Yeah, I gotta agree here. Vexing Devil may at one point have been good, but it is simply outclassed by the rest of the creatures in the deck. I think running him at all is a mistake.
Speaking of Primers: I just finished mine, which I have hosted on reddit's r/mtglegacy subreddit. It is a comprehensive and up to date primer on where burn is in today's metagame, and it looks at the history and philosophy of burn as well as looking at matchups. Here's a link if you guys want to check it out!
Just wanted to let you know that I'm writing up a new primer that I think I'm going to host on reddit's r/mtglegacy. I feel like this primer is way out of date and the primer on The Source lacks a lot of detail, so I want to undertake this project and write a more comprehensive, up-to-date primer. Any suggestions? I'll post a link here once it's done.
Hey guys, I just picked up Merfolk online and am considering picking it up in real life (I have $500 in store credit from selling my Eldrazi deck in fear of a ban and I'm deciding between Burn, which I used to play and have most of, Suicide Zoo, which I have most of, Fish, and Infect). I have a couple of questions:
1. Why do almost all Merfolk decks run 1-3 Cavern of Souls rather than 4? It seems like an auto-4-of - while it can't cast Spreading Seas, it can cast every creature in the deck, has a nice upside, and untaps under a Choke. Why do most lists play so few?
2. With all the Eldrazi decks running around, I think Dismember warrants maindeck inclusion. How many do you guys think is the correct number? Right now I'm on 2 main 1 side.
4. Are Vials necessary? Are they good? I have a friend who plays vial-less Merfolk with either 21 or 22 lands, while Vial lists tend to have 19-20. I'm worried that you lose some speed without Vials without upping the threat density significantly.
it seems we do need 1-2 copies of surgical extraction for the scapeshift matchup.
I have been running a pair of Memoricide in the sideboard. Between that and discard, I haven't had much trouble in the few matches I've played so far against Scapeshift. I also haven't tested out Thought-Knot Seer against them yet but I imagine it helps.
Hey guys, I'm pretty new to this archetype but I wanted to share an idea that I had. I was thinking of the most powerful cards that aren't seeing much play in modern, and my mind went to a standard all-star that hasn't found a home yet: Silumgar's Scorn. In the right shell, the card is literally Counterspell, which is an effect that is rarely seen in modern. That got me thinking - what shell really wants Counterspell? The various tempo decks of the format are content with their Mana Leaks and Remands, but the decks that really want some hard permission are the control decks. However, modern is a format where sleekness and efficiency dominate - there just isn't much of a chance to play any but the most efficient dragons. Unless, that is, we cheat and play a non-dragon dragon: Namely, Nameless Inversion. The card is not quite powerful enough for Modern, but it's very close - it's pretty close to being Lightning Bolt. Nameless Inversion isn't enough support for Silumgar's Scorn on its own, however, so I wanted to play an actual dragon, and settled on Dragonlord Ojutai as a dragon that is powerful enough for Modern. Therefore, I had the following requirements in mind:
Has to want Silumgar's Scorn - namely, be a control deck
Has to want Dragonlord Ojutai and Nameless Inversion - therefore, be Blue-based Esper
Has to be able to survive to cast its spells and take advantage of Silumgar's Scorn and Dragonlord Ojutai with card draw - therefore, have a strong draw engine
Esper control satisfies these requirements, so I settled on it as my shell. The real question is, why play with Silumgar's Scorn and Dragonlord Ojutai over a standard Esper Control deck? I think the two main reasons are that Esper Control seems to me a deck in need of a few things - a faster clock, and a better countermagic suite. Ojutai satisfies the first requirement, and Scorn satisfies the second. I think that this version might be competitive with regular Esper Control and possibly even be a stronger choice.
The main problem I see with it is that unlike Thragtusk, it doesn't gain life instantly so decks can just burn you out. However, it's great against anyone who uses counters and with a Slayer's Stronghold in play it's fantastic, so I do like it.
Anyway, I just wanted to say hi. I just picked up this deck online and thought I'd get familiar with it. It hasn't performed great so far but that is likely due to my inexperience with the deck. Any pointers? The toughest part so far for me is deciding which hands to keep or mulligan.
It's also very solid against storm, as it makes going off much more difficult for them, and it's solid against zoo. However, it's mostly only good in the mirror, which is why I'm testing Soulfire Grand Master over Firewalker and Dragon's Claw right now, as it's good in more matchups than just storm, zoo, and the mirror.
So here's a question for you guys: What do you think about Gut Shot? I've been playing around with the card in my sideboard and have been really liking it. It's great in the most important matchups we have - Delver and Pod - and it does work against any deck that plays x/1s while not being potentially dead like Mutagenic Growth (which Shahar Shenhar was mainboarding at one point). Growth has a higher upside - it hits for one more damage when it connects, can be used to kill bigger creatures in tandem with attacking, and can be a huge play against lightning bolt decks - but is potentially dead when you don't have creatures. Gut Shot is too inefficient to be a maindeck card but in the matchups where we want to be killing x/1s, it does a great job of that while filling up the graveyard for Treasure Cruise. I think it's a solid option to come out of the board against Pod and Delver decks, as well as other decks that run x/1s that we need to kill (Soul Sisters, mono-green devotion, etc).
It's in the deck for the same reason Flame Rift is played in Legacy burn. While it deals us damage, we don't care - we are fine trading life points with our opponents. If Eidolon does 8 damage to me and 6 to my opponent, I consider that a winning trade.
Regarding Soulfire Grand Master - I do think it's a replacement for Dragon's Claw out of the board but it really isn't maindeckable unless your meta is REALLY burn/delver heavy, and even then I'd only run 1 main. I'm very excited to play with it, but I don't think it fits in to what the deck is trying to do enough to make it to the main deck. One thing that hurts it is that burn and delver, the decks it's best against, run so much more creature hate than artifact hate. I think it's solid but I really can't ever see maindecking it in burn. Same with Monastery Mentor, which I think compares unfavorably to Young Pyromancer even in Pyromancer decks.
Also, I can't believe people think Monastery Siege is a threat. It's simply worse than Leyline of Sanctity since it doesn't come out as fast and dies to the same answers, and it can be gotten through unlike the leyline. It's simply not good enough to see modern play, though it might be good against Standard burn.
As for Ratchet Bomb, it is a fine sideboard card, particularly if you expect token decks to be big in your metagame, but I think there are generally better options. For instance, I'd run 4 of each of Searing Blaze and Searing Blood before running a Ratchet Bomb - they don't do the same thing, but they're good against the same strategies. I will say that Ratchet Bomb is a super-janky answer to some rare decks like mono-white Prison, but I wouldn't run it. Against a blind metagame, I'd sideboard something like: 4-6 artifact/enchantment hate, 4-6 creature hate (including an option I've been loving recently - Gut Shot), 2-3 graveyard hate unless you're running Treasure Cruise, 0-3 Life Gain hate, 2-3 mirror hate.
Also, here's a fun list I've been testing on MTGO - since everyone's splashing all the colors for burn anyway, I figure, why not run ALL the colors? It gives us access to all the most powerful effects of other colors, including a fun new spell: Tribal Flames. Here's what I've been testing - it's not very good but it is fun! I'll always have the game I won with my opponent at 10 life by peeling a Tribal Flames off the top with another in hand if nothing else.
Just wanted to let you know that I'm writing up a new primer that I think I'm going to host on reddit's r/mtglegacy. I feel like this primer is way out of date and the primer on The Source lacks a lot of detail, so I want to undertake this project and write a more comprehensive, up-to-date primer. Any suggestions? I'll post a link here once it's done.
1. Why do almost all Merfolk decks run 1-3 Cavern of Souls rather than 4? It seems like an auto-4-of - while it can't cast Spreading Seas, it can cast every creature in the deck, has a nice upside, and untaps under a Choke. Why do most lists play so few?
2. With all the Eldrazi decks running around, I think Dismember warrants maindeck inclusion. How many do you guys think is the correct number? Right now I'm on 2 main 1 side.
3. What do you guys think is the proper number for the non-4-ofs - those being Phantasmal Image, Master of Waves, Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, and Merrow Reejerey? Right now I'm on 3, 3, 1 (1 side), and 3.
4. Are Vials necessary? Are they good? I have a friend who plays vial-less Merfolk with either 21 or 22 lands, while Vial lists tend to have 19-20. I'm worried that you lose some speed without Vials without upping the threat density significantly.
I have been running a pair of Memoricide in the sideboard. Between that and discard, I haven't had much trouble in the few matches I've played so far against Scapeshift. I also haven't tested out Thought-Knot Seer against them yet but I imagine it helps.
Here's the list I am testing:
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 Dragonlord Ojutai
Spells (30):
4 Path to Exile
2 Spell Snare
4 Silumgar's Scorn
4 Think Twice
4 Nameless Inversion
4 Esper Charm
4 Cryptic Command
2 Supreme Verdict
2 Sphinx's Revelation
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Watery Grave
2 Celestial Colonnade
2 Mutavault
2 Drowned Catacomb
1 Glacial Fortress
4 Island
1 Swamp
1 Plains
2 Celestial Purge
2 Rest in Peace
3 Stony Silence
3 Kor Firewalker
3 Dispel
2 Thoughtseize
I'll report back once I've tested with the list more. Until then, thoughts?
Anyway, I just wanted to say hi. I just picked up this deck online and thought I'd get familiar with it. It hasn't performed great so far but that is likely due to my inexperience with the deck. Any pointers? The toughest part so far for me is deciding which hands to keep or mulligan.
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Rift Bolt
4 Lava Spike
4 Boros Charm
3 Skullcrack
3 Searing Blaze
3 Lightning Helix
2 Shard Volley
1 Flames of the Blood Hand
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Arid Mesa
3 Sacred Foundry
2 Clifftop Retreat
1 Stomping Ground
4 Mountain
4 Destructive Revelry
1 Wear//Tear
3 Soulfire Grand Master
3 Searing Blood
2 Guerrilla Tactics
2 Relic of Progenitus
What do you guys think?
Also, I can't believe people think Monastery Siege is a threat. It's simply worse than Leyline of Sanctity since it doesn't come out as fast and dies to the same answers, and it can be gotten through unlike the leyline. It's simply not good enough to see modern play, though it might be good against Standard burn.
As for Ratchet Bomb, it is a fine sideboard card, particularly if you expect token decks to be big in your metagame, but I think there are generally better options. For instance, I'd run 4 of each of Searing Blaze and Searing Blood before running a Ratchet Bomb - they don't do the same thing, but they're good against the same strategies. I will say that Ratchet Bomb is a super-janky answer to some rare decks like mono-white Prison, but I wouldn't run it. Against a blind metagame, I'd sideboard something like: 4-6 artifact/enchantment hate, 4-6 creature hate (including an option I've been loving recently - Gut Shot), 2-3 graveyard hate unless you're running Treasure Cruise, 0-3 Life Gain hate, 2-3 mirror hate.
Also, here's a fun list I've been testing on MTGO - since everyone's splashing all the colors for burn anyway, I figure, why not run ALL the colors? It gives us access to all the most powerful effects of other colors, including a fun new spell: Tribal Flames. Here's what I've been testing - it's not very good but it is fun! I'll always have the game I won with my opponent at 10 life by peeling a Tribal Flames off the top with another in hand if nothing else.
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt
4 Bump in the Night
4 Searing Blaze
4 Searing Blood
4 Tribal Flames
3 Skullcrack
4 Boros Charm
4 Treasure Cruise
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Scalding Tarn
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Stomping Ground
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Steam Vents
1 Blood Crypt
1 Godless Shrine
1 Mountain
2 Forbidden Orchard
2 Combust
2 Eidolon of the Great Revel
2 Volcanic Fallout
1 Rain of Gore
4 Destructive Revelry
4 Dragon's Claw