Honestly it's pointless to look at these 'spoilers' from a set not even coming out now.
On the Eldrazi Tron discussion, that matchup is very good for merfolk. They have trouble answering so many unblockable creatures with the Sea effects taking care of their tron, meaning it takes longer for them to hit the big pay off cards. Only really Ugin, if they run him, and All is Dust, which is counterable, that are troublesome for Merfolk.
We are definately not fast enough against them, and all the run are absolute BOMBS (Ballista, Collar, Ratcher BOMB xD, TKS)
They don't care about a few sea effects, if they have even just one map they will hit turn 3 TKS, and we can't finish them off early enough before they stabilize
You should go drop by the ET thread and see what they have to say about the Fish MU. A buddy of mine recently picked up the deck and he mentioned that all the threads he's read mention fish to be a bad MU for them. Personal opinion is we're fine against them.
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Evil Beware!....We have waffles.
"In my opinion, we don't devote nearly enough scientific research to finding a cure for jerks." Calvin & Hobbes Quotes
Calvin : You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
Hobbes : What mood is that?
Calvin : Last-minute panic.
Decks I'm playing:
Modern: U Merfolk
Standard: I dislike Standard ATM
I play ET, but I don't think I've ever played against Merfolk. It might depend on what hate you are running. Ceremonious Rejection and Unified Will would obviously be strong, as well as Hurkyl's Recall to deal with Chalice of the Void and Ratchet Bomb. Spreading Seas obviously would help.
I go by my record against a deck on MTGO as my first indicator of how a matchup plays out, and I have a 60% winrate over 40+ matches, which is right around where my winrate is against the field. I also took a peek over at the Eldrazi Tron thread (since I also fancy that deck), and I saw pilots reporting results all over the map against Merfolk: some felt they were favored, some said they felt it to be more-or-less even, some felt that they weren't favored. The data points toward the matchup being in the more-or-less even camp (maybe a tiny edge for us), with Ceremonious Rejection, Lord-spam, and Seas effects being the major players in the matchup on our side.
Hi Rothgar. Can you give a quick explanation of how you side with your current build? For example, in what MU's do you side in the Negates and what do you side out?
Hi Rothgar. Can you give a quick explanation of how you side with your current build? For example, in what MU's do you side in the Negates and what do you side out?
The second line for Kopala looks like a 2 to me. The first one however, I doubt it. Why would they write the text down in two seperate lines then, if that would be a 2 as well? Then they could write something like 'Spells and abilities that target a merfolk you control cost 2 more', instead of two lines? I think removal will just cost 1 more.
I was thinking this as well. It's weird they would word it into separate lines if they both had a taxing effect of 2. I think the first line is 1 and the second line is 2.
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Evil Beware!....We have waffles.
"In my opinion, we don't devote nearly enough scientific research to finding a cure for jerks." Calvin & Hobbes Quotes
Calvin : You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
Hobbes : What mood is that?
Calvin : Last-minute panic.
Decks I'm playing:
Modern: U Merfolk
Standard: I dislike Standard ATM
Hi Rothgar. Can you give a quick explanation of how you side with your current build? For example, in what MU's do you side in the Negates and what do you side out?
@BestUseOfEnergy: Depends on what you mean by sideboard plan. If you're talking pieces to build your board to prepare against that deck (which is how I interpret your statement), I'd look at Dispel, Grafdigger's Cage, Gut Shot, Negate, Pithing Needle, and Dismember. If you're talking sideboarding strategy, I generally take my Master of Waves and Harbinger of the Tides out, as well as Kira if I'm running her in the main (which I am right now).
I have had a TON of success with chalice of the void...an I think that's generally how eldrazi does so well against death's shadow (that and a lot of other things...but there's a reason they play FOUR MAIN BOARD)...most decks can't handle chalice on 1...it almost shuts a lot of decks down...yes it's a pain for us, as a lot of our tricks are one mana cost...but generally it hurts other decks a lot more.
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"I hope to have such a death—lying in triumph upon the broken bodies of those who slew me."
—Radha, Keldon warlord
I can dig the idea of Chalice in this metagame, but so far my current configuration has been providing enough success that I don't feel an urgent need to branch out. I haven't quite broken through and gotten a 5-0 in a competitive league yet, but I've gotten several 4-1s, so I'm still doing quite well.
After a long while of not playing Merfolk, mostly because I lent it out to other players that wanted to play it, I FINALLY got a chance to play it again. Went 3-0-1 drawing the last round because he had to leave. The list is the same as Rothgar's with the only changes being in the sideboard. Changes were -4 Negate -1 Relic -2 Echoing Truth to +3 Unified Will +1 Dispel +3 Sea's Claim.
R1 UG Eldrazi Tron (2-1)
G1: He stumbled on lands a bit and I just ran him over.
G2: He has a better start and curves out perfectly. T4 Elder Deep Fiend. T5 Thought Knot into Spatial on a Lord. T6 Ulamog into Spatial on another Lord. Couldnt compete with that curve.
G3: Timely Rejections on T4 Ugin and T5 Ulamog. He had no gas after that and I proceed to crush him/
SB: -4 Master of Waves -1 Harbinger -2 Cursecatcher -1 Rejeerey -1 Kira +3 Ceremonious Rejection +3 Unified Will +3 Claim
R2 8 Rack (2-0)
G1: I stick 2 threats along with a Mutavault. He never drew removal or Rack effects
G2: Pretty much the same, but he wasted a Fatal Push on a Kira then played Lilana and -2 her. He was kinda new with the deck so I told him that he could've just used Liliana to get rid of Kira.
SB: -4 Master of Waves -2 Harbinger -2 Dismember +2 Sea's Claim +3 Relic +3 Unified Will
R3 Eldrazi Tron (2-0)
G1: He was going to have natural Tron through a map, but a timely Spreading Seas put a stop to it. Had no lands after that as I proceed to run him over.
G2: T2 I Sea's him, but this time he hits land. He TKS and took another Seas. This next play was the play of the night for me. I Unified Will a Smasher by activating Mutavault by itself and Vialing in a Lord. He had no idea what jsut happened. I beat him down while holding up Ceremonious Rejection the rest of the game. Afterwards he said he just needed one more turn and land and shows me Ugin. I quickly show him Ceremonious Rejection. Long story short.... STILL HAD ALL DEEZ!
SB: Same as R1
R4 Jund Death Shadow (ID)
He had to leave so we both just drew and split.
Not a bad performance, despite not playing Merfolk in awhile. The sideboard felt pretty good, even though Dispel was never brought in. I might fiddle around with the numbers next time. Unified Will was an all star for me, because I predicted that in my meta I would always have more creatures. There are only a few decks that can nullify Unified Will, but I also wouldnt bring in Negate against those decks either. I was going to add some Gut Shot before FNM started, but decided against it at the last minute. Maybe next time I will try them over Dispel. Luckily, for me, there was only one Affinity player that night, but he wasnt doing so hot. So I dodged him this time. Til Next Time. SWIM ON FISH BROTHERS/SISTERS!
Any thoughts on disdainful stroke as an addition to the counters mix in the board? Useful in different matchups than negate (Eldrazi, titan shift) but is it reliable enough?
It's OK, but I can't help but feel that it's too narrow. It hits CoCo, Chord, PrimeTime, and any Eldrazi, but it's a blank against most other decks (I wouldn't bank on being able to catch a delve creature with it, given all the discard Shadow has in its arsenal).
I think Negate is a great choice right now. I started facing a ton of U/W/x control decks and Negate wrecks them. You just commit 1 or 2 creatures on the board, then negate their payoff spells like Sphinx's Revelation or Cryptic Command and force them to Supreme Verdict your Silvergil Adepts.
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Basilisk Collar? $5.00
Shooting down a baneslayer angel? Priceless
Just got in from the Face to Face games Edmonton 3k modern open. Came 12th from around 125 players, my friend playing Elves and I had the same record after every round but I managed to dodge him luckily. Final record was 6-2, won 50 bucks store credit, probably could have made top 8 but more on that below.
Round 1 - Eldrazi Tron
Nothing of note here, he seemed brand new to magic and I ran over him in turn 4 both games. He chump blocked with Walking Ballista more than once and didn't even remove the counter to ping for damage either time. Ghost Quarter blew him out game 2 as I drew into both and he ran no basics.
Round 2 - Grixis Shadow
Wouldn't you know a VERY high portion of the people there were playing it. Total blow out game one with Kommand hitting a lord and vial on his third turn, it ended soon after.
Game 2 I only saw 4 non land cards the whole game. He simply hit 4 removal and I lost.
Round 3 - Boros Burn
He played first and opened with Goblin Guide. I played a Vial and took a bunch of damage before I stabilized playing Spreading Sea's turn 2 instead of a lord. Blocked the guide with a Silvergill and he only had spells left. He tried to just burn me out but I had to much power on the board and won before he had the chance.
-2 Phantasmal Image didn't want to cut anything but it's burn and they usually run enough creature removal
+2 Mana Leak
Burn never lands many lands so I figured Leak could counter anything that would outright win the game once I had board stabilized. He's on the play and has to mull to 5. He opens with a mountain and just a suspended Rift Bolt. That's exactly what I want to see. I drop Vial and pass. He bolts me and passes with no other land drop. I Spreading Sea's his mountain and he sits there while I beat him down over the next few turns.
He boarded in Ensnaring Bridge and had he hit lands he would have won the game. I was not expecting it and had no way through it.
Round 4 - Madcap Experiment
This is an incredibly easy match for my deck, and I'm sure most merfolk decks could handle it. I didn't know what he was playing until he dropped the namesake card and found Platinum Emperion. I tried to Path to Exile at the end of his turn but he had the Dispel in hand. Didn't matter, I had Merrow Rejeerey on the board and Harbinger of the Tides in hand. On to game 2.
Game 2 I have an explosive hand and he plays Madcap Experiment into the Emperion as soon as he hits 4 mana. I just path it and win on the untap. He knew the odds were against him but he had no other option to go for it.
Round 5 - Classic Jund
I was pretty hungry at this point and wanted quick rounds. Damn, was this the wrong opponent for that. Game 1 he had more disruption and removal than I could cope with. I put up a good fight but he beat me down with 2 Gurmag Angler and I couldn't muster a defense.
Game 2 I thought he was going to run away with but he mulled and still didn't have a good hand. He didn't do anything his first turn letting me play Cursecatcher into Silvergill Adept. Catcher died swinging into a Dark Confidant and Adept died to Push. Eventually a Liliana of the Veil landed killing Kira, Great Glass-Spinner. Mutavault then killed her next turn. Somewhere around turn 10 he played Chandra, Torch of Defiance killing a Lord, and Mutavault killed her too. This went on for a while, he would remove creatures and I would bounce or Path his. Eventually I got a second Kira and he didn't draw enough removal to fight the constant 2 in the air.
Game 3 played very similar to game 2 in almost every way. Once again I got slightly better draws. Mana Leak countered a turn 5 Liliana of the Veil that could have otherwise taken over the game since I only had one creature again. The look on his face when I said Mana Leak was worth sleeving them up.
I could not have even come close to winning this match without Path to Exile. Hit 2 Scavenging Ooze and 2 Raging Ravine in game 2. Might have been lucky but I out removal-ed jund which is saying something.
Round 6 - Merfolk
I have no idea how I won this round. He's on the play, lays an Island and passes. I do the same. His second turn is a Cavern of Souls and an Adept. The race is on. I play my own Adept and draw into another one. He plays a vial and attacks, I take the 2. My turn I drop the second Adept and draw into the 3rd, after drawing a Path to Exile for the turn. My hand is still full but I only have a Lord of Atlantis for pumps and I'm afraid of what he'll start dropping with Vial. We ping each other for a bit and it all starts to go downhill for him when I path his Master of the Pearl Trident. I untap, play the Lord, Harbinger of the Tides his Rejeeray and go in. He can't recover from the tempo loss and the amount of removal I've got.
-4 Spreading Sea's he's mono blue so I will take my chances with Mutavaults
+2 Echoing Truth this card is insane in the mirror if played right. It takes timing and it's super relevant to bounce you're own guys, especially Adept and Harbinger
+2 Psionic Blast it's not much of a race if I kill all his threats
I mull to 6 and he keeps 7. Already not looking good. I've got 3 lands (1 is Muta), Cursecatcher,Harbinger of the Tides, Lord of Atlantis. On top is a Path so a bit better. He opens with Vial. This is really not looking good. I play the Catcher and pass. He plays Silvergill Adept and has a vial on 1. I untap and go all and and drop the Lord. He's living in "Magic Christmas Land" but at least I can get through with the Cursecatcher for something. He doesn't have his own Catcher and ticks to 2 counters. He drops a Merrow Rejeerey and my Lord is pumping his whole team and giving islandwalk. I'm proper screwed now I think. So I take 5 as he Vials in a Master of the Pearl Trident. I draw into an Echoing Truth and with the Path to Exile in my hand I'm thinking I'm back in it. On his next attack I Truth the Rejeerey since he can't vial it back and go for the Path on the Master. He Vapor Snags in response to save the Master and drops it back with Vial. I take another 4 but that's not so bad. He also doesn't recast Rejeerey, he casts a Lord of Atlantis. That was the tipping point. I draw into a Harbinger, bounce his tapped Adept and swing with everything, he's at 2 or 3 and can't kill me next turn since he has to recast most of his board again.
Round 7 - Ad Nauseam
He plays a Temple of Enlightenment and I wonder how he got this far with a 5-1 record... Little do I know. Turn 2 he suspends Lotus Bloom and I know I'm done for. My Elf friend beside me is having a deck check done so he's watching my game and he see's the 2 Path to Exile in my hand. Then he sees me draw the third one. I play it out but there's really no chance.
I manage to finally start a game with an Aether Vial and I'm loving it. 2 Cursecatcher and a couple Lords begin game. I counter his first Lotus Bloom with Steel Sabotage and that puts him on tilt. He tries to survive with Phyrexian Unlife but I put on too much pressure before he can combo.
Game 3 is where I should have made it into top 8 but got too greedy. It played exactly the same as G2 for a while until turn 4. I had a Cursecatcher and Silvergill Adept applying pressure and Echoing Truth and Unified Will in hand. I debate leaving the mana open to respond to him but opt for being proactive and cast a Lord with 2 of my 3 mana. He top decks a 5th mana and uses Boseiju, Who Shelters All to cast Ad Nauseam getting around Cursecatcher. Had I waited I could have Echoinc Truthed Phyrexian Unlife preventing the combo. I'll learn for next time.
Round 8 - Grixis Shadow Again
It's been a long day at this point and I can't hit top 8 with x-2 record but places 9-16 still gets prizing. I need 2-0 here to get into that bracket. Somehow game one he doesn't just plow over me. Sometime later in the match I hit a Master of Waves and the tokens actually blocked killing a Death's Shadow before the Master got Pushed. I land a Kira and he doesn't have the cards in hand to deal with her.
Exact same sideboarding as before.
Game 2 I just get lucky. Opening hand has a Kira and Master of Waves plus Cursecatcher for extra spice. I bait out his removal by just playing the Lord I draw and he doesn't Thoughtseize me on his untap. I slammed Kira and he groans. He drops a Shadow and an Angler since he's spend his first 3 turns milling himself. Turn 4 I drop Master of Waves and get 3 tokens. On his attack I double block his 4/4 shadow and he just fetches to save it, the 3rd token blocks the angler and he passes. Turn 5 I drop Cursecatcher and another Master. With 5 tokens out and no way to remove anything he has to draw an Anger of the Gods to win. He doesn't.
I only saw Psionic Blast once and it did a great job. The Jund player Thoughseized me and I just blasted him in response. That 6 damage paved the way for my win. Mana Leak was never dead when it came up, the mana bases are so tight in modern right now that people want to tap out every turn unless they're playing control. Sure it's awful late game, but it can still hit some things like a big Chord of Calling or a maxxed out Walking Ballista.
I think this even did do a bit to sway me on Phantasmal Image. It pains me as this has been my pet card since I started playing Merfolk years ago but I always just wanted him to be someone else. I'll probably put in another Harbinger of the tides but I'd prefer another 2 drop over a 4th Merrow Rejeerey.
The mana base performed flawlessly, maybe it was just luck but I was never lacking for white in any game. Surgical Extraction just doesn't do as much as it did when Dredge was broken. Grixis fills the yard insanely fast and I don't think even Relic of Progenitus is good enough. I'm unsure about Rest in Peace though as you want that card early and I don't know if I'd rely on my lands to give me W by turn 2 consistently.
For now I'm pretty sold on Psionic Blast until something better comes along. Dismember may hit bigger creatures but I hate dealing with planeswalkers.
Scubahood you sideboarded out 4 vials against grixis. Since its a pretty fast matchup do you think you're fine withouy adding 1 or 2 extra lands?(maybe tectonic or quarter) you are removing 4 mana sources and you are adding no one. Against jund the games are longer and the extra lands are just useless but against grixis i dont know if its correct.
You're probably right and that's a misplay on my part. Having that little bit of extra ramp could help cast guys and leave counter magic up. I'll try that next time.
A.) Anyone here running 19 lands? If so, how has it been?
Loving it. Master of Waves is still an incredible card when he sticks around. The trouble is that no one is playing Lightning Bolt any more and Fatal Push is everywhere. Since he loses the relevant protection he tends to be removed before I can even get the tokens out. Without 4 of them in the deck the top end curve drops meaning it's less relevant to hit 4 lands on time.
C.) For those playing Gut Shot in the side, what MU's do you side it in for?
Thanks in advance for any answers you can provide!
This http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/developing-competitive-modern/648255-merfolk?comment=8190
was my first tournament with 19 lands, mulled a lot but won easily.
I took that list today for some testing but my main goal was to test Blue Steel from Zac Elsik, which he played at Vegas GP.
Deck is laughably great (trounced full powered Junk 6:2) but no one here cares for that.
I gave my Merfolk to a friend to test against Eldrazi Tron, after destroying colorless deck 7:2 he said: "I am bored from fish, give me something more expensive"
To answer the first 2 questions, I am not opposed to 19 and LOVE Rejection (almost zero experience with Claim).
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On the Eldrazi Tron discussion, that matchup is very good for merfolk. They have trouble answering so many unblockable creatures with the Sea effects taking care of their tron, meaning it takes longer for them to hit the big pay off cards. Only really Ugin, if they run him, and All is Dust, which is counterable, that are troublesome for Merfolk.
You should go drop by the ET thread and see what they have to say about the Fish MU. A buddy of mine recently picked up the deck and he mentioned that all the threads he's read mention fish to be a bad MU for them. Personal opinion is we're fine against them.
Evil Beware!....We have waffles.
"In my opinion, we don't devote nearly enough scientific research to finding a cure for jerks." Calvin & Hobbes Quotes
Calvin : You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
Hobbes : What mood is that?
Calvin : Last-minute panic.
Decks I'm playing:
Modern: U Merfolk
Standard: I dislike Standard ATM
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
I need this too.
WBC Eldrazi and Taxes
WCopter and Taxes
CVIAL is layf
Evil Beware!....We have waffles.
"In my opinion, we don't devote nearly enough scientific research to finding a cure for jerks." Calvin & Hobbes Quotes
Calvin : You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
Hobbes : What mood is that?
Calvin : Last-minute panic.
Decks I'm playing:
Modern: U Merfolk
Standard: I dislike Standard ATM
Graf cage or relic?
Gut shots?
Dispel?
I'll write up a more detailed sideboard guide soon enough, but generally I've been siding Negate in against Burn (taking out Merrow Reejerey), UWX control decks (taking out Spreading Seas), GWX Company combo decks (taking out Harbinger of the Tides), Storm decks (taking out Spreading Seas), Living End decks (taking out Merrow Reejerey), and Titanshift decks (taking out Master of Waves).
@BestUseOfEnergy: Depends on what you mean by sideboard plan. If you're talking pieces to build your board to prepare against that deck (which is how I interpret your statement), I'd look at Dispel, Grafdigger's Cage, Gut Shot, Negate, Pithing Needle, and Dismember. If you're talking sideboarding strategy, I generally take my Master of Waves and Harbinger of the Tides out, as well as Kira if I'm running her in the main (which I am right now).
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
—Radha, Keldon warlord
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
After a long while of not playing Merfolk, mostly because I lent it out to other players that wanted to play it, I FINALLY got a chance to play it again. Went 3-0-1 drawing the last round because he had to leave. The list is the same as Rothgar's with the only changes being in the sideboard. Changes were -4 Negate -1 Relic -2 Echoing Truth to +3 Unified Will +1 Dispel +3 Sea's Claim.
R1 UG Eldrazi Tron (2-1)
G1: He stumbled on lands a bit and I just ran him over.
G2: He has a better start and curves out perfectly. T4 Elder Deep Fiend. T5 Thought Knot into Spatial on a Lord. T6 Ulamog into Spatial on another Lord. Couldnt compete with that curve.
G3: Timely Rejections on T4 Ugin and T5 Ulamog. He had no gas after that and I proceed to crush him/
SB: -4 Master of Waves -1 Harbinger -2 Cursecatcher -1 Rejeerey -1 Kira +3 Ceremonious Rejection +3 Unified Will +3 Claim
R2 8 Rack (2-0)
G1: I stick 2 threats along with a Mutavault. He never drew removal or Rack effects
G2: Pretty much the same, but he wasted a Fatal Push on a Kira then played Lilana and -2 her. He was kinda new with the deck so I told him that he could've just used Liliana to get rid of Kira.
SB: -4 Master of Waves -2 Harbinger -2 Dismember +2 Sea's Claim +3 Relic +3 Unified Will
R3 Eldrazi Tron (2-0)
G1: He was going to have natural Tron through a map, but a timely Spreading Seas put a stop to it. Had no lands after that as I proceed to run him over.
G2: T2 I Sea's him, but this time he hits land. He TKS and took another Seas. This next play was the play of the night for me. I Unified Will a Smasher by activating Mutavault by itself and Vialing in a Lord. He had no idea what jsut happened. I beat him down while holding up Ceremonious Rejection the rest of the game. Afterwards he said he just needed one more turn and land and shows me Ugin. I quickly show him Ceremonious Rejection. Long story short.... STILL HAD ALL DEEZ!
SB: Same as R1
R4 Jund Death Shadow (ID)
He had to leave so we both just drew and split.
Not a bad performance, despite not playing Merfolk in awhile. The sideboard felt pretty good, even though Dispel was never brought in. I might fiddle around with the numbers next time. Unified Will was an all star for me, because I predicted that in my meta I would always have more creatures. There are only a few decks that can nullify Unified Will, but I also wouldnt bring in Negate against those decks either. I was going to add some Gut Shot before FNM started, but decided against it at the last minute. Maybe next time I will try them over Dispel. Luckily, for me, there was only one Affinity player that night, but he wasnt doing so hot. So I dodged him this time. Til Next Time. SWIM ON FISH BROTHERS/SISTERS!
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
Basilisk Collar? $5.00
Shooting down a baneslayer angel? Priceless
The List:
// 4 Artifact
4 Aether Vial
// 29 Creature
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
4 Cursecatcher
3 Merrow Reejerey
3 Harbinger of the Tides
2 Master of Waves
2 Phantasmal Image
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
4 Spreading Seas
// 4 Instant
4 Path to Exile
// 19 Land
8 Island
3 Mutavault
3 Wanderwine Hub
4 Flooded Strand
1 Hallowed Fountain
2 Steel Sabotage
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Echoing Truth
2 Psionic Blast
2 Unified Will
2 Mana Leak
2 Ghost Quarter
Round 1 - Eldrazi Tron
Nothing of note here, he seemed brand new to magic and I ran over him in turn 4 both games. He chump blocked with Walking Ballista more than once and didn't even remove the counter to ping for damage either time.
Ghost Quarter blew him out game 2 as I drew into both and he ran no basics.
Round 2 - Grixis Shadow
Wouldn't you know a VERY high portion of the people there were playing it. Total blow out game one with Kommand hitting a lord and vial on his third turn, it ended soon after.
-4 Aether Vial
-2 Phantasmal Image removal :S
+2 Surgical Extraction
+2 Mana Leak
+2 Psionic Blast
No Unified Will it's a dead card with all their removal. If I have enough creatures to use it I'm already winning.
Game 2 I only saw 4 non land cards the whole game. He simply hit 4 removal and I lost.
Round 3 - Boros Burn
He played first and opened with Goblin Guide. I played a Vial and took a bunch of damage before I stabilized playing Spreading Sea's turn 2 instead of a lord. Blocked the guide with a Silvergill and he only had spells left. He tried to just burn me out but I had to much power on the board and won before he had the chance.
-2 Phantasmal Image didn't want to cut anything but it's burn and they usually run enough creature removal
+2 Mana Leak
Burn never lands many lands so I figured Leak could counter anything that would outright win the game once I had board stabilized. He's on the play and has to mull to 5. He opens with a mountain and just a suspended Rift Bolt. That's exactly what I want to see. I drop Vial and pass. He bolts me and passes with no other land drop. I Spreading Sea's his mountain and he sits there while I beat him down over the next few turns.
He boarded in Ensnaring Bridge and had he hit lands he would have won the game. I was not expecting it and had no way through it.
Round 4 - Madcap Experiment
This is an incredibly easy match for my deck, and I'm sure most merfolk decks could handle it. I didn't know what he was playing until he dropped the namesake card and found Platinum Emperion. I tried to Path to Exile at the end of his turn but he had the Dispel in hand. Didn't matter, I had Merrow Rejeerey on the board and Harbinger of the Tides in hand. On to game 2.
-4 Spreading Sea's he only needed 1 red to combo off
-2 Phantasmal Image it's not a race I just need to keep him off the bomb card
-2 Master of Waves I don't need an end game bomb, I just need to bounce one guy
+2 Unified Will he only runs a couple creatures
+2 Mana Leak he's trying to tap out turn 4
+2 Steel Sabotage bomb removal
+2 Echoing Truth more bomb removal
Game 2 I have an explosive hand and he plays Madcap Experiment into the Emperion as soon as he hits 4 mana. I just path it and win on the untap. He knew the odds were against him but he had no other option to go for it.
Round 5 - Classic Jund
I was pretty hungry at this point and wanted quick rounds. Damn, was this the wrong opponent for that. Game 1 he had more disruption and removal than I could cope with. I put up a good fight but he beat me down with 2 Gurmag Angler and I couldn't muster a defense.
-4 Aether Vial we all know why
-2 Phantasmal Image I was tempted to keep this one in as he's another body and fantastic if you can copy Tasigur, the Golden Fang in the late game
+2 Surgical Extraction for trying to hit Fatal Push and shrink Goyfs
+2 Mana Leak they're always pushing mana to the max, aside from delve cards
+2 Psionic Blast if any Liliana lands it's hard to deal with them without this
Game 2 I thought he was going to run away with but he mulled and still didn't have a good hand. He didn't do anything his first turn letting me play Cursecatcher into Silvergill Adept. Catcher died swinging into a Dark Confidant and Adept died to Push. Eventually a Liliana of the Veil landed killing Kira, Great Glass-Spinner. Mutavault then killed her next turn. Somewhere around turn 10 he played Chandra, Torch of Defiance killing a Lord, and Mutavault killed her too. This went on for a while, he would remove creatures and I would bounce or Path his. Eventually I got a second Kira and he didn't draw enough removal to fight the constant 2 in the air.
Game 3 played very similar to game 2 in almost every way. Once again I got slightly better draws. Mana Leak countered a turn 5 Liliana of the Veil that could have otherwise taken over the game since I only had one creature again. The look on his face when I said Mana Leak was worth sleeving them up.
I could not have even come close to winning this match without Path to Exile. Hit 2 Scavenging Ooze and 2 Raging Ravine in game 2. Might have been lucky but I out removal-ed jund which is saying something.
Round 6 - Merfolk
I have no idea how I won this round. He's on the play, lays an Island and passes. I do the same. His second turn is a Cavern of Souls and an Adept. The race is on. I play my own Adept and draw into another one. He plays a vial and attacks, I take the 2. My turn I drop the second Adept and draw into the 3rd, after drawing a Path to Exile for the turn. My hand is still full but I only have a Lord of Atlantis for pumps and I'm afraid of what he'll start dropping with Vial. We ping each other for a bit and it all starts to go downhill for him when I path his Master of the Pearl Trident. I untap, play the Lord, Harbinger of the Tides his Rejeeray and go in. He can't recover from the tempo loss and the amount of removal I've got.
-4 Spreading Sea's he's mono blue so I will take my chances with Mutavaults
+2 Echoing Truth this card is insane in the mirror if played right. It takes timing and it's super relevant to bounce you're own guys, especially Adept and Harbinger
+2 Psionic Blast it's not much of a race if I kill all his threats
I mull to 6 and he keeps 7. Already not looking good. I've got 3 lands (1 is Muta), Cursecatcher,Harbinger of the Tides, Lord of Atlantis. On top is a Path so a bit better. He opens with Vial. This is really not looking good. I play the Catcher and pass. He plays Silvergill Adept and has a vial on 1. I untap and go all and and drop the Lord. He's living in "Magic Christmas Land" but at least I can get through with the Cursecatcher for something. He doesn't have his own Catcher and ticks to 2 counters. He drops a Merrow Rejeerey and my Lord is pumping his whole team and giving islandwalk. I'm proper screwed now I think. So I take 5 as he Vials in a Master of the Pearl Trident. I draw into an Echoing Truth and with the Path to Exile in my hand I'm thinking I'm back in it. On his next attack I Truth the Rejeerey since he can't vial it back and go for the Path on the Master. He Vapor Snags in response to save the Master and drops it back with Vial. I take another 4 but that's not so bad. He also doesn't recast Rejeerey, he casts a Lord of Atlantis. That was the tipping point. I draw into a Harbinger, bounce his tapped Adept and swing with everything, he's at 2 or 3 and can't kill me next turn since he has to recast most of his board again.
Round 7 - Ad Nauseam
He plays a Temple of Enlightenment and I wonder how he got this far with a 5-1 record... Little do I know. Turn 2 he suspends Lotus Bloom and I know I'm done for. My Elf friend beside me is having a deck check done so he's watching my game and he see's the 2 Path to Exile in my hand. Then he sees me draw the third one. I play it out but there's really no chance.
-4 Path to Exile because he helped so much G1
-2 Master of Waves he's just a win more
+2 Steel Sabotage for bloom
+2 Mana Leak he wants that combo as soon as he can
+2 Unified Will he's got no creatures
I manage to finally start a game with an Aether Vial and I'm loving it. 2 Cursecatcher and a couple Lords begin game. I counter his first Lotus Bloom with Steel Sabotage and that puts him on tilt. He tries to survive with Phyrexian Unlife but I put on too much pressure before he can combo.
Game 3 is where I should have made it into top 8 but got too greedy. It played exactly the same as G2 for a while until turn 4. I had a Cursecatcher and Silvergill Adept applying pressure and Echoing Truth and Unified Will in hand. I debate leaving the mana open to respond to him but opt for being proactive and cast a Lord with 2 of my 3 mana. He top decks a 5th mana and uses Boseiju, Who Shelters All to cast Ad Nauseam getting around Cursecatcher. Had I waited I could have Echoinc Truthed Phyrexian Unlife preventing the combo. I'll learn for next time.
Round 8 - Grixis Shadow Again
It's been a long day at this point and I can't hit top 8 with x-2 record but places 9-16 still gets prizing. I need 2-0 here to get into that bracket. Somehow game one he doesn't just plow over me. Sometime later in the match I hit a Master of Waves and the tokens actually blocked killing a Death's Shadow before the Master got Pushed. I land a Kira and he doesn't have the cards in hand to deal with her.
Exact same sideboarding as before.
Game 2 I just get lucky. Opening hand has a Kira and Master of Waves plus Cursecatcher for extra spice. I bait out his removal by just playing the Lord I draw and he doesn't Thoughtseize me on his untap. I slammed Kira and he groans. He drops a Shadow and an Angler since he's spend his first 3 turns milling himself. Turn 4 I drop Master of Waves and get 3 tokens. On his attack I double block his 4/4 shadow and he just fetches to save it, the 3rd token blocks the angler and he passes. Turn 5 I drop Cursecatcher and another Master. With 5 tokens out and no way to remove anything he has to draw an Anger of the Gods to win. He doesn't.
I only saw Psionic Blast once and it did a great job. The Jund player Thoughseized me and I just blasted him in response. That 6 damage paved the way for my win. Mana Leak was never dead when it came up, the mana bases are so tight in modern right now that people want to tap out every turn unless they're playing control. Sure it's awful late game, but it can still hit some things like a big Chord of Calling or a maxxed out Walking Ballista.
I think this even did do a bit to sway me on Phantasmal Image. It pains me as this has been my pet card since I started playing Merfolk years ago but I always just wanted him to be someone else. I'll probably put in another Harbinger of the tides but I'd prefer another 2 drop over a 4th Merrow Rejeerey.
The mana base performed flawlessly, maybe it was just luck but I was never lacking for white in any game. Surgical Extraction just doesn't do as much as it did when Dredge was broken. Grixis fills the yard insanely fast and I don't think even Relic of Progenitus is good enough. I'm unsure about Rest in Peace though as you want that card early and I don't know if I'd rely on my lands to give me W by turn 2 consistently.
For now I'm pretty sold on Psionic Blast until something better comes along. Dismember may hit bigger creatures but I hate dealing with planeswalkers.
I have a couple of quick questions:
A.) Anyone here running 19 lands? If so, how has it been?
B.) Which SB card is better against Tron: Ceremonious Rejection or Sea's Claim?
C.) For those playing Gut Shot in the side, what MU's do you side it in for?
Thanks in advance for any answers you can provide!
You're probably right and that's a misplay on my part. Having that little bit of extra ramp could help cast guys and leave counter magic up. I'll try that next time.
Loving it. Master of Waves is still an incredible card when he sticks around. The trouble is that no one is playing Lightning Bolt any more and Fatal Push is everywhere. Since he loses the relevant protection he tends to be removed before I can even get the tokens out. Without 4 of them in the deck the top end curve drops meaning it's less relevant to hit 4 lands on time.
But that's my experience.
This http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/developing-competitive-modern/648255-merfolk?comment=8190
was my first tournament with 19 lands, mulled a lot but won easily.
I took that list today for some testing but my main goal was to test Blue Steel from Zac Elsik, which he played at Vegas GP.
Deck is laughably great (trounced full powered Junk 6:2) but no one here cares for that.
I gave my Merfolk to a friend to test against Eldrazi Tron, after destroying colorless deck 7:2 he said: "I am bored from fish, give me something more expensive"
To answer the first 2 questions, I am not opposed to 19 and LOVE Rejection (almost zero experience with Claim).