MTG Salvation

@ Nikachu_ : You say that you like Uw due to less life loss. What makes you not want to take a mono-U list with Dismembers, remove 4 Islands, and put in 4 Darkslick Shores? Also works with Choke (or doesn't work with it...).

I will run a white splash for Path, seems to be the better removal other than sac effects.

I use dismember in my tron sideboard with talisman black backup. I do not like this, I would rather have RFG.

Can someone explain to me why Cursecatcher warrants a space in the merfolk deck? I've been playing Merfolk for a few months now and I hate hate hate this card. I don't like it turn one and it only gets so much worse mid to late game. I find that when I play it it doesn't provide me any extra protection and as a 1/1 it doesn't really provide pressure. Sure it gets pumped by lords, but it's still so small I feel. Most of the time the opponent just leaves one extra mana up when they bolt my lord and then cursecatchers feels worthless. I understand that he's basically a pseudo-thalia but I've just had horrible experiences playing with it. In fact the only weeks I've done well at my LGS were the weeks I took cursecatchers out for more 2cmc threats. I recall watching your videos Nikachu and you mentioned you were gonna make a video on cursecatcher. I would love to see a video on why this card is viable. Because I just don't see it.

If they pay for it one less mana for other spells.

And then you've lost a threat (cursecatcher) and their spell still resolves, so they've effectively 2 for 1'd you. In a tempo deck like merfolk I just don't see how that's acceptable.

I'm banking on Battle for Zendikar providing us with a good 1cmc merfolk or maybe another 2cmc lord. I think that's what's holding merfolk back from being tier 1.

In a world without wasteland its all we got to denied them resources and that's one of fishes mos is denial and face pounding.

@evilmeatball

Cursecatcher shines against decks that are either on the attrition plan, board wipes, or combo. You might not have recognized it yet but when you T1 a cursecatcher against these decks you effectively time walked their removal/combo spells. Additionally if you are playing Merrow Reejerey, a late game Cursecatcher is effectively a twiddle on a stick.

As far as to play him or not, that's a matter of opinion. I play fish low to the ground and appreciate having a T1 play the majority of the time.

Aether Vial in a Cursecatcher and sac to counter a spell is one of my favorite tricks.

Cursecatcher delays the opponent, messes with their sequencing.

It is a card that is misunderstood because when it does it's job you don't see it.

Like when they want to path and rhino turn 4 but they just play rhino because of the cursecatcher, letting you crash for a bunch of damage, before they path the turn after.

I won a game last week because my 2 Cursecatchers kept them from having enough mana to use Become Immense

Proxy yourself an UWr or Scapeshift list and play a few matches against Merfolk. Tally how often you lost because Cursecatcher stopped you from casting Cryptic Command Turn 4

Cursecatcher is hugely underappreciated because you hardly ever get to activate it but in reality is a tiny, stackable Thalia

hey guys I've been testing against affinity and I just seem to be unable to beat the deck. do you guys have any ideas for hate cards in blue and or white I could add to my side board to help me win games two and three?

Hurkyl's Recall is the big one with Steel Sabotage able to bounce their Cranial Plating or Inkmoth Nexus. The card for white is Stony Silence which is just a modern legal Null Rod. White also has Kataki, War's Wage which some people prefer because it can go to the face, but it is also easier to kill being a creature.

I prefer Recall as it can catch odd decks with equipment or the belcher deck that shows up at my store sometimes, it can also bounce Platinum Angel, Wurmcoil, The Rack, Ensnaring Bridge....I haven't tried out U/W yet but I know Stony Silence is great, but not an auto-win against Affinity as they still have Master of Etherium and Etched Champion to go to work.

Try Hurkyl's Recall and Stony Silence. Those two cards are usually game over for Affinity if played in a timely manner. Well timed Path to Exiles and Vapor Snags can do a number on them as well.

The key in that matchup is to be like water; punish them for wading in too deep (overextending) and crash into them like a tsunami when they least expect it.

In addition to the suggestions above, I've noticed that a lot of Affinity's key cards cost two (Arcbound Ravager, Cranial Plating, Steel Overseer just to name a few), so I've found that Spell Snare is perfect against them and is great to have at least 2 (I use 3 if I can) for a multitude of other opponents. I love pivotal cards like that in a tight sideboard like Merfolk's...

You can also main Cloudfin Raptors. That way Affinity won't be flying over your creatures.

We would need super strong cards like a True-Name Nemesis, a bitterblossom that made islandwalking merfolk tokens, or merfolk exclusive counterspells (like a silumgar's scorn) to push to t1 and stay there. Plus we would need to be ready to see choke or boil in just about every sideboard that could run then...and if we go t1 with a u/w list then we will see even more blood moons. Some stronger cards could be nice, like a cursecatcher that can counter any non-creature spell instead of just instant or sorceries and still stay tier 2 where we can safely win without facing tons of hate cards.

Thanks for all the responses on why you guys like Cursecatcher. I'll give the card a few more tries. Maybe it's just not optimal in my LGS meta.

In response to the Wake Thrasher comment. Wake Thrasher was a powerhouse in standard. However, in modern I just don't see him being that great. He doesn't provide you with any added benefit the turn he comes into play unlike the other 3 drops (reejery, thassa, Kira). He also cant block anything without dying, which most games won't matter but against burn or infect you have to block. Without a lord he's just like a Steppe Lynx. Obviously he gets pumped on all your turns, unlike Lynx, but he still dies to bolts, forked bolts, lavamancers, clasms etc as soon as you pass the turn. While this isn't normally a great argument against a card I think it is in this instance because you have to compare him to the other 3 drops. My suggestion would be to test him out in real life. I think you'll find that he just isn't good enough.