U/G Merfolk is an Aggressive Tempo Tribal deck that looks to play high value creatures and protect them with reactionary spells. A bit about myself is I am normally a control player; the past couple standard seasons you would've caught me playing U/R Control, U/W Spirits, Jeskai Control, Jeskai Black, and Prime Speaker Bant. I love tribal decks, especially ones that take a tempo route such as merfolk so I was excited to make a deck work for them, and I feel like they could have a place to stay in the new standard environment.
Card Choices:
In most cases this is a 2/2 for G which is a great rate. Its a cheap merfolk for River Sneak and its a potent threat on its own without investing too much into it.
At first I was skeptical as this is only a 1/1 for 1G but the more I tested the deck the more I saw that this guy just grows naturally from just playing the type of game we want to play anyway.
Our Merfolk lord, it's beneficial that he gives +1/+1 counters to other Merfolk rather than just giving a static +1/+1
An unblockable 1/1 for 1U,can have explosive turns similar to Mausoleum Wanderer
Gives our Merfolk psuedo-Islandwalk of old and makes our team unblockable. The 2/3 body can be relevant as well since after one +1/+1 counter he is out of Abrade and Lightning Strike range.
Can give +1/+1 counters to himself and the rest of the team, or if its an empty board can just be an 8/8 trample for 3GG
Serves a primary purpose and a secondary purpose. Its primary purpose is to protect against spot removal that River Heralds' Boon can't protect us from such as Fatal Push,Cast Out, and even Unsummon effects. Its secondary purpose is to push through that little extra damage we may need to finish a game.
This is almost always "Draw 2 cards" for 1U and its great. With this we can be sure that we're never running out of fish to play or answers we need. Its unfortunate that it isn't instant speed but that would be a bit too much.
Jace gives the consistency that the deck needs, his +1 giving us the ability to loot for having just one of our merfolk hit as well as another permanent to take a card out of our opponents hand or to soak damage for us is a good rate for 1UU. He can also make an Illusion token on an empty board which is okay, but really all we want here is the ability to loot.
Cards Considered: Merfolk Branchwalker - The card is too vanilla and while it can smooth out our draws, I feel like we'd want it to be a 3/2 for 1G way more often than a 2/1 for 1G that draws us a land card. I could be wrong about the creature but my gut response says that the other creatures in the deck are just flat out better.
Deeproot Waters - The enchantment is a do nothing spell on turn 3 and while it can be good, is just too slow. 1/1 hexproof aren't relevant either.
Shaper Apprentice - It can't buff itself somehow like all of the other merfolk. Evasion is nice though.
Shapers of Nature - 99% of the time will just be a 3/3 for 1GU, its abilities are just too mana-intensive.
Nissa, Steward of Elements - While Nissa can smooth out our draws and be a potential mana sink, I feel the reliability of Jace is more important.
Ridgescale Tusker - Can be a budget Gearhulk that can sometimes be better if we have more than 4 creatures out, but the Gearhulk is probably the better play in most situations.
Tishana, Voice of Thunder - Simply too expensive. I heard Gerry Thompson wrote an article for a merfolk deck featuring Ixalan's Cradle and mana sinks so this may in that list, but I personally haven't seen the list myself.
I've only been able to do some light testing against Dinosaurs, Temur Energy, and U/R Control decks but the mainboard feels optimal and that it can have strong game 1s. I'm unsure of what to do with the sideboard so for the purpose of being complete I decided to go with a safe sideboard that doesn't answer one archetype but instead tries to protect its own gameplan.
I think Merfolk Branchwalker is just too strong to leave out...it comes in as a 3/2 with explore, and at least gives you a land of the top...with mimic and Herald of Secret Streams you're getting a 3/2 unblockable, and in my testing, sometimes a 4/3 unblockable.
I haven't given up complete on Deeproot Waters ...but it can be a dead draw at times...really wish we could ramp into it or play it turn two...it can be explosive with mimic and maybe Vanquisher's Banner which is SUPER slow, but a great finisher.
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"I hope to have such a death—lying in triumph upon the broken bodies of those who slew me."
—Radha, Keldon warlord
I think that Kopala needs to go in the main regardless. As a 3 of. You need him. You should also be playing OPT. Jace is not good in this deck.I would trade him for 3 disallow. You should be playing deeproot waters if you're playing River Sneak. Otherwise a tight nit strategy with counter boosted merfolks getting in with counter back up is the way to go... I think Shaper's Sanctuary is solid for merfolk because it keeps the hand full. I am finding counters and counter spells are vital to their survival. I think that this deck wants a turn 1,2,3 strong play with control 4,5 with 6 win.
This is fun. River Herald's Boon is siiiiiiiick with all the merfs especially Deeproot buffing it +3/+3. We have this inability to keep up with some heavy hits so Life Goes On is actually a really slick way of surviving. Deeproot can get huge... Making any of these people unblockable is amazing. Kopala is a huge asset because he makes your people super hard to target and makes Spell Pierce...Fierce.
This is fun. River Herald's Boon is siiiiiiiick with all the merfs especially Deeproot buffing it +3/+3. We have this inability to keep up with some heavy hits so Life Goes On is actually a really slick way of surviving. Deeproot can get huge... Making any of these people unblockable is amazing. Kopala is a huge asset because he makes your people super hard to target and makes Spell Pierce...Fierce.
I like this one better than OPs. Although, four of the legendary creature is to many. He will be a dead draw sometimes. -2 of him and +2 of the skyship
Also, the lifegain spell is real bad imo.
And the branchwalker is one of the strongest cards in merfolk, need to play him too. The champion isn't all that great.
Metallic mimic should be in here somewhere.
don't know, I think Merfolk Branchwalker looks great, it may decrease your land counting to 22.
i think Vineshaper Mystic and Watertrap Weaver do more for this deck than Jace. Tap a god, lifeliker, glorybringer and keep it tapped looks better than draw one... Rishkar, Peema Renegade is another 3 cmc better than Jace in this deck.
Champion wins games dude. He is the only contender to dinosaurs. You will see. He is the best Merfolk next to Kopala. Together alone they can win games. I can take Kopala to 3 and Verdurous Gearhulk up to 3. I am not adding Branchwalker or Metallic Mimic because my build doesn't go wide. It stays 2-3 creatures walking the deeproot champion to victory. Often deeproot gets to be like an 8/8 and they can't touch him.
Champion wins games dude. He is the only contender to dinosaurs. You will see. He is the best Merfolk next to Kopala. Together alone they can win games. I can take Kopala to 3 and Verdurous Gearhulk up to 3. I am not adding Branchwalker or Metallic Mimic because my build doesn't go wide. It stays 2-3 creatures walking the deeproot champion to victory. Often deeproot gets to be like an 8/8 and they can't touch him.
Hey, it's your build, do whatever you like. After a lot of testing, I see no value in a vanilla 1/1 on turn two that will always die before it has any real merit.
The branhwalker is definitely the strongest green common and one of the strongest green cards in xln.
The mimic actually feeds the unblockable guys ability.
No one is gonna spot remove these guys, making the lord not good
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ do whatever you like
Don't get me wrong, it's a good tabletop deck but can't beat any of the top teir decks
I feel like there are two different decks here. The classic Miacle Gro Quiron Dryad style deck and the all in tribal deck.
Deeproot champion seems amazing in more of a ~20 land, possibly playing red for burn, maybe with Enigma drake kind of deck. It would not have Verdurous Gearhulk, and likely very little above 2 mana. It would rely on blossoming defense and spell pierce and possibly unsummons to get teh job done. I like the branchwalker there to cut lands, and possibly bomat and or soulscar mage. These really help with the spell plan and chart the course. Jace may work in this deck or the enchantment that turns into a 3/3 flyer.
The other deck is going full tribal. 4 metallic mimic, 4 branchwalkers, 3 Kopala etc. Once again I do not like the Gearhulk. 5 mana spells are not what you want especially if you are holding up spell pierce/blossoming defense. I am almost tempted to splash winding constrictor and make River' herald's boon awesome but that is probably a third deck.
I feel like there are two different decks here. The classic Miacle Gro Quiron Dryad style deck and the all in tribal deck.
Deeproot champion seems amazing in more of a ~20 land, possibly playing red for burn, maybe with Enigma drake kind of deck. It would not have Verdurous Gearhulk, and likely very little above 2 mana. It would rely on blossoming defense and spell pierce and possibly unsummons to get teh job done. I like the branchwalker there to cut lands, and possibly bomat and or soulscar mage. These really help with the spell plan and chart the course. Jace may work in this deck or the enchantment that turns into a 3/3 flyer.
The other deck is going full tribal. 4 metallic mimic, 4 branchwalkers, 3 Kopala etc. Once again I do not like the Gearhulk. 5 mana spells are not what you want especially if you are holding up spell pierce/blossoming defense. I am almost tempted to splash winding constrictor and make River' herald's boon awesome but that is probably a third deck.
I agree with this. Although, the gear hulk is the only card in the deck than can win after turn 4. Him with the river sneak is the only chance you have against any decks out there. The deck is easily stalled and has no recovery. Using the merfolk as a base is just wrong. They aren't evasive and def not resilient.
Gearhulk is just a value creature in green who happens to have synergies with the rest of the deck. As a two of he most likely won't be stuck in your hand turns 1-3 but will be a way for you to push that last bit of damage. Or at the very least you could start with an 8/8 trample if you cant save yourself from a Fumigate or Hour
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:simic::azorius::selesnya: Prime Speaker Bant:selesnya::azorius::simic:
If you aren't using a counterspell against a 5 mana sweeper when you are playing a blue tempo deck I don't know what you are doing. The whole reason they moved sweepers to 5 was to help aggro decks have a little more time. Tempo counters like spell piece and censor should be good in these shells.
Don't get me wrong, red or black based control with lots of point removal is tough and gearhulk is better there.
If you want to play a more meanandering game and play with counter synergies that is fine but g/b counters or temur energy counters is probably better. As a grindy value tribal deck this doesn't have the staying power that zombies did last season.
Much like burn tempo deck has to be built to steal games, not worry about lasting or outdoing the opponent.
Hoping to keep this thread alive and healthy. Not sure Merfolk have a future in standard, but there is only one way to find out. Above you can find my first experiment with the deck. I've only played two or three games so far, but can already see some holes developing. Overall, the deck lacks general kill potential, but can be exceptionally swingy when the time comes. The ability to cast buff spells on Merfolk that suddenly become both Hexproof and unblockable is exceptional and Nissa feels like a great fit for the deck. Presently toying with forcing Kopala to the side, which I see many lists have done so here. Thinking of putting Metallic Mimic in his place - which seems the best option.
Let's brew this people! Discuss your play testing.
Merfolk don't have a place in standard?! From what I can tell, they are unblockable, can't be hit with spells unless the user pays 2 extra mana when maining Kopala, and with the help of Deeproot Waters + mimic can clog the board really fast if left unchecked. I actually just run a full playset of Herald of Secret Streams and have Metallic Mimic in the main since it's ability is just amazing in this deck. Also, I'm thinking of running Siren's Ruse in the main just because the number of triggers in the deck from things coming into play make it nearly as good as Blossoming Defense.
I haven't actually tried Deeproot Champion yet. I kind of like Mimic more in it's slot and with all the removal in the format being an artifact doesn't really make it's survive-ability any worse than it already is. Also trying to find room for Shapers' Sanctuary. It's pure gas for the deck a lot of the time.
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1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I think the problem with them right now is everyone is building against aggro and keeping the hexproof Carnage Tyrant in mind. You're going to see a lot of board wipes when you finally commit to champion and/or Kopala, and possibly after a duress or doomfall. I feel like you are almost tossing game 1 away against those types of decks and having to board hard.
I completely agree with Lumovanis. My comment about Merfolk's place was directed more towards a wait and see attitude. It is early days for the new rotation and we still don't know what will emerge. It could excite us and elevate us, or it could terrify us. I am coming from a control deck and my present control deck post-rotation could very easily beat my new Merfolk deck; which is concerning as board-removal gets around Kopala and leaves us needing to both draw counter magic and hold mana open throughout the mid-game. Hence wanting to discuss making the deck better!
I love the idea of Siren's Ruse and toyed desperately with fitting Shapers' Sanctuary in. Whilst the latter would appear to be an auto-include, I found it's lack of actually defending my Merfolk made me uncertain about playing it. The card draw would be most helpful though, so perhaps I will experiment. Deeproot Champion I just can't confirm a spot for yet. Sometimes it feels like a wasted card - considering the majority of the deck are creatures - but other times he has managed to go from a harmless threat no one cares about to a game-winning unblockable monster in one or two turns. It's also very nice having 8 Turn 2 plays in the deck, as it applies the pressure before big creatures can hit the field for my opponent. This spot could of course go to Mimic.
I like Waker, I fear it may be too slow though and Fatal Push is bad for it and the land it wakes up (that and Lightning Strike is back). Sideboard in the grindy matches maybe? It has the same problems the rest of the deck does where boardwipes are bad and spot removal could be an issue without cover.
Fatal Push does terrify me, but I suppose it should. At least with Kopala, Warden of Waves it can feel like you are making them work for it. This wouldn't apply to a land. I also worry about investing counters on a land that then dies, giving me a net loss from both counters and mana. Part of my interest in running Nissa, Steward of Elements was due to the kill potential of her ultimate mixed with other natural combo cards in the Merfolk deck. Perhaps I'll rebrew a little to move Waker to the side.. See how he does. Or whether he makes the cut in the end at all.
I'm not a fan of Waker of the Wilds because I dont think this deck wants to play the long game, and after resolving one the best we can do is get a 2/2 land the next turn at the bare minimum. Paying 8 mana for 5 power across 2 turns doesn't feel good.
Just a thought though, is what if merfolk tried to mimic the U/W Monument deck? Only it'd be U/G and it'd be with Rhonas's Monument and Deeproot Waters. The deck would try to swarm the battlefield with 1/1 hexproof merfolk (or 2/2's with metallic mimic out). Again, just a thought.
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:simic::azorius::selesnya: Prime Speaker Bant:selesnya::azorius::simic:
I like the Rhonas's Monument plan (maybe a 2 of?), Deeproot Waters might be a good sideboard vs control, but I wouldn't want to main deck it. Really both of these cards sound sideboard related. They are bad on curve for the most part, tapping out for no immediate advantage seems pretty awkward . I feel like they go against the deck's tempo (a bit like the waker, a little faster and more concrete of a follow-through, but still slow).
I'm still not liking Deeproot Champion here though. He just feels out of place like he would rather be in some kind of R/G/U spell slinger build than in a tribal tempo/aggro.
I like Rhonas's Monument though I worry it's too expensive for what it does. Deeproot Waters at least helps rebuild the board after a wipe - and we will be facing a lot of them!
Not trying to derail the U/G train, but for the sake of conversation, and perhaps for the sake of the tribe, have any of you dropped blue in favor of black? I ask because in our pre-meta gauntlet, we had a merfolk build and the more we played the more it actually felt like blue was a trap. The bulk of your power is in green, so we paired the green merfolk with a snek package and added fatal push. Now its up for debate if you don't just end up with a worse energy deck, but it tested much better than any of the U/G variants we tried. And we tried a *bunch.*
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U/G Merfolk is an Aggressive Tempo Tribal deck that looks to play high value creatures and protect them with reactionary spells. A bit about myself is I am normally a control player; the past couple standard seasons you would've caught me playing U/R Control, U/W Spirits, Jeskai Control, Jeskai Black, and Prime Speaker Bant. I love tribal decks, especially ones that take a tempo route such as merfolk so I was excited to make a deck work for them, and I feel like they could have a place to stay in the new standard environment.
4 Botanical Sanctum
4 Unclaimed Territory
7 Island
9 Forest
Creatures (21)
4 Kumena's Speaker
4 Metallic Mimic
4 Deeproot Champion
4 River Sneak
3 Herald of Secret Streams
2 Verdurous Gearhulk
4 Blossoming Defense
4 Chart a Course
4 Spell Pierce
3 Jace, Cunning Castaway
2 Kopala, Warden of Waves
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Heroic Intervention
3 Negate
3 Shapers' Sanctuary
3 Vineshaper Mystic
Card Choices:
In most cases this is a 2/2 for G which is a great rate. Its a cheap merfolk for River Sneak and its a potent threat on its own without investing too much into it.
At first I was skeptical as this is only a 1/1 for 1G but the more I tested the deck the more I saw that this guy just grows naturally from just playing the type of game we want to play anyway.
Our Merfolk lord, it's beneficial that he gives +1/+1 counters to other Merfolk rather than just giving a static +1/+1
An unblockable 1/1 for 1U,can have explosive turns similar to Mausoleum Wanderer
Gives our Merfolk psuedo-Islandwalk of old and makes our team unblockable. The 2/3 body can be relevant as well since after one +1/+1 counter he is out of Abrade and Lightning Strike range.
Can give +1/+1 counters to himself and the rest of the team, or if its an empty board can just be an 8/8 trample for 3GG
Serves a primary purpose and a secondary purpose. Its primary purpose is to protect against spot removal that River Heralds' Boon can't protect us from such as Fatal Push,Cast Out, and even Unsummon effects. Its secondary purpose is to push through that little extra damage we may need to finish a game.
This is almost always "Draw 2 cards" for 1U and its great. With this we can be sure that we're never running out of fish to play or answers we need. Its unfortunate that it isn't instant speed but that would be a bit too much.
Another protection spell for our Merfolk in the early turns but it can also be a way to stop some important spells in the later turns such as Heart of Kiran,Oketra's Monument,Refurbish,Glimmer of Genius, or any Planeswalker spells.
Jace gives the consistency that the deck needs, his +1 giving us the ability to loot for having just one of our merfolk hit as well as another permanent to take a card out of our opponents hand or to soak damage for us is a good rate for 1UU. He can also make an Illusion token on an empty board which is okay, but really all we want here is the ability to loot.
Cards Considered:
Merfolk Branchwalker - The card is too vanilla and while it can smooth out our draws, I feel like we'd want it to be a 3/2 for 1G way more often than a 2/1 for 1G that draws us a land card. I could be wrong about the creature but my gut response says that the other creatures in the deck are just flat out better.
Deeproot Waters - The enchantment is a do nothing spell on turn 3 and while it can be good, is just too slow. 1/1 hexproof aren't relevant either.
Shaper Apprentice - It can't buff itself somehow like all of the other merfolk. Evasion is nice though.
Shapers of Nature - 99% of the time will just be a 3/3 for 1GU, its abilities are just too mana-intensive.
Nissa, Steward of Elements - While Nissa can smooth out our draws and be a potential mana sink, I feel the reliability of Jace is more important.
Ridgescale Tusker - Can be a budget Gearhulk that can sometimes be better if we have more than 4 creatures out, but the Gearhulk is probably the better play in most situations.
Tishana, Voice of Thunder - Simply too expensive. I heard Gerry Thompson wrote an article for a merfolk deck featuring Ixalan's Cradle and mana sinks so this may in that list, but I personally haven't seen the list myself.
I've only been able to do some light testing against Dinosaurs, Temur Energy, and U/R Control decks but the mainboard feels optimal and that it can have strong game 1s. I'm unsure of what to do with the sideboard so for the purpose of being complete I decided to go with a safe sideboard that doesn't answer one archetype but instead tries to protect its own gameplan.
I haven't given up complete on Deeproot Waters ...but it can be a dead draw at times...really wish we could ramp into it or play it turn two...it can be explosive with mimic and maybe Vanquisher's Banner which is SUPER slow, but a great finisher.
—Radha, Keldon warlord
4 Herald of Secret Streams
4 Kopala, Warden of Waves
4 Kumena's Speaker
2 Verdurous Gearhulk
3 Life Goes On
4 River Herald's Boon
4 Spell Pierce
4 Chart a Course
4 Botanical Sanctum
9 Forest
8 Island
This is fun. River Herald's Boon is siiiiiiiick with all the merfs especially Deeproot buffing it +3/+3. We have this inability to keep up with some heavy hits so Life Goes On is actually a really slick way of surviving. Deeproot can get huge... Making any of these people unblockable is amazing. Kopala is a huge asset because he makes your people super hard to target and makes Spell Pierce...Fierce.
I like this one better than OPs. Although, four of the legendary creature is to many. He will be a dead draw sometimes. -2 of him and +2 of the skyship
Also, the lifegain spell is real bad imo.
And the branchwalker is one of the strongest cards in merfolk, need to play him too. The champion isn't all that great.
Metallic mimic should be in here somewhere.
i think Vineshaper Mystic and Watertrap Weaver do more for this deck than Jace. Tap a god, lifeliker, glorybringer and keep it tapped looks better than draw one... Rishkar, Peema Renegade is another 3 cmc better than Jace in this deck.
Hey, it's your build, do whatever you like. After a lot of testing, I see no value in a vanilla 1/1 on turn two that will always die before it has any real merit.
The branhwalker is definitely the strongest green common and one of the strongest green cards in xln.
The mimic actually feeds the unblockable guys ability.
No one is gonna spot remove these guys, making the lord not good
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ do whatever you like
Don't get me wrong, it's a good tabletop deck but can't beat any of the top teir decks
So in the end it'll look like this.
+3 Opt
-3 Jace, Cunning Castaway
+4 Merfolk Branchwalker
-1 Island
-1 Forest
-1 Herald of Secret Streams
-1 Chart a Course
4 Botanical Sanctum
4 Unclaimed Territory
6 Island
8 Forest
Creatures (24)
4 Kumena's Speaker
4 Merfolk Branchwalker
4 Metallic Mimic
4 Deeproot Champion
4 River Sneak
2 Herald of Secret Streams
2 Verdurous Gearhulk
4 Blossoming Defense
3 Chart a Course
4 Spell Pierce
3 Opt
2 Kopala, Warden of Waves
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Heroic Intervention
3 Negate
3 Shapers' Sanctuary
3 Vineshaper Mystic
I don't like the idea of going all in on Deeproot Champion. The blowout potential is huge. Spell Pierce can only counter Fatal Push for so long.
This build looks interesting. Gonna play with it today and see what shakes out
Deeproot champion seems amazing in more of a ~20 land, possibly playing red for burn, maybe with Enigma drake kind of deck. It would not have Verdurous Gearhulk, and likely very little above 2 mana. It would rely on blossoming defense and spell pierce and possibly unsummons to get teh job done. I like the branchwalker there to cut lands, and possibly bomat and or soulscar mage. These really help with the spell plan and chart the course. Jace may work in this deck or the enchantment that turns into a 3/3 flyer.
The other deck is going full tribal. 4 metallic mimic, 4 branchwalkers, 3 Kopala etc. Once again I do not like the Gearhulk. 5 mana spells are not what you want especially if you are holding up spell pierce/blossoming defense. I am almost tempted to splash winding constrictor and make River' herald's boon awesome but that is probably a third deck.
I agree with this. Although, the gear hulk is the only card in the deck than can win after turn 4. Him with the river sneak is the only chance you have against any decks out there. The deck is easily stalled and has no recovery. Using the merfolk as a base is just wrong. They aren't evasive and def not resilient.
Don't get me wrong, red or black based control with lots of point removal is tough and gearhulk is better there.
If you want to play a more meanandering game and play with counter synergies that is fine but g/b counters or temur energy counters is probably better. As a grindy value tribal deck this doesn't have the staying power that zombies did last season.
Much like burn tempo deck has to be built to steal games, not worry about lasting or outdoing the opponent.
4 Merfolk Branchwalker
4 Deeproot Champion
4 Vineshaper Mystic
3 Herald of Secret Streams
3 Waker of the Wilds
4 Tishana's Wayfinder
3 Kopala, Warden of Waves
3 Deeproot Waters
Instant
4 Dive Down
4 Blossoming Defense
Land
4 Botanical Sanctum
6 Island
10 Forest
Planeswalker
2 Nissa, Steward of Elements
2 River's Rebuke
3 Crook of Condemnation
2 Disallow
4 Unsummon
2 Negate
2 Essence Scatter
2 River's Rebuke
Hoping to keep this thread alive and healthy. Not sure Merfolk have a future in standard, but there is only one way to find out. Above you can find my first experiment with the deck. I've only played two or three games so far, but can already see some holes developing. Overall, the deck lacks general kill potential, but can be exceptionally swingy when the time comes. The ability to cast buff spells on Merfolk that suddenly become both Hexproof and unblockable is exceptional and Nissa feels like a great fit for the deck. Presently toying with forcing Kopala to the side, which I see many lists have done so here. Thinking of putting Metallic Mimic in his place - which seems the best option.
Let's brew this people! Discuss your play testing.
I haven't actually tried Deeproot Champion yet. I kind of like Mimic more in it's slot and with all the removal in the format being an artifact doesn't really make it's survive-ability any worse than it already is. Also trying to find room for Shapers' Sanctuary. It's pure gas for the deck a lot of the time.
1. (Ravnica Allegiance): You can't keep a good esper control deck down... Or Wilderness Reclamation... or Gates...
2. (War of the Spark): Guys, I know what we need! We need a cycle of really idiotic flavor text victory cards! Jace's Triumph...
3. (War of the Spark): Lets make the format with control have even more control!
I love the idea of Siren's Ruse and toyed desperately with fitting Shapers' Sanctuary in. Whilst the latter would appear to be an auto-include, I found it's lack of actually defending my Merfolk made me uncertain about playing it. The card draw would be most helpful though, so perhaps I will experiment. Deeproot Champion I just can't confirm a spot for yet. Sometimes it feels like a wasted card - considering the majority of the deck are creatures - but other times he has managed to go from a harmless threat no one cares about to a game-winning unblockable monster in one or two turns. It's also very nice having 8 Turn 2 plays in the deck, as it applies the pressure before big creatures can hit the field for my opponent. This spot could of course go to Mimic.
Waker of the Wilds - discuss.
Just a thought though, is what if merfolk tried to mimic the U/W Monument deck? Only it'd be U/G and it'd be with Rhonas's Monument and Deeproot Waters. The deck would try to swarm the battlefield with 1/1 hexproof merfolk (or 2/2's with metallic mimic out). Again, just a thought.
I'm still not liking Deeproot Champion here though. He just feels out of place like he would rather be in some kind of R/G/U spell slinger build than in a tribal tempo/aggro.
River Sneak or Kumena's Speaker to replace Deeproot Champion?