Spreading Seas is strictly worse than Aquitect's Will

Not exactly bloodshed343. Spreading Seas can pretty much disable a tron land and such. Aquitect's Will just gives it the subtype island.

Ah, I thought spreading seas only gave the subtype.

If I didn't want to spend the money on aether vial but i have the rest of this list currently what would you suggest?

Unfortunately there is no alternative for AEther Vial , its probably then best card in any aggro based Merfolk Deck, without it the deck will be good, but not competitive.

Good synergy & cheap (CMC)! Pretty good!

dylanyad is right :(

What makes Merfolk so badass is that they use AEther Vial to get out creatures, while keeping their mana open for stupid shit like Vapor Snag and Mana Leak. It's hilarious watching them work! :D

You need to run a full playset of AEther Vial, Lord of Atlantis, Master of the Pearl Trident, and Silvergill Adept. The rest is up to you.

I know you said it isn't anything higher than a 3 drop but Master of Waves is one of the best menfolks. it is bolt protected which is one of the most popular removal spells in the format. it also will usually produce a load of tokens which is good agains Liliana of the Veil. also Thassa, God of the Sea is good because it will usually be a creature and can just swing for 5 unblocked each turn.

Thank you for your suggestion sten94 , I agree that Master of Waves is an amazing card, but i prefer to keep him in my sideboard for Jund and/or Burn decks. As for Thassa, God of the Sea, Ive added it to my sideboard for that extra scry power against certain decks. Thanks for the feedback!

As a merfolk enthusiast (see name), I agree with this deck. You, Sir dylanyad, have my +1.

I like the innovative Psionic Blast. Is it a meta decision?

@theeagleofrome

Yes, AEther Vial is nigh irreplacable and makes Merfolk competitive, but a cheaper alternative is Leyline of Anticipation. Not quite the same, but you still get that instant speed for your Merfolk so you can keep counter mana open.

Leyline can also do other shenanigans, check it out in Flash Flood

Thanks very much merrowMania, i appreciate your feedback. I put in Psionic Blast because nobody ever expects it.. Its won me countless games in both tournaments and against people in my meta. It can be used to finish off an unsuspecting opponent and/or can be used as removal for powerful creatures. I definitely recommend this card for any Merfolk deck.

+1 love this version of merfolks.. Coralhelm Commander and Psionic Blast seem to work as great finishers in here :)

AEther Vial just CAN'T be replaced, unfortunately. However, you could possibly run Yisan, the Wanderer Bard if you were splashing green. Which you aren't. You really shouldn't.

As other people said, no card can really replace Aether Vial. Merfolk in general is really not all that competitive in Modern, even with Vials - without them it's near unplayable

It's obviously not as good as AEther Vial, but Soul Foundry might be a possible replacement

How is it not competetive its a tier 2 deck..

+1 For Psionic Blast !

The best merfolk decks can achieve infinite mill, life, tokens and all by T3-4, just saying. This is still really fun though!

It's an ok deck to bring to a smaller event, sure, but playing a suboptimal list (i.e. without Aether Vials) of a deck that already struggles to compete with the better decks of the format isn't exactly what's known as optimal.

lol im using aether vial, ive used it in events and done well, ive never once heard of these decks struggling with any other deck and in my experience all over my city I have not struggled, i dont know where your from or what your meta is, but we obviously are NOT on the same page here.

Also, whats the point of going onto somebodys deck and telling them that theyre deck is not as good as other decks, you must have alot of time on your hands

Yeah if you're going to criticize, use constructive criticism and not just hate. Merfolk decks are (I think) tier 2, so they do fine in modern.

But just out of curiosity, why Psionic Blast? Seems like another two Remand would work better.

Interesting you would ask, Psionic Blast works well because its a card that can be used to finish off an unexpected player with 4 or less life, it can also be used as removal for creatures that are hard to deal with. I have playtested using more counter spells, but overall i feel Psionic Blast has won me more games. Perhaps its just a meta thing.