Rothgar, out of curiosity, what is the thinking behind running Copter in Legacy but not Modern?
Thanks!
The Legacy deck has more dead topdecks (Chalice, Vial, occasionally Force), and less card draw (no Spreading Seas). It also has less need for lands, since the curve ends at 3 (as opposed to 4). Cards like Delver of Secrets are also much more of a presence in that format, and Copter is a fine blocker for them. All of those factors combine to make Copter a very useful tool there, and none of them are present in Modern.
Damping Sphere turns off Urza-Tron, Eldrazi Temple, Nykthos, severely hampers Storm chains, and can even restrict high-volume plays like Affinity and Zoo. On the draw against the latter two, it can basically win the game on its own. It's not the most powerful option against any single opponent, but it is broadly powerful against many opponents. So, in theory, it could lead to consolidation.
Spreading Seas takes care of the lands and Ceremonious rejection any eldrazi/tron spells we don't want in. So good for affinity and storm, i guess? Not sure what I would remove from my SB to get them in..
How does Damping Sphere help against Affinity when we are on the draw? On their second turn they normally play pretty much all of their cards. Did you mean on the pkay or am I missing somethibg?
If you're on mono-U, 4 Mutavaults are indeed a must. If you're on Tropical Fish (and if you're a novice Merfolk pilot, I do not recommend this), 2-3 is usually fine.
I've run 3x Mutavault and my results were not bad, but I've accepted that having the extra copy adds much more in punch and staying power than it costs in color consistency.
@Rotghar13: why did you take out kopala from the mono U deck?
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
From Supernatural:
Sam: a demon summoning spell ? why?
Lucifer: to summon a demon (auto censorship here)
====
The Wizard of Oz: A juvenile delinquent runs away from home, kills the first person she meets in a foreign land, robs her corpse, then promptly forms a gang with three complete strangers in order to kill again.
====
He usually flipped between 2x Watertrap Weaver or 2x Kopala, paired with 2x Dismember. They're all Spell Pierce now. That might say something about his expected metagame. The countermagic choices in the sideboard are different as well.
Edit: Addendum: Explained here, under the list in the updates section.
So on a completely different topic, when do people board out Spreading Seas? I know the cliche is, "When the opponent plays Islands," and it's true it doesn't do much versus Blue Moon or Storm Combo, but it can shut off manlands, utility lands (like Azacanta), and provides a point of devotion for MoW which survives Supreme Verdict and co. I'm also not sure it's all that relevant versus Zoo. So, does anyone have some more nuanced rules on this question?
@Rotghar13: why did you take out kopala from the mono U deck?
Because they weren't performing. 3 mana was just kind of slow and clunky, and it wasn't catching the type of spells I wanted it to catch. Truth be told, I'm not all that concerned with spot removal in this metagame, though Pierce is pretty good at catching that. I want to counter all kinds of high-impact spells ranging from Expedition Map to Cranial Plating to Anger of the Gods, and Pierce delivers.
So on a completely different topic, when do people board out Spreading Seas? I know the cliche is, "When the opponent plays Islands," and it's true it doesn't do much versus Blue Moon or Storm Combo, but it can shut off manlands, utility lands (like Azacanta), and provides a point of devotion for MoW which survives Supreme Verdict and co. I'm also not sure it's all that relevant versus Zoo. So, does anyone have some more nuanced rules on this question?
I really do side it out against any and all blue decks - it's not impactful enough there. You can fight off Azcanta with Relics, which also shuts off Snapcasters. The only nonblue decks I side it out against are ones with little board presence and very stable manabases, like Skred.
Also, I have some good news; I have enough Qualifier Points for the Magic Online Championship Series qualifier tournament on April 1st, so I look forward to repping Merfolk at one of the more competitive scenes Magic has to offer. Keep swimming, everyone!
I did not expect it to be an uncommon, given what they did with Harbinger. Well, maybe they're learning something about how creatures should be placed.
The Legacy deck has more dead topdecks (Chalice, Vial, occasionally Force), and less card draw (no Spreading Seas). It also has less need for lands, since the curve ends at 3 (as opposed to 4). Cards like Delver of Secrets are also much more of a presence in that format, and Copter is a fine blocker for them. All of those factors combine to make Copter a very useful tool there, and none of them are present in Modern.
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
They should have made Ravenous Chupacabra a UU2 merfolk wizard!!
Our SBs are about to get awfully crowded, with some people putting Dismembers there and also needing to make room for Damping Sphere.
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
Sam: a demon summoning spell ? why?
Lucifer: to summon a demon (auto censorship here)
====
The Wizard of Oz: A juvenile delinquent runs away from home, kills the first person she meets in a foreign land, robs her corpse, then promptly forms a gang with three complete strangers in order to kill again.
====
with R i'll burn you and with B youll'be maimed
Edit: Addendum: Explained here, under the list in the updates section.
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
Because they weren't performing. 3 mana was just kind of slow and clunky, and it wasn't catching the type of spells I wanted it to catch. Truth be told, I'm not all that concerned with spot removal in this metagame, though Pierce is pretty good at catching that. I want to counter all kinds of high-impact spells ranging from Expedition Map to Cranial Plating to Anger of the Gods, and Pierce delivers.
I really do side it out against any and all blue decks - it's not impactful enough there. You can fight off Azcanta with Relics, which also shuts off Snapcasters. The only nonblue decks I side it out against are ones with little board presence and very stable manabases, like Skred.
Also, I have some good news; I have enough Qualifier Points for the Magic Online Championship Series qualifier tournament on April 1st, so I look forward to repping Merfolk at one of the more competitive scenes Magic has to offer. Keep swimming, everyone!
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB
Standard: BG Golgari Midrange
Modern: U Merfolk GWUBR 5 Color Humans UBW Esper Gifts GW Bogles
/looks at Steel Leaf Champion/
...or not.
Modern: Merfolk UU // Green Devotion GG // SkRed Red RR
Legacy: Death & Taxes WW // Burn RR // Death's Shadow Delver UB
Commander: Brago UW // Karlov WB