Heya. The deck looks like a nice start but I think there are better cards to run.

I would personally drop Merfolk Spy, Tideshaper Mystic, Merfolk Sovereign, Inkfathom Infiltrator and Adaptive Automaton. I would then drop Coralhelm to a 2 of, add in Lord of Atlantis for another good 2 drop lord.

I would then advice going 4x AEther Vial , and swapping some islands for Mutavault s. Some counterspells like Mana Leak, Remand or Spell Pierce as well.

For the sideboard, are you going to be playing this at FNM?

The only disagreement I have with LeaPlath is the Merfolk Sovereign . I wouldn't keep a lot of them in your deck, but 2 sounds good with 3 Master of the Pearl Trident .

You need answers. Merfolks are great with how well they pump, but you need a way to stop your opponent. A Wrath of God really kills Merfolk if not countered. And be wary of any Supreme Verdict s from your W/U opponents. Of your sideboard cards, Silvergill Douser looks to be the only potentially keepable card. Keep counterspells to 2cc or less.

I do not know what your budget is, but Mutavault and Cavern of Souls are killer in this deck. The prior gives you an extra creature, while the latter makes your critters uncounterable.

AEther Vial helps to speed up these decks a lot. It also lets you to surprise your opponent. Nothing is as fun as dropping a Lord in the middle of combat.

Thanks guys, that's really helpful.
Yes, LeaPlath, I would run this at FNM. I haven't really thought about the sideboard yet; mostly it's just cards that there was no room for in the maindeck.

KrosanTusker Do you want to see my merfolk deck for ideas?

And pip74205 If you need to push damage through, you have Coralhelm commander and generally I run Spreading Seas which cantrips, denys lands and turns on Island walk. On top of that, you want 4 masters.

I am a fan of Lord of Atlantis he is in modern

LeaPlath I tried to view your merfolk deck by following the link by clicking on your name but it says there's a problem and I can't view the deck.

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/modern-merfolk-17-05-13-1/

Try that

As a player of Merfolk in Modern, I agree with a lot of the aforementioned suggestions. This is the deck I used to run at FNM that did consistently well including a couple of 4-0 performances ;)

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/modern-merfolk-28-02-13-1/

I have since converted it to Legacy Merfolk, just because there are more Legacy events in my area than Modern. Good luck and enjoy the deck! +1

Cool deck! I just think that there are some better merfolk cards out there that you could use to your advantage. Lullmage Mentor Cold-Eyed Selkie Wanderwine Prophets Cursecatcher Inkfathom Witch Leech Bonder Merfolk Wayfinder Merrow Commerce Merrow Harbinger and to help ensure your islandwalk will work against non blue decks, Aquitect's Will . These are just some of the cards that I could really see being awesome in this deck. You can pick and choose which ones you like, and hope they work out well!

Ah, another one of your bizarre tribal decks. However, what separates this from the others is the fact that it doesn't run Adaptive Automaton and that this one is playable. What I would do is add a few more counter spells. Cancel or Mana Leak are the obvious suggestions. I would take out a few Coralhelm Commander or Silvergill Adept . You currently have 22 2-drops and these are the worst of them, in my opinion. If you're still not sold, consider the following scenario:

You play against me, as happens so often. Bonfire of the Damned .

End scenario. No amount of Lords can save your precious Merfolk.

Both LeaPlath and JayZ1483 run AEther Vial . I know it's good, but why particularly in a Merfolk deck?

TitansFTW are you mad? Silvergill Adept is one of the best cards in merfolk. It cantrips and at 2 mana it is the sweet spot for merfolk. Helps you generate tempo.

KrosanTusker AEther Vial is amazing in merfolk, as it removes the need for a card like Cavern of Souls . It lets you generate a lot of tempo, and lets you cast merfolk for free, while still keeping countermagic open. Generally, you don't want to tick it up beyond 2, as at 2 you have the good merfolk Silvergill Adept , Lord of Atlantis and Master of the Pearl Trident as well as utility creatures like Spellskite

@LeaPlath: In hindsight, it wasn't the best suggestion ever. I still think this deck needs a bit of countermagic though.

TitansFTW I will agree with you there.

I think the core of the deck should be:4x Cursecatcher4x Lord of Atlantis4x Master of Pearl Tridant4x Silvergill Adept4x Merrow Reejerey

Then AEther Vial, Spell Pierce, Mana Leak, Spreading Seas, Thirst for Knowledge, Spellskite, Coralhelm Commander, Phantasmal Image as the flex slots.

You need some Aquitect's Will or Spreading Seas to take advantage of your islandwalk! (I prefer the former because it is a Merfolk sorcery so it takes advantage of Merrow Reejerey

I would consider adding Kira, Great Glass-Spinner . Even though she's not a merfolk, the protection she offers in this type of deck, plus the fact that all your merfolk get buffs and islandwalk (usually meaning removal is the only answer to them once they stick), Kira makes the board-state a nightmare for your opponent, and every creature you have usually a 2 for 1.

Where's the countermagic? Spell Pierce , Mana Leak , Remand , Spell Snare all seem good in some number. Inkfathom Infiltrator and Sygg, River Cutthroat seem subpar when you could be countering their spells instead. Also, Cosi's Trickster might be better than Merfolk Spy ?

The Spy and the Infiltrator are absolutely terrible and should probably be counter magic.

I typically run Merfolk in legacy so I'm not sure how much it would differ in modern. However, from my experience you want to come out of the gates fast and hard and have a dependable hand every time.

Creatures:That means that by running 36 creatures you are minimizing your chances of getting those creatures out that your really need like Lord of Atlantis , Merrow Reejerey , Silvergill Adept , Master of the Pearl Trident , Cursecatcher . The rest of the Merfolk you have are optional.

Control/Removal:As others have said, you have to include some creature removal and control or you don't stand a chance in this format. Daze is better than Counterspell , and I would definitely include Spell Pierce over any of the other counter iterations out there. Most competitive decks run Standstill along with AEther Vial . And I would also suggest using Dismember for creature removal.

Sideboard:Tidebinder Mage may be a great card to have a couple of in your sideboard. I would also suggest Surgical Extraction , Hydroblast , Submerge .

Lands: All islands are great, but if you want to be particularly competitive, you would need to invest in Mutavault and probably a couple Wasteland .

I hope that helps! Best of luck to you and your fish deck!

I should suggest Wake Thrasher and Spreading Seas . The best thing about Wake Thrasher is it includes lands as well, so at the very least it can attack as a 4/4 next turn, but most likely you'll have another merfolk on the field tapped so it could end up as a 5/5. It also ties well with Merrow Reejerey to give it additional bonuses. With Spreading Seas , tied with your Master of the Pearl Trident and Lord of Atlantis the Wake Thrasher can easily become a 6/6 unblockable. Spreading Seas also double as a semi-land control as if you playing against a multi-coloured deck not using blue, you can potentially stop them for a few turns.

I suggest to remove 1x Merrow Reejerey , 1x Merfolk Sovereign , 2x Merfolk Spy , and your choice of removing 3 cards in any combination of these two, Inkfathom Infiltrator and Silvergill Adept . That will allow you to put in 4x Spreading Seas and 3x Wake Thrasher .

Aquitect's Will for islandwalk.

I'm going to say no to Spreading Seas as I have to much to cast at two already. I'm still considering Wake Thrasher .

so many merfolk in standard. but no lords :( i'm hoping for some more merfolk action cause i would so bring them to fnm with a giant sea creature on the back end. +1

1x Deepchannel Mentor ? It's a high casting cost, but with just one it could be a nice occasional late game drop.

Merfolk Sovereign already does unblockable and if I add some make-it-an-island effects then any 2-drop lord does that already. 6 mana 2/2 is just a bit steep. Thanks for the suggestion though!