After thinking about it and reading up on the storm mechanic, I've changed my mind on Flusterstorm. It may not be as format warping in Modern as it is in Legacy, but it's definitely gonna be a good sideboard answer to Control decks, Storm, and any other deck that simply relies on casting a lot of instants and sorceries (perhaps Burn, Infect, Pheonix, etc.) It may be a bit weak against Tron, Humans, Spirits, etc. since they don't rely on Instants and sorceries.
I actually didn't know that Storm counts your opponent's spells too. Xp lol
Honestly, I think it may be a bit situational. Firstly, it only targets instants and sorceries. Secondly, the fact that we are a deck that seeks to capitalize on Aether Vial, makes the storm mechanic awkward, since half of the spells we "use" don't even add to the storm count. The count will only really go above 1-2 in counter wars. I'd personally rather stick to a hard counter.
Granted, this opinion is without any testing. Just conjecture here. It does do solid work in Legacy, so testing is definitely in order at least.
Any opinions/tests on Ashiok? I'm really tempted to replace 1-2 relics with him.
I was debating it, but the fact that he costs 3 mana to exile the graveyard as opposed to 1 mana with Relic makes me really reluctant to give him a shot. But, he does provide search hate and devotion for Master of Waves, so there's that.
I currently play Merfolk as my go-to deck, but am looking for another deck to have in my back pocket in case I'm feeling something different. I enjoy creatures, grindy gameplay, and resource management. I am on a bit of a budget though.
What do you think about Eldrazi and Taxes? I know it also plays vial, but you do grind out games a bit more often than not.
It's not quite a budget deck, but there's definitely budget choices that you can make when you start out. I personally don't think this deck is all that strong, even if it does have some nut draws. But a friend has proven me wrong.
Private message me if you want me to let you know an outlet to get help for the deck. In Modern, the best thing to be doing is talking constantly to Modern specialists of a specific deck that have proven track records. Let me know. I'm sure he wouldn't mind.
Eldrazi and Taxes sounds like an interesting idea. I already have a few pieces of Death and Taxes set aside after experimenting with UW Merfolk (a couple Thalias, Restoration Angels, etc.) and I could just work my way to the Eldrazi version and more vials gradually. I'll do some testing on untap.in and see how I like it.
I currently play Merfolk as my go-to deck, but am looking for another deck to have in my back pocket in case I'm feeling something different. I enjoy creatures, grindy gameplay, and resource management. I am on a bit of a budget though.
Burn. I would say Spirits, but it's probably a bit too much.
I actually tried Spirits, but I found it to be too similar and I don't want to be bothered to buy another playset of vials. I tried burn, but I missed playing creatures.
I currently play Merfolk as my go-to deck, but am looking for another deck to have in my back pocket in case I'm feeling something different. I enjoy creatures, grindy gameplay, and resource management. I am on a bit of a budget though.
I've been trying to decide whether or not Benthic Biomancer is a card worthy of our attention. I saw some of the posts here and wrote him off initially. However, MerfolkJoe came out with a video comparing him to Thraben Inspector, a card that actually sees some play in some strategies, and the comparisons seem pretty sound to me. What do you guys think?
I went to a Modern event at my LGS this past Saturday with this list. There were 5 rounds of swiss with no cut to top 8. I believe there were at least 20-23 people there. I got 2nd place and went 4-1 overall. I wanted to try out Peek too, but I only have 2 copies right now. I also wanted to try some spicy tech in the sideboard in Mind bend.
This was his first Magic tournament. After the match, I gave him some tips as to what cards to look for to build the kind of deck he is looking to build. I basically told him to look for Blue and White control cards because I noticed that he could not interact with me much during these games.
Round 2 - UW Control (2-0)
Game 1: I raced him fairly well and by the time he had a creature on the board, a Celestial Colonnade, I had lethal on the board with Islandwalk.
Game 2: This one was close. I used Peek early on and saw that he had no countermagic in his hand on turn 3. So, I took the opportunity to hit fast and hard. However, he used the two Opts in his hand to draw into some removal and a Supreme Verdict. It came down to him tapping out for a Lyra Dawnbringer and when my turn came around, he Snapcaster + Pathed the only lord I had. Luckily, I topdecked another Lord immediately afterward and won the game. He admitted for going for the flashy play instead of the pragmatic one because he could have played Snap + Supreme Verdict if he had not casted Lyra.
Round 3 - Affinity (2-0)
Game 1: He ran out of gas and couldn't finish me off fast enough before I reached a critical mass of creatures.
Round 4 - Dredge (0-2)...it was bad...it was really bad. lol
Game 1: He won on turn 3. There was nothing I could do.
Game 2: I countered most of his early card draw and discard outlets. However, he used Ghost Quarter on his Dakmoor Salvage and began to accrue more card advantage landing 3 Narcomebas on one hit along with a Bloodghast. It was hard to catch up on board after that.
I definitely learned the importance of having graveyard hate in the sideboard. I had never faced a deck like Dredge at the shop before and I could do nothing to stop it. I traded somebody for 3 Relic of Progenitus immediately after the tournament. lol.
Round 5: Boros Burn (2-1)
Game 1: He opened more burn than I did creatures. It was fast and brutal.
Game 2: I locked him out of most of his lands with Spreading Seas. He could not cast most of his hand.
Game 3: I managed to bait out a lot of his direct damage with early creatures. After landing a few lords and using a Mutavault, I managed to eek out a win.
A couple of takeaways...
1.)Mind Bend did not do much of anything. Granted, in theory, it is an instant speed Sea's Claim that can protect Master of Waves from nonred removal. But, that did not come up enough to use it in anything but a cheeky Seas build. Perhaps in metagames where such situations pop up more it can show some promise, but it wasn't any better than Sea's Claim here.
2.) Next time, there will be Relic of Progenitus'es in my sideboard. Should I run 2 or 3?
3.) I like Peek the most when I have a board and just need to know when I can go in. Do you guys like it better as a playset or as a 2-3? I'm just not sure if I should invest in the other 2.
I had fun though and managed to win 3 Windswept Heaths and a Deck box. Though, the guy in 3rd won a Flooded Strand, but he traded me that and five dollars for 2 of the Heaths I won. It was a charity event too, so all of the proceeds went to the local Children's Hospital. I got to rep fish and donate to a good cause. Feelsgoodman
I'd like to see a sort of Silvergill Adept-like Spirit. Maybe something like this...
Spectral Seer
W
Creature - Spirit
Flying
When you cast Spectral Seer, if you don't control a spirit, pay an additional 2. When Spectral Seer enters the battlefield, draw a card.
1/1
I just picked up spirits a couple of weeks ago after getting the new lord. Yesterday was my first FNM with the deck. I went 2-1 in matches with 3 rounds.
The following decks were represented...
Grixis Delver
RB Hollow One
Storm
Affinity
Tron
Soul Sisters
Grixis Control
Polluted Deltas are the only fetches I have at the moment. I plan on getting some Flooded Strands as soon as I can.
Round 1: Storm 2-1
G1: He went off on turn 3 with Baral, Chief of Compliance. I couldn't swarm in and beat down fast enough.
G2: He whiffed on the combo and I started with Vial and drew into more Lords
G3: He started with Goblin Electromancer, but I played Thalia. He also tried to Grapeshot it twice, but I Spell Quellered it both times.
Round 2: Affinity 2-1
G1: He dumped his hand on the board, I couldn't keep up at all. We both mulliganed and I kept a one lander.
G2: He mulled to five, but I opened Vial and Supreme Phantoms. He couldn't swing into me.
G3: He mulled again. I opened Nebelghast Herald and kept his board tapped down.
Round 3: RB Hollow One 1-2
G1: He dropped a Hollow One on turn 1, Flamewake Pheonix on turn 2, and a Gurmag Angler on Turn 4. I couldn't keep up with that.
G2: I countered the first 3 card draw spells he played (two Faithless Looting and a Goblin Lore). Then I used Mausoleum Wanderer to make him pay 6 to flashback one of the faithless looting. He couldn't really do anything to catch up after that.
G3: I opened a decent hand, but his Burning Inquiry stripped my hand of all my blue sources. I didn't draw another for the rest of the game...it felt pretty bad. lol
Overall I really like the deck so far. I also play Merfolk and the deck feels similar.
One suggestion I would make for your sideboard is Gut Shot. It works wonders against tiny creature decks. Glistener Elf, Delver of Secrets, Inkmoth Nexus, Wild Nacatl, Rattlechains, and Champion of the Parish are some important things that it hits off the top of my head. It also helps us trade more profitably with other creatures too and can serve as a last bit of reach to seal the deal. I ran 4 last fnm and did not regret it one bit. Fantastic card, that one.
FNM Report. I just went with a stock Mono Blue List after making some changes to the sideboard. In terms of matches, I went undefeated. The following decks were represented...
Standard Grixis Improvise (He didn't get to come to Standard FNM last week so he was like, "Screw it. I'm playing this deck one way or another!" lol)
Mono Black Devotion
UB Faeries
Grixis Delver
Jund
UW Control
UB Mill
UW Spirits
Elves
UG Infect
UR Wizards
Game 1: I mulled to 6. He outraced me on the board. Also, I kept punting with his Kira, Great Glass-Spinner. I accidentally kept trying to target his creatures with Trickster and Harbinger. I really felt like a dummy afterwards. lol.
Game 2: I didn't have to mull, but I won this one by just playing around his spirits better. Started with an Aether Vial too and capitalized on using that to avoid Spell Queller. I outmuscled him with more lords.
Game 3: Same as before, but I opened double Vial! It felt great, man. lol
Match 2: Grixis Delver (2-1)
Game 1: He swung with Delver of Secrets on his turn 2, so I used Harbinger to Bounce back to hand. From there, I just used Vial to out-tempo him.
Game 2: This was a very grindy game. Bringing in the Gut Shots, Echoing Truths, and Counterspells really helped me stay in. It got to the point where we were both topdecking and he drew into more threats while I drew into lands and Vials.
Game 3: He had to mulligan for land and opened a 1 Island hand. I beat down as fast as I could, opening 3 Islandwalk lords.
Match 3: Standard Grixis Improvise (2-1)
His deck utilizes cheap artifacts, Tezzeret Planeswalkers, and Herald of Anguish
Game 1: Using Spreading Seas I cut him off of Black and Red and beat down with creatures.
Game 2: I didn't realize he was playing a standard deck until I saw more dual lands, so I had sided out Seas. He managed to pick off my creatures when I didn't have counterspells in hand and I topdecked a bunch of lands.
Game 3: This was another grindy game. I managed to ride a Mutavault to victory, playing around his removal while holding up mana for counterspells. I didn't let a Tezzeret stick to the board either. It took a while, but I did it. lol.
Match 4: UG Infect (2-0)
Game 1: He had to mull to 5. He opened with 2 Inkmoth Nexus. After trying to swing with it, I used Merfolk Trickster to kill it. He scooped a couple of turns after that.
Game 2: He had to mulligan to 6. But, he drew into a Glistener Elf and a Viridian Corrupter. However, I was able to chump with Multavaults until I topdecked a Tidebinder Mage and a Phantasmal Image, tapping both down permanently. Gut Shot also killed an Inkmoth Nexus.
A couple of observations...
1.)I'm really glad I brought back Cursecatcher. Having another Turn 1 play that can be both aggressive and defensive felt great. Also having something to play with a Vial on 1 was nice. This definitely sped up my clock a little more.
2.)I really like Gut Shot. I was speculating that I was going to run into a lot of tiny creature decks, (ie Burn, Delver, Infect, Zoo, etc.). Thankfully, I was right on the money. It caught some people off guard too.
Is vial all that necessary? I watched nikachu’s budger deck tech and he said something along the lines of we side vial our against a lot of decks. I’ve won most of my matches without vials, granted I’m playing other tier 2 and lower decks.
In my current tropical fish build, what do I remove for coco? I posted it on the last page. I’m not having much trouble with it, but I’m interested in making it better without vials
Aether Vial is what pushes our deck over the top. Simply playing a bunch of 2/2 creatures that happen to share a creature type using only regular mana won't be enough against a lot of other competitive decks (especially these days when the format is becoming increasingly faster with Humans, Hollow One, Bridgevine, Spritis, etc. taking center stage).
It does this in three ways...
1.)It allows us to play 2 spells a turn starting on turn 3. Normally, a starting hand with a bunch of 2cmc lords, a counterspell, and some land is a very clunky hand. You'd have to wait until at least turn 4 to start playing more than 1 spell a turn. That 1 turn difference can lose you out on a lot of damage in the long run.
2.)It allows us to cheat on colors without costing us a lot of life. A lot of multicolored decks in modern are inherently balanced by having to start at basically 17-15 life to get their mana up. Because we run Aether Vial, we don't have to worry about that as much in any sort of two color variant. Using vial, I haven't bought Fetchlands yet and I honestly don't think I need them since I only play at the FNM level (but I will buy them eventually for optimization purposes. Never know when a PPTQ may pop up at the shop).
3.)It allows us to be an aggro deck with an amazing tempo plan. Aether Vial makes cards like Silvergill Adept, Harbinger of the Tides, and all our Lords even better by giving them, "Flash. This spell can't be countered.", effectively turning them into forms of instant speed interaction and card advantage. This is impossible without the Vials. This is expanded more in the primer on the first page if you feel so inclined. It explains it better than I probably could.
Yes, it is the most pricey card in the deck, but for good reason. It is what makes our deck as competitive as it is. Even if all of our creatures had flash, I may still run it in multicolor builds and for the uncounterability benefits. Not to mention, if you ever tire of Merfolk (*gasp* I know preposterous, right? lol) Aether Vial is played in a ton of other decks like Spirits, Humans, Death and Taxes, Hatebears, etc and is a fun brew around card (I personally plan to try it out in a ton of other low curve tribes (Modern Vial Pirates anyone? lol).
If you can't afford it, that's fine. Just save up for it over time or trade stuff off that you don't need for it. I used to play both Infect and Burn. Between those two decks, A friend of mine traded me a couple of Vials for them and was happy with it. But, it is really well worth the investment.
We had 7 people show. The following decks were represented...
2 Merfolk Decks (Me and the same guy as last time)
5-Color Dragons
Tron
Grixis Delver
Mardu Burn
Mono Red Burn
Round 1: Mardu Burn 1-2
Game 1: I used Spreading Seas on his only Sacred Foundry after he had used all of his fetchlands but before he casted any of his white costed stuff in hand. I was able to play some lords and Master of Waves and beat face
I sided in as such...
+3 Tidebinder Mage
-2 Harbinger of the Tides
-1 Merrow Reejerey
Game 2: I almost won. I used Spell Queller on a couple of earlier spells to stem bleeding. I was able to catch up on board, but he played Rakdos Charm from his sideboard using the "Each creature deals 1 dmg to its controller" mode. It was worse because I played Master of Waves right before it.
Game 3: This game really highlighted one of the weaknesses of Spell Queller: Opening hands with multiples of this are really bad. Perhaps I should've played them out earlier, but I wanted to save them to counter things, especially Rakdos Charm later in the game. I probably should've taken a mulligan.
I got a by round 2.
Round 3: 5-Color Dragons 2-0
Basically his deck was a five color ramp deck seeking to use mana dorks to ramp into dragons. Shaman of the Forgotten Ways is an alternate win condition.
Games 1 and 2: Most of his lands were the tri color taplands from Khans, so I was able to build a board much faster and win.
I also had a quick practice round with the Mono Red Burn Guy before the event started. I didn't take detailed notes, as I didn't even know the event was going to fire because some of the players hadn't showed yet. But Spell Queller did put in some work here. Being able to counter the last burn spell he had in hand and create a faster clock rather than just countering the spell was really good for going for the kill before he drew another bolt and finished the job. (Quelling Shard Volley felt even better because he still had to sacrifice a land as part of the cost.)
After tonight I've made a few more observations about Queller.
1.)Spell Queller is easy for your opponent to play around if they know about it, especially if Aether Vial is kept on 3. Running regular counterspells aren't as easily telegraphed because they don't require a specific mana setup (1UW). I could have two Islands and a Vial on 2 open and be presenting a number of different answers (Deprive, Trickster, Spell Pierce, etc.).
2.)Spell Queller is a very reactive card that encourages a player to react to the opponent's board state. Typically, Merfolk wants to be an aggressive deck. Opening a hand with Spell Quellers instead of a bunch of Merfolk is really bad because it doesn't lend itself well to the aggro plan (or maybe I should've just played them out, but it just felt like I should've mulliganed). I think this is going to highlight one of the main differences between Spirits and Merfolk as tribes: Merfolk can be more aggressive, as its creatures grow bigger faster with the larger density of lords. Spirits is more reactive because most of them have high utility but a low Power compared to toughness and flash encourages play on your opponent's turn.
I've tested this card for a few weeks and it's...meh. It has glaring weaknesses, but I think it can work. Definitley run less than 4 though. Opening with more than 1-2 sucks. It's probably better as a 2-3 of in the utility slots. Also, I haven't tried it in the sideboard, so that is something to consider.
I actually didn't know that Storm counts your opponent's spells too. Xp lol
Now if it only didn't cost $30+ per copy...
Honestly, I think it may be a bit situational. Firstly, it only targets instants and sorceries. Secondly, the fact that we are a deck that seeks to capitalize on Aether Vial, makes the storm mechanic awkward, since half of the spells we "use" don't even add to the storm count. The count will only really go above 1-2 in counter wars. I'd personally rather stick to a hard counter.
Granted, this opinion is without any testing. Just conjecture here. It does do solid work in Legacy, so testing is definitely in order at least.
I was debating it, but the fact that he costs 3 mana to exile the graveyard as opposed to 1 mana with Relic makes me really reluctant to give him a shot. But, he does provide search hate and devotion for Master of Waves, so there's that.
Eldrazi and Taxes sounds like an interesting idea. I already have a few pieces of Death and Taxes set aside after experimenting with UW Merfolk (a couple Thalias, Restoration Angels, etc.) and I could just work my way to the Eldrazi version and more vials gradually. I'll do some testing on untap.in and see how I like it.
Thanks a lot!
I actually tried Spirits, but I found it to be too similar and I don't want to be bothered to buy another playset of vials. I tried burn, but I missed playing creatures.
MerfolkJoe's video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_BKg3muCKI
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
2 Merrow Reejerey
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Merfolk Trickster
4 Cursecatcher
4 Master of Waves
2 Phantasmal Image
4 Aether Vial
4 Spreading Seas
2 Peek
2 Deprive
Land:
3 Mutavault
4 Wanderwine Hub
2 Hinterland Harbor
11 Island
2 Deprive
4 Gut Shot
2 Echoing Truth
2 Tidebinder Mage
3 Mind Bend
2 Spell Pierce
Round 1 - UW Angels (2-0)
This was his first Magic tournament. After the match, I gave him some tips as to what cards to look for to build the kind of deck he is looking to build. I basically told him to look for Blue and White control cards because I noticed that he could not interact with me much during these games.
Round 2 - UW Control (2-0)
Game 1: I raced him fairly well and by the time he had a creature on the board, a Celestial Colonnade, I had lethal on the board with Islandwalk.
Game 2: This one was close. I used Peek early on and saw that he had no countermagic in his hand on turn 3. So, I took the opportunity to hit fast and hard. However, he used the two Opts in his hand to draw into some removal and a Supreme Verdict. It came down to him tapping out for a Lyra Dawnbringer and when my turn came around, he Snapcaster + Pathed the only lord I had. Luckily, I topdecked another Lord immediately afterward and won the game. He admitted for going for the flashy play instead of the pragmatic one because he could have played Snap + Supreme Verdict if he had not casted Lyra.
Round 3 - Affinity (2-0)
Game 1: He ran out of gas and couldn't finish me off fast enough before I reached a critical mass of creatures.
Game 2: I used Gut Shot to kill his turn 1 Signal Pest I used Echoing Truth to bounce his turn 2 Steel Overseer. I managed to stay ahead on board for the rest of the game.
Round 4 - Dredge (0-2)...it was bad...it was really bad. lol
Game 1: He won on turn 3. There was nothing I could do.
Game 2: I countered most of his early card draw and discard outlets. However, he used Ghost Quarter on his Dakmoor Salvage and began to accrue more card advantage landing 3 Narcomebas on one hit along with a Bloodghast. It was hard to catch up on board after that.
I definitely learned the importance of having graveyard hate in the sideboard. I had never faced a deck like Dredge at the shop before and I could do nothing to stop it. I traded somebody for 3 Relic of Progenitus immediately after the tournament. lol.
Round 5: Boros Burn (2-1)
Game 1: He opened more burn than I did creatures. It was fast and brutal.
Game 2: I locked him out of most of his lands with Spreading Seas. He could not cast most of his hand.
Game 3: I managed to bait out a lot of his direct damage with early creatures. After landing a few lords and using a Mutavault, I managed to eek out a win.
A couple of takeaways...
1.)Mind Bend did not do much of anything. Granted, in theory, it is an instant speed Sea's Claim that can protect Master of Waves from nonred removal. But, that did not come up enough to use it in anything but a cheeky Seas build. Perhaps in metagames where such situations pop up more it can show some promise, but it wasn't any better than Sea's Claim here.
2.) Next time, there will be Relic of Progenitus'es in my sideboard. Should I run 2 or 3?
3.) I like Peek the most when I have a board and just need to know when I can go in. Do you guys like it better as a playset or as a 2-3? I'm just not sure if I should invest in the other 2.
I had fun though and managed to win 3 Windswept Heaths and a Deck box. Though, the guy in 3rd won a Flooded Strand, but he traded me that and five dollars for 2 of the Heaths I won. It was a charity event too, so all of the proceeds went to the local Children's Hospital. I got to rep fish and donate to a good cause. Feelsgoodman
Spectral Seer
W
Creature - Spirit
Flying
When you cast Spectral Seer, if you don't control a spirit, pay an additional 2. When Spectral Seer enters the battlefield, draw a card.
1/1
The following decks were represented...
Grixis Delver
RB Hollow One
Storm
Affinity
Tron
Soul Sisters
Grixis Control
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Supreme Phantom
4 Drogskol Captain
4 Rattlechains
4 Selfless Spirit
4 Spell Queller
2 Nebelgast Herald
2 Geist of Saint Traft
2 Phantasmal Image
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
4 Aether Vial
2 Midnight Haunting
2 Smuggler's Copter
Lands:
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Polluted Delta
1 Glacial Fortress
3 Mutavault
8 Island
5 Plains
4 Gut Shot
3 Spell Pierce
1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
1 Aegis of the Gods
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
2 Echoing Truth
2 Nebelghast Herald
Polluted Deltas are the only fetches I have at the moment. I plan on getting some Flooded Strands as soon as I can.
Round 1: Storm 2-1
G1: He went off on turn 3 with Baral, Chief of Compliance. I couldn't swarm in and beat down fast enough.
G2: He whiffed on the combo and I started with Vial and drew into more Lords
G3: He started with Goblin Electromancer, but I played Thalia. He also tried to Grapeshot it twice, but I Spell Quellered it both times.
Round 2: Affinity 2-1
G1: He dumped his hand on the board, I couldn't keep up at all. We both mulliganed and I kept a one lander.
G2: He mulled to five, but I opened Vial and Supreme Phantoms. He couldn't swing into me.
G3: He mulled again. I opened Nebelghast Herald and kept his board tapped down.
Round 3: RB Hollow One 1-2
G1: He dropped a Hollow One on turn 1, Flamewake Pheonix on turn 2, and a Gurmag Angler on Turn 4. I couldn't keep up with that.
G2: I countered the first 3 card draw spells he played (two Faithless Looting and a Goblin Lore). Then I used Mausoleum Wanderer to make him pay 6 to flashback one of the faithless looting. He couldn't really do anything to catch up after that.
G3: I opened a decent hand, but his Burning Inquiry stripped my hand of all my blue sources. I didn't draw another for the rest of the game...it felt pretty bad. lol
Overall I really like the deck so far. I also play Merfolk and the deck feels similar.
Standard Grixis Improvise (He didn't get to come to Standard FNM last week so he was like, "Screw it. I'm playing this deck one way or another!" lol)
Mono Black Devotion
UB Faeries
Grixis Delver
Jund
UW Control
UB Mill
UW Spirits
Elves
UG Infect
UR Wizards
4 Cursecatcher
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
3 Merrow Reejerey
2 Phantasmal Image
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Merfolk Trickster
3 Harbinger of the Tides
4 Master of Waves
4 Aether Vial
4 Spreading Seas
Land:
3 Mutavault
4 Wanderwine Hub
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Glacial Fortress
11 Islands
4 Gut Shot
4 Deprive
3 Spell Pierce
2 Echoing Truth
2 Tidebinder Mage
Match 1: UW Spirits (2-1)
Game 1: I mulled to 6. He outraced me on the board. Also, I kept punting with his Kira, Great Glass-Spinner. I accidentally kept trying to target his creatures with Trickster and Harbinger. I really felt like a dummy afterwards. lol.
Game 2: I didn't have to mull, but I won this one by just playing around his spirits better. Started with an Aether Vial too and capitalized on using that to avoid Spell Queller. I outmuscled him with more lords.
Game 3: Same as before, but I opened double Vial! It felt great, man. lol
Match 2: Grixis Delver (2-1)
Game 1: He swung with Delver of Secrets on his turn 2, so I used Harbinger to Bounce back to hand. From there, I just used Vial to out-tempo him.
Game 2: This was a very grindy game. Bringing in the Gut Shots, Echoing Truths, and Counterspells really helped me stay in. It got to the point where we were both topdecking and he drew into more threats while I drew into lands and Vials.
Game 3: He had to mulligan for land and opened a 1 Island hand. I beat down as fast as I could, opening 3 Islandwalk lords.
Match 3: Standard Grixis Improvise (2-1)
His deck utilizes cheap artifacts, Tezzeret Planeswalkers, and Herald of Anguish
Game 1: Using Spreading Seas I cut him off of Black and Red and beat down with creatures.
Game 2: I didn't realize he was playing a standard deck until I saw more dual lands, so I had sided out Seas. He managed to pick off my creatures when I didn't have counterspells in hand and I topdecked a bunch of lands.
Game 3: This was another grindy game. I managed to ride a Mutavault to victory, playing around his removal while holding up mana for counterspells. I didn't let a Tezzeret stick to the board either. It took a while, but I did it. lol.
Match 4: UG Infect (2-0)
Game 1: He had to mull to 5. He opened with 2 Inkmoth Nexus. After trying to swing with it, I used Merfolk Trickster to kill it. He scooped a couple of turns after that.
Game 2: He had to mulligan to 6. But, he drew into a Glistener Elf and a Viridian Corrupter. However, I was able to chump with Multavaults until I topdecked a Tidebinder Mage and a Phantasmal Image, tapping both down permanently. Gut Shot also killed an Inkmoth Nexus.
A couple of observations...
1.)I'm really glad I brought back Cursecatcher. Having another Turn 1 play that can be both aggressive and defensive felt great. Also having something to play with a Vial on 1 was nice. This definitely sped up my clock a little more.
2.)I really like Gut Shot. I was speculating that I was going to run into a lot of tiny creature decks, (ie Burn, Delver, Infect, Zoo, etc.). Thankfully, I was right on the money. It caught some people off guard too.
Aether Vial is what pushes our deck over the top. Simply playing a bunch of 2/2 creatures that happen to share a creature type using only regular mana won't be enough against a lot of other competitive decks (especially these days when the format is becoming increasingly faster with Humans, Hollow One, Bridgevine, Spritis, etc. taking center stage).
It does this in three ways...
1.)It allows us to play 2 spells a turn starting on turn 3. Normally, a starting hand with a bunch of 2cmc lords, a counterspell, and some land is a very clunky hand. You'd have to wait until at least turn 4 to start playing more than 1 spell a turn. That 1 turn difference can lose you out on a lot of damage in the long run.
2.)It allows us to cheat on colors without costing us a lot of life. A lot of multicolored decks in modern are inherently balanced by having to start at basically 17-15 life to get their mana up. Because we run Aether Vial, we don't have to worry about that as much in any sort of two color variant. Using vial, I haven't bought Fetchlands yet and I honestly don't think I need them since I only play at the FNM level (but I will buy them eventually for optimization purposes. Never know when a PPTQ may pop up at the shop).
3.)It allows us to be an aggro deck with an amazing tempo plan. Aether Vial makes cards like Silvergill Adept, Harbinger of the Tides, and all our Lords even better by giving them, "Flash. This spell can't be countered.", effectively turning them into forms of instant speed interaction and card advantage. This is impossible without the Vials. This is expanded more in the primer on the first page if you feel so inclined. It explains it better than I probably could.
Yes, it is the most pricey card in the deck, but for good reason. It is what makes our deck as competitive as it is. Even if all of our creatures had flash, I may still run it in multicolor builds and for the uncounterability benefits. Not to mention, if you ever tire of Merfolk (*gasp* I know preposterous, right? lol) Aether Vial is played in a ton of other decks like Spirits, Humans, Death and Taxes, Hatebears, etc and is a fun brew around card (I personally plan to try it out in a ton of other low curve tribes (Modern Vial Pirates anyone? lol).
If you can't afford it, that's fine. Just save up for it over time or trade stuff off that you don't need for it. I used to play both Infect and Burn. Between those two decks, A friend of mine traded me a couple of Vials for them and was happy with it. But, it is really well worth the investment.
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
3 Merrow Reejerey
2 Phantasmal Image
2 Harbinger of the Tides
4 Silvergill Adept
3 Merfolk Trickster
4 Master of Waves
4 Spell Queller
4 Aether Vial
4 Spreading Seas
2 Spell Pierce
Lands:
3 Mutavault
4 Wanderwine Hub
2 Port Town
1 Glacial Fortress
2 Hallowed Fountain
8 Island
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
3 Tidebinder Mage
3 Ceremonious Rejection
2 Dismember
2 Echoing Truth
4 Deprive
We had 7 people show. The following decks were represented...
2 Merfolk Decks (Me and the same guy as last time)
5-Color Dragons
Tron
Grixis Delver
Mardu Burn
Mono Red Burn
Round 1: Mardu Burn 1-2
Game 1: I used Spreading Seas on his only Sacred Foundry after he had used all of his fetchlands but before he casted any of his white costed stuff in hand. I was able to play some lords and Master of Waves and beat face
I sided in as such...
+3 Tidebinder Mage
-2 Harbinger of the Tides
-1 Merrow Reejerey
Game 2: I almost won. I used Spell Queller on a couple of earlier spells to stem bleeding. I was able to catch up on board, but he played Rakdos Charm from his sideboard using the "Each creature deals 1 dmg to its controller" mode. It was worse because I played Master of Waves right before it.
Game 3: This game really highlighted one of the weaknesses of Spell Queller: Opening hands with multiples of this are really bad. Perhaps I should've played them out earlier, but I wanted to save them to counter things, especially Rakdos Charm later in the game. I probably should've taken a mulligan.
I got a by round 2.
Round 3: 5-Color Dragons 2-0
Basically his deck was a five color ramp deck seeking to use mana dorks to ramp into dragons. Shaman of the Forgotten Ways is an alternate win condition.
Games 1 and 2: Most of his lands were the tri color taplands from Khans, so I was able to build a board much faster and win.
I also had a quick practice round with the Mono Red Burn Guy before the event started. I didn't take detailed notes, as I didn't even know the event was going to fire because some of the players hadn't showed yet. But Spell Queller did put in some work here. Being able to counter the last burn spell he had in hand and create a faster clock rather than just countering the spell was really good for going for the kill before he drew another bolt and finished the job. (Quelling Shard Volley felt even better because he still had to sacrifice a land as part of the cost.)
After tonight I've made a few more observations about Queller.
1.)Spell Queller is easy for your opponent to play around if they know about it, especially if Aether Vial is kept on 3. Running regular counterspells aren't as easily telegraphed because they don't require a specific mana setup (1UW). I could have two Islands and a Vial on 2 open and be presenting a number of different answers (Deprive, Trickster, Spell Pierce, etc.).
2.)Spell Queller is a very reactive card that encourages a player to react to the opponent's board state. Typically, Merfolk wants to be an aggressive deck. Opening a hand with Spell Quellers instead of a bunch of Merfolk is really bad because it doesn't lend itself well to the aggro plan (or maybe I should've just played them out, but it just felt like I should've mulliganed). I think this is going to highlight one of the main differences between Spirits and Merfolk as tribes: Merfolk can be more aggressive, as its creatures grow bigger faster with the larger density of lords. Spirits is more reactive because most of them have high utility but a low Power compared to toughness and flash encourages play on your opponent's turn.
I've tested this card for a few weeks and it's...meh. It has glaring weaknesses, but I think it can work. Definitley run less than 4 though. Opening with more than 1-2 sucks. It's probably better as a 2-3 of in the utility slots. Also, I haven't tried it in the sideboard, so that is something to consider.