You can probably cut two creatures to mainboard the dismembers (you are heavy on 3-drops). Four Tidebinders seems like it would be overkill but I don't know your meta. Finally, I will always recommend sideboarding at least 3 Tectonic Edges for the matchups where you don't want Aether Vial
Is Tectonic Edge really better than Ghost Quarter for us? I'm thinking the primary matchup I'd want more land hate than Spreading Seas in is Tron, and they can ruin our day with just 3 lands. I see where you're coming from with regards to the land hate, but I don't think being at card parity should matter to us as much as swift disruption.
Chalice of the Void for x=0, then? Pretty much shuts them down unless removed. That's what I do as Merfolk along with a bit of 'yard hate (which Delver has even more options for), and they pretty much can't beat it before I kill them.
Also, if they have counterspell hate (and if Ricochet Trap is it, then they don't really have it - that's a 2-of that can itself be countered), wouldn't the counterspells be the first thing to trim when looking for space?
you play chalice at x=0 against merfolk?? I'd think that x=1 or x=2 would be the best there.
He described what he does with his merfolk deck after sideboarding (not against merfolk). Also I don't think chalice on 1 is a good idea from a delver deck
S0ny_B1ack is correct. When I face Living End as Merfolk (which is my main deck in Modern), I Chalice of the Void for x=0, then try to put down a fast clock. That usually does the trick. Though Permanence has a good couple of points in that Thoughtseize and Rise // Fall (does anyone know the syntax for split cards here?) can also be helpful.
Chalice of the Void for x=0, then? Pretty much shuts them down unless removed. That's what I do as Merfolk along with a bit of 'yard hate (which Delver has even more options for), and they pretty much can't beat it before I kill them.
Also, if they have counterspell hate (and if Ricochet Trap is it, then they don't really have it - that's a 2-of that can itself be countered), wouldn't the counterspells be the first thing to trim when looking for space?
But they can be aimed at the face. Given that Burn is probably Living End's worst matchup in the current meta, I think 3 to the face can be relevant. I'd say the way to go about attacking LE is classic tempo: early threat to put pressure on him and make him want to cascade early, then hold up counterspells to stuff him.
The key is not whether they have islands. It's who gets to swing with islandwalk and opposing islands first. That tempo difference often determines the winner in the mirror.
Jace doesn't scare me, since his activation walks right into Harbinger of the Tides or Vapor Snag for a huge tempo loss (only use your Dismembers if you have no other way of getting him). Even while flipped, he's at his best holding off a large singleton threat, which would be great against Tron or BGX, but no so much against us. If he only gets 1 flashback activation out of it at the most, I'd consider it about equivalent in impact to a Snapcaster Mage, and that one hasn't stopped us from being favored against every U-based deck out there.
I'm with Bearscape. It's never too soon to outright dismiss bad cards, or cards that don't do anything this deck needs. Grimoire Thief mills, and has an unreliable counterspell effect that only kicks in once it's attacked. We don't nee that. Triton Shorestalker is tiny, but hard to block. We don't need that either. We can have more meaningful conversations about less-utilized cards like Cosi's Trickster (self-pumping), Spell Snare (counters a lot of problematic cards), or Merfolk Sovereign (even more global pump).
Thanks for the answers. Let me add some further comments:
1. I considered Loxodon Smiter, but the problem I have it is that it gets blanked by the big X/5s in the format right now, and I don't think that the uncounterability and the discard effect (handy as they are) are enough to make up for the fact that Woolly Thoctar doesn't. That's why I think I'll opt for Thoctar instead.
2. I'm glad to hear I guessed right on Atarka's Command. That card has a heap of potential in Zoo.
3. Noble Hierarch and Birds of Paradise make a lot of sense, yeah. That said, I'm still thinking that I'd add a land or two from the Zoo base (which I usually see at 20), just to make sure I get there (and that I get all of my colors).
This topic comes up every once in a while, and the quick version is that Darkslick Shores is not quite as reliable as Wanderwine Hub is as far as entering the battlefield untapped is concerned, and thus not as desirable. Plus, W has sideboard options that help us out more than B does, if you feel the need to splash for a color.
I'm interested in Zoo, but I don't have much experience with it (yet), so I'm trying to get up to speed. I've read up on a few different versions (CoCo Zoo, Small Zoo, Domain Zoo, Zooicide), all of them seem to have their perks. Here are a few questions, though:
1. Is Woolly Thoctar played at all in CoCo Zoo and Small Zoo? A lot of the lists that I've come across don't seem to have it, and I find myself wondering why. Given how many decks are running Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Gurmag Angler, and Siege Rhino, a 3-mana beater that can trade with them seems really good. I'll concede that coming up with WRG on curve can be a problem, but that (and Knight of the Reliquary) is why you run 12 fetches, right?
2. Does Atarka's Command have a place in Small Zoo? I know the canonical pump effect of choice is Ghor-Clan Rampager because it's uncounterable and it grants evasion, but Atarka's Command has game against Bogles and Soul Sisters by negating their lifegain, which I feel is relevant. I was also going to ask about Dromoka's Command, but it seems like that one has made its way into some people's 75s already.
3. To the decks who run Siege Rhino, Abbot of Keral Keep, and other more mana-intensive cards... how do you balance your mana base? Do you go mana dork-heavy and hope that those get you there, or do you actively increased the land count?
That's a fair point on Emeria, the Sky Ruin, plus it enters the battlefield tapped. I'll probably drop that from consideration. I'm a bit loath to give up Mutavault for mainboard Ghost Quarter, though. Maybe I trim the Cavern of Souls count (though hitting WW on turn 2 might be hard if I do that...), or bring it in off the sideboard and promote one of my cards in there to the mainboard (thinking Knight of the Holy Nimbus for either Leonin Skyhunter or Knight of Meadowgrain). And while you're right about Blood Moon having more game against me the more nonbasics I have, I think there's a pretty established ceiling to its effectiveness - any deck with 10+ basics (as I intend to have), Æther Vial, and enchantment hate in the board can't really be shut down by the Moon.
Is Tectonic Edge really better than Ghost Quarter for us? I'm thinking the primary matchup I'd want more land hate than Spreading Seas in is Tron, and they can ruin our day with just 3 lands. I see where you're coming from with regards to the land hate, but I don't think being at card parity should matter to us as much as swift disruption.
S0ny_B1ack is correct. When I face Living End as Merfolk (which is my main deck in Modern), I Chalice of the Void for x=0, then try to put down a fast clock. That usually does the trick. Though Permanence has a good couple of points in that Thoughtseize and Rise // Fall (does anyone know the syntax for split cards here?) can also be helpful.
Also, if they have counterspell hate (and if Ricochet Trap is it, then they don't really have it - that's a 2-of that can itself be countered), wouldn't the counterspells be the first thing to trim when looking for space?
1. I considered Loxodon Smiter, but the problem I have it is that it gets blanked by the big X/5s in the format right now, and I don't think that the uncounterability and the discard effect (handy as they are) are enough to make up for the fact that Woolly Thoctar doesn't. That's why I think I'll opt for Thoctar instead.
2. I'm glad to hear I guessed right on Atarka's Command. That card has a heap of potential in Zoo.
3. Noble Hierarch and Birds of Paradise make a lot of sense, yeah. That said, I'm still thinking that I'd add a land or two from the Zoo base (which I usually see at 20), just to make sure I get there (and that I get all of my colors).
I'm interested in Zoo, but I don't have much experience with it (yet), so I'm trying to get up to speed. I've read up on a few different versions (CoCo Zoo, Small Zoo, Domain Zoo, Zooicide), all of them seem to have their perks. Here are a few questions, though:
1. Is Woolly Thoctar played at all in CoCo Zoo and Small Zoo? A lot of the lists that I've come across don't seem to have it, and I find myself wondering why. Given how many decks are running Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Gurmag Angler, and Siege Rhino, a 3-mana beater that can trade with them seems really good. I'll concede that coming up with WRG on curve can be a problem, but that (and Knight of the Reliquary) is why you run 12 fetches, right?
2. Does Atarka's Command have a place in Small Zoo? I know the canonical pump effect of choice is Ghor-Clan Rampager because it's uncounterable and it grants evasion, but Atarka's Command has game against Bogles and Soul Sisters by negating their lifegain, which I feel is relevant. I was also going to ask about Dromoka's Command, but it seems like that one has made its way into some people's 75s already.
3. To the decks who run Siege Rhino, Abbot of Keral Keep, and other more mana-intensive cards... how do you balance your mana base? Do you go mana dork-heavy and hope that those get you there, or do you actively increased the land count?
Thanks for any answers.