It’s no secret that I have an affinity for finned blue creatures. I was playing Merfolk back when Sunken City was considered a lord. I played with Rootwater Thief during Extended’s Trix season. And Fish was my first Modern Deck a year ago. There are a few reasons to play Merfolk. First and foremost its one of the least cost prohibitive decks in both Modern and Legacy. And if you happen to play it in both there’s a ton of crossover so you only need a few cards to switch between decks. It’s important to know this deck and what it does, as it’s become a timeless staple of the competitive landscape.
Legacy Fish
Legacy Fish is great as a deck choice as well as a starting point for getting into what can seem like a cost prohibitive and confusing format. I often tell folks that if they want to know a format to play its cheapest competitive decks in a tournament. You’ll see how the other decks work as well as have a chance at being the underdog. It’s fun to play the lower cost deck, especially the one that punishes one of the reasons folks love legacy so much. I’m talking about Islands. Fish love Legacy, everyone likes to play Islands. So here’s my current build for fish. I tweak it a couple of cards each week, just to see what I think works in particular situations.
Merfolk
| Lands: (20) 4 Mutavault 12 Island 4 Wasteland Creatures: (24) 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 4 Cursecatcher 1 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner 2 Umezawa’s Jitte 3 Merrow Reejerey 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Silvergill Adept 2 Vendilion Clique Spells: (16) 2 Spell Pierce 3 Standstill 3 Daze 4 Force of Will 4 Aether Vial | Sideboard: (15) 2 Pithing Needle 1 Llawan, Cephalid Empress 1 Dismember 2 Spreading Seas 2 Annul 2 Relic of Progenitus 1 Echoing Truth 2 Surgical Extraction 1 Flusterstorm 1 Mindbreak Trap |
Legacy Fish Decks are basically in the category of Aether Vial tempo decks. Ideally you want to cast vial on turn one with Daze back up. Once you stick the Vial your mana is free to counter and otherwise disrupt your opponent’s game plan. Each turn you “cast” Merfolk from the vial and sometimes from your hand with your land. Eventually the board is cluttered with 4/4s and 5/4s that have islandwalk. The point A to point B is pretty obvious. Sometimes you Turn 1 Vial into Turn 2 Standstill. And watch as you opponent sighs. You have a lot of early plays. Legacy is a format that you’ll see a lot of early disruption in the form of Wasteland and Stifle. If you’re ready for these matches you’ll have a really good chance at larger events.
Match-Ups
Everyone can tell you how to beat a Merfolk deck and how their deck does it best. Listen to the haters and come prepared.
There are a ton of Wasteland/Daze decks that play Delver of Secrets. The early turns are what really makes this deck hum. If you can hold back their First Turn Delver then you have a solid chance to win. The American Delver lists run Stoneforge Mystic…she gets Umezawa’s Jitte. If Jitte gets equipped you will have a very hard time winning. Without a way to remove Jitte the game can be over quickly. Play cautiously and be ready to have your Lords targeted with Lightning Bolt. If they play a green version and Tarmogoyf is in play, try to play around their removal when swinging. If they relieve you of islandwalk blocking is going to leave you down another fish.
Storm is tough. It used to be that if you had and island and a Daze, a Force of Will and another blue card you’d be fine. That’s just not the way anymore. Maybe it never was. I’ve lost to it enough to know that I need disruption and pressure. I think that means stopping their early set-up spells like Ponders and Brainstorms. Pound in with whatever you can. Cursecatchers seriously help as well. Post board Mindbreak Trap and Flusterstorm are big game in this match. There’s also the option of going for Leyline of Sanctity and rolling the dice on that.
Maverick is my least favorite match-up. We have no way to deal with their Knight of the Reliquary, they can Swords to Plowshares our lords and…Gulp… No Islands. Thankfully, this deck is on the decline as Deathrite Shaman Decks outclass it and combo decks find it a laughable bye. The key post board is Jitte and Spreading Seas remove their ability to block and gain advantage with Jitte and you can swing this toward your favor.
Shardless BUG is likely the deck’s worst match-up. You’ll often find yourself on top only to be destroyed by a solid Cascade or a well timed Abrupt Decay/block to your now not island walking Merfolk. I’m thinking about running a Misdirection main as a one of and having a back up in the board. It’s the only way to deal with Abrupt Decay and that could be the swing this deck needs to come back. Not to mention how good it is against Hymn to Tourach.
Lands is interesting but not unwinnable if you stay patient. Maze of Ith is a pain in the neck but you have enough guys to combat it. Look to remove Life from the Loam and Wasteland The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale when it hits play. They don’t run a ton of spells but they do run some very hard to deal with Enchantments and Artifacts. Annul has been big for me here. Engineered Explosives, Ensnaring Bridge and Crucible of Worlds are all very hard to deal with once they hit the board. Wasteland is your best friend in this match, hold them in hand and use them to push through damage in chunks. Tabernacle is not game over for you, but Glacial Chasm can be. It’s important to be ready to strike when you get the chance. It’s a very intricate deck and you’ll need every edge you can get. This deck makes me want to run Stifles over Standstill, but I could be stretching too far.
Miracles/Countertop. This is one match-up I like. Aether Vial puts them in a bad place. Mainly you need to be careful about overextending into a Wrath. Try to diversify your casting costs on the board to negate Engineered Explosives. Daze and Spell Pierce support your plan, and should be held back for Rest in Peace if possible. Helm of Obedience is laughable as you have so many dudes they won’t get much from it as long as you don’t let them cast RIP. After board I like Surgical Extraction, potentially killing Engineered Explosives a countered Rest in Peace a Force of Will and if you just want to see what’s in their hand that works too. Extra Vials later seem redundant but having two in play on different numbers can really mess with Counter/Top’s plan.
Goblins is a coin flip. If you go first there’s a good chance you’ll get the drop on them. If they play Vial on their first turn and you can’t answer it that can be a really big problem. Goblins is the deck that while its creatures are less synergistic than yours they have a truly superior card advantage engine. Cards to respect are Goblin Sharpshooter, who can wipe out your board if you don’t watch out, Goblin Piledriver, who is a nightmare for blue decks, and Goblin Lackey. Lackey into Goblin Ringleader is so scary. Block Lackey at all cost. Dismember is good to deal with Piledriver. And Kira can halt sharpshooter. Like I said this match-up is a coin flip if you get a spreading seas out on a mountain you can really hurt their mana as Goblins tends to run red source light, and uses fetches to thin it’s deck. It’s something I’ve thought about with fish, but haven’t experimented enough to chance it.
Stoneblade used to the best deck in the format. It’s seen a small decline as UWR delver and Shardless BUG have begun to show their prominence. The main worry with Stoneblade is Mystic. Counter the Mystic and stop Jitte from just out classing your deck. It’s a matter of playing it careful. If they run Deathrite Shaman ignore him. He’s not as much of a concern as you can race him. The main worry this deck sports is Jitte and Jace, the Mind Sculptor. Some versions run Liliana of the Veil as well. Overall she’s not a big a deal unless they get us with her on their turn 2 with a Deathrite Shaman. Spell Pierce was created just for this match. Also, this is a perfect deck to argue for True-Name Nemesis.
Sneak and Show, Show and Know and Reanimator for the most part are very similar in style of play. They set up and eventually try to cast a fatty or an enchantment that wins the game for them. If you can keep them off their game with a bit of disruption via Daze and Wasteland you have a solid chance. Sneak and Show is tricky because Sneak Attack is often their back-up plan after they cast three mana Show and Tell the next turn is generally Sneak Attack, and the next is Dream Halls. If they make that progression then there’s a good chance they are out of gas… never scoop to this deck. The key is disruption. Daze their Ponders and Brainstorms. Force the important stuff. After board Relic helps vs Reanimator, and Annul/Pithing Needle for Sneak. Omniscience is pretty bad for you. Echoing Truth can help but they still get to cast at least one thing from it. That’s, many times, all they need. Like I said it’s all about making them stumble. I added in Vendilion Clique so that I have a chance in this match-up.
So after all this, we have an idea of what to watch out for. The question now is what do I want the deck to look like. Here’s my current list:
True-Name Fish
| Lands: (20) 4 Mutavault 12 Island 4 Wasteland Creatures: (23) 4 Master of the Pearl Trident 4 Cursecatcher 1 Umezawa’s Jitte 2 True-Name Nemesis 2 Merrow Reejerey 4 Lord of Atlantis 4 Silvergill Adept 2 Vendilion Clique Spells: (17) 2 Spell Pierce 4 Stifle 3 Daze 4 Force of Will 4 Aether Vial | Sideboard: (15) 1 Umezawa’s Jitte 2 Spreading Seas 2 Mindbreak Trap 2 Dismember 2 Annul 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Surgical Extraction 2 Swan Song |
Main Board Changes:
-3 Standstill, -2 Kira, Great Glass Spinner, -1 Umezawa’s Jitte, +2 True Name Nemesis +4 Stifle.
Sideboard Changes:
– 1 Llawan, Cephalid Empress, -1 Echoing Truth, -2 Pithing Needle, -1 Flusterstorm, +2 Swan Song, +1 Umezawa’s Jitte +1, Mindbreak Trap, +1 Dismember
That’s my decklist for this coming week. It’s strong against Storm with more counters in board I can bring in. I have game vs Graveyards, and Spreading Seas for pesky lands and other creature decks that are island free. Dismember in board helps vs other Midrange decks. There’s only 2 more weeks to practice to GPDC. I’ll be missing this week’s Monday night event to play at The Comic Book Store in South Jersey for a Modern Event. There’s a PTQ in Philly with all this Eternal Weekend stuff going on. I’ll sneak down for that. Lemme know what you think of the changes and how you feel about True-Name Nemesis. After losing so many games to bolt and swords I can’t wait to give this guy spot on the starting line up.
Zac Clark, @Durdlemagus
Developments in Durdling is a Hipsters of the Coast column about the playing control in a midrange world. Focused on Constructed with occasional asides to Limited and Cube, it is a commentary of the current trends in Magic and a place that Zac Clark vents about weekly defeats.