MTG Salvation

"What's mine is mine,
and mine and mine,
and mine and mine and mine,
NOT YOURS!"
- Orange Lantern Corps slogan(DC comics)

I had debated which deck to post next, and seeing as Niv and Captain Sisay are on the front page right now, I thought I'd go with Merieke, seeing as she hasn't had a thread since June 2016.

Merieke lends herself to a particular style of play at first glance, and as she evolved from my first EDH deck, I saw no reason to mess with success, only to build on her style; that is, creature denial, and more if I can get away with it. I'll stretch myself a bit more on writing about Merieke and why stuff made it into the deck versus my previous one(seen here).



Some of the stuff that might seem out of place in this deck:
Palisade Giant - primarily damage control and a prime target for Darksteel Plate when I can get that tutored up. 6 CMC is a bit of an investment, but usually that's when damage(from combat or other sources) starts to become a problem. Forcing them to exile/counter this roadblock can save Merieke or yourself from fatal damage.

For now, that's all I have...it's a pretty solid deck I think, and people really don't like seeing a 3 CMC thief on the board so early, lol. Input?

EDIT: Really changed this into a 'pillowfort with your own stuff' deck. Many aspects of this deck are geared toward preventing the casting of commanders, stealing of good creatures, and if needed, a scorched earth pre-emptive strike. I wonder if Jester's Cap would be a good fit for this deck as well?

Some adjustments...

+ Caves of Koilos
+ Platinum Angel
- Sorin, Solemn Visitor
- Swamp

I think these changes will smooth out how the deck runs...

- Restoration Gearsmith
- The Chain Veil
- Insidious Will

+ Grave Pact
+ Mortify
+ Orzhov Signet

Quote from JDviant »

Gift of Immortality an option for your Giant/Vet? Even on Wall of Omens it'd be nice. I like the card but have never loved it enough to include.


Archon of the Triumvirate seems pretty costly for the effect.

Gift...oooh. That IS nice. Primarily, I use the Darksteel Plate for them(in fact, at a Saturday game, had my opponents stymied because my giant had that on and they had no RFG effects), but that would be a great backup...

Archon...I'm inclined to agree. It's more of a stand-in at this point, plus its ability is quite nice for recursion and slowing people down early if I get it and Reanimate in my opening hand. Risky if someone has a Path or Swords in hand, but still, I do know what to trade for what when I get one...

Deck looks solid. A friend of mine uses Avacyn, Angel of Hope, Soul of New Phyrexia and Bastion Protector to keep stolen bits and pieces permanently.
Ghostly Flicker is one of his key protective cards and synergizes greatly.

Avacyn has long been on my radar, but I keep getting sidetracked, or I end up not feeling I need her, and/or I end up in a situation where it's important that I steal/kill my opponent's creatures. Soul however...THAT has potential, as I can pick and choose what remains mine. Protector is another nice one...though most people like to shut my commander down with -1/-1 counters. Can't fault them for that, lol.

I actually forgot about Ghostly Flicker, and I think that one I'll have to pass on...I used it a lot some time ago(I think it was in my Niv deck), but with no spell recursion, and IMO better options to keep the stuff I take, I don't have much to worry about.

Appreciate the suggestions though! Please, keep them coming!

I am not able to dig my list out since I make it physically challenging to access my cards during semester (EDHICTED) but I can vouch heavily for ghostly flicker. It is instant speed conjurer's closet that is super handy at all pts in the game and turn. I went heavy on blink/untap + steal. It seems like you are including battlecruiser finishers. Let me suggest to you that if you are playing this in a very competitive circle then you are already the underdog and should switch decks. But for more casual games where juicy targets are given then I'd focus on protecting/abusing merieke and the other great tap creatures.

Quote from positivEdefinite »

I am not able to dig my list out since I make it physically challenging to access my cards during semester (EDHICTED) but I can vouch heavily for ghostly flicker. It is instant speed conjurer's closet that is super handy at all pts in the game and turn. I went heavy on blink/untap + steal. It seems like you are including battlecruiser finishers. Let me suggest to you that if you are playing this in a very competitive circle then you are already the underdog and should switch decks. But for more casual games where juicy targets are given then I'd focus on protecting/abusing merieke and the other great tap creatures.

I would say that my circle(s) are usually the lower end of competitive/mostly casual, based on the guidelines you set out. While far from my strongest deck(that's actually my Niv deck, believe it or not), Merieke usually keeps me in a game for a long time, long enough most often to run people out of steam.

I know the terminology 'battlecruiser finisher', but what cards do you identify as such? My effort to provide alternate wincons(sometimes resorting to just plain 'beat face') might have put me in that trap...

- Grave Pact = Went to my Walking Dead deck

+ Adarkar Valkyrie = Steal more, and make it harder for people to get their stuff back.

EDIT: - Flood Plain

+ Temple of the False God

- Archon of the Triumvirate
- Bident of Thassa
+ Gift of Immortality
+ Soul of New Phyrexia

Finish up the last two deck updates;

- Artisan of Kozilek = fun, but limited, and pretty late game.
+ Serene Master = I like the shenanigans of this card. It more than likely will get rotated out soon for something better, though.
- Bident of Thassa = Probably going to regret giving this card advantage up, but something had to go...
+ Gift of Immortality = Fun times to be had with this on my commander, you betcha! Thanks for the suggestion, NoNeedToBragoBoutIt!
- Halimar Depths = a fun 'semi-scry' effect, but little else.
+ Prairie Stream = Color fixing for the long term lands...very nice.

Blatant Thievery out, Swiftfoot Boots in.

Voltaic Key out, Geist of Saint Traft in. Not enough artifacts are in to require multi-activation shenanigans, and pressure with my own creatures is something I've been weak on. Hopefully Geist can provide some of that.

Orzhov Signet out, Indulgent Tormentor in. Another means of placing pressure on someone.

Sphinx of the Steel Wind out, Captain of the Mists in. Probably should have kept the sphinx in to provide a one-two combo with Geist as far as combat pressure, but I couldn't see anything else to take out for the Captain at this point. Plus, his ability just screams Merieke abuse.

Serene Master out, Nephalia Smuggler in. Saving my creatures from removal, as well as perma-controlling those that I steal, how could I say no?

Island out, Dismal Backwater in. Color fixing.

Why Norritt over Fatestitcher or Aphetto Alchemist? Just the cool factor, or is the forced-attack ability actually doing something for you?

Because I had it, and it works. The primary purpose of it is to untap my blue creatures, but on occasion, there is one or two creatures that I want to force into attacking. I'll see about putting those other two in at some point, though...thanks!

A minor change on this one, to take advantage of Merieke's inability to untap on her own...

Rite of Replication out for Throne of the God-Pharaoh.

Another change for creature denial/theft:

Gonti, Lord of Luxury replacing Medomai the Ageless

So, I just realized something, and I'm hoping it works the way I think it will...

As seen above, I have Ephara, God of the Polis and a number of blink effects. My question is, if I blink an old or newly cast creature while Ephara is out, does that still trigger the draw effect? As far as the game mechanics are concerned, it's a brand new creature, correct?

Yes, exiling a creature and returning it to the battlefield means it enters the battlefield (from exile). That will cause Ephara to trigger during the next upkeep, no matter how long you controlled that creature before you blinked it.

Excellent...thanks for the confirmation!

Another minor adjustment -

Norritt finally lost his slot to Identity Thief. The ability to steal a big beats creature was too tempting to pass up, particularly with the legendary rule being the way it is now. Add in that this can be used on my own creatures to abuse Ephara's trigger, and...
Platinum Angel for Pyramid of the Pantheon. Can be a good mana engine with only a little work, and is a decent target for Tezz if I need to. It won't be my first choice, but it is a choice.

- Venser, the Sojourner = people know to watch for him now, and usually have ways to get to him to prevent the emblem. Plus, since he only blinks what I *own*, his usefulness takes a major hit. Blink away, friend...
- Pyramid of the Pantheon = was a very good mana fixer, but lost its effectiveness as the game went on(believe it or not). Plus, considering what I added, it would have been useless anyway...

+ Cauldron of Souls = good tutor target for Tezz, and...
+ Solemnity = Combo!

A minor change, though one worth noting:

+ Command Tower = Mana fixing, and mostly to get Opal Palace out of this deck, as the commander isn't supposed to be aggro(even if she was, she'd be a very clunky aggro, agreed?)

- Opal Palace = As said, this land lends itself to more aggressive generals, of which Merieke ain't. I think I know where it WILL go, though...

EDIT: Pretty big change here that I missed during some update or another...

+ Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim = saccing other people's creatures for whatever I need it for? Sounds good to me.
+ Decree of Silence = I shouldn't need to explain this, but...PROTIP: Solemnity.

- Dread Return = weaker than the other resurrection stuff I have, in that it only targets my GY. Yeah, that's normally good, but I like some flexibility.
- Identity Thief = not really any creatures on my side that can abuse ETBs, and to rely on my opponents for them...anyway, out.

What do you think of Brago, King Eternal and Mistmeadow Witch? They fit the blink theme and Brago can reset Decree of Silence in a pinch. Eldrazi Displacer serves similar function for creature but would require colorless mana.

Good point, mostly on Brago and the witch. I see a couple of things they could replace, so I'll see about grabbing a couple of copies. Brago I should have made the connection to sooner, as some little snot in my group has a pretty powerful deck with him at the helm. Witch could be useful for wrath or targeted destruction saves if nothing else.

Last update(another minor one), and maybe I'll list my rough drafts for Markov and Intet later...

+ Liliana, Heretical Healer/Liliana, Defiant Necromancer = explained in the OP.

+ Guard Gomozoa = a fort blocker...whenever he's out, people seem to have trouble getting past him.

+ Ghost Quarter = more than any other deck, this one needs land destruction of some sort. Homeward Path is still a thing.