Playing UG merfolk is a great way to get crushed by Storm - I think the top 8 guy lasted like 9 mins before getting crushed 2-0 by storm. Mostly because he had no maindeck creature removal - this version of Merfolk also dies really hard to Counters Company and indeed anything that uses creatures to combo kill you. The reality for UG merfolk is that you are giving up substantial points to Storm, Company, burn and other aggro by slotting in green cards - of which only Branchwalker seems any good.
I'd love to hear from ppl that are playing UG from a non-biased view point and are comparing it to Mono-U merfolk - is it worth it based on competitive outcomes? I understand Nikachu doesnt want to make a call yet without more data..
I've chosen to run halo over Mom and Dad for a couple reasons.
1) TitanShift is pretty big right now, and Halo/Relic is a very effective plan against Shadow. Halo is also good against Eldrazi Tron when you slap it on TKS or Smasher.
2) I've never really been impressed with Mom and Dad except in the mirror, and I'm not really sure where to side her in.
Thanks!
My 2 cents - ignore as required
I'm not a huge fan of 7 cantrips - id prefer to go with 6 and add in a 4th (non-cryptic) counterspell like mana leak or snare or maybe a V. Clique (thus opening up a sb slot).
If playing only 3 helix I get a bit nervous about Burn. Thus I like sb Gideon of the Trials as its amazing against burn and has utility in matchups where Geist is not so good and/or where the emblem is useful.
Supreme Verdict vs Dusk // Dawn vs Settle the Wreckage - Each of these sweepers has positive/negative aspects - but Im personally not playing any verdicts in Geist/Queller lists - too much collateral damage for my liking.
Im loving Engineered Explosives and some number of Ceremonious Rejection atm..
How is settle the wreckage mediocre against Affinity? Card is amazing - wipes manlands the whole bloody army. Anyway - as good as EE is - Settle the Wreckage is pretty key to beating a lot of go wide strategies - last night I beat BW tokens entirely off the back of Settle the Wreckage. As mentioned previously, individually decks like Elves, Merfolk, Tokens, Affinity dont necessarily take up a huge metashare (although Affinity does) - but you will likely face some sort of go wide deck in larger tournaments and have a difficult time without Settle the Wreckage.
Id also suggest that Stony is important and necessary against Ad Naus, Lantern and Gx Tron - in the absence of magical christmasland you dont always draw chalice (most ppl dont even play Chalice - although I personally consider it a must) and have it unanswered - sb cards like Stony provide redundancy to defeat those strategies..
Yeah - good point with EE and spyglass. I guess it depends on what you choose with spyglass - hopefully you blow up whatever you named (presumably most of the time its 2cmc as well - like plating or ravager etc - I guess they could be sandbagging extra copies though).
I think Stony is questionable for affinity given all the other good cards we have (im also playing settle the wreckage) - in all honesty its kind of just a bonus against affinity - I kind of really need it for Tron, Lantern and Ad Naus - combined with other sb cards I find these matchup to be pretty ok with Stony as an additional answer..
Spyglass is the most interesting - Ive cut Stonies before and played needles as the Stonies can get in the way of EE (although arguably you are winning anyway if Stony is down against Affinity - although not always). Needles can also provide more flexibility. So what do you think about Spyglass (also seems to play well with Chalice)..
I've been testing a Opt since it was spoiled. I think 8 cantrips can lead to a bit too much air for my liking. Also I don't particularly love Cryptic Command in a 22 land list - im not sure i'd want more then 2 and im also not sure I want any copies period. Further to this I think Colonnade at 2x might be optimal - feel free to criticize..
//Creatures
4 Spell Queller
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Geist of Saint Traft
//Counters
3 Logic Knot (could change 2 leaks to Cryptic Commands - not sure 22 lands can support that well - espcially with fast lands)
3 Mana Leak
2 Spell Snare
In other news, playtesting with 8 cantrips for both a Nahiri build and a Geist build, I do really like Logic Knot now. The problem is however that I can no longer play Rest in Peace, and the alternatives are all mediocre; Surgical is poor especially without GQ/TE, and Relic doesn't do enough to be worthwhile. I think that I'd rather just switch off the gravehate entirely and accept the loss vs dredge
How about a couple of Relic's and a couple of Settle the Wreckage for the Dredge matchup - Settle the Wreckage has pretty good utility against a lot of other decks as well..
In regards to simic lists that are more beat down - you have to seriously ask yourself - is this strategy a replication of an existing deck that does this better? Those that advocate for simic don't seem to be asking themself this question at all. That's fine if you are doing it for 'fun' or the kitchen table/fnm - but for those that play competitively - why not just play elves or affinity etc
What happens when you don't draw your 1-of Kopola (if its not in the sb to begin with) - your Phi mages don't look so hot without the "combo" - this seems a bit problematic to me.
If merfolk replaces copters and Kira's with Kopola and Phi mages the deck will just going back to auto-losing to Affinity - I guess that is the price the deck will pay if it goes down this route..
The thing is theory crafting about whos the beatdown is nice and everything - but it doesn't play out in every game that way - you can often get on the backfoot - especially on the draw. There are numerous matchups that Eldrazi struggles with - most of them are go wide decks - Elves, Merfolk, CoCo, Dredge and many more (Bogles for example)..
Sure - ppl can play around it - but that can only help you if they do - gives you more time to get in with your creatures..
Settle the wreckage boys/girls - this card is super legit in Bant. WW isnt ideal but Ive been crushing hard matchups with it - Merfolk, Elves, CoCo, Affinity - its even decent against E-Tron and GDS and Geist - get on it!
I'd love to hear from ppl that are playing UG from a non-biased view point and are comparing it to Mono-U merfolk - is it worth it based on competitive outcomes? I understand Nikachu doesnt want to make a call yet without more data..
My 2 cents - ignore as required
I'm not a huge fan of 7 cantrips - id prefer to go with 6 and add in a 4th (non-cryptic) counterspell like mana leak or snare or maybe a V. Clique (thus opening up a sb slot).
If playing only 3 helix I get a bit nervous about Burn. Thus I like sb Gideon of the Trials as its amazing against burn and has utility in matchups where Geist is not so good and/or where the emblem is useful.
Supreme Verdict vs Dusk // Dawn vs Settle the Wreckage - Each of these sweepers has positive/negative aspects - but Im personally not playing any verdicts in Geist/Queller lists - too much collateral damage for my liking.
Im loving Engineered Explosives and some number of Ceremonious Rejection atm..
Id also suggest that Stony is important and necessary against Ad Naus, Lantern and Gx Tron - in the absence of magical christmasland you dont always draw chalice (most ppl dont even play Chalice - although I personally consider it a must) and have it unanswered - sb cards like Stony provide redundancy to defeat those strategies..
I think Stony is questionable for affinity given all the other good cards we have (im also playing settle the wreckage) - in all honesty its kind of just a bonus against affinity - I kind of really need it for Tron, Lantern and Ad Naus - combined with other sb cards I find these matchup to be pretty ok with Stony as an additional answer..
//Mana
4 Flooded Strand
3 Scalding Tarn
1 Arid Mesa
2 Celestial Colonnade
2 Steam Vents
2 Hallowed Fountain
1 Sacred Foundry
3 Spirebluff Canal
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Mountain
//Creatures
4 Spell Queller
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Geist of Saint Traft
//Counters
3 Logic Knot (could change 2 leaks to Cryptic Commands - not sure 22 lands can support that well - espcially with fast lands)
3 Mana Leak
2 Spell Snare
//Removal
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Lightning Helix
//Other
4 Serum Visions
3 Opt
//Sideboard
SB: 2 Relic of Progenitus
SB: 2 Ceremonious Rejection
SB: 2 Disdainful Stroke
SB: 2 Runed Halo
SB: 2 Engineered Explosives
SB: 2 Gideon of the Trials
SB: 1 Vendilion Clique
SB: 2 Settle the Wreckage
How about a couple of Relic's and a couple of Settle the Wreckage for the Dredge matchup - Settle the Wreckage has pretty good utility against a lot of other decks as well..
But anyway - where did I suggest it was a maindeckable card?
If merfolk replaces copters and Kira's with Kopola and Phi mages the deck will just going back to auto-losing to Affinity - I guess that is the price the deck will pay if it goes down this route..
Sure - ppl can play around it - but that can only help you if they do - gives you more time to get in with your creatures..