 3/3. It's just that we play these big creatures turn 1-2 instead of typically turn 2-3. Plus Goyf isn't all that huge usually until mid/late game (unless you are playing against affinity, then when Ravager eats his friends it's fucking huge).

[Travis Lannoye]

Dec 17, 2009 11:34:18 GMT -5 John Galli said:

I know your not a big fan of the man (and neither am I), but Sam Black just wrote an article on his legacy merfolk that he took to 5th place at the recent St. Louis 10k event. A lot of the cards will probably have similarities to what you run in extended so it might be worth a look-
www.starcitygames.com/magic/legacy/18462_Black_Magic_The_SCG_10k_Open_Weekend.html

You'll probably want Jitte in your mainboard, and don't forget about ancestral visions

I saw that article, and it had some good ideas (at one point I even considered trying Aether Vial).

Ancestral Vision is probably better than Ponder, and it's probably just a matter of time before I make the change.

It's also just a matter of time before I start cutting some of the creatures in favor of more removal/counters. Jitte is a stupid-good card, but it's also a $20 card. Same goes for Sword of Fire and Ice.

Chris, you make a good point about the Hub not being searchable, and since I don't currently own any (as opposed to Hallowed Fountain), it probably won't get played.

[Travis Lannoye]

So, Ancestral Vision is WAAAAAY too slow. Ponder is going back in.

Paths are also necessary.

I'm going to try some Aether Vials and Spell Pierces in place of the Cursecatchers and see how that works. One of the key features of the Legacy Merfolk deck that I overlooked was its ability to play both creatures and counterspells (kinda like what my Skies deck did way back in Masques block). As such, I'm going to try and load up on cheap counters and removal spells and just use Aether Vial to play my dudes.

Merfishes 2.0:

4 Silvergill Adept
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Merrow Reejerey
3 Merfolk Sovereign
3 Wake Thrasher
(18)

4 Aether Vial
4 Path to Exile
4 Spell Pierce
4 Mana Leak
4 Rune Snag
(20)

4 Hallowed Fountain
1 Plains
4 Mutavault
4 Scalding Tarn
9 Island
(22)

For the sideboard, I have the following options:
Tormod's Crypt
Relic of Progenitus
Pithing Needle
Chalice of the Void
Engineered Explosives
Wrath of God
Day of Judgment
Kataki, War's Wage
Meddling Mage
Repeal
Remand
Negate
Flashfreeze
Spell Snare

Any ideas on what needs to go in the board?

[karl]

pretty sure Aether Vial is banned

[Travis Lannoye]

Dec 18, 2009 12:15:25 GMT -5 karl said:

pretty sure Aether Vial is banned

Well, god dammit. So much for that idea...