MTG Salvation

Bring Swan Song only against Combo decks and infect. It's better to give them a 2/2 Flier then it is to lose the game. Take out spreading seas against Twin you should be running spellskites/swans songs/spell pierce/vapor snags so you shouldn't worry about keeping them off double red. Keep Spreading Seas against Affinity.. It's a reliably answer to their manlands and them switching to the kill you with infect plan. And besides it grants you islandwalk which is relevant because they might just go to the block with a creature sack with Arcbound Ravager plan. Grafdigger's Cage against Storm is just okay. Vapor Snag is fine against U/W/R control you just need practice with it.

Four is too many. 0-1 is too few. I believe 2 is just right and 3 is Fair IMO (especially if you fear a heavy Jund Meta). You can always SB another one if you want. The decks that its really good in is against Jund, Zoo, and U/R Delver. I don't like MoW against any Combo decks or extremely fast decks which there are many of.

4 MOW is too much.. It's good against most creature match ups but its not something you really want to see too many early in the game. And yeah Electrolyze is annoying and when I see it or I play against Tarmo Twin (their Pestermite or Deceiver Exarch) I take out 2-4 Phantasmal Image(I feel we have a good match up against Tarmo Twin either way). I believe we have a fine match up against Scapeshift (I also been told by other Scapeshift players that we do as well). We are fast,can counter spells, and don't deal damage to ourselves so we usually stay at 20 life.

So I went to my local game store for a regular modern event with about 22 people we only went 4 rounds because no one wanted to stay to late. I ended up going undefeated and splitting with the other undefeated (Affinity). My Meta is fairly competitive that has a Legacy GP winner and other players that have topped 8 big events.

G1: VS Gruul Aggro 2-0 (I think the person was just getting into Modern)
G2: VS G/R Tron 2-1. Round 1: I lost, got punished,for keeping a greedy hand and he quickly got Tron on turn 3(got owned by back to back Karn Liberated). Round 2: I just straight beat him down and I cast a timely Spell Pierce with two Tron Pierces on the field and a Grove of the Burnwillows making him tap out for his Expedition Map which enabled me to timewalk him from effectively setting up Tron the next turn and beating him on the back swing. Round 3: Won with a Spreading Seas turning off Tron and cast a Stony Silence while he tapped out for Oblivion Stone with four lands/mana that was GG.
G3: VS Merlia-Pod 2-1. Round 1: Was very close. He ended up gaining infinite life the turn before I would of KO him. Round 2-3: Swarmed him. Birthing Pod are one of the decks that, if your deck has the ability to swarm effectively with a whole bunch of lords, they can't handle as well.
G4: VS Affinity 2-1. I split with the other undefeated player who piloted Affinity but we still played 2 out 3 games for the kicks. Round 1: I loss Round 1, there was one to many Vault Skirge I defeated one of them by copying it with Phantasmal Image and blocking it. But I wasn't able to deal with another one with Cranial Plating attached. Round 2: Kept an opening hand of 2 Spell Pierce 1 Hurkyl's Recall 1 Cursecatcher 1 Silvergill Adept 1 Seachrome Coast and 1 Mutavault. I played Seachrome Coast passed my turn and countered his Mox Opal denying him metacraft. I drew a Chalice of the Void and played Silvegill Adept. I ended up letting him drop his hand and deal damage to me while I developed my board. Then I ended up casting Chalice of the Void for Zero and Hurkyl's Recall him, I took the game from there. Round 3: I had to Mulligan to five (I was also on the draw). I was force to keep a hand of 1 Kataki, War's Wage 1 Mutavault 1 Spell Pierce 1 Spreading Seas 1 Cursecatcher. On my turn I drew a Seachrome Coast played a cursecatcher. Then on my next turn I played Kataki, War's Wage and ended up taking the game.

I like the redundancy of a bunch of lords and the options of being able to swarm reliably. Most decks can't deal with a lot of lords out at the same time and they quickly get out of Anger of the God range and Wrath of God is too slow when your attacking for a lot and if you have a Cursecatcher or Spell Pierce. I played against two America Kiki-Jiki Control decks and went 2-1 against both by applying enough early pressure but still holding back. And sure the creatures that entered do have summoning sickness but the creatures that were already out are getting boosted and they are either attacking directly through Islandwalk for a bunch of dmg or just beating down aggresively. BTW when I played the mirrow match on the draw that's how I won. I was initially at 8 life, opponent was at 14, I dumped a whole bunch of lords boosting my other 3 for lethal. And being to empty our hands quick is really the best option against affinity. And yeah we can't go all in or counter Supreme Verdict but thats why you play conservatively around removal. I just like the option of going all out in certain match ups and knowing when to hold back in others while still having the redundancy of Lords. And you alway's keep AEther Vial on 2 counters unless you have another one or it is game breaking to put it up a notch.

I personally don't like Kira it takes to much to get her to work with 4 mutavaults and 3 Caverns (which should be naming Merfolk). She can't AEther Vial in to counter a removal (and Vial should usually be kept at 2). She dies to combust, mass removal(especially when Anger of God's is everywhere),and abrupt decay. I just feel like I'm investing to much to get her to work.

As for Cavern of Souls. I think its fine. Decks see Cavern of Souls and AEther Vial they usually sideboard out spell snares/remands/ and other counters. And sometimes you don't draw AEther Vial it just gives you the option of applying some pressure without being time walk essentially by getting countered. For like America Control I feel you need Cavern of Souls.. Sure they can counter a creature and sure you might have many other creatures to replace it but the great thing about Cavern of Souls is that it blanks or makes your opponents counter magic less optimal and if they used that counter magic on your creature then that gives an extra hard removal to use against another creature. Also not being able to counter your creature means you'll be applying more pressure. I rarely if ever have a hard time being able to cast Spell Pierce its just one blue mana.

Either way I really like this list and I feel it's mostly where I want it to be. Just feel like I should find room for a full set of spreading seas mainboard. The sideboard prob should have one spell pierce but I can only have 15 slots. And Sygg, River cutthroat prob should be in the MB. That's the only concern's/suggestions I have about the deck but I mostly like how it is.

Vapor Snag allows us to save our creatures against removal. It makes Cursecatcher and Spell Pierce play like they should unlike Path To Exile which ramps your opponent. Vapor Snag allows us to bounce back mana dorks in Birthing Pod or Big Zoo decks which buys us time and for an aggro deck like ours that's really relevant. Vapor Snag allows us to have more Protection for our Kataki, War's Wage in our Sideboard from removal.

Yeah having an AEther Vial and 1 land is fine. But I've been punished plenty times by keeping a hand even on the draw that consisted of one island,cursecatcher, silvergill adept, other cantrips etc..

Got third place with U/W Merfolk (white just for better sideboard options)out of 44 players at MTG Deals 1k (Top 4 just split, so we didn't battle it out).

Round 1: 2-1 VS G/B Rock (Rest in Peace did lots of work)
Round 2: 1-2 VS Tarmo Twin (usually in our favor since we have lots of mainboard and sideboard answers [I always beat Tarmo Twin at my local meta]but I kept a greedy one land hand on g3 with all the answers and got mana screwed - which I notice a lot with this deck when keeping one landers without AEther Vial).
Round 3: 2-1 VS Melira-Pod (my only lost was due to keeping a one lander on the draw and getting mana screwed again).
Round 4: 2-1 VS Melira-Pod
Round 5: 2-0 VS Mono-Blue Merfolk (G1: My opponent was on the play - I won both games because my deck played more lords then him and I have 15 non-basic lands so it was harder for him to get through) I've also have beaten a Mono-Blue Merfolk player mulling to 4 cards while he kept 6.
Round 6: Draw into Top 8.
Round 7: 2-1 VS America Control w/Kiki-Jiki Combo (I happened to play test against a random person with the same deck (w/o knowing it was in the top 8) during round 6 and got 2-1 as well.
---- Top 4 Ended up splitting the prize pool but if we played it out I'd probably would have had a great chance of going all the way since I had good match ups against the meta. Top 4 consisted of U/W Merfolk (Me), Big Zoo, G/R Tron, and either another America Control W/Kiki-Jiki Combo or Tarmo Twin (wasn't quite sure).

I have been playing Merfolk for quite some time with different variations of the deck and I'm 95% set on this list.

For the Creatures: The deck run's better with more lords and more threats that's why I run 28 Creatures. I highly suggest running4 Merrow Reejerey 4 Phantasmal Image and 3-4 Cursecatcher.
Merrow Reejerey allows you to quickly dump your hand and swarm your opponent. These are some way's you can dump your hand quick and having Phantasmal Image and a 1 drop Merfolk are necessary in different circumstances. Turn 3: Cast Merrow Reejerey Turn 4: Play your fourth land cast phantasmal image entering as Merrow Reejerey then you can dump all your 2 drop merfolks by means of double Merrow Reejerey Triggers.--- Now lets say you don't have image but you have another Merrow Reejerey in hand--- Turn 4: Play your fourth land cast Merrow Reejerey untap one land then with two lands untap drop all your two drops with double Reejerey triggers.--- Now with a 1 drop Merfolk--- Turn 3: Cast Merrow Reejerey Turn 4: You miss your fourth land drop but as long as you have a 1 drop merfolk and another Merrow Reejerey or Phantasmal Image your okay. So Turn 4 with missing your fourth land drop just cast either image or reejerey and at the end you'll have 1 land untap then you cast your 1 cost merfolk and with double reejerey trigger you untap two lands and drop all your two drops. (AEther Vial also creates some good interactions).
I highly suggest keeping atleast 3-4 1 drop Merfolk it's just more explosive and I suggest Cursecatcher over any other merfolk. Cursecatcher works great with spell pierce and it also helps buy a turn from Wrath of God,Cryptic Command Anger of the Gods Living End decks, etc. and a turn can mean a lot more beat down from buffed up lords. The only card we can't play around as much is Supreme Verdict. I run two Tidebinder Mage mainboard because it's good against G/B Rock, Jund, Tarmo-Twin, and great against Birthing-Pod (tapping down their mana dorks delaying Birthing Pod)and Phantasmal Imaging Tidebinder Mage in those match ups can be great. Another thing about running 4 Phantasmal Imageis that it gives is a better match up against Affinity. It allows us to Image their Vault Skirge to block their flyer's and we can also Image their Etched Champion and trade. 2 Master of Waves,such a great card especially against Jund. And with 4 Phantasmal Images it's just crazy. Two Master of Waves just seems like the right number you don't really want to see it on your opening hand in a lot of matches. 1 Thassa, God of the Sea great card but I only suggest running it on a full Phantasmal Image deck since it's easier to get the full devotion when you copy a UU Lord.

Spells:4 Vapor Snag Very good against Splinter Twin decks. I choose to run Vapor Snag rather then Path to Exile because it's more versatile. It feels bad when I have to mana ramp my opponent while running cursecatcher and spell pierce. Sure I can switch to Cosi's Trickster but I feel that Cursecatcher is better for the reason's listed on the creature section. Also Vapor Snag is awesome against Birthing Pod mana dorks. Instead of them getting a potentially turn 2 Birthing Pod if you Vapor Snag a mana dork that Pod will come down either turn 3-4. Also Vapor Snag gives you a fighting chance against America Control and other heavy removal decks by giving you the opportunity to Snag your creature(except for Phantasmal Image)and recast it or AEther Vial it in. 2 Spreading SeasYeah I'm not even sure if I should just run two, four feels right. Spreading Seas does everything you want it to do; it cantrips, provides devotion, islandwalk, mana screws, and turn's off manlands like Inkmoth Nexus. But I like the way my mainboard is as well as my sideboard atm. And besides I do very well just beating down with big lords (being more aggro) or tapping things down with Multiple Reejerey/Tidebinder Mage. It's usually just icing on the cake.

Lands:4 Wanderwine Hub, 4 Seachrome Coast: Just for better sideboard options. It doesn't really effect my game play pre-sideboard and it's better then running fetch lands (I don't think you want to thin your deck when your running a handfull of 3 and 4 drops in a 20 land deck). Non-basic lands can also give you a slight edge against the mirror (harder to islandwalk)as well as having 20 life against Scapeshift decks can be relevant.3 Cavern of Souls:Very relevant against control and Tarmo Twin (they usually sideboard their remands/counter magic). People might bring up Blood Moon against U/W Merfolk decks but I think that's just wrong. Having 5 Islands and 4 AEther Vial's I feel fine compared to their 1-3 Blood Moon's in the SB. And besides Mono-Blue Merfolk decks have to worry about Choke albeit its less played.

Sideboard:

1 Grafdigger's Cage: Great card against Birthing Pod, can also prevent flashback from U/R Storm, good against Snapcaster Mage.

1 Hurkyl's Recall: For Affinity. Bounces back everything Artifact on your opponents side of the field. And yes it bounces Darksteel Citadel.

1 Kataki, War's Wage: For Affinity. Another reason to play Vapor Snag over Path to Exile is that you can also leave mana open to Vapor Snag Kataki from burn.

2 Stony Silence: For Affinity, Tron, Egg's, Ad Nauseum, and perhaps for Birthing Pod. Now for Affinity let's say they already put some counters,etc out of a card like Steel Overseer, before Stony Silence hit the field, that's why having atleast one Hurkyl's Recall to reset the game state is still relevant giving you chance to play Stony Silence after the fact. Stony Silence disrupts the following cards in Affinity; Darksteel Citadel, Arcbound Ravager, Steel Overseer, Cranial Plating, Mox Opal, and Springleaf Drum. You take out AEther Vial's if your playing both Stony Silence.

2 Chalice of the Void: For Affinity, Tron (on 1), Egg's (on 1), Ad Nauseum (on 1 or 0), all variations of Zoo (on 1), U/R Storm (on 1 or 2), Living End (on 0), Hexproof Aura's (on 1), Infect (on 1), U/R Delver (on 1), and possibly America Control (on 1) not sure about America control because it turns off spell pierce and vapor snags. Chalice of the Void is an all-star and more reason to play Cavern of Souls to bypass the chalice with your Merfolks if you find yourself in that situation. Some people think it's a trap to put it in against Affinity but with my build I disagree. Against affinity you usually want to put it on Zero on the play ideally. But its still fine putting it on Zero if your not in the play because it blanks some of their draws. Also you can always Hurkyl's Recall to make your Chalice of the Void on Zero better or try to to Hurkyl's Recall and potentially the following turn put Chalice of the Void on 1 or 2. Also against Affinity it can protect Kataki, War's Wage if you put it on 1.

2 Spellskite: For Tarmo Twin, Affinity, Small/Tribal Zoo (Big Zoo run's over Spellskite), Scapeshift, Possibly Ad Nauseum, Hexproof Aura's, Infect, and removal heavy decks. Spellskite is another all-star. Must have SB. Also against Affinity it blocks Etched Champion protects Kataki, War's Wage and prevents Arcbound Ravager from stacking counter's on a pesky artifact.

2 Rest in Peace: For Birthing Pod, all variations of Zoo, U/R Storm, Jund, Tarmo-Twin,Living End (have more removal for artifact graveyard hate then enchantment graveyard hate - like other decks), Egg's, etc. Rest in Peace is harder for decks to play around unlike Relic of Progenitus. Sure Relic of Progenitus cantrips but it all depends on whether you want a cantrip or solid graveyard hate that is tougher to play around.

2 Swan Song: For Tarmo Twin, U/R Storm, Scapeshift, Ad Nauseum, Living End, Infect, Egg's, and possibly Tron.

2 Hibernation: For Birthing Pod, all variations of Zoo, Hexproof Aura's,and possibly Jund. Another All-Star SB card. Against Melira-Pod at the very least it stops their combo for one turn. But the majority of the time you bounce their field and Time walk them 1-3 turns (depending on the lands they had on play and the number and cost of creatures they had in play)and for a very aggro deck like Merfolk that's extremely relevant. And yes it bounces back Birthing Pod. And it being an instant doesn't deter us from using it while Voice of Resurgence is on the field on their turn since the token will resolve upon casting Hibernation then get bounced due to it being on the field (and being green)while Hibernation resolves. Against Zoo it's great by itself and having cast a Chalice of the Void on 1 for their removal and/or creatures and casting Hibernation while mana dorks or Wild Nacatl is on the field is extremely satisfying. Against Hexproof Aura's it slows them down and all their white enchantments go to the graveyard. And having Hibernation with Chalice of the Void on 1 is just game breaking.

I talked a lot about Affinity in particular because that's one of our hardest match-ups. I would like to find room to put one Spell Pierce in the sideboard but I like how the sideboard is.


One last sidenote; I feel Merfolk has a great Matchup with most Tier 1 decks or atleast it's not just an automatic lost. Worst matchups being Affinity and America Control (if their hand is heavy on removal rather than heavy on counter spells). The mirror match is pretty wierd as well. In my meta which has 2 Tarmo-Twin player's, a few Birthing Pod decks, Combo decks, few Jund decks...they have a hard time dealing with Merfolk.