What about adding in Drowner of Secrets as a secondary win con?

How about Lord of Atlantis and Master of the Pearl Trident ?

I'm still getting really bad draws when I playtest this. It seems like before the Lullmage Mentor lands there is not much happening. I still love it, but I looked for cards, that could improve your first and second turn: did you ever consider Spellsnare? I'mean it's cheap. It counters Tarmogoyf ... Also Annul or Steel Sabotage might work well in the sideboard against decks that heavily rely on artifacts (annull might also be viable against potential splinter twins). Augur of Bolas also seems to be a card you don't wanna miss out on. He just says "Yeah I play a creature and I have a counter in hand. Your turn...". I also like Silvergill Adept and Stonybrook Banneret for this deck. In the beginning I was a big fan of the tap to kill combo, but I have the feeling it happens very late.

The Silvergill Douser is a 4of because she slows down the game. Even if a creature is out on the field it wont be able to swing into me for anything anyways. The Coralhelm Commander is a 2/2 that turns into a 3/3 flyer for 1 and goes on for 3 more mana to be a 4/4 flyer with +1/+1. Augur of Bolas is a nice card but if he doesn't pull into anything then he is just a deck miller and he only swings for one. The Silvergill Adept were in the deck before i had my commanders. I do like them but it's just finding the space for them. Do i take out my Cursecatcher 's and hope that the extra card advantage helps me out? I bought AEther Vial s for the deck so i still need to find room for them too.. I definitely like the spell ideas. It'll make a vast improvement against 8rack play too.

I could just take out everything and go straight atlantis with Lord of Atlantis Master of the Pearl Trident Coralhelm Commander Merrow Reejerey but then i'd have to throw some island walk card in it to make it viable and i don't want to start going down that path

I like the potential Silvergill Douser and Merfolk Thaumaturgist combo to kill creatures too. Seems like a very annoying deck to deal with, +1

Thanks! Trying to get the balance right.

I agree that you shouldn't go down the mainstream bunch-of-lords route. It's unique and brilliant as it is!

thanks kroskan! I appreciate it.

Oh wow, I totally didn't even realise the Silvergill Douser + Merfolk Thaumaturgist combo. +1 for that alone.

If you play ANY lord, it needs to be Merrow Reejerey . It's so, so, SOOOOO much better than Coralhelm Commander . Get Rune Snag or Mana Leak back in over Sage's Dousing.. 3cmc is gross on a counterspell that isn't Cryptic Command , especially when it isn't even a hard counter. Silvergill Douser /Merfolk Thaumaturgist is a cute little combo, but it's very, very, very slow, and you're using two cards to (maybe) kill one creature a turn. Both are dead against combo or control, and a two-card combo based on a two and a three drop creature that both have to stay alive is just.. Bad against the decks you want it against. (Too slow, too dependent on keeping weak creatures in play.)

Umm.. Can you beat a combo deck? Especially one that runs Boseiju, Who Shelters All ? I feel you're in a nearly unwinnable situation against, say, Scapeshift lists. Living End and Patriot Control seem like they both crush this too.. And this is bad for you, as Scapeshift and Patriot Control lists are heavily played. Also, Supreme Verdict is going to be hell for you. =/

In place of Familiar's Ruse or Deprive , maybe you should use Counterspell ? It's costs less that both. I also think Squelch , Trickbind , or, if you have the money, Stifle would be good too.

unfortunately counterspell and stifle aren't allowed in modern. ill have to take a look at the others though. I like that counter ability with the added draw card. The split second one is nice too for the whole turn.

Paradoxical I really didn't see the versatility in Merrow Reejerey before. Now though i want more of them, atleast one more for sure. I'll add it in for now until i pick one up.

Lord of Atlantis Master of the Pearl Trident Spreading Seas is the combo i always see, you get card draw from seas, and also control as you choose which of their lands are an island, its the most effective method, also, why no Thassa, God of the Sea or Master of Waves ? waves spawns tokens MUCH faster than Lullmage Mentor and they are bigger tokens, that and all of these +1/+1 effects work with Mutavault , if you arent running any lords for the counters mutavault is utterly worthless in the deck, also many people run 2-3 Cavern of Souls for anti-counters for yourself, and Thassa, God of the Sea may not be a merfolk but she is obviously meant for merfolk decks considering she is basically their god, the scry makes draws much better, and you can make your creatures unblockable even without spreading seas or lords/masters. Phantasmal Image is also common as it can be used as ANY of your merfolk creatures or even an enemy Tarmogoyf since merfolk is an aggro/creature swing based deck with blue control spells to make sure they get through, adding too much control and slowing it down with so many 2-4 drops is counterproductive, any of the top tier merfolk players at my modern games, in which are all tournament-experienced players with the best decks in the formats, run this: devoted masters of the sea for a reference. i would check out mtgtop8.com to see the merfolk decks of the best players in magic, as most are identical to the one above.

if you want counterspells/merfolk combo, Cursecatcher is what you want 4 of

also, Tidebinder Mage and Sygg, River Cutthroat are often sideboarded

http://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=7031&d=240409&f=MO "here"

surprised no one's mentioned playing Remand

You've been picked in the TapDown Duels. Remove two cards in your Sideboard ASAP. I suggest removing 1 Hurkyl's Recall (not 2 or else that will favor you a bit more in the match up) and remove 1 Tidebinder Mage because that is too advantageous against your matchup and most people run the very popular Spellskite in their SBs, so it is fair to say you would without knowing your matchup.

Thank you, BattleWalrus

I'll have Matsi883 give his opinion as well as to what should be taken out to be fair and reasonable.

This is thematically brilliant, and functionally amazing. I wouldn't be embarrassed to take this to a PTQ or GP.

Do you happen to have the old list handy? I have a pretty standard merfolk list that I want to try out as a grindy control deck for a bit.

Hey there. I still do have the list, but its definitely not standard legal. Im at work right now, if you meant something else by standard let me know. When i get home ill post on your wall what list i was working with before i dismantled the deck :).

I meant standard as in the usual sort of deck, not as in the standard format :p

Thanks! That would be fantastic. I have been trying for ages to brew up a list around Lullmage Mentor, figuring out the right number and kind of counters, which merfolk to keep in/cut, and... well... everything else. Nothing has worked amazingly well in playtesting yet though sadly.

Regarding your current list, how has Dakra Mystic been for you so far? It's been interesting in a control shell, but seems to not be doing what good ol' aggro merfolk wants to be doing.