UW Merfolk

[so_not]

For this year's Ropecon highlander (Nastaboi played Battle of Wits X_x) I decided to bring something new again. I brainstormed a couple of ideas until I got this awful idea about a merfolk deck that I had been urging to build. So after beating last year's Ropecon highlander with Goblins, it was time for the tribal madness to take control once again:

Cursecatcher
Sandbar Merfolk
Tidal Warrior
Burrenton Forge Tender
Mother of Runes

Lord of Atlantis
Sygg River Guide
Sygg River Cutthroat
Galina's Knight
Inkfathom Infiltrator
Puresight Merrow
Judge of Currents
Riptide Pilferer
Waterfront Bouncer
Silvergill Adept
Stonybrook Banneret

Merrow Reejeray
Merfolk Sovereign
Mirror Entity
Cold Eye Selkie
Sage of Fables
Wake Thrasher
Wistful Selkie
Vendilion Clique

Summon the School
Thistledown Liege
Seahunter
Sower of Temptation
Venser Shaper Savant
Ranger of Eos
Glen Elendra Archmage

Reveillark
Cloudgoat Ranger

Aether Vial
Swords to Plowshares
Path to Exile
Ancestral Vision
Mox Diamond
Chrome Mox
Ponder
Spell Snare
Harm's Way

Winter Orb
Daze
Mana Leak
Counterspell
Miscalculation
Remand
Mana Drain

Back to Basics
Vedalken Shackles
Oblivion Ring
Sword of Fire and Ice
Thirst for Knowledge

Opposition
Armageddon
Mirrorweave
Faith's Fetters
Cryptic Command
Rlsprth, Knight Brrrant
Fact or Fiction

Gush
Force of Will
Treachery
Misdirection
Condescend

Mutavault
Library of Alexandria
Wasteland
Riptide Laboratory
Delta
Heath
Strand
Tundra
Hallowed Fountain
Terramorphic Expanse
Mystic Gate
Flood Plain
Glacial Fortress
Wanderwine Hub
Windbrisk Heights
Faerie Conclave
14 Island
4 Plains

Matchups:
R1: UWB-Thopter Foundry combo 2-1
R2: UB-control 2-1
R3: MonoG elves 2-0
R4: 5Ccontrol 2-1
R5: Mono-U-skies 2-0
R6: UR hightide ID for tied first place

I'll write something more useful when I have time later this week. Beginning of med school takes most of my time nowadays.

[GoblinPiledriver]

With a few new editions the old UW-Merfolk deck could be improved with cards like Enclave Cryptologis; sejiri-merfolk; corallhelm commander; Stoneforge Mystic; gideon jura; Jace,the Mind Sculptor;

Here's the new build:

// Lands
    1 [ON] Windswept Heath
    1 [ZEN] Arid Mesa
    1 [M10] Glacial Fortress
    1 [TSP] Flagstones of Trokair
    1 [MM] Rishadan Port
    1 [R] Tundra
    1 [ON] Polluted Delta
    1 [ZEN] Scalding Tarn
    1 [TE] Wasteland
    1 [ZEN] Misty Rainforest
    1 [ZEN] Marsh Flats
    1 [AQ] Mishra's Factory (4)
    1 [ON] Flooded Strand
    1 [DIS] Hallowed Fountain
    1 [MOR] Mutavault
    1 [SHM] Mystic Gate
    11 [R] Island (2)
    6 [R] Plains (2)

// Creatures
    1 [ROE] Enclave Cryptologist
    1 [SH] Tidal Warrior
    1 [ZEN] Cosi's Trickster
    1 [SHM] Cursecatcher
    1 [UL] Mother of Runes
    1 [TSP] Looter il-Kor
    1 [MM] Waterfront Bouncer
    1 [MOR] Stonybrook Banneret
    1 [LRW] Silvergill Adept
    1 [WWK] Sejiri Merfolk
    1 [7E] Lord of Atlantis
    1 [WWK] Stoneforge Mystic
    1 [ROE] Coralhelm Commander
    1 [IN] Galina's Knight
    1 [LRW] Sygg, River Guide
    1 [DIS] Azorius Guildmage
    1 [SHM] Puresight Merrow
    1 [SHM] Sygg, River Cutthroat
    1 [SHM] Inkfathom Infiltrator
    1 [TSP] Serra Avenger
    1 [AN] Serendib Efreet
    1 [FUT] Aven Mindcensor
    1 [VI] Man-o'-War
    1 [EVE] Selkie Hedge-Mage
    1 [EVE] Wake Thrasher
    1 [LRW] Pestermite
    1 [LRW] Merrow Reejerey
    1 [DIS] Azorius Herald
    1 [LRW] Harpoon Sniper
    1 [PLC] Stonecloaker
    1 [MOR] Vendilion Clique
    1 [LRW] Streambed Aquitects
    1 [M10] Merfolk Sovereign
    1 [EVE] Cold-Eyed Selkie
    1 [EVE] Wistful Selkie
    1 [ZEN] Merfolk Seastalkers
    1 [LRW] Sower of Temptation
    1 [MOR] Reveillark
    1 [M10] Baneslayer Angel

// Spells
    1 [M10] Harm's Way
    1 [CFX] Path to Exile
    1 [4E] Swords to Plowshares
    1 [TSB] Psionic Blast
    1 [ALA] Oblivion Ring
    1 [DIS] Spell Snare
    1 [SH] Mana Leak
    1 [UL] Miscalculation
    1 [NE] Daze
    1 [MOR] Negate
    1 [FD] Condescend
    1 [TE] Counterspell
    1 [LG] Mana Drain
    1 [MOR] Sage's Dousing
    1 [EX] Forbid
    1 [AL] Force of Will
    1 [WWK] Jace, the Mind Sculptor
    1 [ALA] Elspeth, Knight-Errant
    1 [ROE] Gideon Jura
    1 [DS] Sword of Fire and Ice
    1 [FD] Grafted Wargear
    1 [VI] Tithe
    1 [US] Back to Basics
    1 [DS] AEther Vial
    1 [IA] Brainstorm
    1 [CHK] Sensei's Divining Top
    1 [UD] Opposition
    1 [FD] Vedalken Shackles


Any thoughts or comments?

[so_not]

Yeah, I've been thinking of rebuilding this crap pile too It's just too much fun to play with.

I would not cut Seahunter, Mirror Entity, Ranger of Eos or the wizards(Glen Elendra and Venser mainly)+Riptide Lab package. Last time I played the deck Seahunter was the main killing machine with eot Wake Thrasher into Lord of Atlantis or something.

Also Cryptic Command and Treachery are about the two best spells this deck can have. In my version I would like Basilisk Collar more than Grafed Wargear. Mana base looks somewhat decent although I don't understand Flagstones of Trokair here.

Some creatures I wouldn't probably play (although I see you have taken somewhat different path constucting the deck so some of these fits in your way better than mine):
1 [TSP] Looter il-Kor -don't know about this, at least it's not fish but this could be better than Merfolk Looter
1 [DIS] Azorius Guildmage -just bad and not even fish
1 [TSP] Serra Avenger -not fish and not very effective
1 [AN] Serendib Efreet -same here
1 [FUT] Aven Mindcensor -same here
1 [VI] Man-o'-War -you don't play Venser but play this?
1 [EVE] Selkie Hedge-Mage -wasn't very good when I tested the deck, since it doesn't even bounce blockers
1 [LRW] Pestermite -not fish and not very effective
1 [DIS] Azorius Herald -same here and I would rather play Kitchen Finks if something like this is needed
1 [LRW] Harpoon Sniper -you don't have enough merfolk for this to be any good and if you did, it would probably be bad even then.

[grizzledmage]

Actually, about a year, maybe 18 months ago I thought to myself, "huh; never played a Merfolk deck of any kind," so I put together a UW HL Merfolk deck (maybe I should call it "stinking docks"). I don't consider it particularly good, although it has made fair showings at my kitchen table, and I do update it when new sets come out because it's fun to trot out as a change of pace. Here's my current list; perhaps there may be an idea or two you can use:

Lands (35)
    9 Plains
    12 Island
    1 Adarkar Wastes
    1 Azorius Chancery
    1 Wanderwine Hub
    1 Terramorphic Expanse
    1 Glacial Fortress
    1 Hallowed Fountain
    1 Wasteland
    1 Celestial Colonnade
    1 Faerie Conclave
    1 Skycloud Expanse
    1 Mystic Gate
    1 Halimar Depths
    1 Secluded Steppe
    1 Lonely Sandbar

Creatures (30)
    1 Sygg, River Cutthroat
    1 Silvergill Adept
    1 Stonybrook Banneret
    1 Stonybrook Schoolmaster
    1 Streambed Aquitects
    1 Sea Scryer
    1 Sygg, River Guide
    1 Veteran of the Depths
    1 Wake Thrasher
    1 Wistful Selkie
    1 Mirror Entity
    1 Shapesharer
    1 Cold-Eyed Selkie
    1 Lord of Atlantis
    1 Deepchannel Mentor
    1 Galina's Knight
    1 Harpoon Sniper
    1 Inkfathom Infiltrator
    1 Judge of Currents
    1 Sandbar Merfolk
    1 Merfolk Looter
    1 Merfolk Sovereign
    1 Merrow Harbinger
    1 Merrow Reejerey
    1 Rootwater Hunter
    1 Seahunter
    1 Merfolk Skyscout
    1 Enclave Cryptologist
    1 Halimar Wavewatch
    1 Coralhelm Commander

Other Spells (35)
    1 Path to Exile
    1 Oblivion Ring
    1 Snakeform
    1 Hindering Light
    1 Swords to Plowshares
    1 Ponder
    1 Dismiss
    1 Disenchant
    1 Faerie Trickery
    1 Chrome Mox
    1 Merrow Commerce
    1 Wrath of God
    1 Summon the School
    1 Azorius Signet
    1 Mind Stone
    1 Sensei's Divining Top
    1 Telling Time
    1 Fact or Fiction
    1 Rebuff the Wicked
    1 Capsize
    1 Cryptic Command
    1 Counterspell
    1 Impulse
    1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
    1 Harm's Way
    1 Sword of Fire and Ice
    1 Relic of Progenitus
    1 Spreading Seas
    1 Akroma's Vengeance
    1 Nevinyrral's Disk
    1 Deprive
    1 Bonesplitter
    1 Talisman of Progress
    1 Loxodon Warhammer
    1 Condemn