Shoku it really depends on the matchup, starting hand, what your list consists of etc. If you want, take a look at my list. I won't keep a hand with anything less than 2-3 lands and at least 1-2 one drop creatures for turn 1 play. I've found if I don't have it, and I mull, I can go to 5 and still come out of it on top, barely, and haven't tested mine against any of the top 3 yet.

Try also looking at this list: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/08-01-18-merfolk-tokens/ it's not mine, it's someone else's, but it seems pretty interesting. There is one other fish list for standard I've commented on that I can link to you as well.

All in all, Fish isn't set to go in any one direction, though the one thing we can all agree on is at least making use of the token gen in Waters.

Also, this isn't at any one person, though there seems to be some confusion about Deeproot Waters + Metallic Mimic. Waters is an "on cast" trigger, Mimic isn't labeled a Merfolk until ETB, so it wouldn't trigger, whereas the Deeproot Elite would trigger the Waters, so in this case, Elite is the better choice.

Shirubaurufu I am aware of that, also not being able to reveal it for Silvergill can sometimes put you behind, only reason I'm not running him at a 4, Elite seems just overall better than Mimic but I still want to run both.

Looks pretty solid, I would try and stick 2 Heroic Intervention into the sideboard.

Id love to see some maindeck interaction, besides protecting your stuff. Theres got to be a way to deal with Longtusk Cub, Hazoret the Fervent or The Scarab God to hedge against top tier builds, maybe even a Censor or Spell Pierce to buy a turn. The strategy and your offense looks really well investigated, it just needs some haymaker endgame or something to slow down the opponent enough to set up your team. Fog stuff like Haze of Pollen for example allows you to be on offensive and not die to RamuRed or Dinos. maybe just add a couple of 4-drops at least or something to thwart a Sweltering Suns. Maybe Growing Rites of Itlimoc  ^Flip to cast a Tishana, Voice of Thunder. Theres a ton of intense midrange decks in the meta to keep in mind.

Looks like a fun deck to play, Im hoping Kumena and Silvergill were the missing pieces to Merfolk being competitive in Standard +1

Jimmy_Chinchila Thank you for suggesting Heroic Intervention, I completely forgot that card existed. As for Growing rites and Tishana, i feel they're both too slow. For the most part, the deck actually has a lot of card draw. I also don't think the deck really has anything to do with the large amount of mana that Itlimoc can give.

Great deck, I really want to play merfolk when RIX comes out! I didn't playtest or anything, but looking at the list, I would take out the Merfolk Branchwalker and Mimic, which is essentially a worse Deeproot Elite, for more protection (Swift Warden) and /or Tempest Caller as a finisher, which would also smooth out your mana-curve. Deeproot Elite is better than Mimic because a) you choose where the counter goes, it doesn't have to be on the creature that entered, b) relevant type outside the battlefield, too (for Silvergill Adept). You could, if it doesn't hurt too much, run playsets of Hashep Oasis and Ipnu Rivulet, which tap for the same mana as Forests and Islands, respectively, but ping you for it, but they have additional effects, and you could also run Unquenchable Thirst with them for removal that would be sided out against Energy decks.

+1, great deck, you see the power in Mist-Cloaked Heralds, love this brew and the idea behind it.

Have you considered using Nissa, Steward of Elements? If you lack a 3-drop she Scrys to set up better draws, and works well with explore creatures like Merfolk Branchwalker, or Jadelight Ranger if you end up putting that back in. Mid-game she flips over almost everything in these decks for only 3 loyalty, and late game you get 2 additional 5/5 evasive attackers that can come out of nowhere for your opponent to deal with.

Hey, looks good, but I think you're overestimating the aggro nature of Merfolk. When you break it down the lands are not good enough with two colors to be aggressive. We need Yavimaya Coast or Hinterland Harbor, another Simic dual land that can ETB untapped to have a chance. The two explore Merfolk are very much wanted to help with lands.

Wizards kinda failed by not reprinting in RIX the enemy Check lands, Hinterland Harbor, etc. Instead they reprinted the Planeswalker deck crap duals Woodland Stream, etc. For this reason alone slower going wide strategies make more sense.

Do you want to be aggressive or go wide with Merfolk? Both strategies are different and I don't think they can combine because Deeproot Waters and Kumena are too slow for aggro, but good with slower going wide tokens strategies. I think going wide is the more likely strategy to succeed because of the manabase and overall high powerlevel of Kumena with tokens.

That being said for aggro consider Jungleborn Pioneer? He has potential because he's great with Deeproot Elite. Two Merfolk bodies ETB for three mana and being able to right away begin putting counters on a hexproof Merfolk or any one or two drop Merfolk is good.

Simply said Pioneer puts more Merfolk bodies on the battlefield faster. I also like that Pioneer is a Merfolk as opposed to Waters which helps Silvergill Adept. Pioneer helps with ways to strengthen the early game aggro curve: Speaker into Elite into Pioneer into Mistbind, etc. is pretty aggressive. Pioneer is also a good three drop for a slower going wide tokens strategy with Kumena and Waters. After a board wipe getting two Merfolk for three mana is nice.

I suggest playtesting Jungleborn Pioneer and Jadelight Ranger in place of Waters, Kopala and Kumena. I think you'll notice an increase in speed and overall smoother gameplay.

Good luck with your deck.

I really like what multimedia had to say. No one seems to look at Jungleborn Pioneer, imo. 2 bodies for 1 card is very special when both make merfolk.

Although Simic lands are weak now the additional enemy land doesn't have to be there in tribal. We still have a good Unclaimed Territory for merfolk. That with just the right balance of non-merfolk spell colors can easily work.

Additionally there probably needs to be 2 more lands here. I wouldn't push 19 lands with this curve. It's nice when it does help but it's going to eventually lose because of lack of consistent land drops when it's most needed... that's said after a decade of magic. Good job.

In testing Tempest Caller was vastly stornger than Herald of Secret Streams. Tempest Caller allows your entire team to swing in unblocked, which outpaced temur energy about 70% of the time. The new lords add the ability to be much faster an more aggresive with your merfolk, meaning openings in the opponents defenses are exploited much more, and lead to more consistant wins.

Clearly solid let us know how the matches go it might be worth removing Mist Cloaked for some counter and perhaps shapers sanctuary/more protection. Having quick answers for Authority of the Consuls or push/plank will secure your haymakers.

I have put Seafloor Oracle and Herald of Secret Streams in the same deck, a playset of both. It threw my mana curve all over the place, but if you get both in play, it would be overpowered.

I did a playtest against my own deck!

nayasaurusrex {updated 12/01 - Rivals Testing}

Standard* Kizmetto

SCORE: 71 | 83 COMMENTS | 8499 VIEWS | IN 35 FOLDERS

I can see this deck running away with games easily! Thank you for the game. Im worried i sideboarded wrong, what would you bring in against a dinosaur game?

During my testis i did notice that tempert caller was kind of underwhelming. It was good against token senergy but very bad against aggro (like HazoRed its the New nickname of ramunap red) did you concider to play Swift warden instead? Its protection is very good to protect your lord and with either metallic mimic or mistbinder on the field its a 3 mana 4/4 flash

xoorathAh i didnt know it was a go tall build! I thought it was wide with all the counters and unblockable creatures. If i had known that i would've played it out differently.

I would find a way to put the admirals orders in the deck because they are a needed defense against board wipes during attack in a deck like this where it says"destroy all attacking creatures." You should take a look at my deck if you want to see some other good cards because i have a deck similar to this one but a lot more merfolk centered I think. I'm thinking about metal mimic in my deck and thats a good choice on your part.

could you drop over to my deck and have a look. I replied to your comments. Thanks.

Be sure to check out my version as wellhttp://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/bringing-merfolk-back-in-standard/

Hey you should check mine out, it's a bit more midrangey but essentially it plays on counters and making sure an attack goes through each turn.

i don't think $170 is "budget" lol

The deck is less than that, I would estimate around $100, tappedout has some issues updating prices so cards like Kumena arne't as expensive as they once were.

If budget is a concern, the Botanical Sanctums can be dropped for Woodland Streams or basics without too much impact on performance, and the Metallic Mimics can be swapped out for just about any other 2 drop like(although I would recommend keeping them, they really are strong. Merfolk have a surplus of 2 drops though so swapping the Mimics out for say River Sneak can still make the deck fairly competitive.

$170 for a Competitive standard deck is still a very good price when we have decks like UB control, Red Aggro, BG Constrictor costing between $300 and $400.

Half of the Deck's price is the Kumenas and Sanctums, dropping those for cheaper cards can get you a really fun and strong aggro deck for around $50.

This seems to be the most popular standard merfolk deck on this site, but im wondering how it actually performs as opposed to more mid-range/grindy builds. I've literally got an aggro merfolk list, mid-range list, and grindy Bant version of merfolk, all for comparison sake. My paper version is still just Simic, but with zero 1 drops and several 4-5 drops, it can still win on turn 5, which i think is the same for this deck(as far as fastest wins are concerned). This is what leads me to ask the hard question of: Is merfolk really suited for Aggro? I had a very hard time competing with Mardu vehicles, Boros Exert, and RDW while i was still running Kumena speakers and mist-cloaked heralds, but once i was all in on 2-3 drops, i found stabilizing was much easier turns 3-4.

Let me know what you think as far as philosophy goes. Like i said, merfolk can definitely be played multiple ways, so give me some opinions Gross Overconfidence

I'm preparing for a GP in my city this summer, and would like to pilot this competitively, so please, id love to hear what you have to say, regardless of an opposing viewpoint.

Best Alter I have seen for Kumena I've seen yet.

I take it back, this deck can win turn 4 with enough mist binders.

Song of Freyalise with enough 1 drops can get you a fairly early win as well, dropping a mistbinder or two on the turn you go swinging with your vigilance, trample, indestructible team secures the game.