Edit: This version of my Meren deck is retired for the time being. My current version is posted at The Circle of Life.
This is probably my favorite EDH deck right now that I play even though it is usually not my most explosive. The deck constantly threatens a dominating board presence through recursion and cheap creatures to keep the table in check while you set up.
Alurin' Meren is mostly a "fair" deck that wins through steady The Rock-like value plays. Despite this and its ability to create a board lock in smaller games, I've started to build it toward being able to bring online its combo wincon of Aluren + Cloudstone Curio
sooner and with more options for how to combo off with it. But if you or your playgroup prefer to avoid infinite combos then I recommend replacing one of these two cards with additional card draw.
While I'm very happy with most of the cards in the deck I am always looking for ways to improve the deck at its margins that don't cost too much. Cards like Vampiric Tutor, Twilight Mire, and Survival of the Fittest are ideal for this deck but I haven't budgeted to include them yet. That said, I welcome any other suggestions people have for how to improve the deck.
Why is almost everything at 3 CMC?
Aluren + Cloudstone Curio
is your alternate combo win. I've provided a long list of ways to turn this pair into a win the turn they come into play in the spoiler sections below.
Keep in mind that your combo plays happen at instant speed so you can take advantage of the stack to effectively make your creatures immune to all instant speed removal without Split Second. You can do this even while removal is on the stack waiting to blow up either combo piece! Do keep in mind that you need to have a spare 1-3 CMC creature in hand for each piece of removal cast or have ways of returning destroyed cards to play. If Eternal Witness is destroyed while its trigger to bounce your other creature (from the Curio) is still on the stack then you're in trouble.
Because you'll be playing so many 1-3 CMC creatures to take advantage of Aluren, you also don't need many experience counters for Meren to be able to recur the majority of the creatures in your deck.
Aluren Combo Primer
Setting up your combo turn Show
Ideally you will wait until you can play both halves on the same turn and you have access to at least one winning combination (see next section). But what should you do if you're forced to try and spread out your combo play over two turns? General suggestions for how to prepare for your combo turn:
Cloudstone Curio can be played earlier than Aluren with less risk of becoming archenemy. More importantly, you're the only one who benefits from its effect. You might even convince your table it's good for them by bouncing your removal creatures to help keep another player from achieving too strong of a board state.
Don't sacrifice board presence and soft control plays just to tutor up your combo sooner. Unless everyone else is durdling you want to delay their development first, then drop the combo.
Always plan around permission. You want to draw it out before you try to combo off. Either by letting others eat it or teasing it out by playing other threats first. Since many of your combo packages include recursion chains you can afford to hard cast a bomb as counter bait the turn before you go off.
Combo Packages Show
Some of this section is out of date due to changes in the decklist. I'm also going to revise it to be more the "highlights" or unusual interactions with the combo and leave the more straightforward uses up to the individual to work out.
Your combo turn requires more than just having and playing Aluren+Curio. You need a winning creature package to ensure the combo happens right then. I've listed below several possibilities that you should aim for before starting to combo off. At least one card in each set must be in your hand at the start of the combo. The rest can be in your hand, on the battlefield, or in your grave. Creature packages include:
Geralf's Messenger and any other 1-3 CMC creature.
Geralf's Messenger in the graveyard and Eternal Witness in hand.
Corpse Dance
+
Geralf's Messenger
+
Priest of Gix
, with the Messenger on top of your graveyard (or deeper if you have another creature in hand/on battlefield). Priest ETB mana allows casting Corpse Dance (you don't need the buyback if Messenger is on top), starting an infinite combo chain between the two creatures.
Any tutor in your graveyard and Eternal Witness
+
Priest of Gix
. Witness first and return the tutor to your hand, then combo the two creatures until you have enough mana from the Priest to tutor up what you need for any other combo package.
Same as above but assume you have enough mana open to hard cast the tutor, and you have Witness plus any other 1-3 CMC creature.
Demonic Tutor
+
Priest of Gix
in hand. Tutor up Eternal Witness first, then tutor up anything else you need for another combo package.
As above, but if Eternal Witness and Skullwinder are both in your graveyard (or one is, other in exile). In this case, tutor for Reanimate or Unearth. Use your final black mana to cast it for Eternal Witness or Skullwinder. This combos for infinite black mana and recursion of your tutor.
As previous, but if both are in exile then tutor up Geralf's Messenger.
Alternatively, each of the above situations can be done after replacing Demonic Tutor with Diabolic Intent if you have a creature on the battlefield and any 1-3 CMC creature in hand or on the battlefield. The former gets sacrificed and the latter combos with the Priest as in the previous examples.
Alternatively, with Beseech the Queen if you have at least 3 lands on the battlefield and one additional black mana source.
Bitter Ordeal
+
Eternal Witness
and any sac outlet (including self-sac Merciless Executioner). Build up "infinite" gravestorm and then exile everyone else's libraries. You've won unless they can kill you before they hit their draw step.
Have sufficiently many creatures in your graveyard that you could win this turn if they ETB and get haste, plus Eternal Witness
+
Mogis's Marauder
. This often happens if you cast Buried Alive or Jarad's Orders earlier. Bounce the Marauder until everything has haste. Works even if Marauder is your only black card on the battlefield.
Variations on the previous where you replace the Witness with your other recursion engines such as Corpse Dance. This may require "infinite" black mana from Priest of Gix but has the benefit that it can be done without Eternal Witness.
In any example above with Eternal Witness you can replace it with Skullwinder. If you take this route make certain you don't target an opponent with Krosan Grip in their graveyard or other relevant cards with Split Second. If they have "regular" instant speed removal that's not an issue.
Other things to consider when playing
You are susceptible to graveyard hate.
It's critical that you strike a balance between filling your grave for future recursion and avoiding setting yourself up for disaster. If you know your playgroup doesn't run grave hate then you're good, otherwise play cautiously before your combo turn.
Meren's recursion ability targets a creature in your graveyard. This means opponents can respond to this while it's on the stack by removing the target. Deathrite Shaman in particular can completely lock you out here. This is why I moved sharply against a Dredge strategy for this deck.
Most of your removal is through ETB effects.
Cards like Torpor Orb and even Spreading Plague or Lethal Vapors will ruin your day. I've included Caustic Caterpillar and Krosan Grip because these cards' artifact/enchantment removal doesn't require ETB triggers.
I'm on a budget. What can I do?
I'm a little shocked at how high the listed price of the deck is right now. Almost everything in here can be acquired with a reasonable amount of money and yet it's still well over $600. So here are some ways to drastically lower the budget while preserving most of the deck's function. With all of these changes it'll be above $100, and so not wildly budget-friendly yet much easier to buy into steadily as you can afford.
Some Options Show
Most of the cost is in the manabase. You can save a lot of money by swapping out all the fetchlands. If you replace them, look for more dual lands you can include instead such as Jungle Hollow, Temple of Malady, or Golgari Guildgate. But don't play Golgari Rot Farm because it's devastating if someone destroys it.
Volrath's Stronghold has no budget alternative so instead look to other utility lands. For additional ramp there's Thawing Glaciers or at the really cheap end there's Jund Panorama. If your playgroup likes theft effects consider Homeward Path.
Replace Phyrexian Arena with Underworld Connections. Dark Tutelage is another option but you may want to lower the mana curve even more if you go this route.
Sylvan Library and Sensei's Divining Top are additional low CMC and strong sources of card draw that cost over $20. At risk of killing yourself with life loss you might swap one for Dark Prophecy. Other options include Deathreap Ritual, Phyrexian Rager, or one-off card draw like Sign in Blood, Night's Whisper, Harmonize, or Grim Flowering. If you want to take a more graveyard-centric approach consider Moonlight Bargain.
There's too many alternatives to Reanimate to even list if you accept the lesser option of return to hand rather than battlefield. Swap it for one. Life/Death is a good option that is identical in effect for one additional generic mana.
Sheoldred, Whispering One is a bomb but, more importantly for us, she's board control. It That Betrays makes a good budget alternative (price given is misleading; TCG price usually below $3).
Replace Grave Pact with Dictate of Erebos.
Replace Birds of Paradise
+
Deathrite Shaman
with other mana dorks. With all the black sources you may not want Llanowar Elves (tough call). If not, consider going to 2 CMC for Voyaging Satyr. Heart Warden has some value because it also provides card draw.
Replace Demonic Tutor and Diabolic Intent with higher CMC (but cheaper) tutors like Demonic Collusion, Beseech the Queen, Insidious Dreams, or Dark Petition. Collusion and Dreams have the situationally strong benefit of letting you fill your graveyard with creatures from your hand for Meren or other spells to recur.
You might also consider Corpse Connoisseur for creature tutoring in place of Worldly Tutor.
Fauna Shaman out for Evolutionary Leap
