One of the many aspects of the Ixalan plane that plenty of people enjoy is emphasis on a handful of cool, but often underrepresented Creature types. Dinosaurs, Vampires, Pirates, and Merfolk together make up a big part of what makes The Lost Caverns of Ixalan such a cool set. Each of these Creature types have not been overly abundant throughout MTG’s history, which has often made it tougher to build elite Constructed decks around them.
We’ve seen Dinosaurs have a small amount of success thanks to
Marauding Raptor
Marauding Raptor
Creature spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
Whenever another creature you control enters, this creature deals 2 damage to it. If a Dinosaur is dealt damage this way, this creature gets +2/+0 until end of turn.
in Standard in 2020. Vampires have had brief Pioneer success with the power of
Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord
Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord
+1: Target creature you control gains deathtouch and lifelink until end of turn. If it's a Vampire, put a +1/+1 counter on it.
+1: You may sacrifice a Vampire. When you do, Sorin deals 3 damage to any target and you gain 3 life.
−3: You may put a Vampire creature card from your hand onto the battlefield.
. However, compared to more heavily printed Creature types, like Humans and Elves, these decks haven’t had nearly the level of consistent competitive viability.
The one exception, though, is Merfolk. Merfolk has been around in Modern for quite some time. Combining Merfolk “Lords” like
Lord of Atlantis
Lord of Atlantis
Other Merfolk get +1/+1 and have islandwalk. (They can't be blocked as long as defending player controls an Island.)
and
Master of the Pearl Trident
Master of the Pearl Trident
Other Merfolk creatures you control get +1/+1 and have islandwalk. (They can't be blocked as long as defending player controls an Island.)
with other cheap Merfolk and
Aether Vial
Aether Vial
At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put a charge counter on this artifact.
{T}: You may put a creature card with mana value equal to the number of charge counters on this artifact from your hand onto the battlefield.
was a recipe for success. At least, for a while. Merfolk fell out of favor over time, especially with the printing of elite, cheap interaction like
Fury
Fury
Double strike
When this creature enters, it deals 4 damage divided as you choose among any number of target creatures and/or planeswalkers.
Evoke—Exile a red card from your hand.
and
Solitude
Solitude
Flash
Lifelink
When this creature enters, exile up to one other target creature. That creature's controller gains life equal to its power.
Evoke—Exile a white card from your hand.
. In Standard or Pioneer, the archetype has been essentially non-existent. For Merfolk lovers, times have certainly been tough as of late.
Fortunately, thanks to The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, it looks like the strategy might be ready to make a huge jump in Standard. There are tons of powerful new Merfolk getting introduced to the format, as well as some strong Merfolk from previous sets that may finally have a home. Let’s take a closer look at these cards and how a deck built around them should fare against Standard’s top archetypes.
New Merfolk in Standard
All the way up the curve, there are solid Merfolk additions to Standard at each mana slot. One of the biggest things the Merfolk deck was missing was a good one-drop. Now, we have
Cenote Scout
Cenote Scout
When this creature enters, it explores. (Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
. Cenote Scout is an excellent card on rate. If you reveal a non-Land card with the Explore ability, you end up with a one-mana 2/2 with some card selection built in. If you reveal a Land, instead you get a 1/1 that draws you a card for one mana. Either way, you are getting a great deal. Don’t let this card’s rarity fool you, it’s a big piece of the puzzle.
At two mana, we have
Nicanzil, Current Conductor
Nicanzil, Current Conductor
Whenever a creature you control explores a land card, you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped.
Whenever a creature you control explores a nonland card, put a +1/+1 counter on Nicanzil.
. Nicanzil is a 2/3 that benefits a lot from Exploring. Not only does it help ramp you when you reveal Lands when Exploring, but Nicanzil can continue to grow when you reveal non-Land cards. This happens to pair incredibly well with
Jadelight Spelunker
Jadelight Spelunker
When this creature enters, it explores X times. (To have it explore, reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.)
, which nicely fills out any necessary point in the curve. It’s an excellent mana sink, helping to make good use of extra Lands you might reveal with other Exploring Merfolk.
At three mana, you have
Sentinel of the Nameless City
Sentinel of the Nameless City
Vigilance
Whenever this creature enters or attacks, create a Map token. (It's an artifact with "{1}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.")
and
Tishana’s Tidebinder
Tishana’s Tidebinder
Flash
When this creature enters, counter up to one target activated or triggered ability. If an ability of an artifact, creature, or planeswalker is countered this way, that permanent loses all abilities for as long as this creature remains on the battlefield. (Mana abilities can't be targeted.)
. Sentinel generates value both from casting it and attacking and is a rather beefy body. Tishana’s Tidebinder can counter enters-the-battlefield effects from cards like
Leyline Binding
Leyline Binding
Flash
Domain — This spell costs {1} less to cast for each basic land type among lands you control.
When this enchantment enters, exile target nonland permanent an opponent controls until this enchantment leaves the battlefield.
or Atraxa, Grand Unifier[/toolttips] out of multi-color ramp decks. That’s not all, though. Let’s say you counter the life gain ability associated with drawing cards from [tooltips]Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. Sheoldred now loses all abilities as long as Tidebinder sticks around! In this sense, this card can help you beat otherwise problematic cards, all on a 3/2 with Flash.
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Merfolk Payoffs
Of course, sticking to playing mostly Merfolk does come at a cost. By restricting yourself to one Creature type, you are greatly reducing the range of powerful cards that you have access to. Luckily, there are a handful of excellent payoffs for sticking with the clan.
Likely the biggest prize is
Vodalian Hexcatcher
Vodalian Hexcatcher
Flash
Other Merfolk you control get +1/+1.
Sacrifice a Merfolk: Counter target noncreature spell unless its controller pays {1}.
. Vodalian Hexcatcher is an extremely powerful Merfolk that buffs your other Merfolk and can completely take over the game. Being able to sacrifice Merfolk to counter board wipes like
Sunfall
Sunfall
Exile all creatures. Incubate X, where X is the number of creatures exiled this way. (Create an Incubator token with X +1/+1 counters on it and "{2}: Transform this token." It transforms into a 0/0 Phyrexian artifact creature.)
at Instant speed is a game changer.
One new card that pairs really well with Hexcatcher is
Deeproot Pilgrimage
Deeproot Pilgrimage
Whenever one or more nontoken Merfolk you control become tapped, create a 1/1 blue Merfolk creature token with hexproof.
. Deeproot Pilgrimage has the ability to generate lots of Merfolk tokens that become increasingly more threatening with Hexcatcher in play. Not only do they all get pumped, but this Enchantment can singlehandedly make it tough for an opponent to resolve any impactful non-Creature spell for as long as you have Hexcatcher. Hexcatcher can also help protect Tishana’s Tidebinder when you are shutting off something important, like Sheoldred.
Finally, any deck built around a specific Creature type gets to maximize
Cavern of Souls
Cavern of Souls
As this land enters, choose a creature type.
{T}: Add {C}.
{T}: Add one mana of any color. Spend this mana only to cast a creature spell of the chosen type, and that spell can't be countered.
. Cavern of Souls both fixes this deck’s mana well and also makes your Merfolk uncounterable.
Make Disappear
Make Disappear
Casualty 1 (As you cast this spell, you may sacrifice a creature with power 1 or greater. When you do, copy this spell and you may choose a new target for the copy.)
Counter target spell unless its controller pays {2}.
is one of the premier pieces of interaction currently in Standard, and getting to completely blank it is very strong. There are clearly plenty of solid options to build a Merfolk deck, but can it keep up with other potential top-tier archetypes?
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Highs and Lows
The Merfolk archetype appears to have the necessary tools to fight against most of current top cards and decks in Standard. This deck can play a strong, tempo-style gameplan against control and ramp decks. Vodalian Hexcatcher not only completely blanks opposing board wipes, but it can prevent opposing ramp pieces like
Invasion of Zendikar
Invasion of Zendikar
(As a Siege enters, choose an opponent to protect it. You and others can attack it. When it's defeated, exile it, then cast it transformed.)
When this Siege enters, search your library for up to two basic land cards, put them onto the battlefield tapped, then shuffle.
or win conditions like
The Wandering Emperor
The Wandering Emperor
Flash
As long as The Wandering Emperor entered this turn, you may activate her loyalty abilities any time you could cast an instant.
+1: Put a +1/+1 counter on up to one target creature. It gains first strike until end of turn.
−1: Create a 2/2 white Samurai creature token with vigilance.
−2: Exile target tapped creature. You gain 2 life.
from resolving. It can also provide a buff to your Creatures at Instant speed, potentially acting as a blowout against mono-white Humans or Azorius Soldiers.
Deeproot Pilgrimage is excellent against midrange decks, especially because the Merfolk created have Hexproof. The problem comes when Esper midrange decks play cards like
Dennick, Pious Apprentice
Dennick, Pious Apprentice
Lifelink
Cards in graveyards can't be the targets of spells or abilities.
Disturb {2}{W}{U} (You may cast this card from your graveyard transformed for its disturb cost.)
or
Raffine, Scheming Seer
Raffine, Scheming Seer
Flying, ward {1}
Whenever you attack, target attacking creature connives X, where X is the number of attacking creatures. (Draw X cards, then discard X cards. Put a +1/+1 counter on that creature for each nonland card discarded this way.)
that are elite blockers. Without Lord of Atlantis or Master of the Pearl Trident, evasion is hard to come by. For Creatures with low power like Raffine, though,
Vodalian Mindsinger
Vodalian Mindsinger
Kicker {1}{R} and/or {1}{G}
This creature enters with two +1/+1 counters on it for each time it was kicked.
When this creature enters, gain control of target creature with power less than this creature's power for as long as you control this creature.
can be backbreaking, opening the door for a big attack and letting you Connive a bunch. This deck can also make solid use of Make Disappear, too, helping to make sure devastating cards like Sheoldred don’t resolve.
All of the Exploring this deck can do also helps a lot with consistency. Whether you are digging for Hexcatchers or trying to hit your land drops, Exploring helps keep you on schedule. The biggest downside to this archetype in Standard currently is the lack of lord effects. Draws with Hexcatcher and draws without may very well be night and day. Still, the rest of the Merfolk in the deck are solid, and getting to abuse such a powerful card in Hexcatcher can go a long way. If you’re looking for a way to get started, look below at the sample decklist. The archetype may finally be getting its due, so Merfolk players rejoice!
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