So I've been playing around with Baron Sengir as a casual little EDH deck to relax and play with friends, I would love suggestions money is no issue so, feel free to suggest any card
So Merfolk are a deck that have proven to be a powerful tribal build in Legacy, Vintage and even Commander, but for a long time and even still, Merfolk aren't the most explosive deck in the format, from Mono Blue, to White/Blue to Blue/Black, Merfolk decks always suffer from the same issue: All of our cards are fair. We don't have any of the same kinds of busted cards like other modern decks and we don't have cards like Force of Will or True-Name Nemesis (Though I continue to speculate that the upcoming Zenikar block will reprint it for us) that Vintage and Legacy have and because of this, we tend to remain a Tier 2 deck, however the victory Merfolk took at GP Copenhagen very well may breathe new life into this beautiful tribal build, the way Elves won GP Charlotte. So what are the differences between the Mono Blue, W/U and U/B versions of the decks and which is best suited to deal with the meta game? Well let's discuss:
Cards the decks share in common and why:
Lord of Atlantis: One of the two primary lords of the deck, pumping our Merfolk and turning on Islandwalk for only two U mana, paired with Master of the Pearl Trident, it is easily the most important card in the deck.
Master of the Pearl Trident: See Lord of Atlantis.
Silvergill Adept: The drawback of revealing a Merfolk or paying 3 is actually next to non existent 99% of the time as we almost always have a fish in hand to reveal or an Aether Vial on 2 counter to cheat into play, this fish can beat in for high amounts of damage thanks to our lords and give us more small amounts of card advantage.
Spreading Seas: Essential for turning on Islandwalk against non-blue decks, it also gains us small card advantage while potentially seriously disrupting their mana base.
Remand: Arguably the best counterspell in Modern, Remand only costs 1U and bounces our opponents spell while again, drawing us a card.
Aether Vial: Probably the best card in the entire deck because it allows us to cheat in Merfolk not only during our turn but even at our opponents end step or after a board wipe, it allows us to get multiple creatures into play and is essential to the deck's victory.
Cavern of Souls: U mana for our fish and making them immune to counterspells, need I say more?
Variants:
The Mono Blue variant of Merfolk are easily the most most affordable version of the deck, due to not needing any form of dual lands or fetches (though some builds still run fetches for thinning), making Mono Blue the best option for budget players, however this doesn't make Mono Blue the weakest deck for us to play. Having only Blue cards to worry about casting allows us to use the ever powerful Mutavault in our deck without fear of it impacting our mana base too harshly. In addition it allows for play of Cryptic Command which while many argue is too slow for fish, it has won me many tournaments in my own Mono Blue Merfolk deck, so don't rule it out before trying it. The drawback of playing Mono Blue is that we don't have access to powerful removal like Path to Exile or control cards like Inquisition of Kozilek, because of this, Mono Blue fish has to compensate by using more counterspells such as Mana Leak, Deprive or whatever your own preference is.
The W/U version of Merfolk is arguably the strongest and by far, the most popular version of the deck in Modern, but why do we splash white? Well mostly for the main board Path to Exiles, however it does also provide us with many powerful sideboard cards, Thalia for control decks, Rest in Peace for Jund and many many more, in addition, Wanderwine Hub is ideal for the W/U variant and of course we add Flooded Strands and your choice of Seachrome Coast, Adarkar Wastes or Glacial Fortress, however our main reason for splashing White is simply for that added hate.
Similarly, the U/B version of the deck, while not nearly as popular, brings out it's own version of hate, cards like Thoughtseize, Inquisition of Kozilek and Shadow of Doubt (which CAN be played in other versions but never seems to be) can put a huge damper on other decks, why remove cards and give them land when you can just make sure they never hit the board in the first place? And Shadow of Doubt can waste their fetches, essentially strip mining them and can shut down combo decks like Amulet Bloom or any other deck that likes searching it's library. Is also allows the ever popular sideboard card, Dismember, to be cast without hurting our life as much late game and also allows us to run cards like Go for the Throat, Victim of Night or Doom Blade, if we just want extra removal.
Other cards to run?
All of the version of the decks posted above will still need more cards in the mainboard than what I mentioned, Vapor Snag, Mana Leak, Spell Snare and Cursecatcher, are all very popular options, however I do hear many arguments from people about which are the best.
Other lords to run vary everywhere from Phantasmal Image to copy a lord, to Merrow Reejeery for tapping cards out, to Merfolk Sovereign, all very strong options but all very dependent on your preference, I prefer the Phantasmal Images myself but that's just me.
Cursecatcher versus Cosi's Tricker?
This decision is ultimately dependent on your meta, are cards like Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek hitting you on turn one and taking your lords? Run the Cursecatchers, but if your meta relies on alot of searching and fetching, the Cosi's Trickster is likely the better choice for you.
Obscure or alternate cards to run?
Merfolk is highly customizable based on your preference, cards such as Sygg River Cutthroat, Thassa God of the Sea and Master of Waves can all be run depending on which you prefer and what you prefer dedicating the slot to, I'm a big fan of Sygg and Thassa but again, that's just me.
Did I miss anything? Please post your deck lists, opinions and ideas in the comments, I'd love to hear them
I'm writing fan fiction for Ajani Goldmane and I've got some interesting ideas, I was wondering if anyone would be interested in reading it as I finish each chapter?
I do feel like Thassa is doing very well, making draws better are so important to this deck because, as I'm sure you know, when you draw dead, you draw DEAD.
Cryptic Command I like quite alot and have only ever had issues casting it once.
Flashfreeze is perfect for Jund decks and sometimes Abzan, countering Tarmogoyf, Scavenging Ooze and Siege Rhino out right and I've even used it against Twin once to counter the Twin.
Kira/Skite in the sideboard is mostly a meta thing, for me, the counters are more useful game 1 however, your meta may need the anti targeting of the 2 in the main.
This is my build for mono blue Merfolk, it's been doing really really well for me, the only deck I have real issues with is W/B Tokens but I'd love other opinions on the list
So my friend built this deck and we went to the Super Invitational Qualifier and it went 1-3, it's been upgraded since then but we wanted to know if we could make it even better. ALL opinions are encouraged and welcomed, thanks!
I got this card from Madness Games down in Plano Texas and just wanted to see if it's real or fake, it passed the bend and light test but it feels more matte than my other cards, albeit it this is the only revised card I own and for all I know, they had a different finish.
1x Daretti, Scrap Savant
Artifact (35)
1x Alhammarret's Archive
1x Candelabra of Tawnos
1x Clock of Omens
1x Contagion Engine
1x Darksteel Forge
1x Everflowing Chalice
1x Gauntlet of Might
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Ichor Wellspring
1x Loreseeker's Stone
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mana Vault
1x Mind's Eye
1x Mindslaver
1x Mirrorworks
1x Mox Opal
1x Mycosynth Lattice
1x Mycosynth Wellspring
1x Nevinyrral's Disk
1x Oblivion Stone
1x Rings of Brighthearth
1x Sculpting Steel
1x Semblance Anvil
1x Skullclamp
1x Sol Ring
1x Spine of Ish Sah
1x Staff of Nin
1x Strionic Resonator
1x The Chain Veil
1x Thought Vessel
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Trading Post
1x Ugin's Nexus
1x Unwinding Clock
1x Voltaic Key
1x Arcbound Ravager
1x Feldon of the Third Path
1x Goblin Welder
1x Hangarback Walker
1x Hellkite Igniter
1x Hoarding Dragon
1x Imperial Recruiter
1x Karn, Silver Golem
1x Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1x Kuldotha Forgemaster
1x Magus of the Wheel
1x Metalworker
1x Myr Battlesphere
1x Pentavus
1x Platinum Angel
1x Sandstone Oracle
1x Shimmer Myr
1x Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Steel Hellkite
1x Wurmcoil Engine
Sorcery (5)
1x Blasphemous Act
1x Gamble
1x Scrap Mastery
1x Vandalblast
1x Wheel of Fortune
Planeswalker (2)
1x Karn Liberated
1x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
1x Chaos Warp
Land (35)
1x Bazaar of Baghdad
1x Blinkmoth Nexus
1x Buried Ruin
1x Crystal Vein
1x Darksteel Citadel
1x Great Furnace
1x Hammerheim
1x High Market
1x Inkmoth Nexus
1x Kher Keep
1x Maze of Ith
1x Mishra's Factory
1x Mishra's Workshop
1x Phyrexia's Core
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
15x Snow-Covered Mountain
1x Strip Mine
1x Temple of the False God
1x Tomb of the Spirit Dragon
1x Wasteland
1x Baron Sengir
Creature (27)
1x Adaptive Automaton
1x Ascendant Evincar
1x Blood Artist
1x Bloodghast
1x Bloodline Keeper Flip
1x Bloodlord of Vaasgoth
1x Bloodthrone Vampire
1x Butcher of Malakir
1x Captivating Vampire
1x Crypt Ghast
1x Dark Impostor
1x Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief
1x Falkenrath Noble
1x Gatekeeper of Malakir
1x Guul Draz Assassin
1x Irini Sengir
1x Kalastria Highborn
1x Malakir Bloodwitch
1x Necropolis Regent
1x Pawn of Ulamog
1x Sangromancer
1x Sengir Nosferatu
1x Sengir Vampire
1x Shadow Alley Denizen
1x Vampire Hexmage
1x Vampire Nighthawk
1x Vampire Nocturnus
1x Arcane Lighthouse
1x Cabal Coffers
1x Crypt of Agadeem
1x Dark Depths
1x Homeward Path
1x Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Strip Mine
24x Swamp
1x Temple of the False God
1x Thespian's Stage
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Vesuva
1x Wasteland
Sorcery (8)
1x Black Sun's Zenith
1x Blood Tribute
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Diabolic Revelation
1x Grim Tutor
1x Mutilate
1x Read the Bones
1x Sign in Blood
Instant (7)
1x Dark Ritual
1x Go for the Throat
1x Hero's Downfall
1x Imp's Mischief
1x Tragic Slip
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Victim of Night
1x Caged Sun
1x Darksteel Plate
1x Door of Destinies
1x Elixir of Immortality
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Jet Medallion
1x Lashwrithe
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Sol Ring
1x Whip of Erebos
Enchantment (8)
1x Attrition
1x Bitterblossom
1x Dictate of Erebos
1x Exquisite Blood
1x Grave Pact
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Sanguine Bond
1x The Abyss
Planeswalker (2)
1x Liliana of the Dark Realms
1x Sorin Markov
So I'm sure you noticed a couple of combos, such as Sanguine Bond + Exquisite Blood and The Abyss + Bitterblossom
I'm currently considering , Crovax the Cursed, Mirri the Cursed, Anowon, the Ruin Sage, Kalitas, Bloodchief of Ghet and Blade of the Bloodchief. I want to see all suggestions, I STRONGLY prefer flavorful ones
Cards the decks share in common and why:
Lord of Atlantis: One of the two primary lords of the deck, pumping our Merfolk and turning on Islandwalk for only two U mana, paired with Master of the Pearl Trident, it is easily the most important card in the deck.
Master of the Pearl Trident: See Lord of Atlantis.
Silvergill Adept: The drawback of revealing a Merfolk or paying 3 is actually next to non existent 99% of the time as we almost always have a fish in hand to reveal or an Aether Vial on 2 counter to cheat into play, this fish can beat in for high amounts of damage thanks to our lords and give us more small amounts of card advantage.
Spreading Seas: Essential for turning on Islandwalk against non-blue decks, it also gains us small card advantage while potentially seriously disrupting their mana base.
Remand: Arguably the best counterspell in Modern, Remand only costs 1U and bounces our opponents spell while again, drawing us a card.
Aether Vial: Probably the best card in the entire deck because it allows us to cheat in Merfolk not only during our turn but even at our opponents end step or after a board wipe, it allows us to get multiple creatures into play and is essential to the deck's victory.
Cavern of Souls: U mana for our fish and making them immune to counterspells, need I say more?
Variants:
The Mono Blue variant of Merfolk are easily the most most affordable version of the deck, due to not needing any form of dual lands or fetches (though some builds still run fetches for thinning), making Mono Blue the best option for budget players, however this doesn't make Mono Blue the weakest deck for us to play. Having only Blue cards to worry about casting allows us to use the ever powerful Mutavault in our deck without fear of it impacting our mana base too harshly. In addition it allows for play of Cryptic Command which while many argue is too slow for fish, it has won me many tournaments in my own Mono Blue Merfolk deck, so don't rule it out before trying it. The drawback of playing Mono Blue is that we don't have access to powerful removal like Path to Exile or control cards like Inquisition of Kozilek, because of this, Mono Blue fish has to compensate by using more counterspells such as Mana Leak, Deprive or whatever your own preference is.
The W/U version of Merfolk is arguably the strongest and by far, the most popular version of the deck in Modern, but why do we splash white? Well mostly for the main board Path to Exiles, however it does also provide us with many powerful sideboard cards, Thalia for control decks, Rest in Peace for Jund and many many more, in addition, Wanderwine Hub is ideal for the W/U variant and of course we add Flooded Strands and your choice of Seachrome Coast, Adarkar Wastes or Glacial Fortress, however our main reason for splashing White is simply for that added hate.
Similarly, the U/B version of the deck, while not nearly as popular, brings out it's own version of hate, cards like Thoughtseize, Inquisition of Kozilek and Shadow of Doubt (which CAN be played in other versions but never seems to be) can put a huge damper on other decks, why remove cards and give them land when you can just make sure they never hit the board in the first place? And Shadow of Doubt can waste their fetches, essentially strip mining them and can shut down combo decks like Amulet Bloom or any other deck that likes searching it's library. Is also allows the ever popular sideboard card, Dismember, to be cast without hurting our life as much late game and also allows us to run cards like Go for the Throat, Victim of Night or Doom Blade, if we just want extra removal.
Other cards to run?
All of the version of the decks posted above will still need more cards in the mainboard than what I mentioned, Vapor Snag, Mana Leak, Spell Snare and Cursecatcher, are all very popular options, however I do hear many arguments from people about which are the best.
Other lords to run vary everywhere from Phantasmal Image to copy a lord, to Merrow Reejeery for tapping cards out, to Merfolk Sovereign, all very strong options but all very dependent on your preference, I prefer the Phantasmal Images myself but that's just me.
Cursecatcher versus Cosi's Tricker?
This decision is ultimately dependent on your meta, are cards like Thoughtseize and Inquisition of Kozilek hitting you on turn one and taking your lords? Run the Cursecatchers, but if your meta relies on alot of searching and fetching, the Cosi's Trickster is likely the better choice for you.
Obscure or alternate cards to run?
Merfolk is highly customizable based on your preference, cards such as Sygg River Cutthroat, Thassa God of the Sea and Master of Waves can all be run depending on which you prefer and what you prefer dedicating the slot to, I'm a big fan of Sygg and Thassa but again, that's just me.
Did I miss anything? Please post your deck lists, opinions and ideas in the comments, I'd love to hear them
Merged with Merfolk primer
-ktkenshinx-
1x Bloodsoaked Champion
1x Diregraf Ghoul
1x Dragon Hunter
1x Figure of Destiny
1x Mardu Woe-Reaper
1x Soldier of the Pantheon
1x Vampire Lacerator
1x Vampire Hexmage
1x Kitchen Finks
1x Ojutai Exemplars
1x Archangel of Thune
1x Baneslayer Angel
1x Obzedat, Ghost Council
Planeswalker
1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor
1x Entomb
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Disenchant
Sorcery
1x Duress
1x Reanimate
1x Toxic Deluge
1x Vindicate
Enchantment
1x Bitterblossom
1x Banishing Light
Land
1x Caves of Koilos
1x City of Brass
1x Scrubland
8x Plains
6x Swamp
1x Animate Dead
1x Armageddon
1x Bane of the Living
1x Bonfire of the Damned
1x Chainer's Edict
1x Destructive Force
1x Goblin Guide
1x Midnight Haunting
1x Mother of Runes
1x Olivia Voldaren
1x Phyrexian Revoker
1x Porcelain Legionnaire
1x Sarkhan Unbroken
1x Soltari Champion
1x Steppe Lynx
1x Stratus Dancer
1x Tormented Hero
1x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
1x Wheel of Fortune
1x Doomed Traveler
1x Elite Vanguard
1x Jackal Pup
1x Cloistered Youth
1x Soltari Priest
1x Soltari Trooper
1x Young Pyromancer
1x Fire Imp
1x Hearthfire Hobgoblin
1x Kitchen Finks
1x Viashino Firstblade
1x Serra Angel
Instant
1x Brainstorm
1x Force Spike
1x Mana Leak
1x Searing Blaze
1x Turn // Burn
1x Electrolyze
1x Firebolt
1x Molten Rain
Enchantment
1x Journey to Nowhere
1x Pacifism
1x Oblivion Ring
Land
1x Izzet Guildgate
8x Plains
3x Island
5x Mountain
1x Accorder Paladin
1x Azorius Herald
1x Berserk
1x Bestial Menace
1x Dauthi Slayer
1x Faith's Fetters
1x Force of Will
1x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x Kami of Ancient Law
1x Knight of Meadowgrain
1x Mnemonic Wall
1x Mogg War Marshal
1x Mortarpod
1x Narcolepsy
1x Probe
1x Rift Bolt
1x Soltari Monk
1x Stonecloaker
1x Talrand's Invocation
1x Wall of Tanglecord
1x Willbender
I do feel like Thassa is doing very well, making draws better are so important to this deck because, as I'm sure you know, when you draw dead, you draw DEAD.
Cryptic Command I like quite alot and have only ever had issues casting it once.
Flashfreeze is perfect for Jund decks and sometimes Abzan, countering Tarmogoyf, Scavenging Ooze and Siege Rhino out right and I've even used it against Twin once to counter the Twin.
Kira/Skite in the sideboard is mostly a meta thing, for me, the counters are more useful game 1 however, your meta may need the anti targeting of the 2 in the main.
4x Cursecatcher
4x Lord of Atlantis
4x Master of the Pearl Trident
4x Merrow Reejerey
4x Silvergill Adept
1x Thassa, God of the Sea
Enchantment (4)
4x Spreading Seas
2x Cryptic Command
1x Mana Leak
4x Remand
3x Vapor Snag
Land (21)
2x Cavern of Souls
15x Island
4x Mutavault
4x AEther Vial
2x Dismember
2x Flashfreeze
2x Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
3x Spell Pierce
3x Spellskite
3x Swan Song
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Arcane Sanctum
1x Badlands
1x Bayou
1x Blood Crypt
1x Breeding Pool
1x Cavern of Souls
1x City of Brass
1x Command Tower
1x Crumbling Necropolis
1x Frontier Bivouac
1x Godless Shrine
1x Grove of the Burnwillows
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Jungle Shrine
1x Mana Confluence
1x Mystic Monastery
1x Nomad Outpost
1x Opulent Palace
1x Overgrown Tomb
1x Plateau
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Sandsteppe Citadel
1x Savage Lands
1x Savannah
1x Scrubland
1x Seaside Citadel
1x Steam Vents
1x Stomping Ground
1x Taiga
1x Temple Garden
1x Transguild Promenade
1x Tropical Island
1x Tundra
1x Underground Sea
1x Vesuva
1x Volcanic Island
1x Wasteland
1x Watery Grave
1x Atarka, World Render
1x Balefire Dragon
1x Bladewing the Risen
1x Broodmate Dragon
1x Dragon Broodmother
1x Dragon Tyrant
1x Dragonmaster Outcast
1x Dragonspeaker Shaman
1x Dromoka, the Eternal
1x Flameblast Dragon
1x Hellkite Overlord
1x Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund
1x Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury
1x Malfegor
1x Mana-Charged Dragon
1x Nicol Bolas
1x Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
1x Ojutai, Soul of Winter
1x Quicksilver Dragon
1x Scion of the Ur-Dragon
1x Scourge of Valkas
1x Silumgar, the Drifting Death
1x Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon
1x Steel Hellkite
1x Tek
1x Thundermaw Hellkite
1x Treva, the Renewer
1x Utvara Hellkite
Planeswalker (5)
1x Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
1x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
1x Sarkhan the Mad
1x Sarkhan Vol
1x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
1x Scion of the Ur-Dragon
Artifact (13)
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Coalition Relic
1x Door of Destinies
1x Eye of Ramos
1x Heart of Ramos
1x Horn of Ramos
1x Legacy Weapon
1x Mox Diamond
1x Obelisk of Urd
1x Skull of Ramos
1x Sol Ring
1x Tooth of Ramos
1x Urza's Incubator
Enchantment (7)
1x Citadel Siege
1x Crucible of Fire
1x Frontier Siege
1x Moat
1x Monastery Siege
1x Outpost Siege
1x Palace Siege
Instant (4)
1x Abrupt Decay
1x Counterspell
1x Dragonrage
1x Sphinx's Revelation
Sorcery (3)
1x Crux of Fate
1x Stitch in Time
1x Vindicate
4x Godless Shrine
4x Isolated Chapel
4x Marsh Flats
5x Plains
1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1x Vault of the Archangel
1x Windbrisk Heights
Instant (7)
4x Path to Exile
3x Raise the Alarm
2x Shrine of Loyal Legions
1x Whip of Erebos
Sorcery (14)
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
3x Lingering Souls
3x Spectral Procession
4x Thoughtseize
1x Ajani Goldmane
1x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
1x Elspeth Tirel
1x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Enchantment (6)
3x Bitterblossom
3x Intangible Virtue
Creature (6)
1x Archangel of Thune
3x Auriok Champion
2x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2x Celestial Dawn
3x Dismember
3x Duress
3x Ghost Quarter
1x Liliana of the Veil
3x Rest in Peace
3x Brimaz, King of Oreskos
2x Courser of Kruphix
4x Elvish Mystic
4x Fleecemane Lion
4x Goblin Rabblemaster
4x Stormbreath Dragon
4x Sylvan Caryatid
2x Banishing Light
Planeswalker (2)
2x Xenagos, the Reveler
Instant (8)
4x Lightning Strike
4x Magma Jet
Land (23)
4x Battlefield Forge
6x Forest
2x Mana Confluence
3x Mountain
4x Temple of Abandon
1x Temple of Plenty
1x Temple of Triumph
2x Wooded Foothills
4x Battlewise Hoplite
4x Eidolon of Countless Battles
4x Favored Hoplite
4x Hero of Iroas
4x Seeker of the Way
Enchantments:
4x Aqueous Form
4x Ordeal of Thassa
2x Stratus Walk
2x Ajani's Presence
4x Defiant Strike
4x Gods Willing
Lands:
2x Island
4x Mana Confluence
11x Plains
2x Temple of Enlightenment
1x Tranquil Cove
2x Erase
2x Glare of Heresy
2x Hopeful Eidolon
2x Oppressive Rays
3x Singing Bell Strike
4x Stubborn Denial
Comment your opinions!
*I feel the need to explain the sideboard a bit, I feel like, for this deck, Oppressive Rays and Singing Bell Strike are superior to Banishing Light and Suspension Field since both of them are Auras, with Hero of Iroas in play, the Singing Bell Stike costs only U to play and both of them help to power up a creature bestowed with Eidolon of Countless Battles where as Suspension Field and Banishing Light fail to do so.