raginggoblin

http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/deck/6

I promise you Cryptic is still better than Ojutai's despite those reasons. Just try switching them, it doesn't take long to see how powerful Cryptic command is

Not to be a downer, but I do not see any way for this deck to hit a storm count of even 10, let alone the 20 you need to kill. With just probe and mananorphose you don't have very many ways to get card advantage. You don't have pyromancers ascension to help generate extra value. No past in flames to recycle your already limited cards. You don't have burning wish to find key cards like grapeshot. You don't have LED for easy storm count and tons of mana. And in general I see this deck just straight up fizzling 80% of the time and only grapeshotting people for 7 the other 20%...

This deck feels like it has a lot of the same drawbacks as typical MUD decks, but lacks a lot of the strengths.

The lock/tax pieces tend to be pretty weak unless you can accelerate them out. I recommend Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors for the land base, as well as Grim Monolith.

In an artifact based control deck, I don't have any idea why you aren't playing the two BEST artifact lock pieces: Chalice of the Void and Trinisphere. Setting a Chalice to 1 on the first turn of the game with a Sol land, followed up by a 3sphere, Metalworker, or Lodestone Golem is incredibly strong, and should always be your primary line of play.

Wasteland + Crucible of Worlds is also incredibly hard for an opponent to deal with, especially if it's comboed with Trinisphere.

Kuldotha Forgemaster and Wurmcoil Engine are definitely cards you'd be better off using than junk like Memnite and Myr Enforcer...

His username is "money man"... how is <$100 not budget?...

Like, I make a deck and I'm like, "sweet, only 400 bucks, totally buying this". People just need to accept that Magic is an expensive hobby, and by refusing to acknowledge that they only hurt themselves by purposefully weakening their decks when they shave the expensive staples.

Toss in a playset of AEther Vials and Path to Exiles and you got yourself a Modern deck.

That's fair. I know I've been trying since I started playing modern to come up with a good delver deck, but even UR Aggro is inconsistent as far as flipping goes.

Either way, you seem to have a strong understanding of both your deck and what you want to accomplish. Good luck in the future with your build.

Very nice list, and nice report to go with it, congrats on your finish.

I am curious though... you sided out all 4 Delvers in all but 1 matchup. Do you feel that they just aren't as good in modern as they are in legacy or they were in standard? Or does being on the draw play a significant enough role that you simply would rather not see a Delver?

I am all for being blunt, I'm not one to beat around the bush either; but, there IS a line that you have to be wary of crossing.

Very eloquently said Drizzle. Good on you, friend :)

Everyone just needs to calm down. Ninja was trying to point out the way Scapeshift and Valakut interact, when Kazzong attacked him and claimed he was "ignorant". Kazzong wasn't the only one in the wrong, as Ninja came back pretty aggressively, but either way there is no reason for us to act like this.

This site is supposed to be constructive. Don't get so caught up in your ego that you are unwilling to admit a rules mistake. It happens to everyone, I've done it and I'm sure all of you have done it too.

Having both curse catcher and moth dust changeling seems a little ambitious on the one drop front, especially when you optimally want to be playing aether vial.

Do not get rid of vapor snag! Some people have said it isn't good, but being someone that regularly plays Merfolk I promise they are strong (don't use serum visions, it's bad).

Mana leak is a very strong, but using spell pierce is also an option. Most successful Merfolk lists only run two pierce alongside a pair of dismember.

I really want to deter you from using bident though. The card obviously would have potential, but you have to consider whether or not you could be doing something better instead. For example, I used to run cold eyed Selkie, which actually functions very similarly to bident. It's essentially one of those cards that doesn't do mucho if you're behind, and is just kinda redundant if you're ahead. "Win more" as it's known.

I'm assuming Judge of Currents is supposed to be something else?

The thing is, "replacing themselves" is exactly what you want the cards to do. Unlike something like Serum Visions, that merely constructs your hand, Silvergill and Spreading Seas do something proactive on the field, AND keep you hand full.

Trust me, as someone who has played a lot of Merfolk: Silvergill is the strongest card in the deck, even superior to the namesake lords.

It's true, those 8 draw spells are key to merfolk working.

Please no. Door of Destinies is exactly what this deck doesn't need. I really don't know if I can stress that enough.

1- It's 4 mana, which means it comes into play on the turns that you should be looking to win on. This slows you down a lot in itself.

2- It only starts buffing creatures when you cast them after it's in play. This means that turn 4 you play this and it does NOTHING.

3- It lacks synergy with AEther Vial because you have to cast them.

4- Because of the nature of merfolk already buffing each other, by the time this card gets enough counters to be relevant it is already overkill. This is the very definition of a "win more" card. It does not help you get ahead, and in a lot of cases puts you behind because you devoted so much time and mana to casting it.

5- That's 4 slots of your deck that could be put toward something proactive: More creatures (Silvergill Adept / Phantasmal Image), or more utility spells (Vapor Snag / more Spreading Seas).

6- You may as well use Coat of Arms (please don't) because at least it has immediate effect. But it still has a lot of the other problems this card has.

Overall Door of Destinies/Coat of Arms are just bad cards for merfolk. I've always referred to this card as a "trap" when it comes to tribal decks, because it seems like it should help, but it really only hurts the deck.

As for comments about the deck go: PLEASE remove Door of Destinies. It's so bad, especially because you have a full playset, that's 4 slots that could be used for something that will actually help you win...

I've been playing merfolk for well over a year now, look at my earlier comment again. Even if you don't like the exact +/- part, the comments and explanations above are important. You are not maximizing the potential that merfolk have, and by additionally adding cards like DoD, you are further diluting your deck...

Basically the only must is that YOU NEED SILVERGILL ADEPT. Seriously, other merfolk players understand, but I can't explain to you how good this card is, and how important it is for this deck to be effective. I HIGHLY suggest taking out the merfolk sovereigns for adepts.

Coralhelm Commander and Merfolk Sovereign are quite weak as far as Merfolk go. The lack of Silvergill Adepts is also troubling, they are incredibly strong creatures, and you should run a full 4 of them. Phantasmal Image is another strong card that you could add in place of the aforementioned weak creatures. Vapor Snag is another strong mainboard option for modern Merfolk if you want more control. Also, because sideboards are limited to 15 cards, remove the Merfolk Assassins. They are honestly pretty bad, and really only become relevant in a mirror match.

Suggestions:
Mainboard
-4 Coralhelm Commander
-4 Merfolk Sovereign
+4 Silvergill Adept
+4 Phantasmal Image /or/ Vapor Snag
Sideboard
-2 Merfolk Assassin

Not to be rude, but there is zero chance those see play in Modern Fish.

Cosi's Trickster is actually super reliable. Against every single tier deck you are going to get a ~3/3 for 1 mana. You what that is? It's called Wild Nacatl. And it's banned.

Also, inkfathom is pretty trash, though a couple Sygg's have had success in fish.

There's plenty of aggression already in the list, I think what's best right now is to cut the Commanders, add one more land and 2 Kira, great glass-spinner, or 2 Spellskite.