Creature (30)
Land (22)
Enchantment (4)
Instant (4)
Sideboard
Creature (1)
Maybeboard
Creature (19)
WARNING: This deck guide in its current form is outdated! It is however Standard legal, so you can use it as inspiration :)
Ravnica Allegiance
A couple new (and interesting) Merfolk in this set, but I haven't had time to test them yet! I'll make sure to update the deck when I do :)
Guilds of Ravnica
Welp, no Simic in GRN. That means the deck will pretty much not change at all, since it was already rotation-proof. The only change is 2x Blink of an Eye instead of 2x Unsummon .
The deck might have a chance now however, depending on the post-rotation meta.
Core Set 2019
Sadly, Core Set 2019 doesn't provide much in terms of tribal synergy with the deck. Mistcaller is interesting, but not really useful in the current Goblin Chainwhirler meta, considering it's a 1/1 and there are no Show and Tell style decks in Standard at the moment. Salvager of Secrets is way too expensive at , and we have no instants or sorceries that are worth paying 5 mana to get back from the graveyard.
There are however interesting non-tribal cards. Mirror Image is an idea to copy useful creatures like our Merfolk Mistbinder lords or Silvergill Adept card draw engines. It does however cost , which places it on the higher side of the deck's mana curve. Sleep could be an alternative to Tempest Caller that lasts two turns, however it is easier to counter with Spell Pierce or Negate . Vivien Reid is interesting, although it is a curve-topper. Her -3 is very useful since the Merfolk colors usually lack removal. The -8 wins the game if it's activated (being a permanent Song of Freyalise -III).
Updates
UPDATE 06/04/18 - Dominaria is here! Changed 4x Swift Warden for 4x Merfolk Trickster . Changed 2x Essence Scatter for 2x Syncopate . Changed 4x Mist-Cloaked Herald for 2x Jungleborn Pioneer and 2x Herald of Secret Streams . Removed 2x Vineshaper Mystic and 1x Seafloor Oracle . Added 3x Song of Freyalise .
UPDATE 06/04/18 - Changed 2x Chart a Course for 2x Unsummon
UPDATE 09/03/18 - Changed 3x Herald of Secret Streams for 2x Tempest Caller + 1x Seafloor Oracle .
IF YOU LIKE THE DECK ENOUGH TO ADD IT TO YOUR FOLDERS, PLEASE GIVE AN UPVOTE AS WELL! THANKS <3
Hello and welcome to my budget Merfolk deck, M19 Edition!
The goal of the deck is to achieve a fast, tempo-like curve that allows you to strike down the opponent with huge Merfolk on turn 4+. It's very fun to play, but just like the Modern deck, you need to learn how to pilot it!
Creatures
- Deeproot Elite acts as a tribal Metallic Mimic . It allows you to place one (or more, if you have multiple on the board) +1/+1 counter(s) on your fishy friends every time they enter the battlefield. Sweet! If against a non-aggro deck, you would want to play it on T2, so that the next Merfolk you play will come in with counters on them (or let you place some on the Elite).
- Herald of Secret Streams can make most of your Merfolk become unblockable, since it allows creatures with +1/+1 counters on them to become unblockable. They were brought back with DOM, since the deck now makes use of Song of Freyalise
- Jungleborn Pioneer creates tons of value when it enters the board, making counters with Deeproot Elite or getting really big with Merfolk Mistbinder . Fun!
- Kumena's Speaker is an essential one-drop, since it almost always becomes a 2/2 on the turn it gets rid of summoning sickness. It's efficient and can become huge with Deeproot Elite and others. You want to have one of those in your starting hand.
- Merfolk Branchwalker has become a staple in the Modern Merfolk deck, and for good reason : it can be big, it can "scry" and it can get you a land (and a draw). You can play it on T2 if you're missing lands or if you don't have a Deeproot Elite , but it's usually better with a Deeproot Elite or Merfolk Mistbinder already on the board, so it doesn't die to Shock and the likes.
- Merfolk Mistbinder is the oh-so-awaited lord that the deck needed. It's only 2 CMC, it's not a 1/1 and it makes everything else scary. Play it when you have a few other Merfolk on the field (or T2 if playing against a control deck that has no mana left on your turn, otherwise it will always get countered).
- Merfolk Trickster is the newest addition to the deck. It replaces Swift Warden as a way to neutralize hard to deal with threats, such as Glorybringer or The Scarab God . There are two strategies you can use: either you use it as a flash blocker once attackers are declared, making them lose abilities (i.e. Scarab God's revival ability, or Flying and the elemental from Rekindling Phoenix and easy to block with a couple Merfolk (including this one with a 2/2 body); or you use it before combat to prevent their biggest threat from doing anything.
- Silvergill Adept is another Modern Merfolk staple. It's tribal card draw on legs. You want to play it whenever possible to gain card advantage. Try to reveal weaker cards such as Mist-Cloaked Herald when casting it (not tricks like Swift Warden ), and don't cast it for 5 CMC unless you have nothing else to play.
- Tempest Caller is our finisher. When you have a full board of Merfolk on the field and there is a massive stall, just play one of those babies and you can finish the game on the spot as long as it isn't countered (but it works even if removed otherwise!).
Sorceries, instants, enchantments
- Blink of an Eye takes care of preserving your tempo! No more getting stopped by a huge threat on turn 5!
- Syncopate is a strong counterspell in the early game when the opponent taps out, and you can dump your mana into it late in the game. Unlike Spell Pierce or Essence Scatter , it is pretty much unconditional. Since it also exiles the spell it counters, it is exceptionally strong against GW tokens, GPG and Scarab God decks. Wizard's Retort could also be a great counterspell since we have 8 Wizards in the deck ( Silvergill Adept and Merfolk Trickster ), but that goes by your preference.
- Hadana's Climb is an easy way to putting out +1/+1 counters on our Merfolk (and is easy to flip since we have other sources), as well as giving another way of dishing out large amounts of damage with evasion (or block fliers like Rekindling Phoenix or Glorybringer ).
- Song of Freyalise is our newest wincon. The plan is simple : get a huge board, tap for tons of mana to dump your hand, then attack with your vigilant trampling indestructible fish. If you have Herald of Secret Streams out, you just won the game!
Lands
- 8x Island and 6x Forest .
- 4x Hinterland Harbor .
- Unclaimed Territory is an obvious play in such a tribal deck, giving us any color of mana for casting Merfolk spells.
Sideboard
- Work in progress!
Suggestions
- Replace 1x Forest and 3x Island with 4x Botanical Sanctum if you have more funds. It will make the deck a lot more consistent. You can also replace 2x Jungleborn Pioneer with 1x Ghalta, Primal Hunger and 1x Jadelight Ranger for an explosive finisher!
Historical
Those cards were once in the deck, but I've since replaced them. You can still consider them for your deck!
- Swift Warden acts as a tribal Blossoming Defense in this deck. It has a huge body (Merfolk-relative), can save your stuff and act as a blocker when needed. You want to play Swift Warden on your opponent's turn as a surprise blocker most of the time, so that you have free mana to cast Essence Scatter if needed. It also makes the opponent more wary of removing your useful Merfolk (Elite, Mistbinder) from the field. Be warned that if you play it as a surprise blocker, the opponent can respond to its ETB ability before you can put hexproof on another creature! Also, try not to play it on your turn unless you absolutely need a body on T3.
- Essence Scatter is the chosen maindeck counterspell as the meta is very ETB-creature heavy right now. It could also be replaced with Admiral's Order , which I like very much in this deck since it's an easy way to protect your board from Settle the Wreckage and the likes, while being unconditional for 1/3 CMC. You can go up to 4 in the deck if you like, and replace Chart a Course .
- Mist-Cloaked Herald is the newest addition to this deck, and is played a lot in 8-one drop strategies. It's like a tribal Slither Blade , and can get really big with the help of our lords Merfolk Mistbinder and Deeproot Elite ... as well as being unblockable at all times ! Play it on T1 unless you have a Kumena's Speaker in your hand as well.
- Vineshaper Mystic places counters on our favorite shapers to help with the whole synergy. This was a 4-of in the Ixalan version of the deck, but I decided to replace two of them with some of the new Merfolk. Play it on T3 if you don't have something like an Elite and a Speaker, but only if you have another Merfolk (preferably 2 or more) on the field.
- Seafloor Oracle is a one-of that lets you draw more cards if you're at an advantage. You can play it instead of Tempest Caller if the board is not stalled. Try to play it on T4 if you have attacking opportunities.
- Chart a Course lets us draw two cards after attacking, which is easy to do since the deck is tempo-oriented. This gives us card advantage and helps with playing on curve. You can consider replacing this card with two more counterspells ( Essence Scatter , Spell Pierce or Negate ) if the meta is slow or control-heavy at your play location (i.e. lots of Grixis Control, GR Monsters, etc.).
- Enter the Unknown is a new option for mana acceleration that I want to try in this deck. It has the benefit of allowing you to empty your hand if it's filled with lands after using Silvergill Adept , Chart a Course or other explore cards, while also providing precious +1/+1 counters in some cases. I think it's going to be fun!
Suggestions
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| Top Ranked |
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| Date added | 7 years |
| Last updated | 5 years |
| Legality | This deck is not Standard legal. |
| Rarity (main - side) | 11 - 4 Rares 25 - 5 Uncommons 10 - 4 Commons |
| Cards | 60 |
| Avg. CMC | 2.13 |
| Tokens | Merfolk 1/1 U w/ Hexproof |
| Folders | Merfolk, Favorites, Dynomyte, sdsdsd, Ideas, Just a collection, Decks to get back into Magic with, standard, Standard, Standard |
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