Pioneer: Simic Merfolks - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

While we wait for Foundations' impact in competitive formats, we can analyze some decks that had occasional results in Pioneer during the year, but did not stand out so much in the competitive scene.

One such case is Merfolks, a historical archetype from Modern and Legacy that never reached the top of the Pioneer tables due to the lack of some pieces such as Lord of Atlantis, Spreading Seas and, mainly, Aether Vial - a card that should never make it to the format.

But Merfolks is one of the most popular creature types in Magic, and while Foundations did not bring any relevant novelties to its strategy, we can revisit the current iterations of the archetype, and in this article, I present the most recent version of Simic Merfolks, which made results in the NRG Showdown earlier this month!

This list is very similar to the one that player and content creator Nikachu used to win the Pioneer Challenge in September and also to go 5-2 at the NRG Showdown in early November. During some changes I made in my testing, it became clear that every card in this version has a purpose, even when an existing card seems like a more appropriate option.

A clear example is the fact that the list runs Unable to Scream or Witness Protection instead of Merfolk Trickster: what would make a Merfolk deck prefer a “removal” over a Tempo play that can increase the clock and interact with the rest of its game plan?

Simple: our deck is not fast enough. Between cheap removal and creatures like Slickshot Show-Off and Heartfire Hero winning games in explosive turns, Merfolks can't keep up with their typical synergies, and there's no Tempo play that can get the clock back when we hit for five and our opponent goes back to lethal damage out of nowhere.

So we need to not only delay the clock but also invalidate it, and that's what cards like Unable to Scream offer. It's also why we run Tidebinder Mage in the Sideboard.

Another important detail is that, unlike Modern or even Legacy, this version of Merfolks isn't necessarily trying to play under, but rather to take advantage of synergies between its cards to create an efficient "go wide" plan based on Deeproot Pilgrimage and Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca.

Maindeck

The most important thing about this deck is to understand what game plan we are approaching: Deeproot Pilgrimage and Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca are the pieces we are looking for in the match.

Deeproot Pilgrimage rewards us for tapping our merfolk by putting tokens into play. With enough of them, it is possible to tap Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca to generate card advantage and/or increase the pressure on the board.

Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca enables Deeproot Pilgrimage with its abilities: tap a creature, play a token. With enough tokens, tap them to draw cards or put +1/+1 counters.

This plan is complemented by Smuggler’s Copter. In addition to being another threat, guaranteeing evasion and filtering our hand, we can crew vehicles even when they are already creatures. So, with it, we can tap our nontoken creatures one by one to trigger Deeproot Pilgrimage.

Our one-drops are creatures that easily come into play as a 2/2, or replace themselves in their controller’s hand in the case of Cenote Scout.

These slots are variable: if a Metagame with more cards that cheat in mana costs emerged, Mistcaller could replace Kumena’s Speaker, and cards like Cursecatcher would be preferable in this slot if they were legal in Pioneer. But, since we don’t have this flexibility nor a Metagame that demands specific answers, aggressive drops are the best choice.

Floodpits Drowner permanently deals with any creature by throwing it to the bottom of its owner's deck. Another important point about it is that it has Flash and Vigilance, so we can use it at the end of the turn to lock an opponent's creature, tap it with Kumena or Smuggler's Copter to trigger Deeproot Pilgrimage and, on the next turn, attack with it and tap it for its ability.

Vodalian Hexcatcher is the only lord worth playing in Merfolks today because it has a relevant ability besides the pump: turning your creatures into Force Spikes against heavier cards, pumps, or cheap removals.

Sentinel of the Nameless City does a bit of everything: it offers top filtering, pump or card advantage with the maps it creates in ETB and on offense, has Vigilance, a relevant body that survives It is good in combat and against most damage removals, and has the same interaction as Floodpits Drowner of being able to attack and then crew Smuggler’s Copter to create tokens with Deeproot Pilgrimage.

Glasspool Mimic is on the list only as a flexible copy of a card that has occasional use. Its main targets will usually be Sentinel of the Nameless City or Vodalian Hexcatcher.

Unable to Scream is the best answer we have to deal with creatures that are larger than our own. Whether it’s a Slickshot Show-Off or a Crackling Drake, or even Archfiend of the Dross, this enchantment allows for positive trades on our side during combat.

Our mana base is focused on maximizing the access of the colors and the interactions of the deck. Cavern of Souls protects our creatures from Counterspells while Mutavault is another Merfolk for the list, and we can make small interactions with it to amplify the potential of Deeproot Pilgrimage, or to draw cards with Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca.

Sideboard

Tishana’s Tidebinder is the answer we need against a dozen cards: from Planeswalkers like Teferi, Hero of Dominaria to cards like Witch’s Oven or Mayhem Devil.

Tidebinder Mage helps to hold Prowess decks and also has utility against Izzet Phoenix and Mono Green Devotion. Maybe Witness Protection could fit in this slot, but we need a certain number of merfolk in the list, and it ensures that we can maintain that standard.

Mystical Dispute is a standard answer against blue decks in Pioneer that we can use for just one mana. Merfolks value maximizing their resources a lot, so having cheap answers like this in attrition games is essential.

Spell Pierce also fits into this category, and we can use it to protect our creatures, prevent cards like Monstrous Rage or Callous Sell-Sword from resolving, or deal with more mana-greedy decks without wasting our Tempo.

Aether Gust complements Tishana’s Tidebinder against certain archetypes and works as a good board interaction. It also has a “micro-combo” with Floodpits Drowner where, if the opponent keeps the card on top, we can use it to shuffle the deck.

Disdainful Stroke is a response to greedy mana strategies such as Zur Enchantments, Engimatic Fires, Rakdos Demons, and others.

Izzet Phoenix

IN

OUT

Rakdos Prowess

IN

OUT

Rakdos Demons

IN

OUT

Selesnya Company

IN

OUT

Azorius Control

IN

OUT

Lotus Combo

IN

OUT

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!