Flayer has been so-so for me. I think its got great potential though, especially since it has trample. I've been planning to try out mainboard EE, seal of primordium, [bitterblossom[/c] or nameless inversion with it see how that works out. The mainboard spellbomb I already tried and that was pretty meh. Regardless, even without those cards its not too hard to get delirium with the normal 5 card types...it just usually requires a liliana or a trigger off its attack which isn't always the easiest thing to do depending on the deck.
"The worst part isn't the pain, or the smell, or even the fear of death. It's hearing the clatter of bone on stone and knowing the bones are yours."BRG
I played last week and started off 2 and 0, but then lost the next 2
What are we siding out and in against Lantern Control? This matchup didn't feel great, I beat a lantern control player game 1 and then that night ran into another lantern player and lost. Jund feels good, but Junk, not so much. Looking at a very cookie-cutter 75, whats the sideboard plan?
Also, game 4, ran into a Blue Moon deck. He played 4x Visions, 4x Dark Dwellers, 3x Angers----what in the hell does a sideboard match look like? He kept snowballing AV's and it felt impossible to stop it outside of dropping like 2 Goyfs in a row. Whats being sideboarded out and in?
So I know the following decks will be there:
Affinity
Merfolk
Burn
Mono Red Prison
Bant Eldrazi
Grixis Delver
Infect
Maybe Tron/Griselbrand Reanimator
Any help with the mainboard or sideboard would be nice.
Anyone?
Also how does one approach the Merfolk MU? I played against them yesterday the final match and the MU did not look good for me. A few things I noticed...
1. Discard felt terrible, every time I IoK'd I saw two lords and some bad things so even when taking one of them was the best option it still felt bad.
2. How conservative do we be with our removal? I could not have enough answers for the life of me.
3. What sideboard cards would you suggest for them? I was thinking of adding a 2nd damnation into the side.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Decks I play:
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
Just wanted to share the decklists for the Top8 of a tournament we at MainPhaseMTG recently held (which included a super-spicy Abzan list), as well as some musings on what these results could indicate for the format going forward. Check it out here. Let me know what you think!
Merfolk is even worse matchup than Tron, it's one of those hope you don't draw them situations, no use destroying your sideboard for them. In a Game 2, had a god hand and got all my SB cards down (souls flying with Sorin, EE on 2, even landed Gideon) and still lost one move before I would have one.
Against lantern, deep sideboards. Best bet is to hammer with Souls, and if you carry Zealous Persecution you can get that by bridge. You want Rhino for it's bolt, Engineered Explosives, Stony Silence, Fulminator, Surgical Extraction, anything with ETB or activated ability, Collective Brutality can be good or bad situationally (as a very janky move, CB your own Flayer to get under Lantern and watch them cry as you put souls in the graveyard).
As to Grim Flayer, I used to feel conflicted about it, but a much better player showed me how great this card was, counseled me how this goes down as early as possible and always before a Goyf. If your opponent lets Flayer stay around even 1 turn, things can get out of hand fast, with other targets your opp has to deal with. He showed how even a 2/2 for 2 at worst is workable for this deck (Goyfs and Rhinos spoil us into thinking every threat has to be a bomb). It's a clock card for sure, and now that I use it differently, am always excited to get one in hand.
Bauble and Spellbomb are the standards of delirium pump, and cannot argue with how effective NSB is sometimes, but my delirium enabler of choice has been Nameless Inversion mainboard. Reason is, the effect of the other two is nowhere in the standard build, but Nameless Inversion is a reliable removal card and can replace one, with two added advantages. Nameless Inversion much more often gives me +2 delirium count because I have not cast an instant early, so it can be a better combat trick, whereas an opponent seeing your Spellbomb and you swinging knows what's coming. I can sucker a 2/2 Scavenging Ooze with opponent holding up a green into blocking a 2/2 Flayer, remove the Ooze with Nameless Inversion, and roll in for 4, or remove something else and trample over the Ooze. Occasionally, Nameless Inversion just gets an unblocked 2/2 Flayer in for 7, or a big Goyf through for +4 more damage (Tribal +3). Before GP ban, would Invert an opposing Thing in the Ice as it flipped and watch it bounce itself. Never unhappy to draw this card, but have been to draw Spellbomb against, say Burn. Even though Inversion costs 2, ultimately so does Spellbomb. In the end, I often have 1 and 1 of these cards MB, so even bigger Goyfs.
Merfolk is even worse matchup than Tron, it's one of those hope you don't draw them situations, no use destroying your sideboard for them. In a Game 2, had a god hand and got all my SB cards down (souls flying with Sorin, EE on 2, even landed Gideon) and still lost one move before I would have one.
Against lantern, deep sideboards. Best bet is to hammer with Souls, and if you carry Zealous Persecution you can get that by bridge. You want Rhino for it's bolt, Engineered Explosives, Stony Silence, Fulminator, Surgical Extraction, anything with ETB or activated ability, Collective Brutality can be good or bad situationally (as a very janky move, CB your own Flayer to get under Lantern and watch them cry as you put souls in the graveyard).
As to Grim Flayer, I used to feel conflicted about it, but a much better player showed me how great this card was, counseled me how this goes down as early as possible and always before a Goyf. If your opponent lets Flayer stay around even 1 turn, things can get out of hand fast, with other targets your opp has to deal with. He showed how even a 2/2 for 2 at worst is workable for this deck (Goyfs and Rhinos spoil us into thinking every threat has to be a bomb). It's a clock card for sure, and now that I use it differently, am always excited to get one in hand.
Bauble and Spellbomb are the standards of delirium pump, and cannot argue with how effective NSB is sometimes, but my delirium enabler of choice has been Nameless Inversion mainboard. Reason is, the effect of the other two is nowhere in the standard build, but Nameless Inversion is a reliable removal card and can replace one, with two added advantages. Nameless Inversion much more often gives me +2 delirium count because I have not cast an instant early, so it can be a better combat trick, whereas an opponent seeing your Spellbomb and you swinging knows what's coming. I can sucker a 2/2 Scavenging Ooze with opponent holding up a green into blocking a 2/2 Flayer, remove the Ooze with Nameless Inversion, and roll in for 4, or remove something else and trample over the Ooze. Occasionally, Nameless Inversion just gets an unblocked 2/2 Flayer in for 7, or a big Goyf through for +4 more damage (Tribal +3). Before GP ban, would Invert an opposing Thing in the Ice as it flipped and watch it bounce itself. Never unhappy to draw this card, but have been to draw Spellbomb against, say Burn. Even though Inversion costs 2, ultimately so does Spellbomb. In the end, I often have 1 and 1 of these cards MB, so even bigger Goyfs.
I figured, merfolk just have something about them that just lets them eat our one for ones for days. It's wipe or bust 99.99% of the time with this MU it feels like. Also spreading seas pretty brutal against us.
Spreading Seas another reason to run Urborg, that Island will be a Swamp too (assuming Urborg is not the target of SS). Don't forget EE on 2 gets rid of Spreading Seas, I missed that in a game because I had Spreading Seas under my land in back, out of sight out of mind when I blew up Explosives. Turned out to be mighty relevent, and now I put the Enchantment on top of the land instead of under.
Spreading Seas another reason to run Urborg, that Island will be a Swamp too (assuming Urborg is not the target of SS). Don't forget EE on 2 gets rid of Spreading Seas, I missed that in a game because I had Spreading Seas under my land in back, out of sight out of mind when I blew up Explosives. Turned out to be mighty relevent, and now I put the Enchantment on top of the land instead of under.
How would you play against merfolk? Would you use your life more as a resource in this MU and use removal only when necessary? Also would you side out Thoughtseize/IoK or a mix of them?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Decks I play:
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
I played last week and started off 2 and 0, but then lost the next 2
What are we siding out and in against Lantern Control? This matchup didn't feel great, I beat a lantern control player game 1 and then that night ran into another lantern player and lost. Jund feels good, but Junk, not so much. Looking at a very cookie-cutter 75, whats the sideboard plan?
Also, game 4, ran into a Blue Moon deck. He played 4x Visions, 4x Dark Dwellers, 3x Angers----what in the hell does a sideboard match look like? He kept snowballing AV's and it felt impossible to stop it outside of dropping like 2 Goyfs in a row. Whats being sideboarded out and in?
Against Lantern, you bring in Stony Silence, Fulminators, card draw, explosives, and surgicals. Surgicals can get a cute win if you can strip it/decay a bridge and then extract it. Fulminatots can take them off colored sources and inportantly, Academy Ruins. Explosives and anything else that can blow up a bridge. The matchup feels rough when you lose but great when you wun. Just one of those awkward matchups.
Against Blue Moon, you want all value cards like planeswalkers. Keep discard. Its pretty much the same way you board vs control but you just have to make sure you fetch basics. Thats the key to the matchup.
So I know the following decks will be there:
Affinity
Merfolk
Burn
Mono Red Prison
Bant Eldrazi
Grixis Delver
Infect
Maybe Tron/Griselbrand Reanimator
Any help with the mainboard or sideboard would be nice.
Anyone?
Also how does one approach the Merfolk MU? I played against them yesterday the final match and the MU did not look good for me. A few things I noticed...
1. Discard felt terrible, every time I IoK'd I saw two lords and some bad things so even when taking one of them was the best option it still felt bad.
2. How conservative do we be with our removal? I could not have enough answers for the life of me.
3. What sideboard cards would you suggest for them? I was thinking of adding a 2nd damnation into the side.
I like discard vs merfolk. You need to answer their threats efficiently and taking out a lord for 1 mana before they cast it is great. You just need removal heavy hands and its fine. Leave up fetclands so they dont get Spreading Sead. Always fetch shocks, even though itll be painful, just so you dont get colored screwed. Explosives is a house cause it can blow up Seas on top of lords. This matchup is also why I board 1 copy of Flaying Tendrils since Damnatiom can get expensive with Cursecatcher in play. I just do a simple swap of -3 lilly of the veil for 3 wraths (damnation, ee, and tendrils)
I'm having great success with a similar list like yours in my LGS. my list contains 3 Birds of Paradise instead of Noble Hierarch because exalted is not to relevant if playing with Dark Confidant. Playing 1 Gavony Township to finish games early, out grind opponent and make Birds of Paradise as a threat with evasion. Removed 1 Swamp because you only need 3 basic lands to fight Blood Moon because you have Birds of Paradise to fight it too.
I played last week and started off 2 and 0, but then lost the next 2
What are we siding out and in against Lantern Control? This matchup didn't feel great, I beat a lantern control player game 1 and then that night ran into another lantern player and lost. Jund feels good, but Junk, not so much. Looking at a very cookie-cutter 75, whats the sideboard plan?
Also, game 4, ran into a Blue Moon deck. He played 4x Visions, 4x Dark Dwellers, 3x Angers----what in the hell does a sideboard match look like? He kept snowballing AV's and it felt impossible to stop it outside of dropping like 2 Goyfs in a row. Whats being sideboarded out and in?
Against Lantern, you bring in Stony Silence, Fulminators, card draw, explosives, and surgicals. Surgicals can get a cute win if you can strip it/decay a bridge and then extract it. Fulminatots can take them off colored sources and inportantly, Academy Ruins. Explosives and anything else that can blow up a bridge. The matchup feels rough when you lose but great when you wun. Just one of those awkward matchups.
Against Blue Moon, you want all value cards like planeswalkers. Keep discard. Its pretty much the same way you board vs control but you just have to make sure you fetch basics. Thats the key to the matchup.
So I know the following decks will be there:
Affinity
Merfolk
Burn
Mono Red Prison
Bant Eldrazi
Grixis Delver
Infect
Maybe Tron/Griselbrand Reanimator
Any help with the mainboard or sideboard would be nice.
Anyone?
Also how does one approach the Merfolk MU? I played against them yesterday the final match and the MU did not look good for me. A few things I noticed...
1. Discard felt terrible, every time I IoK'd I saw two lords and some bad things so even when taking one of them was the best option it still felt bad.
2. How conservative do we be with our removal? I could not have enough answers for the life of me.
3. What sideboard cards would you suggest for them? I was thinking of adding a 2nd damnation into the side.
I like discard vs merfolk. You need to answer their threats efficiently and taking out a lord for 1 mana before they cast it is great. You just need removal heavy hands and its fine. Leave up fetclands so they dont get Spreading Sead. Always fetch shocks, even though itll be painful, just so you dont get colored screwed. Explosives is a house cause it can blow up Seas on top of lords. This matchup is also why I board 1 copy of Flaying Tendrils since Damnatiom can get expensive with Cursecatcher in play. I just do a simple swap of -3 lilly of the veil for 3 wraths (damnation, ee, and tendrils)
Discard us fantastic against merfolk prioritize spreading seas and silver gill adept. Then lords then anything else.
I don't save my removal unless I saw something with a discard spell like master of waves. Since most of their deck is redundant. The biggest thing is don't fall behind in spells. Sb cards. I bring in all the removal and sweepers. I like to trim cards like lotv and 4 drops. I don't like Finks as he rarely trades since they can have island walk and they do damage in large chunks when they are winning. The matchup is really close.
Keeping them off island walk will usually let us out size them.
I'm having great success with a similar list like yours in my LGS. my list contains 3 Birds of Paradise instead of Noble Hierarch because exalted is not to relevant if playing with Dark Confidant. Playing 1 Gavony Township to finish games early, out grind opponent and make Birds of Paradise as a threat with evasion. Removed 1 Swamp because you only need 3 basic lands to fight Blood Moon because you have Birds of Paradise to fight it too.
Great! I personally think though that Noble is still strictly better than Birds if you run Bobs instead of Flayers. Exalted is far more relevant in other cases as well.
@Merfolk Yeah, don't cut discard is definetly what I am also agreeing on. And always, if you are on the draw and don't have discard in your opening hand, play a fetchland and pass. This way you can play around a turn 2 spreading seas.
Discard is good against Merfolk because you need to take away their card advantage cards (Spreading Seas and Silvergil Adept-these two are primary targets for discard) otherwise they will outplay you by card advantage. So don't take out discard. This is a common mistake by many BGx players against Merfolk that can cost you a game.
LoTV can come out because she's the worst card we have against them although she's not terrible and can be even decent in specific situations but we have better tools. Lingering Souls is also pretty weak since they have Spreading Seas and possibly even Sea's Claim postboard but it can be good if they don't have these cards.
It's very tough mu in general and as someone who used to play Merfolk I was very happy to play against Junk. They are good against 1 for 1 removal since they have so many threats and CA (that's why you need to take these cards from their hand otherwise you will fall behind and their ca will bury you).
Would you board out Thoughtseize on the draw though?
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Decks I play:
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
I can see why you'd run Inversion I guess, but why Haakon? He's okay with discarding to Lili, but how does it help vs merfolk?
By the way, I actually feel like we have a good match with merfolk, between path, push stony and discard I think we put up and pretty good fight.
I feel like souls is still good, since they can clutter up the ground, but souls can get in damage in the air. I like Lili too. The sooner we can empty their hand, the sooner we can cast spells without worrying about counters.
I'll post my list later.
Regarding Stony Silence (I suppose you have Aether Vial in minds) I have to tell you that every Merfolk player who knows what he's doing will board out Vials against BGx decks making Stony Silence useless.
I agree 100%, pls don't board in artifact hate against Merfolk, its useless.
That's a good point about stony, I actually meant explosives, but I guess I brain farted.
Recently the Merfolk decks that I've been seeing online have been running the full set of Spreading Seas and Seas Claim, often main board which really slows them down. Slows us down too, but we're a grindy deck while they're a burst deck.
I've actually been wanting to try playing t1 and t2 uncracked fetch just to keep them off the t2 spreading seas can trip. If they play a lord we can remove it eot, otherwise we blank their t2. I'm not sure it's the ultimate plan, but with the right hand it seems solid.
That's a good point about stony, I actually meant explosives, but I guess I brain farted.
Recently the Merfolk decks that I've been seeing online have been running the full set of Spreading Seas and Seas Claim, often main board which really slows them down. Slows us down too, but we're a grindy deck while they're a burst deck.
I've actually been wanting to try playing t1 and t2 uncracked fetch just to keep them off the t2 spreading seas can trip. If they play a lord we can remove it eot, otherwise we blank their t2. I'm not sure it's the ultimate plan, but with the right hand it seems solid.
EE is very good vs them indeed.
Well, the best merfolk player known to me, Nikachu, also active in this forum, describes Merfolk being not really a bursty aggro-ish deck. It can be, but there is a lot more to it. They can actually go the long game and try to establish a little bit of control over the opponent, with tools like Spreading Seas, Seas Claim, Relic, Counters and so on. That being said, it doesn't hurt them as much when they are slowed down. So don't just assume you automatically win vs. Merfolk if the game goes long.
Yeah, playing around Spreading Seas is very important, I also have said it numerous times.
Modern Junk Primer
Legacy ANT Primer
L1 Judge
3 Dark Confidant
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
2 Siege Rhino
3 Inquisition of Kozelik
3 Thoughtseize
3 Fatal Push
3 Path to Exile
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Lingering Souls
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar/Sorin Lord of Innistrad
1 Swamp
1 Plains
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Temple Garden
1 Godless Shrine
3 Verdant Catacomb
2 Windswept Heath
3 Marsh Flats
3 Blooming Marsh
1 Stirring Wildwood
1 Shambling Vent
1 Gavony Township
Sideboard:
1 Liliana, the Lost Hope
3 Fulminator Mage
2 Stony Silence
1 Damnation
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Kitchen Finks
2 Collective Brutality
So I know the following decks will be there:
Affinity
Merfolk
Burn
Mono Red Prison
Bant Eldrazi
Grixis Delver
Infect
Maybe Tron/Griselbrand Reanimator
Any help with the mainboard or sideboard would be nice.
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
Kitchen Finks
Blessed Alliance
Collective Brutality
Timely Reinforcements
Feed the Clan
Lone Missionary
I played last week and started off 2 and 0, but then lost the next 2
What are we siding out and in against Lantern Control? This matchup didn't feel great, I beat a lantern control player game 1 and then that night ran into another lantern player and lost. Jund feels good, but Junk, not so much. Looking at a very cookie-cutter 75, whats the sideboard plan?
Also, game 4, ran into a Blue Moon deck. He played 4x Visions, 4x Dark Dwellers, 3x Angers----what in the hell does a sideboard match look like? He kept snowballing AV's and it felt impossible to stop it outside of dropping like 2 Goyfs in a row. Whats being sideboarded out and in?
Anyone?
Also how does one approach the Merfolk MU? I played against them yesterday the final match and the MU did not look good for me. A few things I noticed...
1. Discard felt terrible, every time I IoK'd I saw two lords and some bad things so even when taking one of them was the best option it still felt bad.
2. How conservative do we be with our removal? I could not have enough answers for the life of me.
3. What sideboard cards would you suggest for them? I was thinking of adding a 2nd damnation into the side.
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
Just wanted to share the decklists for the Top8 of a tournament we at MainPhaseMTG recently held (which included a super-spicy Abzan list), as well as some musings on what these results could indicate for the format going forward. Check it out here. Let me know what you think!
Legacy: Merfolk U; Shadow UB; Eldrazi Stompy C
Pauper: Delver U
Vintage: Merfolk U
Primers:
Against lantern, deep sideboards. Best bet is to hammer with Souls, and if you carry Zealous Persecution you can get that by bridge. You want Rhino for it's bolt, Engineered Explosives, Stony Silence, Fulminator, Surgical Extraction, anything with ETB or activated ability, Collective Brutality can be good or bad situationally (as a very janky move, CB your own Flayer to get under Lantern and watch them cry as you put souls in the graveyard).
As to Grim Flayer, I used to feel conflicted about it, but a much better player showed me how great this card was, counseled me how this goes down as early as possible and always before a Goyf. If your opponent lets Flayer stay around even 1 turn, things can get out of hand fast, with other targets your opp has to deal with. He showed how even a 2/2 for 2 at worst is workable for this deck (Goyfs and Rhinos spoil us into thinking every threat has to be a bomb). It's a clock card for sure, and now that I use it differently, am always excited to get one in hand.
Bauble and Spellbomb are the standards of delirium pump, and cannot argue with how effective NSB is sometimes, but my delirium enabler of choice has been Nameless Inversion mainboard. Reason is, the effect of the other two is nowhere in the standard build, but Nameless Inversion is a reliable removal card and can replace one, with two added advantages. Nameless Inversion much more often gives me +2 delirium count because I have not cast an instant early, so it can be a better combat trick, whereas an opponent seeing your Spellbomb and you swinging knows what's coming. I can sucker a 2/2 Scavenging Ooze with opponent holding up a green into blocking a 2/2 Flayer, remove the Ooze with Nameless Inversion, and roll in for 4, or remove something else and trample over the Ooze. Occasionally, Nameless Inversion just gets an unblocked 2/2 Flayer in for 7, or a big Goyf through for +4 more damage (Tribal +3). Before GP ban, would Invert an opposing Thing in the Ice as it flipped and watch it bounce itself. Never unhappy to draw this card, but have been to draw Spellbomb against, say Burn. Even though Inversion costs 2, ultimately so does Spellbomb. In the end, I often have 1 and 1 of these cards MB, so even bigger Goyfs.
I figured, merfolk just have something about them that just lets them eat our one for ones for days. It's wipe or bust 99.99% of the time with this MU it feels like. Also spreading seas pretty brutal against us.
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
How would you play against merfolk? Would you use your life more as a resource in this MU and use removal only when necessary? Also would you side out Thoughtseize/IoK or a mix of them?
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
Against Lantern, you bring in Stony Silence, Fulminators, card draw, explosives, and surgicals. Surgicals can get a cute win if you can strip it/decay a bridge and then extract it. Fulminatots can take them off colored sources and inportantly, Academy Ruins. Explosives and anything else that can blow up a bridge. The matchup feels rough when you lose but great when you wun. Just one of those awkward matchups.
Against Blue Moon, you want all value cards like planeswalkers. Keep discard. Its pretty much the same way you board vs control but you just have to make sure you fetch basics. Thats the key to the matchup.
I like discard vs merfolk. You need to answer their threats efficiently and taking out a lord for 1 mana before they cast it is great. You just need removal heavy hands and its fine. Leave up fetclands so they dont get Spreading Sead. Always fetch shocks, even though itll be painful, just so you dont get colored screwed. Explosives is a house cause it can blow up Seas on top of lords. This matchup is also why I board 1 copy of Flaying Tendrils since Damnatiom can get expensive with Cursecatcher in play. I just do a simple swap of -3 lilly of the veil for 3 wraths (damnation, ee, and tendrils)
I'm having great success with a similar list like yours in my LGS. my list contains 3 Birds of Paradise instead of Noble Hierarch because exalted is not to relevant if playing with Dark Confidant. Playing 1 Gavony Township to finish games early, out grind opponent and make Birds of Paradise as a threat with evasion. Removed 1 Swamp because you only need 3 basic lands to fight Blood Moon because you have Birds of Paradise to fight it too.
edit:
also playing replace 1 thoughtseize with inquisition of kozilek because burn becomes bad with dark confidant. I put 2 Gideon, ally of zendikar to compensate for lack of thoughtseize main. And ran more Path to exile because missing replaced 1 thoughtseize with inquisition of kozilek.
Discard us fantastic against merfolk prioritize spreading seas and silver gill adept. Then lords then anything else.
I don't save my removal unless I saw something with a discard spell like master of waves. Since most of their deck is redundant. The biggest thing is don't fall behind in spells. Sb cards. I bring in all the removal and sweepers. I like to trim cards like lotv and 4 drops. I don't like Finks as he rarely trades since they can have island walk and they do damage in large chunks when they are winning. The matchup is really close.
Keeping them off island walk will usually let us out size them.
Great! I personally think though that Noble is still strictly better than Birds if you run Bobs instead of Flayers. Exalted is far more relevant in other cases as well.
@Merfolk Yeah, don't cut discard is definetly what I am also agreeing on. And always, if you are on the draw and don't have discard in your opening hand, play a fetchland and pass. This way you can play around a turn 2 spreading seas.
Would you board out Thoughtseize on the draw though?
Modern:
BR Control
Grixis Bloo
EDH:
Food Chain Prossh
Land Wipe Maelstrom Wanderer
Selvala, Hearth of the Wilds Eldrazi
You decide if I'm kidding.
Frenzy-Affinity-Ghost Quarter-Rock-Tokens- RGWPhyrexian Zoo- WVial KnightsStandard:
BW Knights(Rotated)Pioneer: RW Knights - BW Rally Zombies - UW Heroes
Commander:WUG
Jenara, Asura of War- WGSigarda, Host of HeronsCasualties of economicsLegacy: Good-night, sweet prince. Mono-R Burn
By the way, I actually feel like we have a good match with merfolk, between path, push stony and discard I think we put up and pretty good fight.
I feel like souls is still good, since they can clutter up the ground, but souls can get in damage in the air. I like Lili too. The sooner we can empty their hand, the sooner we can cast spells without worrying about counters.
I'll post my list later.
I agree 100%, pls don't board in artifact hate against Merfolk, its useless.
Recently the Merfolk decks that I've been seeing online have been running the full set of Spreading Seas and Seas Claim, often main board which really slows them down. Slows us down too, but we're a grindy deck while they're a burst deck.
I've actually been wanting to try playing t1 and t2 uncracked fetch just to keep them off the t2 spreading seas can trip. If they play a lord we can remove it eot, otherwise we blank their t2. I'm not sure it's the ultimate plan, but with the right hand it seems solid.
EE is very good vs them indeed.
Well, the best merfolk player known to me, Nikachu, also active in this forum, describes Merfolk being not really a bursty aggro-ish deck. It can be, but there is a lot more to it. They can actually go the long game and try to establish a little bit of control over the opponent, with tools like Spreading Seas, Seas Claim, Relic, Counters and so on. That being said, it doesn't hurt them as much when they are slowed down. So don't just assume you automatically win vs. Merfolk if the game goes long.
Yeah, playing around Spreading Seas is very important, I also have said it numerous times.