UW Spirits - featuring JTMS, Tec Edge and Spell Pierce
There was some talk regarding JTMS - Im taking the below list to FNM tonight with a modified manabase to help avoiding the JTMS brainstorm lock.
Regarding cards like Curious Obsession - these cards are just too cute for my liking - bad topdeck on an empty field and you are so prone to getting 2-for-1'd early game. Regarding Cleric - I'm still mainboarding 1 and playing 2x RIP sb - I dont think Cleric is good enough from the board - I verywell could cut Cleric and go to three RIP - the true gy lock of RIP IMO is much better.
Also from my Merfolk days I've come to acknowledge that Spell Pirece is a pretty great card - especially so when paired with super cursecatcher (ie. Wanderer). One draw back is playing Path to Exile, as it is a non-bo with keeping Spell Pierce active - thus ive cut a couple of Paths from the below list..
The more I test the more I think mutavault just isn't that great - I'd rather have Tec Edge and/or Field of Ruin to hedge against Tron, Valakut, Control and even decks like Jund. If I end up cutting JTMS - ill change the mana base and play 4x Tec Edge.
//Lands
4 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
3 Seachrome Coast
2 Tectonic Edge
2 Field of Ruin
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
2 Plains
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Moorland Haunt
How about the land denial and spell pierce strategy - Ive been testing it lately and it seems to have a lot of legs (especially in a control meta).
In regards to JTMS - I think it would be a fine sb inclusion in Bant with all the fetches - but less so in UW with relatively few ways to get out form a brainstorm lock..
Hi All, in the past ive played a lot of Merfolk - so Ive picked up UW Spirits recently (while also testing Bant Spirits). It's amazing how a single card (ie. Supreme Phantom) has changed this deck into a real contender - spirits may very well end up being a tier 1 deck. Anyway my list is below and I wanted to discuss some of the card choices and see how others are feeling about certain cards.
//Lands (Manabase is very solid and can somewhat easily play through blood moon and other LD strategies)
4 Flooded Strand
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Mutavault (One of the reasons to play UW over Bant is that you get to play this awesome card)
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
2 Plains
2 Cavern of Souls (Bant is very open to attack from counterspells without Cavern and Vial - which is very relevant right now with control popular)
1 Moorland Haunt
//Creatures
4 Mausoleum Wanderer (Auto 4x - core card)
4 Rattlechains (Auto 4x - core card)
4 Selfless Spirit - it could be 3x but I like that its at 2 cmc and fills the curve while giving us good protection against board wipes in a control meta
4 Supreme Phantom (Auto 4x - core card)
4 Drogskol Captain (Auto 4x - core card)
4 Spell Queller (Auto 4x - core card)
2 Nebelgast Herald - not entirely convinced but so far its been decent against other tribes inc. mirror, Titan decks and ok against burn and other aggro
2 Phantasmal Image - i like copying drogskol for the double drogskol combo/lock. I dont think anymore then two are needed or wanted - could be wrong
2 Geist of Saint Traft - I am biased towards this card - pet card. It is good against removal heavy decks/control. This could be cut
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner - Kira is here to sure up the removal heavy matchups - I think its worth one slot.
//Other
4 Path to Exile (core)
4 Aether Vial (core)
//Sideboard
SB: 3 Unified Will - This could be negate - ive been caught out a couple times with this being a dead card - but ive also countered titans/TKS etc
SB: 2 Remorseful Cleric - I have no idea about this card. I want more then 2x RIP as gy hate but dont want to play more then 2x RIP.
SB: 2 Damping Sphere - I'm considering Eidolon of Rhetoric in this slot. stronger against Storm/Ad Naus/KCI/hollow one but sphere is better against tron
SB: 2 Rest in Peace - I think 2x RIP is a minimum
SB: 2 Worship - this could be 1x - strong against Burn, Affinity, Humans and whatever just cant remove it, boardwipe or cant collective brutality you.
SB: 2 Fragmentize - Ive played disenchant and Echoing Truth in this slot - not sure which is best.
SB: 1 Stony Silence - Worth considering playing more of these - interaction with our own vial is bad. Need to get the mix of Tron/Affinity hate correct.
SB: 1 Settle the Wreckage - I think this solidly holds its position as a 1-of
Problematic decks and cards for me to play against include (off the top of my head) - GDS and particularly grim lavamancer (another reason I like RIP).
I've tried a lot of different lists without Cursecatcher (Nikachu's included). My conclusion is that we shouldn't play Merfolk without a 1-drop creature. Our deck become SO MUCH slower. On the other hand, I'm not sure if the 1-drop should be Cursecatcher or another fish (Nikachu is trying Tideshaper Mystic)...
My initial thoughts when looking over the Nikachu list was that cutting Cursecatcher was a mistake. However, ive tried a few different configurations post-Dominaria and Spell Pierce, Dismember and Vial do give you plenty of turn 1 plays IME. After a reasonable amount of testing im playing 71 out of the 75 of Nikachu's list - with the only difference being sb counters
Tropical (UG) Fish was not a "failed experiment;" it was a good deck that performed very well in its meta for a while. Basic (Mono-U) Fish is not as fast, but has shown a lot more staying power in the current direction.
As for Islands versus non-basics, you're weighing the odds of Choke, Boil, and the mirror versus the odds of needing true-UU (Deprive), or myriad non-basic hate. I think a few Caverns is a fine choice, but hardly necessary, and may depend on build particulars.
So would you consider UG merfolk successful? What results did it put up? When did it perform - during what period?
Has anyone been playing comp MTGO leagues with Mono-U Trickster Merfolk? I just bought the MTGO deck last night and will spend sometime getting re-orientated with MTGO before I launch into leagues..
The reason Merfolk Trickster did nothing is because you played a bunch of untiered whack decks (with the exception of the last deck you played which is IME unfavourable anyway).
I absolutely hated Merfolk pre-dominaria. However, with Merfolk Trickster and a favourable meta the new Nikachu build has been amazing IME - the only cards im different on are 4x Unified Will for 4x Deprive - I just dont like the manabase for deprive unless I cut caverns (which im not going to do).
Most notably re. main deck - there are zero Cursecatchers and the list has 4x Spell Pierce and 3x Dismember.
The SB has 4x Deprive. I'm personally not a fan of deprive and would rather play Unified Will or Negate. Why do ppl seem to steer clear of Unified Will - I guess its bad against decks with Sweepers and decks that clog the board..
Humans gets better the more sweepers you play - EE, Koz Return, All Is Dust etc..Also the 'latest tech' Thragtusk and Batterskull help you to stablize..
@pabloduque32 Perhaps take a look at the SCG Open list - I think cards like Thragtusk and Batterskull (or even Nissa VF) are better options at the top end then World Breaker (World Breaker is way too expensive outside of Gx Tron lists).
Im convinced that there is room for only 1 utility land and that is easily Kessig Wolf Run over Sea gate - if you play too many utility land you will colour screw yourself too often
I'm considering Colourless Eldrazi (or RG Eldrazi) for an upcoming Team Modern GP. One of my teammates is playing Affinity and thus I cannot use Blinkmoth Nexus. Thus i'm considering the following manabase:
It feels like I need more manlands - but I dont think there are any good ones other then Mutavault. I could perhaps cut a scavenger groudns and play 2x Cavern of Souls. Or maybe play 4x Gemstone Caverns...Perahps an additional basic wastes is also worth considering..
Oath of Nissa seems great until you play against blood moon decks - also you are disregarding chalice pretty flippantly - as soon as you play against combo decks you will know why.
There was some talk regarding JTMS - Im taking the below list to FNM tonight with a modified manabase to help avoiding the JTMS brainstorm lock.
Regarding cards like Curious Obsession - these cards are just too cute for my liking - bad topdeck on an empty field and you are so prone to getting 2-for-1'd early game. Regarding Cleric - I'm still mainboarding 1 and playing 2x RIP sb - I dont think Cleric is good enough from the board - I verywell could cut Cleric and go to three RIP - the true gy lock of RIP IMO is much better.
Also from my Merfolk days I've come to acknowledge that Spell Pirece is a pretty great card - especially so when paired with super cursecatcher (ie. Wanderer). One draw back is playing Path to Exile, as it is a non-bo with keeping Spell Pierce active - thus ive cut a couple of Paths from the below list..
The more I test the more I think mutavault just isn't that great - I'd rather have Tec Edge and/or Field of Ruin to hedge against Tron, Valakut, Control and even decks like Jund. If I end up cutting JTMS - ill change the mana base and play 4x Tec Edge.
//Lands
4 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
3 Seachrome Coast
2 Tectonic Edge
2 Field of Ruin
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
2 Plains
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Moorland Haunt
//Creatures
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Rattlechains
4 Selfless Spirit
4 Supreme Phantom
4 Drogskol Captain
4 Spell Queller
2 Geist of Saint Traft
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
1 Remorseful Cleric
1 Phantasmal Image
//Other
4 Aether Vial
2 Spell Pierce
2 Path to Exile
2 Dismember
//Sideboard
SB: 2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
SB: 2 Rest in Peace
SB: 2 Unified Will
SB: 2 Eidolon of Rhetoric
SB: 2 Stony Silence
SB: 2 Echoing Truth
SB: 2 Settle the Wreckage
SB: 1 Worship
In regards to JTMS - I think it would be a fine sb inclusion in Bant with all the fetches - but less so in UW with relatively few ways to get out form a brainstorm lock..
//Lands
4 Flooded Strand
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Tectonic Edge
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
2 Plains
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Moorland Haunt
//Creatures
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Rattlechains
4 Selfless Spirit
4 Supreme Phantom
4 Drogskol Captain
4 Spell Queller
3 Nebelgast Herald
2 Phantasmal Image
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
//Other
4 Aether Vial
3 Spell Pierce
2 Path to Exile
//Sideboard
SB: 3 Rest in Peace
SB: 2 Unified Will
SB: 2 Eidolon of Rhetoric
SB: 2 Stony Silence
SB: 2 Path to Exile
SB: 2 Echoing Truth
SB: 1 Worship
SB: 1 Settle the Wreckage
//Lands (Manabase is very solid and can somewhat easily play through blood moon and other LD strategies)
4 Flooded Strand
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Mutavault (One of the reasons to play UW over Bant is that you get to play this awesome card)
2 Hallowed Fountain
2 Island
2 Plains
2 Cavern of Souls (Bant is very open to attack from counterspells without Cavern and Vial - which is very relevant right now with control popular)
1 Moorland Haunt
//Creatures
4 Mausoleum Wanderer (Auto 4x - core card)
4 Rattlechains (Auto 4x - core card)
4 Selfless Spirit - it could be 3x but I like that its at 2 cmc and fills the curve while giving us good protection against board wipes in a control meta
4 Supreme Phantom (Auto 4x - core card)
4 Drogskol Captain (Auto 4x - core card)
4 Spell Queller (Auto 4x - core card)
2 Nebelgast Herald - not entirely convinced but so far its been decent against other tribes inc. mirror, Titan decks and ok against burn and other aggro
2 Phantasmal Image - i like copying drogskol for the double drogskol combo/lock. I dont think anymore then two are needed or wanted - could be wrong
2 Geist of Saint Traft - I am biased towards this card - pet card. It is good against removal heavy decks/control. This could be cut
1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner - Kira is here to sure up the removal heavy matchups - I think its worth one slot.
//Other
4 Path to Exile (core)
4 Aether Vial (core)
//Sideboard
SB: 3 Unified Will - This could be negate - ive been caught out a couple times with this being a dead card - but ive also countered titans/TKS etc
SB: 2 Remorseful Cleric - I have no idea about this card. I want more then 2x RIP as gy hate but dont want to play more then 2x RIP.
SB: 2 Damping Sphere - I'm considering Eidolon of Rhetoric in this slot. stronger against Storm/Ad Naus/KCI/hollow one but sphere is better against tron
SB: 2 Rest in Peace - I think 2x RIP is a minimum
SB: 2 Worship - this could be 1x - strong against Burn, Affinity, Humans and whatever just cant remove it, boardwipe or cant collective brutality you.
SB: 2 Fragmentize - Ive played disenchant and Echoing Truth in this slot - not sure which is best.
SB: 1 Stony Silence - Worth considering playing more of these - interaction with our own vial is bad. Need to get the mix of Tron/Affinity hate correct.
SB: 1 Settle the Wreckage - I think this solidly holds its position as a 1-of
Problematic decks and cards for me to play against include (off the top of my head) - GDS and particularly grim lavamancer (another reason I like RIP).
My initial thoughts when looking over the Nikachu list was that cutting Cursecatcher was a mistake. However, ive tried a few different configurations post-Dominaria and Spell Pierce, Dismember and Vial do give you plenty of turn 1 plays IME. After a reasonable amount of testing im playing 71 out of the 75 of Nikachu's list - with the only difference being sb counters
So would you consider UG merfolk successful? What results did it put up? When did it perform - during what period?
I absolutely hated Merfolk pre-dominaria. However, with Merfolk Trickster and a favourable meta the new Nikachu build has been amazing IME - the only cards im different on are 4x Unified Will for 4x Deprive - I just dont like the manabase for deprive unless I cut caverns (which im not going to do).
https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1056649#paper
Most notably re. main deck - there are zero Cursecatchers and the list has 4x Spell Pierce and 3x Dismember.
The SB has 4x Deprive. I'm personally not a fan of deprive and would rather play Unified Will or Negate. Why do ppl seem to steer clear of Unified Will - I guess its bad against decks with Sweepers and decks that clog the board..
What do others think of this list?
@pabloduque32 Perhaps take a look at the SCG Open list - I think cards like Thragtusk and Batterskull (or even Nissa VF) are better options at the top end then World Breaker (World Breaker is way too expensive outside of Gx Tron lists).
Im convinced that there is room for only 1 utility land and that is easily Kessig Wolf Run over Sea gate - if you play too many utility land you will colour screw yourself too often
4x Eldrazi Temple
4x Ghost Quarter
4x Mutavault
3x Scavenger Grounds
3x Gemstone Caverns
2x Wastes
2x Sea gate wreckage
1x ?? No Idea
It feels like I need more manlands - but I dont think there are any good ones other then Mutavault. I could perhaps cut a scavenger groudns and play 2x Cavern of Souls. Or maybe play 4x Gemstone Caverns...Perahps an additional basic wastes is also worth considering..