Darting Merfolk

Creature — Merfolk

(Blue): Return Darting Merfolk to its owner's hand.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Pauper	Legal
Pauper Duel Commander	Legal
Pauper EDH	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Tiny Leaders	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (7)

Pheardemons on Kumena, Just Tap It In

2 years ago

First and foremost. That joke about "tooting my Horn " was pure gold. Don't ever change.

I get the synergy with stuff like Maskwood Nexus so I'll look into it for my version as well. My deck is based around getting the draw engine as fast as possible so I took out pieces like this. I guess they are worth looking back into.

I'm liking Cauldron of Souls the more I think about it. Kumena can negate the -1/-1 counters using his own ability to give +1/+1 counters so that's pretty sweet. Also, it is okay if Cauldron of Souls eats up removal because that'll save your other more important enchantments and artifacts. Potentially anyways.

When I went with the Isochron Scepter and Dramatic Reversal combo I took out Intruder Alarm but I did really like it in the previous build. Darting Merfolk definitely makes sense with that kind of combo.

Speaking of Intruder Alarm there is an infinite combo that you can use to draw out your deck, or just draw into something you need. Forbidden Orchard , Intruder Alarm and Kiora's Follower give infinite untaps, three other merfolk is infinite draw, and mana rocks and/or dorks ( Earthcraft / Cryptolith Rite ) is infinite mana as well. This can allow you to win with Thassa's Oracle or Laboratory Maniac . Lastly, Grimoire Thief can also allow you to exile each opponents' library. Food for thought if you want to go that route.

I see you are running Counterspell and Pact of Negation . Personally, I wouldn't run counterspells unless it is a bigger package. It is unlikely that you'll have them when you need them with only running two. I'd recommend taking them out to add more utility and value. Unless you feel like you need more counterspells in which you can add more. It is one of those types of cards (for me) that you are either running a lot or none.

I was asking about the lands because in my build the couple of colorless lands I have can sometimes be a hinderance since merfolk are so blue heavy. I originally ran Back to Basics but have since taken it out since my playgroup just played around it. I've been wanting to add it back in but that is why I still have so many basics in the deck. I never really went back and changed the lands. Thanks for the thought on some utility lands.

blueiris on Kumena, Just Tap It In

2 years ago

Hello, Pheardemons!

Thanks for the comments and feedback. As you can see, I've used a few elements that were inspired from your build, such as the wizards Ertai, Wizard Adept , Venser, Shaper Savant , and Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir . I also like the options that the transmute cards bring to maximize potential playability, so great additions with Drift of Phantasms , and the others.

I feel Defense of the Heart can be a really good pace keeper. I find it especially useful combined with Tishana, Voice of Thunder & Jungleborn Pioneer to generate three bodies and draw a minimum of three cards. But, yes, this is also great opportunity to seek out situation based creatures!

Cauldron of Souls is a new addition, so I'll have to follow up. I saw it in another list and liked the idea of preventing a board wipe simply by having a lord in play, but it may end up being too niche for 5 mana and the necessary setup. Also, artifact removal can make quick work of the cauldron , so is it just a sitting target until its potentially used? I'm talking myself out of this one it seems.

I really just want Herald's Horn to work, so it stayed in the list despite any reservations. Is it ramp, is it tribal, is it card draw? I think the sum of all it's parts fit in the list, and only at a cost of . It certainly plays well with Arcane Adaptation & Maskwood Nexus . Sylvan Library also has some synergy to fix the top card with its scry ability, so I guess I'm tooting my horn .

My intentions with Realmwalker are similar to Herald's Horn by allowing top card play/view. Plus, when combined with any of the flash options in the deck it can make things exciting. I think Realmwalker has performed well for me and it's here to stay. Also, an added benefit is that neither card require that you reveal reveal anything to your opponent when peeking.

For removal, I've used Curse of the Swine over the years for flare, but it's ultimately become a staple for me. Sometimes there's only a couple intrusive baddies to remove, and this makes quick work of them. I'll definitely take your advice and use Reality Shift over the non-exile removal, so thanks for pointing that out.

Darting Merfolk pairs with Intruder Alarm to be quite abusive when you have Kumena and a few fish to play with. Tap three fish (even including Darting Merfolk ) to draw a card, pay to return Darting Merfolk to your hand, then recast to untap all fish. Rinse, repeat. I'm not sure there's too much more, but with the appropriate resources it can be pretty powerful.

I've done okay with the colorless lands so far, but it's definitely something I'll need to watch closely. I just added Yavimaya Hollow , so maybe it's a good idea to remove something else colorless in exchange.

I agree with you about Genesis Wave . Honestly, I only avoided the card so I didn't completely plagiarize your deck ;) I'll take your recommendation and add it now! Overall I felt like I could run fewer counter spells and more removal in this package, so this is an excellent inclusion.

Regarding the one drops, I've rethought that comment after your response and it makes sense to stay focused on the combo aspect of this build. Solid advice.

Thanks again, and I appreciate the insight!

Pheardemons on Kumena, Just Tap It In

2 years ago

I like your build man. I definitely have some questions for a couple cards I did not consider for mine.

How has Defense of the Heart played? Does it get to go off often enough? Do you have specific creatures you get every time or is it more situation based?

Do you feel like Cauldron of Souls and Herald's Horn have earned their place? Are they things your usually happy to see?

Realmwalker is one that I keep trying to add in but keep "not finding" a slot for it. How has it worked for you?

Do you feel like you need the removal in Pongify , Rapid Hybridization , and Curse of the Swine ? I always felt like I wanted to try them but never wanted to take out counterspells or anything for them. Also, I suggest to take out either Pongify or Rapid Hybridization for Reality Shift since it exiles instead of destroys. Personal preference.

Why are you playing Darting Merfolk ? It seems...weird to me. I believe there are plenty of other two drop merfolk that might have more efficient abilities if you're looking for more than a body. Is there something I'm missing with him?

Are the colorless lands ( Winding Canyons , Yavimaya Hollow , and Alchemist's Refuge ) worthwhile because of their utility? Have you run into any color problems because of them?

One card I STRONGLY recommend is Genesis Wave . You don't play as many counterspells and other non-permanents so this card would benefit you in a powerful way. Getting this where X is 10+ (especially at instant speed) can drastically change the game.

You asked me about a lot of the one drop merfolk that turns lands into islands. I don't run them because I am going combo instead of aggro. Aggressive merfolk decks that play all of the lords and want to keep swinging in unhindered will definitely love those merfolk. My build kept one Lord of Atlantis as a backup, but it is rare that I'm swinging in when I finally get three Merfolk because I want to draw as much as possible. In saying that, playing them to increase the chance of three merfolk on turn three when you cast Kumena is something noteworthy.

Lastly, the biggest advice I can give (since you're looking to change yours) is just to playtest. No matter how much you may like a card or want a card, just playtest to see if it does what you want/need it to do. I can't tell you how many times I tried a card just to see what it did and it became an all-star. While others I "knew" it was a necessity of the deck to have it be subpar and I've switched it out for other things. For my Kumena deck it was Surgespanner . I thought it was too expensive for what I wanted but I needed more removal so I told myself "eh, let's try it." It has became one of the most powerful cards in the deck that my friends know to kill immediately or I've probably won. Your list looks solid so at this point it seems to be more about tuning than revamping.

Let me know if you have any more questions or anything. I'm always happy to help.

Zakath on My Merfolk

4 years ago

Personal thought: Remove Stormtide Leviathan - massive target and hate bringer. Add The Great Henge for lifegain and draw. Remove Deepchannel Mentor , Kalonian Hydra , Intruder Alarm . Deepchannel too expensive for what it does. Kalonian doesn't fit the theme. Intruder Alarm will really only benefit your opponents as you are already untapping on each end step. Remove either Vanquisher's Banner or The Immortal Sun due to mana costs. You need at least 8 more lands. 33 lands in commander is like 20 lands in standard. 25 in commander is like 15 in standard. Aetherflux Reservoir is also a hate generator. Might want to remove that in favour of more lands.

Additions maybe? Kopala, Warden of Waves for spell defense. Darting Merfolk - great blocker. Wanderwine Prophets - win condition. Especially if you have a merfolk generator.

Cloudius on PDH-Are my creatures vanishing or is it your deck?

5 years ago

+1 for an interesting take on PDH mill.

Some suggestions:

1) If you're a fan of Infinite Combos, here's one for you:

• Archaeomancer or Salvager of Secrets or Scrivener + Peregrine Drake + Either of these Blink cards: Ghostly Flicker or Displace
• With both the Wizard and Drake in play, cast Flicker or Displace to blink them.
• Return the blink card using Wizard's ETB trigger. Rinse and repeat to generate infinite mana.
• Next blink the Wizard and your Commander as many times as needed to win the game.

You can exclude the Drake if you're not a fan of infinite combos and just blink the Wizard and your Commander once for every spent.

There's also Mnemonic Wall if you need more recursion.

2) Banishing Knack - Redundancy for Retraction Helix.

3) Darting Merfolk / Dream Stalker - Can return itself to your hand, so essentially, a more expensive Shrieking Drake, just in case you need more options.

4) Temporal Fissure - Pauper's Cyclonic Rift since PDH games usually last longer and it is common for us to have 10 lands/mana sources out. You can easily play and bounce Drake 5 times and cast this for massive bounce shenanigans.

5) I'd advise against playing cards like Thought Scour as a once-off effect to mill 2 cards ain't impactful in EDH. If you're playing it for the card draw, there're plenty of better options in at the pauper level:

Preordain , Serum Visions , Divination , Counsel of the Soratami , Secrets of the Golden City , just to name a few popular ones.

hkhssweiss on The River Merfolk

5 years ago

Calyptic

Cards I would recommend cutting out: Darting Merfolk, Windrider Patrol, Animation Module, Inspiring Roar, Noble Purpose, Kindred Boon, Gleam of Authority, Celestial Mantle, Brave the Sands, Leonin Sun Standard, Throne of Geth, Beacon of Immortality, Scale Blessing, Harpoon Sniper, Reef Shaman, Silvergill Douser.

All the cards I mentioned above doesn't work with the build your going for, dilutes your deck, or is too slow on the curve for it to matter.

Hope that helps!

Fource on Ephara, In-Out Flash Mob

5 years ago

I highly recommend Whitemane Lion. I would personally take out Darting Merfolk for it. Being able to save a creature is nice, and you can repeatedly play it on each of your opponent's turns to draw up to 4 cards in a full turn rotation (given you have 4 players).

I run Angel of Invention as a token finisher in my Ephara deck, it works nicely with flickers, and it can get out of hand if you can protect your plan with counters. Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite is another card with the same function.