Regarding the manabase: Very anxious to see how it works out (I was originally sideboarding Wasteland). I REALLY liked my old manabase though. It let me cast all of my spells (4 Muta, 4 Cavern, 13 Island, with 2 SB Wasteland). There are a lot of times where I wish I had Wasteland in the mainboard though.
In particular, Vs 12-Post, I copied a Primeval Titan off a Phantasmal Image and sheepishly grabbed Mutavaults under a Glacial Chasm lock. I think I looked pretty stupid when I wasted him out of the game game 2. They were in my sideboard :')
Moved around the Warping Wail to the sideboard. I think that slot could be another Echoing Truth (To have 3 ways of dealing with annoying permanents), a Misdirection, or a 3rd Dismember.
Finally got the opportunity to record a match after being so busy. I probably made some questionable lines in the second game (I also forgot a Vial trigger O_O probably bcuz I haven't played on CAT for so long. I'd normally have a dice IRL, but I won't make excuses) so I'd like you guys to critique those if you get the time to watch.
I will also admit some of the opponent's plays seemed pretty sketchy.
Second ever sanctioned Legacy event for me tonight, went 3-1 getting 2nd place (a 4-0 took 1st).
R1 L - Pox, it was ugly, 0-2
R2 W - Some variant of delver I think, it went insanly quick with me playing multiple TNN after T2 Chalice on 1, he tried to counter my chalice, but I countered it, and I think that was the only spell both games that he played...2-0
R3 W - Modern mono white soldier deck, I had Jitte both games... 2-0
R4 W - Punishing Loam, I stole G1 with TNN and 5 lords, he had some removal...but 5 lords...G2 was really long, I had T1 tormod and I cracked it right away to catch a T1 loam from him put into the gy with faithless looting. I T2 pithing needle on Seismic Assault I knew he had from watching previous rounds. He eventually finds Ancient grudge that I counter. I also counter the flashback. He eventually finds Abrupt Decay for pithing needle, but at this point I have Kira and Lords with Mutavaults. He Firespouts, and then takes out each mutavault but we're both top decking at this point and he's at 2 life. I draw creatures that he removes, I draw mutavaults that he eventually can't deal with. I find my one of hydroblast to destroy his seismic assault and he does find another loam at 2 life, but I swing in for the win! I didn't sideboard in Grafdigger's not aware of him having punishing fire...phew.
R4 W - Punishing Loam, I stole G1 with TNN and 5 lords, he had some removal...but 5 lords...G2 was really long, I had T1 tormod and I cracked it right away to catch a T1 loam from him put into the gy with faithless looting. I T2 pithing needle on Seismic Assault I knew he had from watching previous rounds. He eventually finds Ancient grudge that I counter. I also counter the flashback. He eventually finds Abrupt Decay for pithing needle, but at this point I have Kira and Lords with Mutavaults. He Firespouts, and then takes out each mutavault but we're both top decking at this point and he's at 2 life. I draw creatures that he removes, I draw mutavaults that he eventually can't deal with. I find my one of hydroblast to destroy his seismic assault and he does find another loam at 2 life, but I swing in for the win! I didn't sideboard in Grafdigger's not aware of him having punishing fire...phew.
Cage helps against Grudge and Looting, but not against Punishing Fire.
I agree with you that Jitte isn't that great against Miracles, but I think that you shouldn't side it out if you still think there's a possibility you're facing a Stoneforge Mystic deck. If you're right and it's Miracles, it's a mediocre yet not entirely useless card, but if you're wrong and it's Stoneblade, not being able to Image for Jitte is a huge blow to your win %.
Just a thought on your chess segment (I am one of the people who does like watching them ) maybe you should just record yourself playing them, then record commentary separately and edit it into the video afterwards? That way you are still presenting it with the play-by-play comments, without screwing yourself on time each game.
Yeah, maybe that's the best way to present the chess game.
Looking forward to report.
Until then, I clicked the link for your deck and saw the Deck Price (high, avg, low), and wow, did things change?!
Our deck was 600-700, max 900$ the last time I looked, never bothered to observe fluctuations. When did it became 1500$.dec?
Caverns, Chalice, Cliques, and Vials are all in the $40-50 range and them being 3 or 4 ofs really add up. A few other things may have crept up by a dollar or two but those are the big changes
Seems like Caverns are in pretty much any deck that runes creatures and not cantrips, from our deck to Death and Taxes to Eldrazi. I imagine they're used in Maverick too but I haven't kept up with that deck. Chalice might get a price hike because of the recent aggro loam variants, Eldrazi, etc. That said, I don't typically trust high prices. A random dealer could sell a Cavern for $200 for some crazy non-reason and throw the stats out of proportion. The fact that the high price is twice the mid price points to that possibility. The $1550 USD stat is probably more reasonable.
I'm getting ready to port my Merfolk on over to Legacy, and I wanted to float my list over so that the more seasoned Legacy water breathers could take a look. Here's what I'm planning to go with:
I know this deck has a few unorthodox choices, so let me go ahead and try to explain myself:
1. Merrow Reejerey is here as a nod to decks with strong ground games that don't play Islands (such as Maverick and Eldrazi), and because I like its "ramp" aspect as a way to establish a quick clock in games where I've spent turns 1 and 2 playing an Æther Vial followed by a Chalice of the Void. I haven't really felt a need or desire to reach for Phantasmal Image (which does not play nice with Cavern of Souls) or Vendilion Clique (the deck has held up fine against midrange/control/combo).
2. From what I've read, the likes of Lands can be a tough matchup for us, so I'm trying out Spreading Seas as a potential solution that can also mimic our Modern playstyle against Death & Taxes, Eldrazi, and Maverick (we do well against all of the Modern versions of those decks, and Seas is a big reason why).
3. Likewise, Harbinger of the Tides come in against attrition decks like Shardless BUG (which demand that you pack more bodies to offset their removal), Infect (because holding them off on T2 with counterspells and on T3 with this is a delightful way to turn the corner), and Delver (because bouncing an Insectile Aberration or a Gurmag Angler is a tempo gutpunch).
4. I don't know what other people think, but Umezawa's Jitte has felt really bad in my mainboard when facing the likes of Reanimator or Storm. As such, I'm proposing to bring it in to combat the other creature matchups (where I typically have several cards that don't seem like they're so great).
I could be wrong on all of this, but that's where I'm at right now. I'm also waffling on whether I want Hibernation. I recognize Elves can be a bad matchup, but I have yet to encounter them, and Chalice of the Void seems brutal against them in Legacy, since they don't always pack Cavern of Souls. I'm also somewhat unsure what would actually come in for them - Chill? Submerge? V-Clique? Thoughts appreciated.
I'm getting ready to port my Merfolk on over to Legacy, and I wanted to float my list over so that the more seasoned Legacy water breathers could take a look. Here's what I'm planning to go with:
I know this deck has a few unorthodox choices, so let me go ahead and try to explain myself:
1. Merrow Reejerey is here as a nod to decks with strong ground games that don't play Islands (such as Maverick and Eldrazi), and because I like its "ramp" aspect as a way to establish a quick clock in games where I've spent turns 1 and 2 playing an Æther Vial followed by a Chalice of the Void. I haven't really felt a need or desire to reach for Phantasmal Image (which does not play nice with Cavern of Souls) or Vendilion Clique (the deck has held up fine against midrange/control/combo).
2. From what I've read, the likes of Lands can be a tough matchup for us, so I'm trying out Spreading Seas as a potential solution that can also mimic our Modern playstyle against Death & Taxes, Eldrazi, and Maverick (we do well against all of the Modern versions of those decks, and Seas is a big reason why).
3. Likewise, Harbinger of the Tides come in against attrition decks like Shardless BUG (which demand that you pack more bodies to offset their removal), Infect (because holding them off on T2 with counterspells and on T3 with this is a delightful way to turn the corner), and Delver (because bouncing an Insectile Aberration or a Gurmag Angler is a tempo gutpunch).
4. I don't know what other people think, but Umezawa's Jitte has felt really bad in my mainboard when facing the likes of Reanimator or Storm. As such, I'm proposing to bring it in to combat the other creature matchups (where I typically have several cards that don't seem like they're so great).
I could be wrong on all of this, but that's where I'm at right now. I'm also waffling on whether I want Hibernation. I recognize Elves can be a bad matchup, but I have yet to encounter them, and Chalice of the Void seems brutal against them in Legacy, since they don't always pack Cavern of Souls. I'm also somewhat unsure what would actually come in for them - Chill? Submerge? V-Clique? Thoughts appreciated.
Welcome to merfolk!
First off, not running Silvergill is a BIG mistake. I would cut your dazes for it since most merfolk player agree that daze isn't that great anymore. As for Merrow or Phantasmal, there are ton of tricks you can try with it (i.e. copying your opponents Stoneforge to get a Jitte, copying a Marit Lage, etc) but I will be interested in your results with it since Merrow always seemed solid, though it's pretty slow. Good luck with the deck, and tell us how you do with your build!
I'm getting ready to port my Merfolk on over to Legacy, and I wanted to float my list over so that the more seasoned Legacy water breathers could take a look. Here's what I'm planning to go with:
I know this deck has a few unorthodox choices, so let me go ahead and try to explain myself:
1. Merrow Reejerey is here as a nod to decks with strong ground games that don't play Islands (such as Maverick and Eldrazi), and because I like its "ramp" aspect as a way to establish a quick clock in games where I've spent turns 1 and 2 playing an Æther Vial followed by a Chalice of the Void. I haven't really felt a need or desire to reach for Phantasmal Image (which does not play nice with Cavern of Souls) or Vendilion Clique (the deck has held up fine against midrange/control/combo).
2. From what I've read, the likes of Lands can be a tough matchup for us, so I'm trying out Spreading Seas as a potential solution that can also mimic our Modern playstyle against Death & Taxes, Eldrazi, and Maverick (we do well against all of the Modern versions of those decks, and Seas is a big reason why).
3. Likewise, Harbinger of the Tides come in against attrition decks like Shardless BUG (which demand that you pack more bodies to offset their removal), Infect (because holding them off on T2 with counterspells and on T3 with this is a delightful way to turn the corner), and Delver (because bouncing an Insectile Aberration or a Gurmag Angler is a tempo gutpunch).
4. I don't know what other people think, but Umezawa's Jitte has felt really bad in my mainboard when facing the likes of Reanimator or Storm. As such, I'm proposing to bring it in to combat the other creature matchups (where I typically have several cards that don't seem like they're so great).
I could be wrong on all of this, but that's where I'm at right now. I'm also waffling on whether I want Hibernation. I recognize Elves can be a bad matchup, but I have yet to encounter them, and Chalice of the Void seems brutal against them in Legacy, since they don't always pack Cavern of Souls. I'm also somewhat unsure what would actually come in for them - Chill? Submerge? V-Clique? Thoughts appreciated.
It looks like I rambled about stuff for 76 pages (followed link in L0rdAceX's report), so I probably said everything I wanted to say about Merfolk in Legacy. I am just going to focus on this list.
8 Harbingers is slightly too much so my guess is there are 4 Silvergills in the main.
4 Daze, should you chose to run them, are not good with only 10 Islands (this article http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/magic-math-shadowlands-and-battlelands/ under "How Many Sources Do You Need for Certain Cards?" title shows that we need 12-14 sources for it, and more close to 14 if we treat it as early game spell.
This 75 has no interaction (other than FoW) for game over cards like Ensnaring Bridge and Moat (try one Echoing Truth in the main, you won't regret it).
Image and Clique are few magnitudes better cards than in Modern, they are our Cryptic Commands in creature form.
Nemesis + Image are our break-defenses card, this is why we don't play Seas in Legacy. Seas is great, but Legacy is too big and 15 side slots are too small for a playset.
Combo is everywhere so even with a set of Catcher, Chalice, FoW and Daze, you can use cca 5 side slots for Counterspells (Pierce, Fluster, Venser...), at least that works for me.
Not sure about everyone else but hibernation NEVER did anything for me, Modern or Legacy.
Yeah, I brainfarted with regards to the creature selection - the Harbinger of the Tides in the main are supposed to be Silvergill Adepts. I've been mostly OK with Daze thus far, but the testing has been pretty preliminary - I'll definitely keep an eye on it in further matches to see if it needs to be replaced. Thanks for the notes with regards to Hibernation (which I have never liked, since it never seems to work) - I'll swap that for Echoing Truth and see how that goes.
I'm on the record for my skepticism of any list that wins one or two random 4-round MTGO events, but top8-ing a 300-player event is a notable achievement.
So while I agree that his list seems a bit crazy, perhaps the crazier thing is that it actually worked. The natural question to ask is why it placed as high as it did. I can't believe 250 scrubs showed up and he only had one serious opponent that he lucksacked past.
It also matters on his opponents, if he just chewed through a ton of delver decks while lands facerolled him then he could still make it to top 8. Even with a wonky list like that delver is such an easy match up. When would you ever resolve a Coercive portal anyway?
There are few good news in all of this:
1. "we" got top8 in a relevant-sized tournament, which is good since we are getting extinct at mtgtop8.com (1%)
2. even a bad list (3 Vials can't be justified, not to mention many other cards) can make a result
3. it is possible that other decks are scaring our prey with their Chalices, which could open some maindeck slots for us if we ditch Chalices for Daze/Wail/Harbinger (other Daze decks are all Delver variety which dies to Chalice, so people are slowing down with bigger spells while not playing around Daze as shown by top8 candidates, only one could be affected by Chalice at 1)
4. Merfolk is in the top10 archetypes in the East: http://www.hareruyamtg.com/en/deck/search.aspx?search.x=true&format=Legacy&releasedt_type=1&name_je_type=1&archetype=A000336 (there is a lot to digest here, maybe some nice tech could be found)
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http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/deck.asp?deck_id=1262023
Regarding the manabase: Very anxious to see how it works out (I was originally sideboarding Wasteland). I REALLY liked my old manabase though. It let me cast all of my spells (4 Muta, 4 Cavern, 13 Island, with 2 SB Wasteland). There are a lot of times where I wish I had Wasteland in the mainboard though.
In particular, Vs 12-Post, I copied a Primeval Titan off a Phantasmal Image and sheepishly grabbed Mutavaults under a Glacial Chasm lock. I think I looked pretty stupid when I wasted him out of the game game 2. They were in my sideboard :')
Moved around the Warping Wail to the sideboard. I think that slot could be another Echoing Truth (To have 3 ways of dealing with annoying permanents), a Misdirection, or a 3rd Dismember.
Modern UMerfolkU
Legacy UMerfolkU
Standard XWhatever's GoodX
https://youtu.be/JEn_OJgNfJ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oHO0nE7RjI
Finally got the opportunity to record a match after being so busy. I probably made some questionable lines in the second game (I also forgot a Vial trigger O_O probably bcuz I haven't played on CAT for so long. I'd normally have a dice IRL, but I won't make excuses) so I'd like you guys to critique those if you get the time to watch.
I will also admit some of the opponent's plays seemed pretty sketchy.
Modern UMerfolkU
Legacy UMerfolkU
Standard XWhatever's GoodX
https://youtu.be/PhmaAwgBME0
R1 L - Pox, it was ugly, 0-2
R2 W - Some variant of delver I think, it went insanly quick with me playing multiple TNN after T2 Chalice on 1, he tried to counter my chalice, but I countered it, and I think that was the only spell both games that he played...2-0
R3 W - Modern mono white soldier deck, I had Jitte both games... 2-0
R4 W - Punishing Loam, I stole G1 with TNN and 5 lords, he had some removal...but 5 lords...G2 was really long, I had T1 tormod and I cracked it right away to catch a T1 loam from him put into the gy with faithless looting. I T2 pithing needle on Seismic Assault I knew he had from watching previous rounds. He eventually finds Ancient grudge that I counter. I also counter the flashback. He eventually finds Abrupt Decay for pithing needle, but at this point I have Kira and Lords with Mutavaults. He Firespouts, and then takes out each mutavault but we're both top decking at this point and he's at 2 life. I draw creatures that he removes, I draw mutavaults that he eventually can't deal with. I find my one of hydroblast to destroy his seismic assault and he does find another loam at 2 life, but I swing in for the win! I didn't sideboard in Grafdigger's not aware of him having punishing fire...phew.
My list for tonight still in progress sideboard:
4x Cursecatcher
1x Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
4x Lord of Atlantis
4x Master of the Pearl Trident
3x Phantasmal Image
4x Silvergill Adept
4x True-Name Nemesis
4x AEther Vial
4x Chalice of the Void
1x Umezawa's Jitte
Land (20)
3x Cavern of Souls
13x Island
4x Mutavault
Instant (7)
3x Daze
4x Force of Will
2x Back to Basics
1x Flusterstorm
1x Grafdigger's Cage
1x Mindbreak Trap
2x Swan Song
1x Tormod's Crypt
2x submerge
1x hydroblast
1x pithing needle
2x stifle
1x Umezawa's Jitte
I look forward to following this thread more and getting more into legacy!
https://youtu.be/1glZdbFJH8A
http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/deck.asp?deck_id=1262023
I'll write a report later.
List was perfect. Wouldn't change a thing. Warping Wail could go to 2 though.
Modern UMerfolkU
Legacy UMerfolkU
Standard XWhatever's GoodX
Until then, I clicked the link for your deck and saw the Deck Price (high, avg, low), and wow, did things change?!
Our deck was 600-700, max 900$ the last time I looked, never bothered to observe fluctuations. When did it became 1500$.dec?
UMerfolkU
Legacy
UMerfolkU
Commander
RWBAlesha, Who Smiles At DeathRWB
2) Use the right number of each card.
3) Know your probabilities.
4) Print your deck lists; make yourself and your judges happier.
Here is that report
Modern UMerfolkU
Legacy UMerfolkU
Standard XWhatever's GoodX
Making a living by playing Merfolk is what it's all about
Congrats.
What about the shoutout though?
Thanks!
@gigou2, Thanks man!
Modern UMerfolkU
Legacy UMerfolkU
Standard XWhatever's GoodX
I'm getting ready to port my Merfolk on over to Legacy, and I wanted to float my list over so that the more seasoned Legacy water breathers could take a look. Here's what I'm planning to go with:
4 Æther Vial
4 Chalice of the Void
Creatures (24)
4 Cursecatcher
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
4 Merrow Reejerey
4 True-Name Nemesis
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
Lands (20)
4 Cavern of Souls
10 Island
4 Mutavault
2 Wasteland
2 Grafdigger's Cage
4 Harbinger of the Tides
2 Hibernation
2 Relic of Progenitus
4 Spreading Seas
1 Umezawa's Jitte
I know this deck has a few unorthodox choices, so let me go ahead and try to explain myself:
1. Merrow Reejerey is here as a nod to decks with strong ground games that don't play Islands (such as Maverick and Eldrazi), and because I like its "ramp" aspect as a way to establish a quick clock in games where I've spent turns 1 and 2 playing an Æther Vial followed by a Chalice of the Void. I haven't really felt a need or desire to reach for Phantasmal Image (which does not play nice with Cavern of Souls) or Vendilion Clique (the deck has held up fine against midrange/control/combo).
2. From what I've read, the likes of Lands can be a tough matchup for us, so I'm trying out Spreading Seas as a potential solution that can also mimic our Modern playstyle against Death & Taxes, Eldrazi, and Maverick (we do well against all of the Modern versions of those decks, and Seas is a big reason why).
3. Likewise, Harbinger of the Tides come in against attrition decks like Shardless BUG (which demand that you pack more bodies to offset their removal), Infect (because holding them off on T2 with counterspells and on T3 with this is a delightful way to turn the corner), and Delver (because bouncing an Insectile Aberration or a Gurmag Angler is a tempo gutpunch).
4. I don't know what other people think, but Umezawa's Jitte has felt really bad in my mainboard when facing the likes of Reanimator or Storm. As such, I'm proposing to bring it in to combat the other creature matchups (where I typically have several cards that don't seem like they're so great).
I could be wrong on all of this, but that's where I'm at right now. I'm also waffling on whether I want Hibernation. I recognize Elves can be a bad matchup, but I have yet to encounter them, and Chalice of the Void seems brutal against them in Legacy, since they don't always pack Cavern of Souls. I'm also somewhat unsure what would actually come in for them - Chill? Submerge? V-Clique? Thoughts appreciated.
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
Welcome to merfolk!
First off, not running Silvergill is a BIG mistake. I would cut your dazes for it since most merfolk player agree that daze isn't that great anymore. As for Merrow or Phantasmal, there are ton of tricks you can try with it (i.e. copying your opponents Stoneforge to get a Jitte, copying a Marit Lage, etc) but I will be interested in your results with it since Merrow always seemed solid, though it's pretty slow. Good luck with the deck, and tell us how you do with your build!
Modern
UBR Grixis Control
U Merfolk
Pauper
U Mono U Delver
Ancestral Visions is freed
8 Harbingers is slightly too much so my guess is there are 4 Silvergills in the main.
4 Daze, should you chose to run them, are not good with only 10 Islands (this article http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/magic-math-shadowlands-and-battlelands/ under "How Many Sources Do You Need for Certain Cards?" title shows that we need 12-14 sources for it, and more close to 14 if we treat it as early game spell.
This 75 has no interaction (other than FoW) for game over cards like Ensnaring Bridge and Moat (try one Echoing Truth in the main, you won't regret it).
Image and Clique are few magnitudes better cards than in Modern, they are our Cryptic Commands in creature form.
Nemesis + Image are our break-defenses card, this is why we don't play Seas in Legacy. Seas is great, but Legacy is too big and 15 side slots are too small for a playset.
Combo is everywhere so even with a set of Catcher, Chalice, FoW and Daze, you can use cca 5 side slots for Counterspells (Pierce, Fluster, Venser...), at least that works for me.
Not sure about everyone else but hibernation NEVER did anything for me, Modern or Legacy.
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
...not sure what to say except "interesting".
So while I agree that his list seems a bit crazy, perhaps the crazier thing is that it actually worked. The natural question to ask is why it placed as high as it did. I can't believe 250 scrubs showed up and he only had one serious opponent that he lucksacked past.
2) Use the right number of each card.
3) Know your probabilities.
4) Print your deck lists; make yourself and your judges happier.
UMerfolkU
Legacy
UMerfolkU
Commander
RWBAlesha, Who Smiles At DeathRWB
1. "we" got top8 in a relevant-sized tournament, which is good since we are getting extinct at mtgtop8.com (1%)
2. even a bad list (3 Vials can't be justified, not to mention many other cards) can make a result
3. it is possible that other decks are scaring our prey with their Chalices, which could open some maindeck slots for us if we ditch Chalices for Daze/Wail/Harbinger (other Daze decks are all Delver variety which dies to Chalice, so people are slowing down with bigger spells while not playing around Daze as shown by top8 candidates, only one could be affected by Chalice at 1)
4. Merfolk is in the top10 archetypes in the East: http://www.hareruyamtg.com/en/deck/search.aspx?search.x=true&format=Legacy&releasedt_type=1&name_je_type=1&archetype=A000336 (there is a lot to digest here, maybe some nice tech could be found)