Not an expert on Vengevine.dec but it's engine depends on finding and resolving looting spells (Looting and Reunion) to do the thing.
Have a Bird into Thorn and the deck is mostly stopped. Cage, Relic, Wurmcoil, Battlesphere, even Spellbomb, big Ballista, Hangarback if necessary, Thorn, Spellskite... we are not defenseless.
And the deck didn't took down an Open, not even top32.
Some Merfolk dignitaries swear by Gemstone Caverns.
It is only "active" 5.8% of time with one copy in the main.
I don't like it there, but this deck can use first turn Sculptor, Engineer, Copter, or even Thorn after sideboard. And can easily use colorless mana otherwise.
Even more copies are not completely dead with 4 Copters, just like Opals with Ravager.
Anyone tried it?
Monument can be good if we start Architect into Master of Waves for infinite power, which can be tapped for infinite Ballista or Monument.
Without Waves we only have Battlesphere or Hangarback as token makers. I would say no. But the beauty of this deck is modularity.
For a creature deck we are nicely positioned against Verdict: manlands, Copter, Wurmcoil, Throne, Gift, Lodestone, Thorn, Academy Ruins, with possible Scrap Thrawler, Trinket Mage and Relic of Progenitus for grinding. I would focus on other mathups before UW Ctrl.
I also wonder about Signal Pest. The card never did anything for me in this deck.
Did anyone try Tectonic Edge? With all those delaying cards (blue one-drops, Lodestone, Thorn) we can easily turn soft lock into hard.
@Banner
It is like they are entering a "red zone" which those two does alot, while Architect usually hangs back, being brain to the whole thing. In that scenario Master of Etherium is randomly holding a baby in the middle of a no-man's land.
@Epityr.dec
You play Bridge in the sideboard? What is the plan with that?
@Banner
Architect gives orders to his artifact minions on the battlefield (Superion and Copter), that part looks great, but then Master looks disjointed because he is looking to the left. Could you swap him with Lodestone, because his art is perfect as a first line of offense against puny human?
Maybe even Wanderer in the top right corner, looking over the field?
@Epityr.dec
Whether I believe Sage and fetches has a place in the deck, is not important, but 2 Oboro and 3 Throne is surely one too many.
Your build wants to have more control over topdeck but why do you trim Copter, second best card in the deck?
If opponent is taxed then so is Venser. 2 4-drops in 22 lands deck, costing at least 4 mana, is not ideal, when they cost 5-6 mana even less so.
We have Copters, manlands and tax effects so Verdict is less annoying than it could be.
Eldrazi Tron and Affinity are still popular decks and we need Rejections in the side (without those ETron is unbeatable), and being good against Tron and Lantern is a bonus.
Speaking of manlands, our mana base might be stretched with few more, like 2 Mutavaults or something. There are only 4 cards with UU in it, with plenty U sources. That could help against Explosives, Anger, Verdict, walkers and being creatures for Copter is nice.
Sword was insane in the field, won me a game singlehandedly. It can gain life vs Burn while also attritioning well vs control and midrange decks (gains you life a turn later than Harvester if you block with Harvester ASAP, but nonetheless...) Synergy with our 1CMC guys and Ballistas was putting in a lot of work for me.
I'm trying to see if Curiosity will work for me where other cards have failed in the midrange/control matchups. It just seems like you can run away with the lead and then comfortably drop back into the race and clean up the opponent after a board wipe.
Sword can give you life turn faster than Harvester: Bird into Sculptor into Architect means you can attack with equipped flying creature on turn 3 or with equipped Sculptor with Bird protection up.
Bident of Thassa is better choice than Curiosity, if you want to draw cards. Enchanted creature dies to anything because removal is too efficient, Bident stays out and gives ability to all.
We have a deck with many dinky creatures that mostly do the same thing. Hand disruption is not that great against it.
That Leyline that could save us from TSeiezes of the world has to replace a cog in our deck with a card that isn't amazing in noncombo deck.
We have to draw it and multiples are bad (even with 4 Copters). To draw it we have to flood a sideboard with Leylines. Not fond of that plan.
For a mono blue deck we actually have a lot in removal department. 4 Ballista + Trinkets + Collar assemble a quick shotgun for low price in mana/time.
Add Gut Shots/Dismembers as needed, but the thing is, our deck is explosive, we are spewing permanents out quicker than most decks, add blanket measure like Thorn/Lodestone/Chalice and it is up to opponents to fire some removal, if they can, not on us.
Merfolk fist pumps whenever opponent start with Island, that is just a fact.
What this deck have is hard to block flyers, Ballista deals with Master of Waves and many other stuff and Merfolk is 2% of the meta.
I would focus on other decks.
With only 22 lands (right number for this deck) turn 3 Architect into turn 4 Waves is not so probable.
Old Blue Devotion had 25 lands and it was fine, 22 doesn't help with Master.
In my book, RiP is not a strictly better card than Relic. For example, with only 10 sources of white mana you are guaranteed to play only one of those cards.
Plains in a mono blue deck is a huge cost. You are probably taking damage to cast RiP. Your mana base makes you infinitely more vulnerable to Burn, Scapeshift, colorscrew and other aggressive decks. Drawing two RiP and two Relic is huge difference. Relic works with this deck (namely Trinket and it's "free" to play in many scenarios). After you finish screwing with your opponent you draw a card. None of these thing makes RiP strictly better.
Other than Verdict you haven't mentioned other cards that you wish to fight. Verdict is powerful but if it costs 5-6-7 mana like against us, I find Thorn and Lodestone enough to fight it, with Copter and Blinkmoth in reserve if things go south. We don't need Queller that bad.
Thalia and Canonist can easily be replaced by Thorn and Lodestone, with added pressure from our 1-drops. Combo should fear us, I think.
You are not casting white Leyline in this deck, mana just isn't there, only hope is starting hand, just not sure why you need that card.
Disenchant destroys... what?
Personally, I have 4 Ceremonious Rejection in the side because Eldrazi Tron and Tron are not easiest matchups.
Then tutor targets like graveyard hate (Cage, Relic with Trinket), combo hate (Chalice with Trinket, Thorn), possibly Annul (deals with everything like Disenchant, just less expensive and in color), some Gut Shot/Dismember (for creature and creature/combo decks), Hangarback (tutor target against grindy decks), Unified Will (Titan, Tron, combo), maybe Echoing Truth as catch all.
Blue Steel is not the best deck (yet) but I feel white is not needed.
Back in Merfolk subforum we regularly talk about splashes (pun intended), but mostly agree it isn't necessary.
Being mono brings a lot of stability to both Fish and Blue Steel.
Before destroying our mana base, what do you plan to accomplish with white splash, which cards give you problems?
Maybe there is solution within Island embrace.
Investing four mana in Master of Waves might be more ideal here since Architect helps in protecting tokens, but it will never be less than 4 mana, never helped by Vial and never brutal in Elemental numbers like over the pond, similar how Master of Etherium is not great here as he is with Robots.
Bident is ok. With 12 accelerators we need more artifact payoffs instead of the Waves.
Hellkite reads great but using the removal ability means you are already attacking and dealing damage with it.
You want to destroy many one-mana artifacts vs Lantern but there is no attack, Affinity (infinite flyers for chump), Junk (Souls), Grixis (Command, Terminate), Hatebears (Path)...
Without etb/haste/leaves play value, I don't see it.
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Have a Bird into Thorn and the deck is mostly stopped. Cage, Relic, Wurmcoil, Battlesphere, even Spellbomb, big Ballista, Hangarback if necessary, Thorn, Spellskite... we are not defenseless.
And the deck didn't took down an Open, not even top32.
It is only "active" 5.8% of time with one copy in the main.
I don't like it there, but this deck can use first turn Sculptor, Engineer, Copter, or even Thorn after sideboard. And can easily use colorless mana otherwise.
Even more copies are not completely dead with 4 Copters, just like Opals with Ravager.
Anyone tried it?
Without Waves we only have Battlesphere or Hangarback as token makers. I would say no. But the beauty of this deck is modularity.
I also wonder about Signal Pest. The card never did anything for me in this deck.
Did anyone try Tectonic Edge? With all those delaying cards (blue one-drops, Lodestone, Thorn) we can easily turn soft lock into hard.
It is like they are entering a "red zone" which those two does alot, while Architect usually hangs back, being brain to the whole thing. In that scenario Master of Etherium is randomly holding a baby in the middle of a no-man's land.
@Epityr.dec
You play Bridge in the sideboard? What is the plan with that?
Architect gives orders to his artifact minions on the battlefield (Superion and Copter), that part looks great, but then Master looks disjointed because he is looking to the left. Could you swap him with Lodestone, because his art is perfect as a first line of offense against puny human?
Maybe even Wanderer in the top right corner, looking over the field?
@Epityr.dec
Whether I believe Sage and fetches has a place in the deck, is not important, but 2 Oboro and 3 Throne is surely one too many.
Your build wants to have more control over topdeck but why do you trim Copter, second best card in the deck?
We have Copters, manlands and tax effects so Verdict is less annoying than it could be.
Eldrazi Tron and Affinity are still popular decks and we need Rejections in the side (without those ETron is unbeatable), and being good against Tron and Lantern is a bonus.
Speaking of manlands, our mana base might be stretched with few more, like 2 Mutavaults or something. There are only 4 cards with UU in it, with plenty U sources. That could help against Explosives, Anger, Verdict, walkers and being creatures for Copter is nice.
Bident of Thassa is better choice than Curiosity, if you want to draw cards. Enchanted creature dies to anything because removal is too efficient, Bident stays out and gives ability to all.
That Leyline that could save us from TSeiezes of the world has to replace a cog in our deck with a card that isn't amazing in noncombo deck.
We have to draw it and multiples are bad (even with 4 Copters). To draw it we have to flood a sideboard with Leylines. Not fond of that plan.
For a mono blue deck we actually have a lot in removal department. 4 Ballista + Trinkets + Collar assemble a quick shotgun for low price in mana/time.
Add Gut Shots/Dismembers as needed, but the thing is, our deck is explosive, we are spewing permanents out quicker than most decks, add blanket measure like Thorn/Lodestone/Chalice and it is up to opponents to fire some removal, if they can, not on us.
Merfolk fist pumps whenever opponent start with Island, that is just a fact.
What this deck have is hard to block flyers, Ballista deals with Master of Waves and many other stuff and Merfolk is 2% of the meta.
I would focus on other decks.
Old Blue Devotion had 25 lands and it was fine, 22 doesn't help with Master.
In my book, RiP is not a strictly better card than Relic. For example, with only 10 sources of white mana you are guaranteed to play only one of those cards.
Plains in a mono blue deck is a huge cost. You are probably taking damage to cast RiP. Your mana base makes you infinitely more vulnerable to Burn, Scapeshift, colorscrew and other aggressive decks. Drawing two RiP and two Relic is huge difference. Relic works with this deck (namely Trinket and it's "free" to play in many scenarios). After you finish screwing with your opponent you draw a card. None of these thing makes RiP strictly better.
Other than Verdict you haven't mentioned other cards that you wish to fight. Verdict is powerful but if it costs 5-6-7 mana like against us, I find Thorn and Lodestone enough to fight it, with Copter and Blinkmoth in reserve if things go south. We don't need Queller that bad.
Thalia and Canonist can easily be replaced by Thorn and Lodestone, with added pressure from our 1-drops. Combo should fear us, I think.
You are not casting white Leyline in this deck, mana just isn't there, only hope is starting hand, just not sure why you need that card.
Disenchant destroys... what?
Personally, I have 4 Ceremonious Rejection in the side because Eldrazi Tron and Tron are not easiest matchups.
Then tutor targets like graveyard hate (Cage, Relic with Trinket), combo hate (Chalice with Trinket, Thorn), possibly Annul (deals with everything like Disenchant, just less expensive and in color), some Gut Shot/Dismember (for creature and creature/combo decks), Hangarback (tutor target against grindy decks), Unified Will (Titan, Tron, combo), maybe Echoing Truth as catch all.
Blue Steel is not the best deck (yet) but I feel white is not needed.
Being mono brings a lot of stability to both Fish and Blue Steel.
Before destroying our mana base, what do you plan to accomplish with white splash, which cards give you problems?
Maybe there is solution within Island embrace.
Investing four mana in Master of Waves might be more ideal here since Architect helps in protecting tokens, but it will never be less than 4 mana, never helped by Vial and never brutal in Elemental numbers like over the pond, similar how Master of Etherium is not great here as he is with Robots.
Bident is ok. With 12 accelerators we need more artifact payoffs instead of the Waves.
At least, that is my opinion.
You want to destroy many one-mana artifacts vs Lantern but there is no attack, Affinity (infinite flyers for chump), Junk (Souls), Grixis (Command, Terminate), Hatebears (Path)...
Without etb/haste/leaves play value, I don't see it.