From: Lionel Thompson Subject: Re: Merfolk deck... Date: Thu, 03 Jul 1997 16:42:26 -0400 Cyrano the Pooh wrote: > > I was considering putting together a red and blue deck built around the > whole merfolk theme. I am a new player and have two Lord/Atlantis. I > am going to use a few red spells and enchants to augment the deck. Does > anyone have any pointers? Thanks... I've been constantly tuning my merfolk deck for some time (Hey, don't laugh, it beat Justin Schneider in MD). First of all, I use nothing but blue. Second, this deck used to work better than it does now due to the element of surprise. I've been concerned about it's future success ever since I read a small write up on it in the Duelist, listing it as an emerging deck type. I don't have the deck nearby, but this is kinda' how it is built currently: 3 Lords of Atlantis 2 Merfolk of Pearl Trident 2 Sea Scryes 2 Merfolk Traders 2 Vodalian Illusionists 3 Coral Fighters (this card draws ALOT of fire due to it's ability... if you get one out early and you can keep your opponent from getting good cards, you're set) 2 Sea Sprites (they're not merfolk, but the protection from red and flying make them worthwhile) 2 Waterspout Djinns (Finishers if you need them) 2 Suq'Ata guys (My only "direct" damage) 3 Political Trickery (Stops Lake of the Dead, Outpost, you give them one of you island, and with a LOA in play, your merfolk come marching through, plus it cannot be disenchanted) 3 Force of Will 4 Arcane Denial (Refill you hand of merfolk) 2 Power Sink 2 Abduction 2 Disks 3 Undiscovered Paradise (helps against worbs, also can use to make Outpost tokens if you switch for one) 3 Quicksand (for boas) 1 Excavation (dig through your deck quickly) 17 Islands Sideboard: Always varies, usually Caps, hydroblasts, undo, desertion, etc. Most of my games end quickly (they often have to). Try to save your counters for spells that target your LOA as they carry a big bulls-eye on them. Suq' Ata can be strong against Guildmages if you get them out quickly enough. Most games end for me when I have a LOA in play with 2 or 3 merfolk in play. I exchange a tapped island for their whatever, and announce my attack phase soon after. They declare blockers, when I casually remind them that my little fishies cannot be blocked. Doh!