I believe those counters will come in mostly vs combo and control. Vs combo, negate is almost strictly better since you dont need to counter creatures...referring to say, storm and ad nauseum. Verses control, we dont really care about creature, since we can get islandwalk, so again negate works better. I'd also say that against UWR control, they kill everything we have and could flash in snapcaster to make them have equal creatures
It is beginning to sound like fish can take an aggro approach, a grindy midrange approach, as well as the established tempo strat. I'm wondering if each deck might be tailored to one of those types instead of trying to do everything at once.
Question, does Kopala work the same way as Kira? For Kira's ability to work, she must be on the battlefield before targets are declared. I'm assuming you cannot vial in Kopala in response to, say, bolt...well you can, but it won't do anything lol
Watch the youtbe matches of "Mnes Mtg" and see how often his goyf is a 4/5,5/6, or bigger. Pretty much all the time. The only real nonbo we have is with delirium with Traverse the Ulvenwald
Ross Merriam on SCG Premium, pretty sure he didn't mulligan nearly often enough. I also very much do not like Copter in UG, or Spell Pierce. He clearly did not get the deck.
Pros never, ever get Merfolk - Im yet to see even one play the deck properly!! Except of course Nikachu
What are they doing wrong, would yall say? I've seen people playing the deck inefficiently, but for the most part its pretty straight forward. Not mulliganing is just a result of a newish player making mistakes I'd say
Hey guys been testing Temur delver and really enjoying it. I'm having an issue with the creature base specifically that 4 of occupied by hooting mandrills usually. Has anyone tried other options for anything that would trigger stubborn denial? Specifically enigma drake and cryptic serpent come to mind. Hoots has been bothering me because it poisons our goyfs.
Honestly if you are smart about delving, it doesnt do too much damage to our graveyard. I've seen players with four lands untapped, use only one land and the rest delve to cast their fatty. I guess it feels good to pay 1 for a threat, but using your lands to cast it really makes the delve an easy price and will help keep goyf big.
It's still a tempo or "aggro control" deck, since it makes use of multiple draw spells and some countermagic and removal largely for disruption, albeit it is more aggro than it was in UU because now it has a 2/2 1 drop and 3/2 2 drop with a kind of scry. That is really the main change, and it changes the aggression, but not really the style of play, except that we can make even more use of Merrow and keep our curve lower. Unlike aggro, Merfolk still interacts with the opponent.
tl;dr
Not Zoo.
Ok well said. I guess we do use removal differently. Thanks to islandwalk we attack through blockers and keep removal for important threats, while normal aggro needs to clear a path for attacks. I do like counters since they can answer such a broad sphere of problems and give us game preboard vs combo but if others are suggesting going counterless, then maybe I need to adjust lol
So, with a higher creature count as well as creatures that are more powerful on their own, could merfolk be considered "Zoo"ish? Both decks play aggressive creatures but zoo also plays a lot of removal. If thats what this deck is becoming, then removal is certainly more valuable than counters maindeck.
Good analysis. I do like these types of matchups as they are very interactive while as you say not being as tough as Jund. I personally havent had too much trouble with delve guys as I play 3 Simic Charms, usually bouncing them. One thing I do like in the appearance on Grixis over Jund is Abrupt Decay. That card is so frustrating to play against, so I will gladly face Fatal Push over it. As far as Bedlam Reveler, I haven't actually played it or seen you play it in your vids. It seems super strong in theory, but does that move over into real life?
Also, Reveler has prowess, which I've never noticed. Does that mean if I use Stubborn Denial to counter something, Reveler will be a 4/5 by the time ferocious is checked?
So, it does seem like Grixis Shadow is one of the top tier decks. For those who have played it multiple times, do you feel it is a good match or more like Jund. I've been bringing in EE for it and it seems pretty good, though I've only played it twice.
What are they doing wrong, would yall say? I've seen people playing the deck inefficiently, but for the most part its pretty straight forward. Not mulliganing is just a result of a newish player making mistakes I'd say
Honestly if you are smart about delving, it doesnt do too much damage to our graveyard. I've seen players with four lands untapped, use only one land and the rest delve to cast their fatty. I guess it feels good to pay 1 for a threat, but using your lands to cast it really makes the delve an easy price and will help keep goyf big.
Ok well said. I guess we do use removal differently. Thanks to islandwalk we attack through blockers and keep removal for important threats, while normal aggro needs to clear a path for attacks. I do like counters since they can answer such a broad sphere of problems and give us game preboard vs combo but if others are suggesting going counterless, then maybe I need to adjust lol
Also, Reveler has prowess, which I've never noticed. Does that mean if I use Stubborn Denial to counter something, Reveler will be a 4/5 by the time ferocious is checked?