Matchups and Sideboarding:
This section will describe some of the more common named decks in the current Modern metagame, and how Merfolk matches up against them. It will also contain suggestions on good cards to sideboard in or out during the match. All of the recommendations will be made with mono- Merfolk in mind, as that is the most competitive variant of the deck.
Established:
Affinity (Hardened Scales)
General Impression: Bad matchup
Synopsis: What makes this matchup tough are that they have a wide variety of haymakers that can escalate things out of control. Walking Ballista can both threaten our life total and keep the board clean, whereas Steel Overseer or Arcbound Ravager can get out of hand with even a small amount of support. Pair them with even a single Hardened Scales or Animation Module, and the snowball gets too hard to stop. I have found that the best chance we have in the matchup is to prioritize interacting with them early and often, as opposed to developing our own board, and then transitioning into creature beatdown when they get low on threats. Counterspells come up bigger here than they do for other Affinity variants, as this deck often spends its first turns in setup mode. Catching a Ballista or Ravager coming in can sometimes be the difference between winning and losing.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Hurkyl's Recall, Venser, Shaper Savant), combo hate (Pithing Needle, Sorcerous Spyglass), countermagic (Ceremonious Rejection, Chalice of the Void), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique, removal (Dismember, Gut Shot).
Side out: Slow haymakers (Master of Waves), small value creatures (Benthic Biomancer).
Affinity (Traditional)
General Impression: Bad matchup
Synopsis: A tough matchup, in part because they feature many flyers that are tough for us to block, as well as ways to pump them. Getting the likes of Harbinger of the Tides and Merfolk Trickster to slow down Arcbound Ravager, Cranial Plating, Steel Overseer, and even Signal Pest is critical to success in this matchup, as is turning the corner quickly once you have stemmed the initial rush. They will try to dump their hand onto the battlefield quickly, so make sure that your interactive spells are cheap and efficient. One thing to watch out for is postboard ping effects and sweepers along the lines of Ghirapur Aether Grid and Whipflare, so try to get your guys out of range (or don't commit that much to the board).
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Hurkyl's Recall), combo hate (Pithing Needle, Sorcerous Spyglass), countermagic (Ceremonious Rejection, Chalice of the Void), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique, removal (Dismember, Gut Shot).
Side out: Counterspells (Deprive, Spell Pierce), slow haymakers (Master of Waves), small value creatures (Benthic Biomancer).
Bogles
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: This matchup is often tough in Game 1, as many Merfolk maindecks aren't well suited to interacting with enchantments and hexproof creatures. The good news is that (depending on the contents of your sideboard) the post-board games get significantly easier, once you can actually interact with their enchantments. A thing to note is that Daybreak Coronet can effectively be countered if you can deal with the other Auras on the creature while it is on the stack, which means that the likes of Echoing Truth come up big here. Dedicated hosers like Chalice of the Void and Spellskite are also very strong, as is putting a lid on their white mana with Spreading Seas. If you can scratch together enough disruption, Merfolk has a quick and evasive clock to put the game away.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Chalice of the Void, Negate, Spell Pierce), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), land hate (Sea's Claim), redirect effects (Spellskite).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Burn
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: Defense is the name of the game here. They're going to come out fast and furious with cheap creatures and burn spells, so your job is to preserve your life total as much as you can until you can turn the corner. Countermagic on their burn spells is generally very good (especially on effects that target both your creatures and you, like Searing Blaze or Searing Blood), Merfolk Trickster and Harbinger of the Tides (mostly when backed up by an Aether Vial) can buy time and provide bodies to either attack or trade with, Silvergill Adept trades with any creature on their side while also drawing you a card, and Master of Waves is your midgame haymaker that you're usually trying to work towards. If you are on the play or if they have a land-light hand, Spreading Seas can slow them down signifcantly and sometimes even lock them out of casting spells. Some final notes: Burn pilots occasionally play Ensnaring Bridge in their sideboard, so side in some nonland permanent bounce effects if you see it played against you. Also, be careful about blocking with Master of Waves postboard without countermagic backup: Skullcrack turns off protection's damage prevention effect.
Side in: Countermagic (Chalice of the Void, Dispel, Negate, Spell Pierce), land hate (Sea's Claim), redirect effects (Spellskite), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Value cards (Benthic Biomancer), sorcery-speed bounce (Harbinger of the Tides).
Death & Taxes ()
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: This Vial deck invests a lot of resources in messing with opponents' noncreature spells with effects like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and lands with the Leonin Arbiter + Ghost Quarter 1-2 punch; unfortunately for them, Merfolk is extremely resilient to being attacked on both of those fronts. Furthermore, our creatures outmuscle theirs pretty readily when backed up by a Lord effect or two. The only real way you can run into trouble is if they manage to wall you off with Thalia and Blade Splicer effects and chip you to death with flyers like Flickerwisp and Restoration Angel. To avoid that, save your Tricksters for buying time or outright sniping flyers out of the sky. You can also potentially Harbinger them back if giving them a re-do on their enter-the-battlefield effects doesn't put you in too bad a spot. You can also use Seas effects to waltz past their blockers and crash in for the damage you need to race. Overall, this is a matchup that rewards tight play (and starting with a turn 1 Aether Vial), but more often than not we have the edge.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), removal (Dismember, Gut Shot).
Side out: Countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation).
Dredgevine
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: This deck is capable of some very explosive starts that can beat more or less anything, but the average hand is something you can handle, provided you draw the right mix of disruption (namely Harbinger of the Tides and Merfolk Trickster) and pressure. Master of Waves is generally a big help in this matchup, as they have few ways of removing it and it provides a large board to turn the corner with. This deck uses its graveyard quite extensively, so postboard hate will come in very handy. If you are in Game 1 or have not found your hate, you may want to have one of your Merfolk take one for the team in order to exile Bridge from Below and keep their Zombie-generating shenanigans (via Viscera Seer and/or Greater Gargadon) in check. Last but not least, watch out for a Goblin Bushwhacker putting out a bigger board than what you were equipped to handle.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth), countermagic (Chalice of the Void), graveyard hate (Grafdigger's Cage, Relic of Progenitus).
Side out: Countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation), small value creatures (Benthic Biomancer).
Eldrazi & Taxes ()
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: Unlike its mono-colored cousin, this deck possesses the right mix of hand disruption (Tidehollow Sculler and Thought-Knot Seer) and removal (Fatal Push, Path to Exile, and Wasteland Strangler) to actually pick apart your board synergies and clock you if left unperturbed. However, it's usually a bit of a slow starter, so stacking Lords and putting lots of boots on the ground can sometimes put them in situations where they are too far behind to come back. Alternatively, their manabase is pretty gnarly (this is effectively a 3-color deck without fetchlands), which means that a Spreading Seas on the right land can hurt them pretty badly. Master of Waves allowing you to go super wide to break board stalls can also be a big help, provided you can keep it on the battlefield. As usual in Vial pseudo-mirrors, getting the namesake artifact in your opener is a plus, and countermagic is generally unreliable.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), redirect effects (Spellskite), removal (Dismember).
Side out: Countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation).
Elves ()
General Impression: Bad matchup
Synopsis: No sugarcoating it; this is a tough matchup. In order to have a chance, you need to keep their board from spiraling out of control by putting the clamps on their big mana producers (Elvish Archdruid and Heritage Druid) while effectively clocking them with a Lord-and-Seas-based offense. If you don't find that right mix, you might find yourself getting run over by Elves backed by either a mass of Lords (the Archdruid and Elvish Clancaller), Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Shaman of the Pack, or sometimes even Craterhoof Behemoth. If you do find yourself in a board state where things are more or less stable, try to counter or otherwise deal with these major payoff spells, as well as the card advantage effects (Collected Company, Lead the Stampede, and occasionally Beast Whisperer) which keep the chain moving. Again, far from an easy matchup, so you need things to break just right in order to win.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Hibernation), countermagic (Chalice of the Void), removal (Dismember, Gut Shot), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Countermagic (Force of Negation), slow haymakers (Mater of Waves).
Faeries ()
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: Because this deck relies on establishing threats like Bitterblossom early and then playing a control game to back them up, you generally have a couple of turns to get a board state going before you have to worry about what they're doing. If you can get some offense going in that time, you'll find that their clock is usually a bit too slow to race you. As this is a blue deck that can put blockers in front of your attackers, getting (and keeping) Islandwalk is among your highest priorities. Keep them on the back foot (hands with Aether Vial generally have an easier time of this), interact with their planeswalkers (either on the stack or on the board), and you should win.
Side in: Bounce effects (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Single-target bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Goblins
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: This deck will come at you all guns blazing, so it's imperative that you put blockers in front of their attackers and slow things down until they run out of gas and you can flip the script. Preserving your life total is very important, as they have a lot of ways to push damage through. You should usually, if not always, trade cards for life if given the choice to do so. A big Master of Waves is often your best way to win here, so try and line that up as best you can. If your opponent runs Goblin Piledriver, don't forget that a Mutavault can block it, and that Dismember can kill it.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), counterspells (Chalice of the Void), redirect effects (Spellskite), removal (Dismember, Gut Shot), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Counterspells (Deprive, Spell Pierce), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Hollow One
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: As with many of the more aggressive decks in the format, defense is the name of the game. Their big haymaker creatures (Hollow One, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, and Gurmag Angler) are vulnerable to bounce effects, so Harbinger of the Tides is very strong. They run quite a few removal spells (especially postboard), so be careful about committing to attacks that can get blown out by a single Bolt or Push. The easiest way to win this matchup is usually to weather the early storm, and work your way up to a big Master of Waves they both can't attack through and can't adequately defend against. It's also a pretty graveyard-dependent strategy, so postboard graveyard hate will do well.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), counterspells (Chalice of the Void), graveyard hate (Grafdigger's Cage, Mistcaller, Relic of Progenitus), removal (Dismember).
Side out: Value creatures (Benthic Biomancer), countermagic (Deprive), land disruption (Spreading Seas).
Humans (5c)
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: As with most Vial deck pseudo-mirrors, who can establish control of the board through fast deployment and tricks has an advantage here. Hands with Aether Vial will generally perform better than ones without it. Because Humans is a bit faster but lacking in resilience, Merfolk's job is often to blunt their initial rush with Merfolk Trickster and Harbinger of the Tides, then turn the corner with Lord-stacking or by going very wide with Master of Waves. Countermagic is at its worst in this matchup, because they feature Aether Vial and Cavern of Souls to bypass it.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique, removal (Dismember, Gut Shot, tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage), Vial hate (Mistcaller).
Side out: Countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation).
Infect
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: This is one of the fastest decks in the format, so playing defense is a must. Interactive creatures like Harbinger of the Tides and Merfolk Trickster go a long way in this matchup, as do cheap counterspells like Spell Pierce or lockdown cards like Chalice of the Void (Infect is usually well-prepared to fight through removal - counterspells are significantly harder for them to overcome). Block their creatures whenever possible, try to kill or bounce what you can't block, and then turn the corner with Lord-fueled crackbacks. Despite their having Islands to switch on your Islandwalk, you'll want to keep your Spreading Seas in postboard - it's a great answer for Inkmoth Nexus, which is otherwise one of the more annoying threats to deal with. Phyrexian mana removal spells are even better than usual here, as this deck typically won't even try to threaten your life total.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Chalice of the Void, Dispel, Negate, Spell Pierce), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), redirect effects (Spellskite), removal (Dismember, Gut Shot) tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Slow haymakers (Master of Waves), value creatures (Benthic Biomancer).
Merfolk
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: The true mirror hinges heavily on two things: which player (if any) has a Turn 1 Aether Vial, and which player (if any) draws Master of the Pearl Trident (as opposed to Lord of Atlantis, whose effect applies to both players' Merfolk). Harbinger of the Tides and Merfolk Trickster have very strong blowout potential by taking Lord effects off the table and messing up combat math, and Master of Waves can be swingy (amazing if Islandwalk is not a factor on the opposing side, slow otherwise). As usual in Vial deck matchups, countermagic is poor, though perhaps worth keeping if your sideboard is low on cards to bring in.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), removal (Dismember, Gut Shot), Vial hate (Mistcaller).
Side out: Countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Mill ()
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: We have two key advantages in this matchup. First is that our reliance on basic lands and mono-colored manabase makes it very difficult for the opponent to cast Archive Traps, which buys us some time. Secondly, while they do run Ensnaring Bridge, it is not necessarily the best deck at emptying its hand and making it live. We can take advantage of that with some quick rushdown hands that provide too little time for the opponent to execute their gameplan while protecting themselves. Be judicious when playing nonbasic lands into an active Field of Ruin - you might be enabling an otherwise-dead Archive Trap or two. You should also be looking to stuff Crypt Incursion whenever possible, as that can set you too far behind to win the race.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), counterspells (Chalice of the Void, Dispel, Negate, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Grafdigger's Cage, Relic of Progenitus, Surgical Extraction), redirect effects (Spellskite), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Value creatures (Benthic Biomancer), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Phoenix (mono-)
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: The key to this matchup is recognizing that they are the aggressor, not you. Play defense with Harbinger of the Tides and Merfolk Trickster, then turn the corner by slamming Lords or a big Master of Waves (which they usually have no answer for). Preserve your life total as best you can - this deck is capable of some pretty explosive turns, and you'll want to either stuff them or have enough life to absorb them and either win or take control of the game. Graveyard hate shuts off Arclight Phoenix recursion as well as Bedlam Reveler, so it comes highly recommended.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), combo hate (Damping Sphere), counterspells (Chalice of the Void, Dispel, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Grafdigger's Cage, Mistcaller, Relic of Progenitus, Surgical Extraction), redirect effects (Spellskite), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Value creatures (Benthic Biomancer), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Phoenix ()
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: Despite the deck's name, I find that success in this matchup correlates most strongly with keeping Thing in the Ice under wraps. Fortunately, this deck is excellently poised to do just that, thanks to Harbinger of the Tides and Merfolk Trickster. Once you've addressed that angle, all you have to do is race their Phoenixes and Bolts, which shouldn't be too onerous a task thanks to your Lords and Master of Waves. Aether Vial obviously helps in terms of speeding up your tempo, and postboard you can bring in graveyard hate to shut down Arclight Phoenix recursion as well as some of their backup finishers like Pteramander or Pyromancer Ascension.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), combo hate (Damping Sphere), counterspells (Chalice of the Void, Dispel, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Grafdigger's Cage, Mistcaller, Relic of Progenitus, Surgical Extraction), redirect effects (Spellskite).
Side out: Value creatures (Benthic Biomancer), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Spirits ()
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: This deck is pretty close to ours in approach and abilities, with the differences being that their curve is a bit clunkier (which they make up for in part by playing more accelerants), and that their 3-color manabase gives them access to expanded tools (including the very powerful Collected Company) in exchange for taking more damage from their lands. In general, this matchup will favor whoever commits hard to the board first, but interaction on either end can lead to some big blowouts. As in other Vial matchups, countermagic is poor, but it still might be worth keeping in, as having a clean answer to Company can swing games. We have a slight edge because of our curve being a bit lower, but the fact that they run more accelerants makes it too close for us to take this matchup for granted.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), CoCo hate (Grafdigger's Cage, Mistcaller), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), removal (Dismember, Gut Shot).
Side out: Countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Spirits ()
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: This deck is about as close to being Merfolk without actually being Merfolk, but they have a few weaknesses that we can pick at: most 75s have no way of generating card advantage, their creatures are a bit less aggressively inclined (so their clock tends to be a half-step slower than ours), and they have very few answers to an opponent going wide on them (which often makes an unanswered Master of Waves game-winning). Things can get a little dicey if they have an Aether Vial and you don't, but you generally have the edge if the games go according to plan. Just remember to play through your Aether Vial whenever your opponent has 3 (or more) mana open or a Vial on 3, so as to avoid Spell Queller blowouts.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), removal (Dismember, Gut Shot), Vial hate (Mistcaller).
Side out: Countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Amulet Titan
General Impression: Bad matchup
Synopsis: This matchup presents two major complications. First among these is that the deck is capable of some very fast hands with Primeval Titan + Amulet of Vigor, so not finding interaction in the first 2-3 turns of the game can mean that the game is over before you really get going. The second is that if you make your way to the midgame, this deck is capable of fetching some pretty problematic cards for us (Engineered Explosives and Walking Ballista) via either Trinket Mage or Tolaria West. Because of these factors, countermagic is the critical piece of interaction in order to ward off their haymakers. Cards like Merfolk Trickster can also buy you time against the Titan while clearing the way for your attackers to crash in. I have found that best results in the matchup come when the deck walks the aggro-control razor's edge. Because of this, hands with Aether Vial generally do better than ones without it. One final note is that if your opponent casts Summoner's Pact while not having the mana to pay for Spell Pierce and Primeval Titan, you should go ahead and cast the Pierce; it will cost you a card, but either force them into a suboptimal line or buy you 2 turns' worth of time.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), combo hate (Damping Sphere), countermagic (Ceremonious Rejection, Chalice of the Void, Dispel, Negate, Unified Will), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), redirect effects (Spellskite), removal (Dismember, Gut Shot), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Conditional bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), conditional land hate (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Eldrazi Tron
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: This is one of our better matchups because we can both disrupt their lands (Spreading Seas will strip a land of its types, turning off the "double mana" effect of Eldrazi Temple or the "assemble 3 lands" effect of Urza lands) and their creature payoffs (Eldrazi are not fans of Harbinger of the Tides or Merfolk Trickster). Their deck is usually a rather slow starter, so your general goal here is to put threats on the board early, then disrupt them with either interactive creatures, Seas, or countermagic to keep their big boys from getting rolling. They do have a few problematic cards in Walking Ballista, All is Dust, and postboard Ratchet Bombs, but if you can keep those under wraps, this should be a comfortable matchup for you.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), combo hate (Pithing Needle, Sorcerous Spyglass), countermagic (Ceremonious Rejection, Remand, Unified Will), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), land hate (Damping Sphere, Sea's Claim, Tectonic Edge), removal (Dismember).
Side out: Slow haymakers (Master of Waves), value creatures (Benthic Biomancer).
Scapeshift ()
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: The name of the game here is to kill them before they can attack with Primeval Titan or cast Scapeshift for lethal. There are several ways you can go about this. One of them is to curve out aggressively and counter stabilization tools like Anger of the Gods. Another is to play the aggro-control route and gradually commit to the board while countering ramp spells and payoffs alike. A harder-to-execute but more powerful third approach is to cut them off green mana with Spreading Seas, which can happen if they get a bit greedy fetching basic Mountains. One final note is that if your opponent casts Summoner's Pact while not having the mana to pay for Spell Pierce and Primeval Titan, you should go ahead and cast the Pierce; it will cost you a card, but either force them into a suboptimal line or buy you 2 turns' worth of time. Before the printing of Merfolk Trickster and the advent of maindecking counterspells like Deprive, I would have considered this matchup to be bad for Merfolk; however, these advances have gone a long way in giving us a fighting chance.
Side in: Bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce, Unified Will), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), land hate (Sea's Claim, Tectonic Edge), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Conditional bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Tron ()
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: While Tron is undeniably a powerful deck, and they have haymakers that can give us a ton of trouble (Oblivion Stone, Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, Walking Ballista, and Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger to a lesser extent), we are fortunate enough to have a fast clock to pressure them with and the maindeck ability to interact with Urza lands (Spreading Seas will strip a land of its types, turning off the "assemble 3 lands" effect until they find another copy). Depending on the contents of your hand, you'll be looking to either go pedal-to-the-metal and get them to 0 before the haymakers land, slap a Seas on their lands and take them to 0 before they can reassemble Tron, or play like a supersized Delver deck by getting early threats down and then holding up countermagic to ensure they reach the finish line. We also have access to a plethora of sideboard cards that perform well in the matchup. When taking the Seas approach, watch out for O-Stone and Nature's Claim interrupting your plans. Overall, this multiplicity of feasible approaches to winning the game gives us a bit of an edge, but Tron is too inherently powerful a strategy to take winning for granted.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), combo hate (Pithing Needle, Sorcerous Spyglass), countermagic (Ceremonious Rejection, Chalice of the Void, Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce, Unified Will), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), land hate (Damping Sphere, Sea's Claim, Tectonic Edge).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Tron ()
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: I find this to be one of our best matchups in the entire Modern format. Their principal ways of buying time to assemble the Urza lands (bounce and countermagic) are generally poor against an Aether Vial deck, and we feature a fast clock, disruption for their Urza lands, and unblockability to complicate matters further. While there are some haymakers you will want to interact with if possible (Oblivion Stone, Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, Walking Ballista), the best results in this matchup generally come from curving out and pressuring their life total quickly with a bit of disruption in the midgame to ensure you stay ahead on board. This is a matchup in which tempo matters much more than card advantage, so prioritize speed and aggressiveness.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), combo hate (Pithing Needle, Sorcerous Spyglass), countermagic (Ceremonious Rejection, Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce, Unified Will), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), land hate (Damping Sphere, Tectonic Edge).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Ad Nauseam
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: This matchup is all about executing the aggro-control gameplan; you're going to want to find enough of a clock to threaten a T4/5 kill, but also enough countermagic to fend off a T4 kill attempt on their end. The main spells I recommend expending resources on countering are Ad Nauseam and Phyrexian Unlife, but ramp artifacts like Lotus Bloom and Pentad Prism are worth countering if you see that your opponent is missing land drops or if it provides them with just enough mana to go off. Bouncing their Phyrexian Unlife when they're at negative life or redirecting a Lightning Storm kill attempt to Kira, Great Glass-Spinner are some alternative (and cool) ways to win. If your opponent casts a Laboratory Maniac on a non-combo turn, be prepared to bounce it or counter a spell by their next upkeep; they're very likely setting up a kill with it, Angel's Grace/Unlife, and Spoils of the Vault (by naming a card that isn't in their deck).
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), combo hate (Damping Sphere, Kira, Great Glass-Spinner), countermagic (Ceremonious Rejection, Chalice of the Void, Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce, Unified Will), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Devoted/Vizier Company ()
General Impression: Bad matchup
Synopsis: Our struggles in this matchup largely stem from their speed (their fast hands can threaten to go off with infinite plus the payoff of their choice as early as Turn 3) and our interaction package lining up somewhat awkwardly against a deck whose combo pieces are creatures (the permanent removal effects blue has access to are limited, to say the least). In order to win this matchup, you'll have to find the right mix of disruptive effects that actually impact the matchup, and use them to back up your early pressure. Tempo-type effects such as bounce and Merfolk Trickster should target the Devoted Druid above all, as the opponent has to untap with it in order for the infinite-mana combo it forms with Vizier of Remedies to truly be complete.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), combo hate (Mistcaller, Pithing Needle, Sorcerous Spyglass), countermagic (Dispel, Negate, Remand), graveyard hate (Grafdigger's Cage, Relic of Progenitus, Surgical Extraction), hand disruption (Vendilion Cique), removal (Dismember, Gut Shot), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Conditional bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Dredge
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: Merfolk is one of the few decks that lines up well natively against the graveyard menace. We have disruptive creatures to buy time against their recursive threats, Spreading Seas can cut them off the they need for Conflagrate, shut down their Life from the Loam engine, or ward off Darkblast, and Master of Waves is a card they have few productive answers to. Furthermore, we have access to some good graveyard hate postboard. When to pull the trigger on a mass exile effect like Relic of Progenitus depends on the card that you're trying to beat. If you are trying to stop them from recurring creatures or draining you with a Creeping Chill, you can afford to be patient, as all of those abilities use the stack and can be responded to. That is not the case for Conflagrate, Darkblast, or Life from the Loam, and you should exile those on sight.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth), graveyard hate (Grafdigger's Cage, Relic of Progenitus, Surgical Extraction), creature protection (Kira, Great Glass-Spinner).
Side out: Conditional disruption (Merfolk Trickster), countermagic (Deprive), small value creatures (Benthic Biomancer).
Gifts Storm
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: Game 1 against this opponent can be rough, as we have relatively few answers to their gameplan in the maindeck. You generally have to try and line up your maindeck counterspells with their cost reducers (Baral, Chief of Compliance and Goblin Electromancer) or Gifts Ungiven. Alternatively, Merfolk Trickster shuts off their cost-reducing effect, so an aggressive hand paired with some Tricksters on upkeep can stall them long enough for you to get there. Postboard, we have a significantly better shot at keeping them under wraps, as graveyard hate and extra countermagic hurt them quite a bit. Remember to bring in some bounce effects for Empty the Warrens, as that is the main way they will try to navigate around hate. My recommendation in this matchup is to not tap out on your turn past Turn 2 or so if you can avoid it - their deck is very explosive, and letting them do as they please for even one turn can spell doom.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth), combo hate (Damping Sphere), countermagic (Chalice of the Void, Dispel, Negate, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Grafdigger's Cage, Relic of Progenitus, Surgical Extraction), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), removal (Dismember).
Side out: Conditional bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), Seas effects (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Grishoalbrand
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: The way we do well in this matchup is by developing the board early, then holding up interaction for any of their ways to attempt to kill you. Countermagic and graveyard hate address Goryo's Vengeance into Griselbrand; the backup win conditions (Through the Breaching in Emrakul, the Aeons Torn or Worldspine Wurm) can be addressed by Merfolk Trickster or Harbinger of the Tides. The rest of the Fish are there to provide pressure, and Vial ensures you don't have to choose between holding up disruption or applying pressure. As this is a heavily graveyard-dependent deck, you'll want to bring in your hate for this one.
Side in: Bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Chalice of the Void, Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Grafdigger's Cage, Mistcaller, Relic of Progenitus, Surgical Extraction), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Seas effects (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Living End ()
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: There are two approaches to be taken in this matchup. First among these is trying to deny them the ability to resolve their namesake spell. For that, you'll need a mix of countermagic and pressure to ensure that Living End never turns the tables on you (along with the occasional Spreading Seas to cut them off a color). A second approach (typically employed when one's hand is light on countermagic) is to mitigate the damage the spell will actually do. Tools often used for this purpose are deploying creatures at instant speed, as well as ways to deal with the fatties this deck dumps into the graveyard (either by exiling them as they hit the bin, or dealing with them once they're on the battlefield). Chief among the ones you must find an answer for is Archfiend of Ifnir, as that cycle effect is bad news for a go-wide deck. Overall, though, we feature the right mix of aggressive and interaction to give this deck fits. When lining up permission for postboard Living Ends, bear in mind that Ricochet Trap may be lurking.
Side in: Bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Chalice of the Void,Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Mistcaller, Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), small value creatures (Benthic Biomancer).
Living End ()
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: This matchup mostly revolves around not letting their money spells (As Foretold and Electrodominance, which in turn enable Ancestral Vision and Living End) to resolve, and if they do, to manage the ensuing damage as well as possible. The former is typically accomplished by a combination of pressure and countermagic, while the latter can be achieved by hate and playing around boardwipe mana. Be prepared for the occasional counter war when facing this deck - Remand and Cryptic Command means they won't always take your attempts to counter their spells laying down.
Side in: Bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Chalice of the Void,Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Mistcaller, Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Azorius Control
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: This matchup sometimes gives newer Merfolk players a bit of trouble, but I believe we have a notable edge once you learn the ropes. Generally, you're trying to keep value engines (such as the planeswalkers, Cryptic Command, Snapcaster Mage, Search for Azcanta, and sweepers like Supreme Verdict and Terminus) from running you out of resources. You can accomplish this with countermagic of your own, by killing the 'walkers as soon as they hit the field, or by leveraging manlands for offense to minimize the effect of sweepers. Unlike in most -centric matchups, Spreading Seas is worth keeping around postboard, as many of the ways this deck is trying to beat you revolve around lands. Don't waste precious resources dealing with things our deck is inherently built to battle through (such as Path to Exile on non-critical creatures or a Timely Reinforcements you can islandwalk around), and you will do well.
Side in: Bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster).
Blue Moon
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: This deck comes in two major flavors: the combo varieties use things like Madcap Experiment into Platinum Emperion, Deceiver Exarch plus Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, and Through the Breach into Emrakul, the Aeons Torn to win games, whereas the "pure control" varieties focus harder on card advantage and try to win eventually via Snapcaster Mage, Thing in the Ice, Vendilion Clique, and occasionally Pia and Kiran Nalaar. What version you are facing influences whether cards such as Merfolk Trickster (which is pretty good against the combo versions) should make the postboard cut. Regardless of what version you're facing, the general approach is similar: deploy aggressively early, weather the initial removal spells, and try to leverage your interaction to win races in the mid-to-lategame. Master of Waves is a card this deck struggles mightily to answer, so centering your gameplan around sticking him with a decent amount of devotion is a good way to win games. This deck generally relies heavily on countermagic and land hate to slow its opponents down, which does little against a deck with lots of basic Islands and Aether Vial. They also don't feature enough spot removal to put a major dent in your plan. You have a pretty convincing edge in this matchup.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Chalice of the Void, Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Jeskai Control
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: While Merfolk generally doesn't mind facing a bit of spot removal, this deck has enough of it to actually pose a challenge to your gameplan. To counteract that, you need to break from the classic "don't over-commit" control gameplan a bit and get on the board aggressively. Being able to get your guys out of Bolt range (while not easy) is a major boon, as it invalidates a big chunk of their spot removal. This tactic is less likely to get punished than against other control opponents, as they tend to run fewer sweepers, especially in Game 1. As usual against a -based deck, play through your Aether Vial to avoid countermagic and sorcery-speed effects, counter planeswalkers and other value engines when you can, and beware the Snapcaster Mage-into-removal line wiping your board.
Side in: Bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Pyro Prison
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: This matchup revolves around Ensnaring Bridge - in Game 1, you need to counter it or kill your opponent before they find it and empty their hand enough to lock out your offense. Postboard, you bring in your answers and can thus answer an active Bridge lock. Other annoying cards to watch for are Chandra, Torch of Defiance and Anger of the Gods. The Rabblemaster plan (Goblin Rabblemaster and Legion Warboss) is typically not that much of a threat, since Merfolk is readily capable of putting bodies in front of the tokens, or trade with the token generators themselves. As long as you can keep the Bridge angle under control, you should win.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Sultai Reclamation Control
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: The main thing to watch out for out of this matchup is that the deck is primarily composed of instants, and cards like Consume the Meek can be a beating if they catch you unprepared. However, this deck is generally a bit light on removal density, instead relying on Wilderness Reclamation to double up its turn-by-turn mana production and on Mystical Teachings to find whatever it may need. Disrupt that engine, and you will find that the deck is often too slow to threaten you. Alternatively, put together a fast aggro start, and they may take too long to get set up. Postboard, you can bring in some more disruption for their gameplan to keep things running smoothly. Because this deck is mostly focused on spell-slinging, most of your interaction points will be on the stack or in the graveyard. Regardless, most Merfolk decks should have a comfortable edge in this matchup.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Grafdigger's Cage, Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Whir Prison
General Impression: Bad matchup
Synopsis: This deck is able to get an Ensnaring Bridge quickly, reliably, and then protect it in a variety of ways, which makes it a pretty challenging matchup for us. The key to getting there in this matchup is to start aggressively - you're going to want to curve out in the first 2-3 turns of the game, and either threaten a Turn 4 kill or have some countermagic to hold up in the midgame (and ideally, you want to have both those things going on). Chalice of the Void on 2 turns off most of our deck, and Engineered Explosives on 2 blows most of it up, so those are cards you may be forced to interact with in order to win. If you do counter the Bridge, bear in mind that they feature tools to either get another copy (Inventors' Fair, Whir of Invention) or to fish it out of the graveyard (Academy Ruins), so don't take too long to finish the game, or they will re-establish their lock. Not a good matchup, but certain hands feature the right combination of disruption and pressure to win.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Hurkyl's Recall, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Ceremonious Rejection, Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Abzan
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: While most decks are similar to each other from our perspective, this one has one particularity to note in that it features a go-wide angle in Lingering Souls. These tokens are rarely much of a threat in their own right, but they can buy your opponent time as blockers and generally muck up the battlefield if you don't happen to have a Seas effect. Furthermore, their reliance on and for their removal means you can't quite lean as heavily on Master of Waves as you would in other midrange matchups. Apart from that, the standard advice applies: fight through their discard and removal by presenting a constant stream of threats, don't mulligan if you can avoid it, mess with their manabase using Spreading Seas, pressure their life total hard if they have an active Dark Confidant, and try to clear any Liliana as soon as she hits the battlefiddddeld. Handling their other threats with bounce, Trickster, or postboard graveyard hate also comes highly recommended.
Side in: Bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), graveyard (Relic of Progenitus), land hate (Sea's Claim, Tectonic Edge), removal (Dismember), removal protection (Kira, Great Glass-Spinner), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Accelerants (Aether Vial), conditional bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation).
Eldrazi Stompy (mono-)
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: This matchup often comes down to who can sustain their pressure from the early game to the midgame. While Eldrazi tends to be a fast starter thanks to being willing to dig for double-mana Eldrazi Temples and the like using Serum Powder or aggressive mulligans, all that tearing through the deck can sometimes leave your opponent light on gas. That means that if you can weather the initial wave of Thought-Knot Seers and Reality Smashers that are popping out ahead of schedule by either disrupting them, getting on board faster than them, or slowing them back down with Spreading Seas, you'll be in a great spot to flip the script on your opponent. I recommend trading off or disrupting Eldrazi Mimic early (as it can otherwise have an outsize impact for what is effectively a 1-drop in many Eldrazi hands) and not trading with Eternal Scourge or Matter Reshaper if at all possible. Last but not least, watch out for Chalice of the Void or postboard Ratchet Bombs on 2, especially if you don't have an Aether Vial.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Ceremonious Rejection, Remand), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), removal (Dismember).
Side out: Countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation), value creatures (Benthic Biomancer).
Grixis Shadow
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: The more controlling of the Shadow variants, this deck has two major weaknesses to our deck: it relies heavily on (so it switches on islandwalk for us without any effort required), and it hacks away at its own life total to leverage some of its powerful cards, such as Death's Shadow (which means you have to sneak through significantly less damage to win). It also has a postboard weakness in that graveyard hate is quite good against it, as the graveyard fuels both Gurmag Angler and Snapcaster Mage. To win this matchup, you generally want to put pressure on them to develop their board (which usually involves them damaging themselves) while simultaneously having to deal with removing your threats. Next, you can either skip past their blockers with islandwalking hordes, or disrupt their big individual threats with the likes of Harbinger of the Tides and Merfolk Trickster. You'll generally have to weather some discard spells and removal to pull this off, but that's something Merfolk is well-equipped to do. Last but not least, beware the Temur Battle Rage, as that is one of the main ways this deck can steal games from you and your blockers.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), graveyard (Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), land hate (Sea's Claim), removal (Dismember), removal protection (Kira, Great Glass-Spinner).
Side out: Accelerants (Aether Vial), countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Jund
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: The most historically common of the decks, Jund is a matchup where inexperienced Merfolk players sometimes struggle, but seasoned pilots have a markedly easier time with. The key to it is to keep them on the back foot with a constant stream of threats that they must answer, and thus keeping them from mounting an offense of their own. Because of this, Silvergill Adept is often your best card in the matchup, as it is a card they must answer that gets you another card. That said, because of Jund's reliance on for its removal spells, Master of Waves is also quite good. Mulliganing is also something I only recommend you do if your hand is truly non-functional, as you need as many resources as you can scrounge up at your disposal. Disrupting their attempts to start an offense also comes highly recommended, so lining up Merfolk Trickster with Tarmogoyf, putting a lid on Raging Ravine with Spreading Seas, walling Bloodbraid Elf with blockers, resetting Scavenging Oozes with bounce, or killing any Liliana planeswalker on sight are all very good things to be doing. Postboard, you should also bring in graveyard hate to aid you in keep their threats manageable. Lastly, if faced with an active Dark Confidant without a reliable means to take it off the battlefield, commit hard to pressuring their life total - they do some amount of damage to themselves with fetches, shocks, and Thoughtseize, so turning their life total against them can help you walk away with wins where your opponent is way ahead on cards.
Side in: Bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), graveyard (Relic of Progenitus), land hate (Sea's Claim, Tectonic Edge), removal (Dismember), removal protection (Kira, Great Glass-Spinner), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Accelerants (Aether Vial), condition bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation).
Mardu Pyromancer
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: This midrange deck's particularities are that it has a go-wide threat dimension composed of Young Pyromancer tokens and Spirits from Lingering Souls, and that it can generate big chunks of card advantage by slowing the game to a standstill then slamming Bedlam Revelers to refill its hand. Because of these angles of attack, postboard graveyard hate plays a big role in the matchup. Because this deck leans heavily on for both threats and removal, Master of Waves is an absolute beating, and can sometimes win games more or less on its own. Apart from that, your standard attrition gameplan applies: don't mulligan if you can avoid it, present a constant stream of threats, try to disrupt their threats whenever you can, and prioritize cards that let you do those things while replacing themselves (such as Silvergill Adept and Spreading Seas).
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), graveyard (Relic of Progenitus), land hate (Sea's Claim), removal (Dismember), removal protection (Kira, Great Glass-Spinner), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Accelerants (Aether Vial), conditional bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), countermagic (Deprive).
Ponza ()
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: One of our best matchups in Modern, this deck attacks an axis we are well-prepared to defend. Blood Moon and Stone Rain don't do much against a deck with lots of basic lands and Aether Vial, and their mostly -based threats and removal line up pretty poorly against a Master of Waves. Hitting a land with Utopia Sprawl on it with Spreading Seas is also a nasty blowout, as the Utopia Sprawl will no longer be legally enchanting that land and will thus fall off. Your goal here should be to start pumping out threats, disrupt their mana acceleration (or answer their threats with countermagic, bounce, or tapdown effects), and beat them down before they can recover. My experience is that Merfolk is exceedingly good at executing this gameplan against Ponza, and thus wins the matchup quite often.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Remand), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), land hate (Sea's Claim), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Conditional bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), value creatures (Benthic Biomancer).
The Rock ()
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: A relative newcomer to the lineup, this one features Field of Ruins to attack your Mutavaults, a less painful manabase to mitigate the bad side of Dark Confidant, and Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet as a nasty top-end threat. A strategy I've sometimes employed to good effect is to cut them off colors by relying on basic lands to cast my spells (thus stranding the Fields) and slapping Spreading Seas on their remaining lands (especially if they are dual lands). Directing your creature interaction toward Kalitas will also help keep him under wraps. Apart from this, the standard advice applies: fight through their discard and removal by presenting a constant stream of threats, don't mulligan if you can avoid it, pressure their life total hard if they have an active Dark Confidant, and try to clear any Liliana as soon as she hits the battlefield. Handling Scavenging Ooze and Tarmogoyf with bounce, Trickster, or postboard graveyard hate also comes highly recommended.
Side in: Bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), graveyard (Relic of Progenitus), land hate (Sea's Claim, Tectonic Edge), removal (Dismember), removal protection (Kira, Great Glass-Spinner), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Accelerants (Aether Vial), conditional bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation).
Traverse Shadow
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: The more aggressive of the Shadow variants, this deck still hacks away too hard at its own life total to have a good Merfolk matchup. It also has little use for , so Spreading Seas can often be quite painful. Still, this deck can pose a threat by powering out undercosted beaters in Death's Shadow and Tarmogoyf, so have your creature disruption at the ready. Patience is key in this matchup - let them damage themselves to enable their gameplan while you develop your board, and then proceed to disrupting them while simultaneously upping the pressure. Postboard graveyard hate hits this deck very hard, so it comes highly recommended. As long as you can keep yourself from being overwhelmed by undercosted fatties or having a game snatched from under you by a Temur Battle Rage, you are a strong favorite to win.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), graveyard (Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), land hate (Sea's Claim), removal protection (Kira, Great Glass-Spinner).
Side out: Accelerants (Aether Vial), countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation).
Fringe Decks:
Delver ()
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: There are two basic types of Delver decks in Modern. One variety is the spell-heavy decks that add or to the mix and pair Delver of Secrets with complementary threats such as Tarmogoyf and Hooting Mandrills or Gurmag Angler and Tasigur, the Golden Fang. The other is a more tribal-style strategy that employs the likes of Vendilion Clique and Nimble Obstructionist as additional threats. Our approach to both versions is similar - they tend to have quite a bit of spot removal and Snapcaster Mages to run it back, so you'll need to weather that and interact with their threats as you take over the board and chip down their life total. Harbinger of the Tides tends to be especially valuable here, as many of their threats require setup. Lords are also quite strong, as the nature of these decks' construction means islandwalk is pretty much always on. Aether Vial also helps quite a bit here, as it can help you deploy faster and allows you to dodge countermagic. Lastly, most of these decks struggle to interact with Master of Waves, so he's a great haymaker to work your way up to. As long as you can keep them on the back foot (and most of the time, you can), you have a marked edge.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Dispel, Remand), flyers (Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, Vendilion Clique), graveyard hate (Relic of Progenitus), removal (Dismember, Gut Shot).
Side out: Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Eldrazi ()
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: This matchup is usually a good old-fashioned race: can your Lord-stacking get to the finish line before their large, hasty threats? Because of this goal, you generally want to see a bunch of Lords, and supplement them with a bit of disruption. Your creatures are usually cheaper, so try to get boots on the ground first and establish a life lead. They play a decent amount of spot removal, so be careful about getting blown out in combat by something like a Bolt on your Lord. Lastly, be careful about running out a Master of Waves without countermagic backup or a second copy already in play - Eldrazi Obligator's additional effect is colorless in nature, and they can use it to steal your Master and kill your tokens.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Ceremonious Rejection, Remand), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), land hate (Sea's Claim, Tectonic Edge), removal (Dismember).
Side out: Value creatures (Benthic Biomancer).
Eternal Command
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: This deck's primary goal is to set up an Eternal Witness + Aether Vial + Cryptic Command loop to counter the first spell an opponent plays every turn. Needless to say, this takes a bit too long to truly be effective against Merfolk, and the resulting effect is not that strong against us either. Their plan B usually involves a graveyard-based value game involving removal spells, Scavenging Ooze, Snapcaster Mage, and Tarmogoyf. Because they gift you islandwalk by nature of their manabase and our ability to bring in postboard graveyard hate, this plan is also unlikely to stop you. Get on the battlefield early, pressure their life total, and save some disruption for their any loop pieces or attempts to stabilize, and you'll do well.
Side in: Countermagic (Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), removal (Dismember).
Side out: Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Hatebears ()
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: This deck is looking to punish certain types of game actions, such as countermagic, discard, noncreature spell-spamming, and searching one's library for cards, while pressuring them with creatures such as Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Leonin Arbiter. You'll note that none of those effects are all that common in Merfolk, and thanks to Lord-stacking, our creatures tend to be larger. Because of this, the matchup tends to be pretty favorable. Things you do want to watch out for are big creatures like Wilt-Leaf Liege (which allows them to do some Lord-stacking of their own) and Loxodon Smiter coming down ahead of schedule thanks to mana dorks like Noble Hierarch. Put boots on the ground in the early game, save some disruption (especially board disruption) for their big guys, and you'll do fine.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), removal (Dismember, Gut Shot).
Side out: Countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation), small value creatures (Benthic Biomancer).
Soul Sisters
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: There is some variation in the exact decklists for this archetype: some are mono- decks that lean on the likes of Honor of the Pure, Ajani's Pridemate, Squadron Hawk, and Spectral Procession to close out games, while others splash for Norin the Wary and lean heavily on Human synergies via Champion of the Parish and Thalia's Lieutenant. Regardless of what version you face, the gameplan is the same: you want to build up a bigger board state than theirs, then use Seas effects to punch through their defenses and hack through their lifegain while disruptive creatures keep their threats off you. Bear in mind that the Sisters themselves (Soul Warden, Soul's Attendant, and occasionally Auriok Champion) can also attack and block, so keep blockers back to prevent chip damage and gobble them up with combat tricks if you are presented with an opportunity to do so.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth), countermagic (Chalice of the Void), removal (Dismember, Gut Shot).
Side out: Go-wide haymakers (Master of Waves), countermagic (Force of Negation), small value creatures (Benthic Biomancer).
Zoo (Bushwhacker)
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: This is a pretty fast all-in aggro deck, so you'll need some of Merfolk's defensive resources at your disposal in the early game to stem the early tide of creatures, especially if they get haste from a Reckless Bushwhacker. You should also watch out for Atarka's Command messing up your combat math. Once you stem the offensive tide with Harbinger of the Tides and/or Merfolk Trickster, Master of Waves is often the best way to flip the script on them. Alternatively, they have a pretty color-intensive deck combined with a fragile manabase, so Spreading Seas can sometimes pull a lot of weight here. The general gist of the matchup is that the longer the game goes, the better it is for you.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth), countermagic (Chalice of the Void, Dispel), land hate (Sea's Claim), redirect effects (Spellskite), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation), small value creatures (Benthic Biomancer).
Zoo (Classic)
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: This deck is similar to ours in that it seeks to back up mid-size creatures with a bit of disruption, but they present several weaknesses in the head-to-head contest in a painful manabase that doesn't have much use for (so Spreading Seas is strong in the matchup), some sensitivity to graveyard hate (via Knight of the Reliquary, Scavenging Ooze, and Tarmogoyf), and a clunkier curve with lots of 3-drops and only a nominal amount of mana acceleration. Because of this, we generally get our pressure going first, can cut them off colors while enabling our unblockability, and can disrupt them while further developing our battlefield. We can even outmuscle them, if our draw has enough Lords. They do run a fair amount of spot removal (especially postboard), so be careful when attacking into their creatures.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), flyers (Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, Vendilion Clique), land hate (Sea's Claim), removal (Dismember), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Small value creatures (Benthic Biomancer).
Devotion ()
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: This deck's goal is to combine effects that untap lands on creatures (namely Arbor Elf) and planeswalkers (Garruk Wildspeaker) with enchantments such as Utopia Sprawl or with Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx to make tons of mana and ramp out powerful expensive spells. Your primary goal should be to interact with that gameplan as much as possible while also pressuring their life total. Fortunately, you have many tools to help you accomplish this goal. Spreading Seas deals with Utopia Sprawl while also drawing you a card and enabling islandwalk. Merfolk Trickster and Harbinger of the Tides can help you slow down their creature-based ramp, and your aggro game can help get Garruk off the table as soon as he hits. Furthermore, some of the haymakers the deck puts out just aren't that scary to Merfolk - the likes of Hornet Queen can be circumvented via islandwalk, for example. As long as you're getting a healthy mix of disruption and pressure, this is a matchup you should win.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Hibernation, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Remand), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), land hate (Sea's Claim), removal (Dismember, Gut Shot), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Scapeshift ()
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: These decks are usually running what amounts to a ramp-control gameplan until they have enough lands to threaten an instant kill with Scapeshift. As such, you have two avenues to victory - one is to threaten them with a resilient aggro game and ignore the ramp aspect (because you're hoping to kill them before they have Scapeshift mana); the other is to interact with them as best you can and hope incidental pressure carries the day. Either is effective (though I have found the aggressive one to be a bit more so), and which one you opt for usually depends on your draw. Fortunately for us, the fact that we don't take damage from our manabase effectively buys us an extra turn against their primary win condition, which usually gives us the time we need to scratch together enough damage to cross the finish line first. Watch out for sweepers (especially if the opponent is on the 4/5-color Bring to Light variant) and postboard backup plans like Madcap Experiment into Platinum Emperion, and you should be fine.
Side in: Bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), land hate (Tectonic Edge).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Cheeri0s
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: This matchup hinges entirely on wehther you can scratch together enough interaction to allow your beatdown plan to finish the game. Their win condition, while inconsistent, is blazing fast, so you must be prepared to interact in order to win. Going for their card draw engines (Puresteel Paladin and Sram, Master Edificer) or locking them out of casting 0-drops with Chalice are the safest routes, but occasionally countering the likes of Retract will cause them to stall out. As you do that, build up your board, pressure them aggressively, and hopefully it's enough.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Chalice of the Void, Dispel, Negate, Spell Pierce), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), removal (Dismember).
Side out: Conditional bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), Seas effects (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Jeskai Ascendancy
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: Your goal here is typically to catch the namesake Jeskai Ascendancy enchantment on the stack, and then beat your opponent to death with your Merfolk while they dig for a new one. Alternatively, interacting with their win conditions (usually a Fatestitcher, though some versions also play for access to mana-producing creatures instead) can also buy you some time. The key thing to keep in mind is that you must develop your gameplan quickly: this deck is mostly composed of cantrips, so the deck will find what it needs if given enough time. That said, this also means that they usually cannot spare much deck space to interacting with their opponents, so the straightforward rushdown is pretty effective against them.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Chalice of the Void, Negate, Spell Pierce), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), removal (Dismember, Gut Shot).
Side out: Conditional bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), Seas effects (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves)
Neoform Combo
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: This very fast glass-cannon combo deck is built around cheating a Griselbrand into play using Allosaurus Rider combined with either Eldritch Evolution or the namesake Neoform. Once it's done that, it will draw its entire deck with Nourishing Shoals, then finish you off with either Lightning Storm or Laboratory Maniac. Thankfully, Merfolk has access to the bane of this deck's existence in countermagic. Mulliganing aggressively for interaction comes recommended here, as the deck quite literally does nothing if their combo attempt is halted. Dig for your counterspells, stuff their gameplan, and a concession will likely follow.
Side in: Activated ability hate (Pithing Needle, Sorcerous Spyglass), bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), combo hate (Grafdigger's Cage, Mistcaller), countermagic (Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), hand hate (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Expensive haymakers (Master of Waves),Seas effects (Spreading Seas)
Restore Balance
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: The effects of the namesake spell resolving are typically devastating for a creature deck like Merfolk, so your gameplan revolves areound making sure it doesn't. With that said, don't neglect your ability to apply pressure; they will eventually force a way past their defenses if you give them enough time. Interacting with the Borderposts that they use for mana in lieu of lands is highly recommended. Lastly, don't lose sight of the fact that most iterations of this deck can threaten the combo at instant speed through either Electrodominance and Violent Outburst, so try not to tap out in the midgame if you can avoid it. This matchup clearly gets easier with the more permission you run.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Hurkyl's Recall, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Chalice of the Void, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Saheeli/Copycat Combo
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: There are two major iterations of this deck. One of them uses a Jeskai midrange shell, with notable amounts of spot removal and cantrips; the other is a -based 4-color deck that tries to assemble the necessary mana a bit faster with the likes of Birds of Paradise and Lotus Cobra, then generates consistency with tutor effects such as Eldritch Evolution. Either variant brings the threat of a value midrange game (featuring lots of enters-the-battlefield effects to rebuy with Felidar Guardian) while the combo is being assembled, but both of them usually grant you islandwalk in the process of casting their spells, which is a nice boon. The combo itself is easy enough for us to interact with; deal with either the Felidar or with Saheeli Rai, and the music stops. This combination of circumstances make this a matchup Merfolk is well-suited to winning.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Negate, Remand), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), removal (Dismember), tutor hate (Grafdigger's Cage).
Side out: Conditional bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), Seas efects (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Thopter Sword ()
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: Unlike most creature decks, Merfolk is able to slip through a mass of Thopter tokens should the Sword of the Meek + Thopter Foundry combo get assembled (especially since this deck will give you the islandwalk for free, as most of its non-artifact spells are -based), so that occurrence is not game over for us. This gives us game in the matchup that other decks cannot boast. However, your goal should be to drop your opponent before they manage to assemble these pieces. Ensnaring Bridge is usually present in these decks, so plan your sideboarding accordingly. Interact with the Foundry on the stack if you can - hand disruption and Spellskite will make it significantly more difficult once it's on the table. Other than that, proritize pressure and try to get them low before they assemble the combo, such that they need something other than the combo to bail them out.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Hurkyl's Recall, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Ceremonious Rejection, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Relic of Progenitus, Surgical Extraction), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Turns ()
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: While this deck has access to some annoying ways to punch through your defenses in Exhaustion and Gigadrowse, the plan to develop your board early and hold up countermagic as you clock them is something this deck is quite weak to. Deal with their extra draw engines (Dictate of Kruphix, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, and occasionally Howling Mine or Ancestral Vision) if you get a chance - this makes it much harder for them to find the resources to attempt to go off, and to sustain the chain once they being to do so. Prioritize hands that have fast starts - your goal should be to threaten lethal by the time they've begun to set up, or at the very least to have a counterspell and a clock.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Chalice of the Void, Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Vannifar "Pod" Combo
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: While creature-based combo decks typically give Merfolk a bit of trouble, this one throws us a few bones in that its main combo piece costs 4 mana (which gives us enough time to set up countermagic), requires to be cast (which means we sometimes get islandwalk for free), and that our disruptive Merfolk are effective speedbumps against it (an instant-speed Harbinger of the Tides or a Merfolk Trickster will both buy you a turn). With that in mind, you have a reasonable chance of putting together the mix of disruption and pressure you need to win this game. Bear in mind that Prime Speaker Vannifar is there to fetch the winning combo (typically Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker combined with some way to untap it), not be the win condition herself; if the game goes long enough, they can draw into the combo naturally.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Dispel, Negate), graveyard hate (Grafdigger's Cage, Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), removal (Dismember), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Seas effects (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
8-Rack
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: While this is a discard-based attrition deck, Aether Vial is actually pretty handy here, as they usually play some amount of land destruction, sometimes have sorcery-speed sweepers, and extra copies can be held to weaken the effects of Wrench Mind. You'll also want to take the draw in any postboard games where you get the choice in the matter; resources are of paramount importance in the matchup. Generally, you want to try and establish a strong board presence early, and get stuff out of your hand before it gets picked off by targeted discard. Once The Rack and/or Shrieking Affliction are on the table, you should reverse course and attempt to hoard as many cards in your hand as possible, unless casting those cards would allow you to outrace their effects or they have a recurring discard outlet, such as Liliana of the Veil or Raven's Crime. Lastly, this deck sometimes packs Ensnaring Bridge, so plan accordingly.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Hurkyl's Recall, Venser, Shaper Savant), graveyard hate (Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Emeria Titan
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: This is a slow value deck that grants you islandwalk for free and is somewhat light on interaction, all of which combines to make it easy prey for us. Get Lords on the table, protect them with countermagic, and rush them down without fear. If you do, their deck philosophy of buying time with blockers and lifegain until they can run their opponent out of resources is unlikely to work on you. Watch out for the occasional Supreme Verdict, try to counter their Sun Titans, bring in your postboard graveyard hate, and keep your Seas postboard (evasion is paramount, and shutting off Emeria, the Sky Ruin can be useful in longer games).
Side in: Bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Conditional bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Esper Control
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: While this control deck has a deep suite of spot removal and card advantage tools, it is very slow to turn the corner, which affords you lots of time to mount an offense, recover from disruption, and keep chipping away. They will usually feature some amount of sweepers, so be careful not to over-extend into them. One way to do that is to play through your Aether Vial, which has the additional benefit of avoiding their countermagic. Countering or otherwize limiting card advantage engines such as Teferi, Hero of Dominaria is one of the best ways to deal with these types of opponents. As long as you stay disciplined and keep the gas flowing, this should be a matchup you win quite often.
Side in: Bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Grixis Control
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: While this is a control deck, it mostly relies on spot removal to hold the fort in the early game, and thus you can be aggressive with your creature deployment and force them to deal with lots of threats at once. Lord-stacking is quite important here, as it helps you get out of range of Lightning Bolt and Kolaghan's Command. Despite being vulnerable to that card, Aether Vial is very handy here, as it helps you deploy more quickly and avoid their countermagic. Graveyard hate is especially effective here, as many of their threats and value mechanisms rely on it. Our combination of unblockable pressure and disruption is typically pretty hard to overcome, so Merfolk enjoys a marked edge.
Side in: Bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Lantern Control
General Impression: Bad matchup
Synopsis: Arguably the worst matchup for Modern Merfolk. Their ability to quickly slap down Ensnaring Bridge and dump its hand makes it very challenging for us to mount an offense, and it can pick off our limited ways to deal with said Bridge with discard spells and mill effects such as Codex Shredder combined with Lantern of Insight. To top it off, the deck has Ancient Stirrings, Inventors' Fair, and Whir of Invention to help it dig for what it needs. Your best chance here is to catch the Bridge coming in and clock them before they can find another, Chalice them out of their 1-drops and eventually find an answer for Bridge, or to knock their life total low before they apply the lock and sneak through the final points after dealing with the Bridge for a turn. Unfortunately, my experience is that this is highly unlikely.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Hurkyl's Recall, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Ceremonious Rejection, Chalice of the Void, Negate, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Relic of Progenitus), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Martyr Proc
General Impression: Close matchup
Synopsis: There are two things to watch out for in this matchup; you don't want to get got by a pumped-up Serra Ascendant, and you don't want to get ground out by value loops of Squadron Hawk, Martyr of Sands, and Ranger of Eos backed up by removal and other ways to stymie your offense. Merfolk Trickster is the cleanest answer to Ascendant, though Harbinger of the Tides coupled with some pressure will do in a pinch. Countermagic is the best remedy for the latter strategy, though postboard graveyard hate can also be helpful.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Chalice of the Void, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Conditional bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), slow haymakers (Master of Waves).
Skred Red
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: This deck has a good amount of removal to slow you down, but its combination of vulnerability to countermagic (due to its reliance on big, expensive threats) and its general inability to deal with a resolved Master of Waves make us a pretty convincing favorite. Getting your threats out of range of Anger of the Gods and Lightning Bolt range is also a massive boon, though you should take care to not get blown out by a souped-up Skred. Strategy-wise, your goal is to exert constant pressure on your opponents, forcing them to expend resources holding you off. When a threat hits the table, you should attack it if it's a planeswalker, or interact with it if it's a creature. If you cannot interact with it, redouble your efforts to protect your own creatures - chances are that you can win a race, if it comes to that.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Dispel, Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique), removal (Dismember).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Sun & Moon
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: While this is a prison deck, some of its lock pieces (Blood Moon and Chalice of the Void on 1) are pretty ineffective against us, which combines with a clunky manabase to give us a marked edge in the matchup. Kill their planeswalkers on sight, play around sweepers by deploying creatures at instant speed with Aether Vial, and keep chipping away at their life total, and your opponent will likely capitulate. They may feature Ensnaring Bridge, so be sure to bring in your postboard answers to that card.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), hand disruption (Vendilion Clique).
Side out: Creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster), Seas effects (Spreading Seas)
Sultai
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: This deck is similar in configuration to other midrange decks, but presents us with one major advantage: its usage of means they provide us with Islands, often rendering their creatures unable to block. Because of this, the matchup has a markedly more positive spin than its cousins. Apart from this, the standard advice applies: fight through their discard and removal by presenting a constant stream of threats, don't mulligan if you can avoid it, pressure their life total hard if they have an active Dark Confidant, and try to clear any Liliana as soon as she hits the battlefield. Handling Scavenging Ooze and Tarmogoyf with bounce, Trickster, or postboard graveyard hate also comes highly recommended.
Side in: Bounce (Venser, Shaper Savant), graveyard hate (Relic of Progenitus), land hate (Sea's Claim, Tectonic Edge), removal (Dismember), removal protection (Kira, Great Glass-Spinner), tapdown effects (Tidebinder Mage).
Side out: Accelerants (Aether Vial), conditional bounce (Harbinger of the Tides), countermagic (Deprive, Force of Negation), Seas effects (Spreading Seas).
Tokens ()
General Impression: Good matchup
Synopsis: The key to winning this matchup usually involves assembling the combination of islandwalk and Spreading Seas. Your task is to put that together through their spot removal and discard, and to do so quickly enough to outrace their flyers and pump effects. Fortunately, they're usually a pretty slow starter, so you'll have quite a bit of time to get things going and beat them to the spot. Alternatively, you can set up for a big Master of Waves, and beat them at their own go-wide game. An important part of the matchup is to address their value engines - Bitterblossom is usually not the biggest deal, but any planeswalker should be countered or taken down as soon as possible. Postboard, mass bounce effects tend to be crippling, as they are often one-sided boardwipes. This is a matchup in which you enjoy a significant speed advantage.
Side in: Bounce (Echoing Truth, Venser, Shaper Savant), countermagic (Negate, Remand, Spell Pierce), graveyard hate (Relic of Progenitus).
Side out: Accelerants (Aether Vial), creature interaction (Harbinger of the Tides, Merfolk Trickster).
Sample Decklists:
| rothgar13’s Merfolk (August 2019)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
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Artifacts (4) 4 Aether Vial Creatures (28) 4 Benthic Biomancer 4 Harbinger of the Tides 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 4 Merfolk Trickster 4 Merrow Reejerey 4 Silvergill Adept | Enchantments (4) 4 Spreading Seas Instants (4) 4 Force of Negation Lands (20) 10 Island 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge 4 Mutavault 1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds 4 Waterlogged Grove | Sideboard (15) 3 Deprive 2 Dismember 2 Echoing Truth 4 Leyline of the Void 2 Phyrexian Revoker 2 Venser, Shaper Savant |
| rothgar13’s Tropical Fish (July 2019)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Artifacts (4) 4 Aether Vial Creatures (28) 4 Kumena's Speaker 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 4 Merfolk Mistbinder 4 Merfolk Trickster 4 Merrow Reejerey 4 Silvergill Adept | Enchantments (4) 4 Spreading Seas Instants (4) 4 Force of Negation Lands (20) 4 Botanical Sanctum 2 Breeding Pool 2 Flooded Strand 4 Island 4 Mutavault 4 Waterlogged Grove | Sideboard (15) 2 Collector Ouphe 4 Deprive 2 Dismember 2 Echoing Truth 2 Reclamation Sage 3 Relic of Progenitus |
| Nikachu’s Merfolk (March 2019)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
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Artifacts (3) 3 Aether Vial Creatures (28) 4 Benthic Biomancer 2 Cursecatcher 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 4 Merfolk Trickster 4 Merrow Reejerey 2 Mistcaller 4 Silvergill Adept | Instants (8) 4 Cryptic Command 2 Spell Pierce 2 Vapor Snag Lands (21) 18 Island 2 Mutavault 1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds | Sideboard (15) 2 Dismember 4 Hurkyl's Recall 4 Relic of Progenitus 1 Surgical Extraction 4 Wizard's Retort |
| MerfolkJoe's Merfolk (March 2019)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Artifacts (4) 4 Aether Vial Creatures (26) 4 Benthic Biomancer 2 Harbinger of the Tides 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 4 Master of Waves 4 Merfolk Trickster 4 Silvergill Adept | Enchantments (4) 4 Spreading Seas Instants (6) 4 Deprive 2 Spell Pierce Lands (20) 14 Island 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge 4 Mutavault 1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds | Sideboard (15) 2 Dismember 2 Echoing Truth 2 Grafdigger's Cage 4 Relic of Progenitus 1 Spell Pierce 2 Tidebinder Mage 2 Wizard's Retort |
| MHayashi's Merfolk (March 2019)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Artifacts (4) 4 Aether Vial Creatures (20) 4 Harbinger of the Tides 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 4 Merfolk Trickster 4 Silvergill Adept Enchantments (4) 4 Spreading Seas | Instants (8) 4 Deprive 4 Dismember 4 Repeal Lands (20) 4 Faerie Conclave 11 Island 4 Mutavault 1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds | Sideboard (15) 4 Chalice of the Void 3 Echoing Truth 4 Relic of Progenitus 4 Tectonic Edge |
| Daniel Duffee's Merfolk (Top 4, SCG Modern Open Syracuse, August 5-6, 2017)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Artifacts (6) 4 Aether Vial 2 Smuggler's Copter Creatures (27) 4 Cursecatcher 3 Harbinger of the Tides 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 3 Master of Waves 3 Merrow Reejerey 4 Silvergill Adept 2 Vendilion Clique | Enchantments (4) 4 Spreading Seas Instants (3) 3 Dismember Lands (20) 2 Cavern of Souls 12 Island 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge 4 Mutavault 1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds | Sideboard (15) 3 Ceremonious Rejection 2 Dispel 1 Echoing Truth 2 Hurkyl's Recall 2 Negate 3 Relic of Progenitus 2 Unified Will |
| Jonathon Zaczek/Nikachu's Merfolk (2nd Place, Grand Prix Vancouver, Februrary 18-19, 2017)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Artifacts (4) 4 Aether Vial Creatures (29) 4 Cursecatcher 3 Harbinger of the Tides 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 4 Master of Waves 3 Merrow Reejerey 4 Silvergill Adept 1 Tidebinder Mage 2 Vendilion Clique | Enchantments (4) 4 Spreading Seas Instants (3) 3 Dismember Lands (20) 2 Cavern of Souls 12 Island 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge 4 Mutavault 1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds | Sideboard (15) 3 Dispel 2 Relic of Progenitus 4 Tectonic Edge 2 Tidebinder Mage 4 Unified Will |
| Simon ****sky's Merfolk (1st Place, Grand Prix Los Angeles, May 21-22, 2016)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
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Artifacts (5) 4 Aether Vial 1 Relic of Progenitus Creatures (27) 4 Cursecatcher 2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 4 Master of Waves 3 Merrow Reejerey 1 Phantasmal Image 4 Silvergill Adept 1 Tidebinder Mage | Enchantments (4) 4 Spreading Seas Instants (4) 3 Dismember 1 Vapor Snag Lands (20) 2 Cavern of Souls 12 Island 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge 4 Mutavault 1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds | Sideboard (15) 2 Gut Shot 4 Hurkyl's Recall 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Spell Pierce 4 Tectonic Edge 1 Tidebinder Mage |
| Dario Casati's Merfolk (1st Place, OvinoSpring Main Milano, April 23, 2016)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
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Artifacts (4) 4 Aether Vial Creatures (33) 4 Cursecatcher 4 Harbinger of the Tides 1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 4 Master of Waves 4 Merrow Reejerey 4 Phantasmal Image 4 Silvergill Adept | Enchantments (4) 4 Spreading Seas Lands (19) 2 Cavern of Souls 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge 4 Mutavault 1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds 10 Island 1 Wanderwine Hub | Sideboard (15) 2 Dismember 2 Echoing Truth 4 Hurkyl's Recall 1 Negate 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Tidebinder Mage 2 Unified Will |
| Hunter Nance’s Merfolk (2nd Place, SCG Modern Open Charlotte, August 22-23, 2015)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Artifacts (4) 4 Aether Vial Creatures (29) 4 Cursecatcher 4 Harbinger of the Tides 2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 4 Master of Waves 3 Merrow Reejerey 4 Silvergill Adept | Enchantments (4) 4 Spreading Seas Instants (4) 2 Dismember 2 Spell Pierce Lands (19) 2 Cavern of Souls 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge 4 Mutavault 1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds 9 Island 2 Wanderwine Hub | Sideboard (15) 1 Dismember 2 Dispel 3 Hurkyl's Recall 1 Negate 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Spellskite 2 Tidebinder Mage 2 Unified Will |
| Paul Rietzl’s Merfolk (Top 8, Grand Prix Oklahoma, September 13-14, 2015)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Artifacts (4) 4 Aether Vial Creatures (31) 4 Cursecatcher 4 Harbinger of the Tides 1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 4 Master of Waves 4 Merrow Reejerey 2 Phantasmal Image 4 Silvergill Adept | Enchantments (4) 4 Spreading Seas Instants (1) 1 Vapor Snag Lands (20) 3 Cavern of Souls 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge 4 Mutavault 1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds 11 Island | Sideboard (15) 1 Dismember 4 Hurkyl's Recall 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Remand 2 Spell Pierce 2 Spellskite 2 Vapor Snag |
| Przemek Knocinski's Merfolk (1st Place, Grand Prix Copenhagen, June 21-22, 2015)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
|---|---|---|
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Artifacts (6) 4 Aether Vial 2 Relic of Progenitus Creatures (25) 4 Cursecatcher 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 3 Master of Waves 3 Merrow Reejerey 4 Silvergill Adept 3 Tidebinder Mage | Enchantments (4) 4 Spreading Seas Instants (5) 3 Dismember 2 Vapor Snag Lands (20) 1 Cavern of Souls 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge 4 Mutavault 1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds 10 Island 3 Wanderwine Hub | Sideboard (15) 1 Dispel 2 Hibernation 1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner 2 Master of Waves 2 Remand 3 Spell Pierce 4 Tectonic Edge 1 Tidebinder Mage |
| rothgar13's Budget Merfolk (under $150 USD, November 2019)Magic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards | ||
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Creatures (28) 4 Benthic Biomancer 4 Harbinger of the Tides 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 4 Master of Waves 4 Merfolk Trickster 4 Silvergill Adept | Enchantments (4) 4 Spreading Seas Instants (6) 4 Deprive 2 Spell Pierce Lands (22) 20 Island 2 Tectonic Edge | Sideboard (15) 2 Ceremonious Rejection 2 Dismember 4 Echoing Truth 3 Relic of Progenitus 2 Spell Pierce 2 Tectonic Edge |
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3 Mutavault
3 Cavern of Souls
2 Wasteland
4 Cursecatcher
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
2 Harbinger of the Tides
2 Vendilion Clique
3 Phantasmal Image
4 True-Name Nemesis
3 Daze
1 Echoing Truth
4 Aether Vial
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Misdirection
1 Null Rod
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Echoing Truth
2 Pithing Needle
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Dismember
2 Warping Wail
2 Submerge
Round 1 Loss Aggro Loam 1-2 Game 1 I harbinger'd his Marit Lage for the win, Game 2 was normal beat down, Game 3 I kept a weak hand and got punished
Round 2 Win Cheerioes 2-0 I just played dorks and attacked, pretty sure it was a budget list
Round 3 Win Eldrazi 2-0 Game 1 he was stuck on 1 land, Game 2 True Name went to work
Round 4 Win Sneak and Show 2-0 Game 1 he just drew air Game 2 I had all the interaction for his Show and Tells so none resolved, even had a Venser in hand if it did
Round 5 Draw into top 8 Drew with a friend, he was playing Shardless
Quarterfinals Aggro Loam 2-0 Same guy as round 1, Game 1 was just lord beat downs and Game 2 I had enough images to play around Punishing Fire and Maze to keep smashing in
Semifinals Miracles 2-0 (I played against Jarvis Yu if anyone of you know him, he has won a Legacy GP) Game 1 was a whole lot of nothing, Game 2 was much more involved with Null rod and Pithing Needle deading his tops and E.E I honestly don't remember much because I was so stressed about this match up.
Finals Miracles 2-0 Game 1 I got a jitte out on turn 2 to get advantage and when he went to Terminus I Forced pitching a daze, he forced back, and then I normal cast daze for the win, Game 2 was grindy but I had the force for his terminus when I swung for the win when the previous turn I Warping Wailed the other Terminus
Walked away with an Underground Sea and knowing that I won all of these games without Chalice and I will continue to play without that card. For those wondering I am playing another Daze, Echoing Truth, another Image, and another Clique over the 4 Chalice. Honestly the Echoing Truth and Misdirection was pretty meh never really did anything for me in the main or out of the side, but the rest of the list was perfect and every other card did something to help me win or at least keep from losing. I might play Flusterstorm or Back to Basics over them in the future but I'm not sure as well as I am unsure about the 1 Truth in the main, but not sure what else it should be as a 4th daze feels like too much. Cursecatcher against both Miracles got in for decent chunks of damage.
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I also am running 2 Harbingers and 3 Vapor Snags in the main now, the snags were great the whole event.
Round 1 Burn 2-1 master of waves and chalice
Round 2 Burn 1-2 he had the revelry for my chalice on 1 game 3
Round 3 Scapeshift 2-0 missed land drops game 2
Round 4 Bushwacker Zoo 2-0 tons of lords and tidebinders
My recalls never came in but I saw 2 affinity, lantern control and thopters so they would have done work if I played any of those decks.
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We are aggro primary. We can board into or adjust our gameplay to be midrange or tempo since we almost always bring in control cards to stall the game out against the faster aggro or combo decks. We can just as easily vomit lords onto the table and win on turn 4-5 by turning our dorks sideways. Zoo is aggro, it isn't midrange. We are just blue zoo. Bolt is an aggro, tempo, and control card but no one calls Burn a control deck. We win by attacking as fast as possible for as much as possible, that is aggro. We aren't trying to do chip damage while waiting a few turns to play our win condition or big dumb dork. We aren't trading 1 for 1 with all of our opponents threats like a real tempo deck (but shoal counts as this). The core static merfolk deck is aggro first and foremost.
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1 Bushwacker Zoo
1 Thopter Reanimator
1 Mill
1 W/R Soul Sisters
1 Elves
1 Podless Pod
1 Tron
1 Grisleshoal
1 Infect
1 U/W control
1 Scapeshift
1-2 U/R Storm
1 Bogles
1-2 Living End
1-2 Affinity
1 Lantern Control
Infect and U/W Control came back this week with Tron and Lantern coming back the week before, and my meta is fairly diverse...but I keep getting paired against Elves or Scapeshift or other rough Match Ups. Chalice aren't in my sideboard anymore since I have to combat Tron, Scapeshift, and the like. Jund, Value Abzan, conventional zoo, eldrazi, poof gone. I also am playing Recall against because of Thopters and Lantern, the affinity players have been there but 1-2 decks wasnt enough for it now I more or less have to. I can post the list I used, but its pretty conventional otherwise.
And Visions being draw 3 for 1 mana is a lie. That is why i used the Concentate analogy, it is actually WORSE than concentrate since you can at least cast that turn 4 and get value not wait a turn after or god forbid have it redirected.
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