Hello!
This is my build for Meren of Clan Nel Toth EDH. I've been playing Meren since C15 and have just come back after a two-year Magic hiatus (The last time I played was Ixalan). On the surface, this list plays a lot like most general value-based Meren lists: I want to play easy creatures early (
Sakura-Tribe Elder
;
Viscera Seer
), then sacrifice and recur them for value, often alongside
Meren of Clan Nel Toth
and other sacrifice-dependent effects and triggers (
Savra, Queen of the Golgari
;
Pawn of Ulamog
). Eventually, I'll be ready to refocus my reanimate effects on larger, more powerful threats and combos (
Protean Hulk
,
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
) that can generate recursive loops and close down the board with repeated removal (
Acidic Slime
;
Cavalier of Night
), lifegain (
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
), and card draw (
The Gitrog Monster
).
However, my Meren list is - in a few key ways - differs from other, more rote lists. First,
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed
is a key piece of this deck. While I do like pulling crazy wins out of absolutely nothing, I do not like infinite combos - I want to actually play and pilot my deck successfully, eventually finding a win. So, the deck runs no persist creatures, nor a
Cauldron of Souls
or
Yawgmoth, Thran Physician
- or even
Black Sun's Zenith
. Infinite combos just aren't my speed. That said, just combos - simple, two or three card combinations that explode with value - are what I love. They're combos like
Protean Hulk
into
World Shaper
and
Lotus Cobra
, or
The Gitrog Monster
and
Stitcher's Supplier
- with any luck, I'll hit a
Golgari Grave-Troll
. Highly synergistic interactions like these power far more engaging and explosive gameplay than your average Meren (or Muldrotha deck, or Karador) decklist.
In order to ensure that Meren functions properly, the rest of my deck has to rest on three key pillars that are just as important early in the game as they are through the middle and later phases:
Ramp: Early, I want to be able to keep up with - if not outpace - my opponents' mana acceleration, ensuring I can cast as many spells as possible before and as I bring
Meren of Clan Nel Toth
into play, kickstarting a value recursion engine that usually amplifies my ramp effects (repeated
Sakura-Tribe Elder
s and
Springbloom Druid
s). Later, I need to be able to generate large amounts of mana, often out of thin air, in order to fuel combos and play out my hand/graveyard.
Card Advantage: This includes tutors, card draw, and self-mill effects. Early, I want to use low-cost tutors and self-mill to fish out the deck's key synergies and provide a spread of potential early Meren targets. As the game progresses, I want to get card draw and self-mill engines online (with cards like
The Gitrog Monster
and
Midnight Reaper
), keeping my hand and graveyard stocked as tutors like
Razaketh, the Foulblooded
and
Protean Hulk
attempt to close down the game as fast as possible.
Creature generation: This deck always wants to have creatures on the field. Early, I want to play low-cost value based creatures that can either a) sacrifice themselves or b) get sacrificed to something in order to work up Meren's experience. I then want to start recurring these creatures in order to set up a powerful engine that
As such, this deck's goal is - above other Meren decks - to establish a potent self-mill and sacrifice engine that can consistently generate mana, draw cards, and create creatures regardless of my opponents actions. That's not to say the deck's uninteractive, however; cards like
Caustic Caterpillar
can kill artifacts or enchantments while helping me accrue Experience counters, while
Cavalier of Night
gives me a sac outlet and recurs a CMC 3 or less creature when it dies. The deck's focus is so razor-sharp that it skips certain staples -
Rampant Growth
,
Golgari Signet
- in favor of more efficient spells that function optimally within this specific deck. I want to always be able to create creatures and ramp early, turn those creatures into sacrifice fodder whenever I need to, and turning a field of
Springbloom Druid
s,
Lotus Cobra
s, and
Midnight Reaper
s into
The Gitrog Monster
,
Razaketh, the Foulblooded
, every basic land in my deck on the battlefield, and a graveyard taller than my library.
My hope in writing this deck descritpion is explaining how this deck functions far more narrowly - and often, more efficiently - than your average Meren list. I've played it so much that the deck has become very specialized; it started, quite literally, as just the precon. Of course, if key pieces get exiled, or locked out -
Protean Hulk
s,
Birthing Pod
s, sometimes Meren herself - the deck defaults back to playing as just another value engine trying to outgrind and 1-for-1 it's opponents. But when the deck finds it's footing, it can end the game before anyone could figure out where it was going. It's truly a whirl. So, I hope you enjoy.
Under Consideration:
Carrion Feeder
-->
Cabal Therapist
:
I hate
Carrion Feeder
.
Cabal Therapist
doesn't give me an instant speed sac outlet, but I do get one free sacrifice a turn, with a non-trivial ability that interacts well with tutors and bounce effects, and that is fairly effective throughout the entire game. But how valuable is the free instant-speed sacrifice?
Perpetual Timepiece
-->
Riftsweeper
Like
Carrion Feeder
, I hate
Perpetual Timepiece
. While it mills me and dodges creature removal, I have to hold open 2 mana to protect a graveyard that probably only has 2-3 things I actually care about in case some goes for a
Bojuka Bog
. If I bring out
Riftsweeper
at instant speed, it can hose other decks, like
Narset, Enlightened Master
, in addition to protecting my own graveyard.
Dawntreader Elk
—>
Wood Elves
Dawntreader Elk
is basically just worse
Sakura-Tribe Elder
. For a long time, that was perfectly acceptable. Now, however, this list can - if uninterrupted - combo off turn 6-7 with consistency. At this point,
Dawntreader Elk
just seems inefficient, and
Wood Elves
may just be better. It ramps faster and I almost always have a sacrifice outlet on the table.
Lands, maybe? -->
Cabal Coffers
and
Emergence Zone
Meren needs to fix its mana early game to ensure cards like
Pawn of Ulamog
,
Bramble Sovereign
, and
Liliana, Heretical Healer
can hit the table on curve. This makes playing utility lands difficult; however, both
Cabal Coffers
and
Emergence Zone
should likely find a way into the deck. Tutoring out
Cabal Coffers
after playing
World Shaper
into
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
is an absurd play that can easily win a game.
Emergence Zone
allows me to play my commander or any other creature on the end step before my upkeep, or in response to an opponent's play or boardwipe. In addition, it has incredible synergy with
The Gitrog Monster
and
Ramunap Excavator
. But what lands, or nonlands, should these cards replace? More basics?
Woodland Cemetery
?
I'd love to find a place for...
Exploration
Do I need to explain why? Not only does it ramp but it helps me keep up my ramp if I play an early
Lake of the Dead
. Unlike
Burgeoning
, I can play lands out of my graveyard with
Exploration
so long as I have
Ramunap Excavator
out on the battlefield. I just don't know what to take out.
Pitiless Plunderer
Free mana? And colored? Not as good as
Pawn of Ulamog
but better than
Sifter of Skulls
because it's colored. I'll have to hang on to this card and wait for a space to open up.
