Ixalan Fish
Standard
SCORE: 102 | 41 COMMENTS | 10124 VIEWS | IN 48 FOLDERS
First Tournament Report 3-1 —Oct. 4, 2017
Round 1 was against a Dynavolt Tower deck. I was able to out agro the opponent's game plan with the help of Shapers' Sanctuary refilling my hand through spot removal 2-0
Round 2 was my 1 loss of the night. It was against a Riddleform U/R Prowess deck. I knew my deck was going to be weak to flyers, and it really showed in this match against Riddleform and Enigma Drake. Nevery saw any of my Harvesters in the SB game but still might need something like Crushing Canopy in the SB. 0-2
Round 3 was against Grixis Control. The spot removal of the control deck was embarrassing with Shapers' Sanctuary on the battlefield as I was able to cast a steady stream of threats before he could even think about casting his planeswalkers. 2-0
Round 4 was against a Marionette Master deck. Game 1 I had him down to 1 life before he played a Marionette Master and sacked 5 treasure to deal me the perfect 20. Game 2 I ran over him with a huge battlefield by turn 4. Game 3 He really kept me off balance and I drew all 3 of my 4 drops and was feeling clunky. I got him down to 13 before finding a Nissa, Steward of Elements, played it, and started plussing to ultimate. I wasn't in a position to attack anymore because his creatures were bigger than mine and he had a Revel in Riches out, so I was feeling the squeeze. I chump blocked my board away to protect Nissa and with a Shapers' Sanctuary out and 1 card in my opponent's hand, I went for it. I tapped two forest floating 2 green, ultimate Nissa, untap 2 forest, Hashep Oasis one of them and swing for 13 exactly. My opponent plays the last card in his hand which is a bounce spell, trigger Sanctuary, draw Negate and counter the spell to preserve lethal. Really excellent game, wouldn't have won being that far behind without Nissa. 2-1
So overall I went 3-1 or 6-3. The deck was super fun to play and was everything I wanted it to be. All the cards played their part and were awesome, Shapers' Sanctuary was an absolute house and drew me a ton of cards and while I only saw Nissa once, she was fantastic. I can see moving Deeproot Waters to the sideboard although really sweet to trigger River Sneak a bunch when in the main, I may only need them in control matchups. I also plan on adding some flyers hate.
Hi dude!
I commented in another UG merfolk (fish :P) list: http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/30-09-17-Ysl-simic-merfolk/
Nice to see another person trying Nissa! She is bad for the lack os protection, but with Deeproot Waters the deck can produce a lot of blockers to keep her providing card advantage. It's a shame she just put the creatures in play rather than casting them.
My big concern is temur energy, as the majority of players in my local store are playing with it. I'm one of two players with ramunap, so this obviously won't be a problem.
Shaper's Sanctuary is a must, even though it conficts a bit with the tokens. But at the bright side, every Sanctuary draw helps casting more merfolks, therefore more tokens.
The best decks there use 1-2 Rhonas, so the trample for a big Longtusk Cub or Bristling Hydra can fuck up a game. Sorcerous Spyglass will have to make the sideboard as it can deny a The Scarab God .
Have you considered Watertrap Weaver? I really like this tempo effect, especially if you can produce a token with him as well, but the 3 CMC is rough. There's Kopala, vineshaper mystic (and Rishkar) and Deeproot Waters . I think Kopala is the only one you don't necessarily want to play on turn 3, so it could be a little clunky.
As for the 4-drops, I'll be testing with 2x Tempest Caller . I actually wander if there's a place for Jade Guardian. Might be nice with some auras like Cartouche of Ambition.
One River's Rebuke can help as a top end of a tempo strategy. And that reminds me about the mana base: Just 21 lands? The deck in the link above uses only 20. Those decks won't use Attune with Aether.
Please update as you playtest! I'll be trying to make a list of my own.
October 2, 2017 1:47 p.m.
Mandalorian says... #3
BrenoSulz, thanks for the comment!
I agree that Shaper's Sanctuary is a must and while it seems that it does not combo well with Deeproot Waters you are also right in that it kinda does, since drawing more Merfolk will trigger Waters more.
It's true Nissa does not protect herself well but that shouldn't be a problem with how many creatures we have here. While her 0 does not cast to trigger Waters it does get around counter magic, so you win some you lose some I suppose. The addition of Rishkar and Nissa is the reason I went down to 2 Waters since I had slightly less synergy.
Yep I agree, Spyglass is in the SB already to help those matches!
The Weaver looks sweet and there are a ton of options in the 2-3 drop slot. The unblockable synergies should be enough that I don't need the tempo but it could be a great addition.
I don't believe these decks need anymore than 22 lands. With 4 creatures at or above 4CMC, the curve essentially ends at 3. Riskar also helps us with the mana and makes it so we can efficiently double spell.
I absolutely intend on updating as I play
Mandalorian says... #1
MWorl91 No kidding haha, but that's okay, I know how it looks, but I also know how it plays. If you play something similar, let me know how it plays out for you! I'm actually making a few changes to mine today and would like to know what you think of them
October 2, 2017 9:24 a.m.