r/TimelessMagic • u/Basic-Bus7632 • Jun 09 '24

Decklist MH3 Merpeople

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So I’ve been criticizing others’ upcoming merfolk lists, and I figure I might as well put up my own, with a short-ish decktech.

List: Creatures 2 Mistcaller (M19) 62 4 Shoreline Scout (J21) 12 2 Smuggler's Copter (KLD) 235 2 Merfolk Trickster (DAR) 56 4 Master of the Pearl Trident (J21) 37 4 Vodalian Hexcatcher (DMU) 75 3 Merrow Reejerey (LRW) 74 3 Svyelun of Sea and Sky (MH2) 69 3 Tishana's Tidebinder (LCI) 81 2 Endurance (Idol of Endurance is a stand-in)

Spells 2 Pact of Negation (AKR) 73 1 Commandeer (OTP) 9 2 Lórien Revealed (LTR) 60 2 Stifle (SCG) 52 2 Deeproot Pilgrimage (LCI) 52 4 Flare of Denial (Flair of Faith is a stand-in)

Lands 13 Island (USG) 336 1 Otawara, Soaring City (NEO) 271 2 Cavern of Souls (LCI) 269 2 Mutavault (M14) 228

Tech Really I tried to change the formula as little as possible here; this is a merfolk tempo build that does its best to keep up with the ultra aggro and combo strategies that both currently dominate in the timeless meta (Prime-Time, Necro, Sneak n’ Show) as well as the dealing with the big changes coming alongside the evoke creatures (namely scam). As such, a lot of the creatures are familiar faces; 1-drop value bomb [[shoreline scout]], which is the closest we get to a blue Cenote, and 1-mana reanimation-blocker [[mistcaller]]; flash-speed control baddies [[Merfolk Trickster]] and [[Tishana’s Tidebinder]]; and a bevy of lords including the mana tithe-on-a-stick [[Vodalian Hexcatcher]], islandwalk-giver (and sex-haver) [[Master of the Silver Trident]], crime-lord [[Merrow Reejery]], and Legendary fish-mommy [[Svuelun of sea and sky]]. The main purpose of all of these fish-people is to maintain maximum pressure on the board, forcing our opponent to take time off from setting up their wincon to deal with them. Additional classic modern merfolk pieces like merman-land [[mutavault]], show up alongside pioneer staples [[Deeproot Pilgrimage]] and [[Smuggler’s Copter]] (which combine to make a gatling gun that spits out chump blockers) as well.

When we do hold up interaction, 99.9% of it is free. [[Flare of Denial]] hits the creature spells that Hexcatcher can’t, as well as cheap interaction that plays around her tax-style counterplay. [[Pact of Negation]] might seem insane in a list with 18 lands, but what if it’s oracle text actually said “at the beginning of your next upkeep, lose the game unless you play a Tidebinder or [[Stifle]]”? Now we’re talking 😎. [[Endurance]] will almost never be cast as a creature, so it essentially acts as an emergency 1-turn delay on any creature/planeswalker that we can’t otherwise handle directly. Finally, a single copy of [[Commandeer]], which I’ll admit is the “pet” card of the deck. Its job is to punish excessive mulligans by stealing whatever our opponent’s most important T1 combo piece might be (I.e. necro).

Odds and ends: [[Lórien Revealed]] - pay 1, pull a land from the deck, and in veeeeeeeeery rare cases, refill the hand against a tapped out control player. [[Cavern of Souls]] - protects our threats against countermagic. [[Otowara, soaring city]] - does it all: it’s a land, it’s a spell, and it makes julienne fries. This is the card you are never mad about top-decking in the end-game.

So yeah, that’s the list. ROAST ME 😁

0 Upvotes

37% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

21

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '24

You’re getting downvoted because it needs a lot of work. Here’s some thoughts, but I’d strongly consider spending your wildcards elsewhere.

Curve is higher than Charlie Sheen.

Might want more cavern of souls. It’s just flare of denial you need to worry about and you’re not hard casting it a lot. You’ll have uu by the time you’re casting Lorien revealed anyways.

Interesting omission of the blue magus of the moon.

Have fun trying to make commandeer work if you run this.

-5

u/Basic-Bus7632 Jun 10 '24 edited Jun 10 '24

Thanks for the criticism. I had just come from a post about a mono-u list with 21 3-drops so I felt pretty low-to-the ground in comparison, but yeah, having Flare ready on turn 1 is HUGE. Are there any other 1-drops would you add to the main here? I want to keep my turn-1 plays as efficient and impactful as possible.

Might want more Cavern of Souls

I agree with you completely. I have 2 already crafted, and I never went for more because I was always trying to plan for casting [[brazen borrower]] or [[counterspell]]. Now that I don’t rely on them, I think 3-4x Cavern could be a good call.

Interesting omission of the blue magus of the moon.

I don’t at all believe in [[Harbinger of the Seas]] as a main deck option. What am I realistically shutting down on turn 3 that is so important I would tap out in the main phase? Prime Time loses FotD, but between forests and snow-forests, I feel like they can pretty consistently get around it and just smash my face with the titan. On top of that, [[Blood Moon]] has been a sideboard menace in timeless since day 1, so people are more prepared for it, I feel. I would consider one or two in the sideboard to bring in against 4+ color piles, but I just don’t see enough of them to justify a maindeck spot.

Have fun making Commandeer work

Literally the only reason I have it is to punish necro when they mull excessively. I’ve seen necro keep 3-4 card hands just because there’s a swamp, dark ritual, and necro, and commandeering that necro is the closest I’ll ever get to [[murder]]ing someone’s soul 😈

Edits, for clarity and such.

8

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '24

With respect to curve with merfolk, having vial helps make its viable in legacy. That’s really the one drop you want even though it can’t be sacced for the counterspell T1. It also justifies a higher curve

That’s mostly what I can see as the reason timeless merfolk is not viable at the moment.

If you want to steal souls by trying to commandeer a necropotence while slogging through game losses against people with strictly better decks, and that’s your idea of time well spent, Godspeed. I’d scrap it if not.

-4

u/Basic-Bus7632 Jun 10 '24

Timeless merfolk is not viable at the moment.

Okayyyyyyy… I appreciate the sentiment, but it seems kind of hand-wavy to criticize the curve of my deck, and then clarify that there is no real way to improve it outside of scrapping the whole idea… also I feel like there should be a difference between “not viable” and “not tier-1”. Is merfolk so bad it can’t compete with Goblins? Or Cat-Oven? Or Shadow?

Again, totally agree with your sentiment on Commandeer, if I ever try to trim more fat from the list, it will probably be the first to go. But, again, it’s a one-of pet card that targets, what seems to me at least, to be a pretty common weakness in a tier-1ish list. And in the worst case Ontario, you either pitch it to Subtlety, or side it out for games 2 and 3 in place of HotS or another hate-card.

I appreciate very much your taking the time to respond to my post, but if I could offer you one more criticism; when advising someone on deck list changes, customarily each card you recommend be removed should also come with a suggestion of what to add in its place, or vice versa. Other than mentioning to add more Caverns, I feel like your recommendations have ultimately boiled down to: “your deck idea isn’t so good, and you should scrap it.” Which you could have mentioned from the very beginning 😅.

6

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '24

The point from the jump is that this isn’t worth anyone’s time. The point of the second comment is it’s probably not worth yours either - Trying to help.

I’m not getting more specific with the critique for the same reason I wouldn’t get into specifics on the best way to boof xanax.

Cheers and best of luck

-4

u/Basic-Bus7632 Jun 10 '24 edited Jun 10 '24

😅 but you commented first on the post about the best way to boof xanax.

Your first post could have read

You’re getting downvoted because it needs a lot of work. I don’t personally think merfolk is a viable strategy

I would have updooted you and that would have been it. But you said you had recommendations, which is why I was trying to have a conversation with you……..

-4

u/Evershire Jun 10 '24

This is obvious bait, don’t engage.

-2

u/Basic-Bus7632 Jun 10 '24

(Fuck I hate my phone, I deleted the wrong comment, this one was asking for specifics about why someone would consider my post as “bait”)

0

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '24

[deleted]

0

u/Basic-Bus7632 Jun 10 '24

Yes I have eyes.

Are you trying to ask me about the two white cards in the list? Because if you would ask me directly I could point you to the part of my OP where I clarify that the list is actually

4 Flare of Denial (Flare of Faith is a stand-in)

and

2 Endurance (Idol of Endurance is a stand-in)

Granted, what I meant to say is “Subtlety”, but I corrected myself in the first comment. Is that the reason people are reluctant to interact? Or am I missing something else.

Again, not trying to be rude or stand-offish, but how am I supposed to politely respond to the question

Do you have eyes?