MTG Salvation

Anyone here having success with boltfolks? (8 bolt merfolk)

1st place report from local FNM (18 players) xpost from r/FishMTG

So we had a modern fnm and I took Fish for another spin. I've been playing it for more than a month now and I'm slowly getting the hang of a tempo deck (am previously an Elves pilot). Brought with me the following list:
MAIN
Lord of atlantis 4
Master of the pearl trident 4
Silvergill adept 4
Master of waves 4
Merfolk trickster 4
Merrow reejerey 2
Harbinger of the tides 3
Aether vial 4
Spreading seas 4
Spell pierce 4
Dismember 3
Mutavault 4
Oboro 1
Minamo 1
Wanderwine hub 4
Islands 10

SIDE
Deprive 4
Echoing truth 3
Kira 2
Tidebinder mage 2
Relic of progenitus 2
Damping sphere 2

So the sideboard is based on our local meta (storm, elves, affinity, jund, death's shadow decks, kci, jeskai control, burn and LOTS of tron variants).

The moment I saw the number of players reach 18, I knew the night's gonna be loooong.

RD1 - vs Mono Green Tron
G1 on the draw I kept a fairly workable hand with vial, spreading seas, two lands and all creatures. He managed to assemble tron on t4 even with spreading seas disruption. He dropped Ugin and killed my silvergill and one lord. I vialed another lord at end of his step and attacked Ugin with it plus a mutavault. On his t5 he played 10 cmc Ulamog and that's game.
G2 I did merfolk things with damping sphere assistance. Killed him on t6.
G3 He couldn't assemble tron quickly. He was stuck at two tron lands, two basic forests and a sanctum of ugin. I also deprived his t5 oblivion stone to seal the game. (1-0)

RD2 - vs B/G Elves
G1 on the draw I kept a questionable hand of two tricksters, 3 lands, a lord and spell pierce. He killed me at t5 with shaman of the packs.
G2 on the play I kept a one land hand with two vials, dismember, tidebinder mage, lord, and silvergill. I didn't see that second land. He also rec saged my first vial and I cannot race. Sad (1-1)

RD3 - vs R/G Tron (I first thought it's Mono Green again)
G1 I kept a very good hand. Two spreading seas, a vial, two lands, silvergill and a lord. I couldn't ask for more. This is when I found out he's running R/G. I kept delaying his tron assembly but he also kept ripping a Kozilek's Return. He has 3 mainboard. He drew them all
G2 I managed to get there with a damping sphere ripped off the top of my deck at a crucial moment.
G3 He wasn't able to assemble tron as quickly as he wants to. I also kept delaying his attempts to search up tron pieces. Gg (2-1)

RD4 - vs Grixis Death's Shadow
G1 he mulled to 5 on the play and I did merfolk stuffs. He eventually managed to "stabilize" with two death's shadow and a zombie fish at 5 life. Islandwalk is a b!tch.
G2 ended with him with two death's shadow (again) at 6 life and me with a trickster and lord in play. Opponent is tapped out. Topdecking a lord wins me the round. I ripped off an island. I was at 20 life with an island in hand. Opponent dismembers one fish, attacked with both shadows and cast battle rage on of them. Maybe I should've attacked and brought him to 3 life? My head hurts.
G3 I mulled to 6 but opponent was stuck at two lands. I kept two spell pierces. I played merfolks til he couldn't keep up with his removals and managed to kill him on t7 or t8 i think. (3-1)

RD5 - vs Humans
Before I start, let me say that I hate this deck the most right now in the current meta. People always say that Humans is the deck that Merfolk aims to be. As someone who's recently gotten in love with Fish, this really hurts. Sadly, it has some truth to it. I still wanna beat this deck to a pulp every chance I get
G1 I'm on the play with spell pierce, three lands, trickster, harbinger and a lord. I spell pierced his t1 vial (what else should I spell pierce?). This delayed him a bit and I realized he kept a one land hand with two vials. He was set back too much and couldn't race.
G2 He got the nuts of three champions of the parish. I have echoing truth in the sb and managed to keep one in the opening hand. The look on his face when I bounced his champions was priceless. He decided to just race me with mantis rider and phantasmal image targeting mantis rider. Merfolk trickster took care of the image and tidebinder mage kept the mantis rider in check. I managed to get there and alpha strike at 4 life. Gg! Despite me hating the deck, the Humans pilot is a cool guy and laughed off the echoing truth play from my side.

ENDING REMARKS
Everyone called it a night and agreed to skip the top 8 (swiss rounds finished around 1:00 am) so I managed to scrape 1st place and got quite some booster packs. I didn't open them. I knew my horrible luck with booster packs. Planning to sell them to drafting friends at 75% store price. Merfolk is still crazy powerful in the right metagame. I'm planning to win more with this deck in the future. Bigger events hopefully. To everyone who managed to read this til the end, thanks!

Quote from Kizzel »

Side question for all you Elf obsessed like myself.

What is your companion deck? I’ve been trying for over 3 years to find a 2nd deck I truly enjoy. I’ve gone through well over 12 decks, just nothing seems to be as enjoyable as my precious elves. So I’m curious to see what all of you play when you take a short break from Elves to change things up.

Thanks!

I'm on mono black infect. Since Elves is pretty non-interactive, I felt the need to have a partner deck that disrupts opponents heavily. And also a budget one lol.

Eldrazi Tron always felt like a slightly favorable match up. Endbringer + Basilisk Collar is downright evil though

Would Elves fare very well in a No Ban List Modern tournament? Our LGS is planning one and I'm eager to test out the deck with Glimpse of Nature and Green Sun's Zenith. Will this build push out Collected Company and Chord of Calling? Will Skullclamp make the cut? Now that I think about it, I have no idea how to build Elves in this meta. Any suggestions/advice will be appreciated

Quote from anderman »

Quote from Rancormaniac »

Quote from anderman »

I dont think that caller of the claw would change the deck. Heroic Intervention, which is already legal, accomplishes the same thing, except that it costs 1 less and leaves us with the benefit of our tribal synergies over bears.

Caller of the Claw can be a Chord target though. Also doesn't dilute CoCo. I'd be happy to include at least one in my 75 if WotC ever made it legal.

Well, you wouldnt get to use your dudes to pay for the chord (have to cast after the wrath so cant use convoke), and if you're chording for an answer to a wrath we already have burrenton and selfless spirit.

I'm on GB though so your point on forge-tender and selfless spirit is moot for me. I can always just float the mana with a board wipe on the stack and chord for the caller after it resolves. Not that hard to do with Elves. For the record, I do not think Caller of the Claw is the fix that Elves need right now. I'm just saying I'll run it over Heroic Intervention because of the reasons I gave.

Quote from anderman »

I dont think that caller of the claw would change the deck. Heroic Intervention, which is already legal, accomplishes the same thing, except that it costs 1 less and leaves us with the benefit of our tribal synergies over bears.

Caller of the Claw can be a Chord target though. Also doesn't dilute CoCo. I'd be happy to include at least one in my 75 if WotC ever made it legal.

5C Humans are turning up more frequently in my LGS. I've had a number of games with it and I'm surprised to say that even though I feel slightly favored on Game 1 (Game 2 is 50/50 since they bring removal and goddamn Izzet Staticaster) the match up always had me at wit's end. Most games end really close. Aside from their side board, the card I really hate is Mantis Rider. I've had 8 games with Humans and won 5. 3 losses were all thanks to Mantis Rider hitting me unopposed. What a pain. Anyway, that's all I can say for now. Just sharing my thoughts.

So far Rivals of Ixalan hasn't spoiled any card that has potential in Elves. Really looking forward for Dominaria! Also, Elves vs Inventors will be the next (and last) Duel Decks. What reprint are you guys hoping for?

Quote from Amok22 »

Shapers' Sanctuary is working great. Has anyone tested Mark of Asylum - this should stop Anger and Pyroclasm as well or do we just depend on that one off Selfless Spirit or Forge Tender?

I think it's better to Chord for Selfless Spirit/Forge Tender instead. Mark of Asylum is too situational. Even in a meta of Jeskai decks, I would rather just board in Shapers' Sanctuary for additional gas that is crucial in this match up

Our LGS consistently has two 8-Rack players every fnm. I've played them both and beat them too.. but only because they've had really bad draws against me. Maybe I'm overthinking but in theory, doesn't it seem like 8-Rack is a bad match up for us? They have main board Ensnaring Bridge and Bontu's Last Reckoning. Smallpox and fatal push is making it worse too. What's the general strategy against them? What to board in? Looking for some input from fellow Elves players

Quote from Larriepogi »

@Rancormaniac

Congratulations, brother! Way to represent Elves!

Some questions:
Wasn't Relic too slow when you needed GY hate? There a few options you can go for (Ooze, Leyline of the Void, Loaming Shaman), why Relic?
How was Shaper's Sanctuary?
How'd you find your removal suite of Abrupt + Dismember? I feel like if I'm gonna pay black, might as well play the "best" removal of the format: Fatal Push.

Thanks bro. Try to drop by Concealed Courtyard on fridays or saturdays when they are having modern pods. Place looks great. To answer your questions, yes, leyline of the void is much better than relic but i'll need to side 3 of it since double black isn't something i can cast consistently. Scooze feels slower than relic actually and loaming shaman isn't that flexible for me. Relic ultimately gives more options for me + card draw which compliments the grindy aspect of gb elves. Shapers' sanctuary on turn 1 is brutal against a majority of midrange/control decks (jund, junk, grixis, jeskai, mardu). I prefer it now over lead the stampede since i tend to board in more non-creature spells in those grindy games. I prefer dismember over fatal push because it hits eldrazis. Abrupt decay is a catch all card that i always bring in unknown metas. Hope i cleared everything

Quote from Driemer84 »

How did you nab the Possibility Storm with Chord of Calling for Rec Sage? If Storm was down, then Chord for 3 would turn into Chord for 0 or Collected Company. If you Chord in response to Possibility Storm being cast than Rec Sage would etb with no target.

Regardless, congrats on the nice finish!

Thanks for pointing that out. Now I feel dumb and embarrassed lol. I even said on game 1 that storm makes chord useless. I'm trying to recall how I took out possibility storm. I'm very sure I got rid of it on game 2.

-1st Place Tournament Report @Concealed Courtyard Hobby Shop (PH)-

Hello, friends! Just wanna share my 1st place finish last night in an 18 man promotional tournament. Elves is pretty much my pet deck ever since I started playing magic during the Onslaught/Legions/Scourge block. I picked it up again earlier this year (around January) after getting back to playing and exploring the modern format. I'm mostly on a G/B list since I prefer the additional reach given by Shaman of the Pack. I tried playing Abzan in a short time and found that it doesn't fit my play style. I didn't bother going straight G/W. So to cut to the chase, I brought a slightly standard G/B build yesterday:



Round 1 vs U/R Possibility Storm

Game 1 on the draw, I mulligan to six and kept an okay-ish hand with dorks, visionary and coco. My opponent was able to play Possibility Storm before I can coco for some finishers thanks to rituals. I played coco anyway thinking my chances of revealing another one on top is good but alas, I revealed a chord of calling which is pretty useless to cast from a possibility storm effect. Opponent tutored for Endless One thru the land card with transmute, cast it and revealed Emrakul from his deck. He played it and that's the end for me right there.

Game 2 on the play, I put elves in the battlefield but never exceeded three to four expecting board wipe. Opponent was able to fend off with anger of the gods and pyroclasm while he searches for his combo pieces. Too bad for him, I have reclamation sage waiting to ambush his possibility storm thru chord of calling. I'm trying to recall how I took care of possibility storm (thanks Driemer84 for catching that) but I'm sure I got rid of it in this game... Anyway, with no board wipes and removals in hand, my opponent succumbed to elf beats.

Game 3 on the draw, my opponent mulligans to five and stumbled on mana. I overrun him turn 4.

(1-0)

Round 2 vs U/R Pyromancer's Ascension Storm

Game 1 with me on the draw, opponent stormed off on turn 3. I cry

Game 2 on the play, I was able to thoughtseize his mana reducers and also able to blow out his pyromancer's ascension with abrupt decay. He slowed down but then proceeded to wipe my first wave of elves with anger of the gods but it's not enough. I beat him with another wave of elves + life loss from shaman of the pack.

Game 3 on the draw, I made a big mistake of not using nettle sentinel in conjunction with heritage druid's ability when I played Ezuri. That would give me exactly three untapped elves on my opponent's turn. I could have saved enough elves with regeneration because opponent top decked an anger. Next turn I could just beat him with elves and play shaman for the win. Opponent capitalized from this while I drew lands in the following turns. Opponent proceeded to combo off with two pyro ascensions in play killing me with lightning bolts and grapeshot.

(1-1)

Round 3 vs U/R Storm (sigh)

Game 1 on the play, I dumped my cards on the battlefield and presented lethal on turn 4. Before that, opponent tried playing a fourth land on turn 3 (after doing storm stuff) which I immediately called to his attention. Can't tell if it's by mistake or not. Opponent doesn't talk much and wasn't even listening to me when I politely asked him how many mana from rituals he already got. Once he realized he is a mana short, he conceded.

Game 2 with me on the draw, opponent mulligans to six and I punished him with thoughtseize on my first turn. I saw two removals, anger of the gods, baral and two lands. I took baral. I then played elves cautiously while opponent wasn't able to find the third land or a mana reducer or a ritual which is very unlucky for him. I won with elf beats and shaman of the pack

(2-1)

Round 4 vs Ad Nauseam

Game 1 on the play, I overrun on turn 3 but he got angel's grace. He failed to combo on his 3rd turn and I overrun again on turn 4.

Game 2 on the draw, same thing happened except I made an embarrassing mistake of targeting a suspended Lotus Bloom with reclamation sage that resolved from a coco.

(3-1)

At this point I'm pretty much secured in the top 8 so me and my round 5 opponent decided to ID (he's on Valakut, yikes)

Quarterfinals vs Grixis Death Shadow

Game 1 on the play, my hand was stripped left and right by my opponent. Any elf I got to play was promptly killed. I wasn't able to recover or draw any coco to race. Sucks.

Game 2 on the play, I was able to cast Shapers' Sanctuary successfully on turn 1 which proved to be amazing in these matchups. Opponent as usual has tons of removal for every elf I play but I was able to dig deep into a Chameleon Colossus thanks to the sanctuary. Unluckily for me, I don't have enough mana to cast it on the same turn I drew it. Worse, my opponent was able to catch it with a thoughtseize on his next turn. He passed the turn, I cracked a fetch land, shuffled my deck and my opponent cuts it. On my next turn, I drew into the other chameleon colossus in my deck. Me and my opponent laughed it off. I played the colossus, passed the turn presenting lethal next turn if my opponent has no answer (he has a Gurmag Angler and Tasigur on play). I'm on 9 life. He's at 5. He drew a fatal push and conceded.

Game 3 on the draw, opponent and I went back and forth. Me playing elf threats, him removing them one by one. As usual, I don't commit to the board with more than 3 or four elves expecting Flaying Tendrils anytime. I also dismembered a 4/4 death's shadow during the process. It ended up with opponent making a mistake of casting k-command, dealing 2 damage to ezuri while I have five mana open (one dork included). I don't blame him though, we've been playing for quite some time. That move proved to be his undoing since I drew into a shaman of the pack on the next turn with him on 3 life (he has two 10/10 death's shadows on the battlefield so overrun is not an option). gg

Semifinals vs R/G Ponza

Game 1 on the play, I do elf things but got slowed down a bit by anger of the gods. Opponent then capitalized with this and ramped into an Inferno Titan. Ouch

Game 2 on the play, I do elf things again with heroic intervention waiting on hand. I was able to overrun my opponent on turn 5.

Game 3 on the draw, opponent stumbles on threats but fended off my elves anyway with lightning bolts and using Beast Within on his lands. I was presenting lethal around the 7th or 8th turn when my opponent top decked a Slagstorm. I floated mana from the dying dorks, let the spell resolve, then proceeded to cast coco. I got shaman of the pack and dwynen's elite. Next turn I drew a lord which is just enough to to win the game with elf beats.

Finals vs Ad Nauseam

Same guy from round 4. Same things happened. Sadly, the finals is very uneventful since my opponent doesn't have much interaction with my elves aside from fog effects and Gideon of the Trials. I'm pretty sure he just drew badly.


And that's my report. I hope you guys liked it. I won a free pass and a 1st round bye in an upcoming major tournament next month. I also got a promo playmat with the hobby shop's logo and some sweet booster pack pulls. Definitely my best tourney performance so far. Cheers!

Anyone tested Shaper's Sanctuary in the sb? Please share your results and give some insight. Is it worth using it? What cards did it replace in the sb? Thanks in advance