I've worked towards a merfolk deck for many many years, and I have almost succeeded, but I am at a cross roads with design. Here is my current design: http://deckbox.org/sets/693669

I know there are cards that are better suited for the slots I have taken up with others, but I am not sure if they are best used by what i have chosen.
Any suggestions for the main board and the side board are welcome!

Looks okay, I'm not a modern expert or a merfolk expert, but I've seen similar lists around. The last version I played against had master of waves in it. Have tried that? It seemed good.

here's a similar list.

http://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=7413&d=242424&f=MO

elpablo wrote:Looks okay, I'm not a modern expert or a merfolk expert, but I've seen similar lists around. The last version I played against had master of waves in it. Have tried that? It seemed good.

here's a similar list.

http://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=7413&d=242424&f=MO

The current version I am running until I get more of the parts has the full three in it, and I guess I should maybe keep them. I have a bit of a focus on control when I play with it, but I need to drop it since its a tribal build. Usually since I only have 3 of the 4 vials I need, I have to hard-cast him, which I see as a small issue, but as long as one of the 4 lands is a cavern I should be good.
Now the spell pierce I am not sure if I would run over mana leak since it only hits non-creature, where as mana leak gets it all for 1 colorless more.

ideally you're using aethervial to put your dudes out right? So i feel like the sure thing in mana leak is good as it can stop some of the combos if you catch them without mana to pay... heck even making them pay the 3 mana might mean they can't finish the combo that turn.

I like MOW because lots of answers for him in modern are red,IE: bolt, electrolyze, galvanic blast, etc... they have to path him or use something like terror/doomblade. Limits the answers they can have.

I like the 1/1 unblockable Triton Shorestalker. Early pressure is always nice, and it puts them on a fast clock once the lords are on the field.

elpablo wrote:ideally you're using aethervial to put your dudes out right? So i feel like the sure thing in mana leak is good as it can stop some of the combos if you catch them without mana to pay... heck even making them pay the 3 mana might mean they can't finish the combo that turn.

I like MOW because lots of answers for him in modern are red,IE: bolt, electrolyze, galvanic blast, etc... they have to path him or use something like terror/doomblade. Limits the answers they can have.

It packs alot more of a punch than Spell Pierce IMO taking care of combo, and the hilarity of mana leaking a mana leak in control! I like playing Remand, but only as a 4-of, which limits my deck a bit too much.
I must say the pro-red is very good, and actually helped me win against a control deck. He is quite worth the 4 mana he is, just a little unsure of the openess i have after playing him, but thats just a play style preferance.

HikingStick wrote:I like the 1/1 unblockable Triton Shorestalker. Early pressure is always nice, and it puts them on a fast clock once the lords are on the field.

You know, I considered him, but he isn't nessisary when I run Cursecatcher since he is a lot like him with a bit better of an effect than unblockable. And since Curscatcher is quite often a 1/1, the unblockable doesn't really come in handy till a Lord hits the board to pump him, and that is not very likely with the ammount of countermagic and removal that gets thrown at them to keep them from sticking. Nontheless I love the card, and it has a place in a casual merfolk deck for me!

Im not really sure what Thassa adds to the deck. Alot of decks run Islands OR you have Spreading Seas so all your stuff is unblockable already. Is an out of Tribe Scry effect worth the slot?

TRZ wrote:Im not really sure what Thassa adds to the deck. Alot of decks run Islands OR you have Spreading Seas so all your stuff is unblockable already. Is an out of Tribe Scry effect worth the slot?

The scry is actually pretty nice if I can remember it for mid to late game to keep me off something like aethervial, or hitting another land I may not need. And if she is active, she's an indestructible, unblockable 5/5. Sure she may not add to the tribal aspect much, but she has a decent amount to make up for it. She's kind of in between in my mind when I compare the slot to certain cards still.

majormogley wrote:

TRZ wrote:Im not really sure what Thassa adds to the deck. Alot of decks run Islands OR you have Spreading Seas so all your stuff is unblockable already. Is an out of Tribe Scry effect worth the slot?

The scry is actually pretty nice if I can remember it for mid to late game to keep me off something like aethervial, or hitting another land I may not need. And if she is active, she's an indestructible, unblockable 5/5. Sure she may not add to the tribal aspect much, but she has a decent amount to make up for it. She's kind of in between in my mind when I compare the slot to certain cards still.

Its certainly comparable to something like Think Tank that was pretty powerful in standard at the time. Im just not sure about in Merfolk. I havent piloted a merfolk deck though so Im not sure if Im the best person to help you.

After rethinking it, i think TRZ is probably right. Either go all in on thassa as an enabler add 1-2 more of her, or go with spreading sees. IMO, I like her since you can still cast her with aether vial and she does help smooth your draws, but modern is a "turn 4 format" so you need be able to stop someone's wincon on turn 4 or enable your own.

I think if you went with thassa it gives you a little more room for other tempo/control cards, but the downside is it may be a tad slower/more mana intensive.

Having played against modern Merfolk myself I can say with certainty that Thassa is very good in this deck. The game usually goes something like this:

T1: land, Aether Vial
T2: vialed Cursecatcher, lord
T3: vialed Lord, active Thassa

The Scry 1 is extremely important for maximizing the quality of your draws. Aggro decks need to keep drawing threats to be relevant and Thassa helps with that quite a bit. My best friend pilots a fish deck which runs 2 Thassas and that seems to be a good number. I would not suggest running 4.

About Remand: My opinion is that you can run 4. I'm not saying for sure run 4, Mana Leak is a very good counter also, but if the game goes longer than 5 turns Leak becomes significantly less useful and is next to useless against Tron. Merfolk should be fast enough that if you counter just 1 spell that would mess you up that probably delayed your opponent long enough for you to swing for the win.

Side note: Put something to counter Ensnaring Bridge in your sideboard. Spell Pierce might be all you need.
2nd Side note: Twisted Image is amazing.

TRZ wrote:

majormogley wrote:

TRZ wrote:Im not really sure what Thassa adds to the deck. Alot of decks run Islands OR you have Spreading Seas so all your stuff is unblockable already. Is an out of Tribe Scry effect worth the slot?

The scry is actually pretty nice if I can remember it for mid to late game to keep me off something like aethervial, or hitting another land I may not need. And if she is active, she's an indestructible, unblockable 5/5. Sure she may not add to the tribal aspect much, but she has a decent amount to make up for it. She's kind of in between in my mind when I compare the slot to certain cards still.

Its certainly comparable to something like Think Tank that was pretty powerful in standard at the time. Im just not sure about in Merfolk. I havent piloted a merfolk deck though so Im not sure if Im the best person to help you.

Once you have run it, it's a bit easier to see its usefulness, but really it isn't a hung impact overall, mostly just good for the scry-draw.

elpablo wrote:After rethinking it, i think TRZ is probably right. Either go all in on thassa as an enabler add 1-2 more of her, or go with spreading sees. IMO, I like her since you can still cast her with aether vial and she does help smooth your draws, but modern is a "turn 4 format" so you need be able to stop someone's wincon on turn 4 or enable your own.

I think if you went with thassa it gives you a little more room for other tempo/control cards, but the downside is it may be a tad slower/more mana intensive.

The more I look at her, the more I see she isn't as needed as I would think she might be. Spreading Seas is deffinantly a needed part of the deck, and I do intend on running it once I get my hands on a set of them. In modern it really is rather dire to either turn off their chances of winconning, or stopping them all together.