Vialing Kira in response to a spell does nothing, if the spell already targeted.

Merfolk is anything but a goldfish deck. What do you play that makes vial so important against you? I don’t think any merfolk player sees it as the deck’s MWP (those would be silvergill adept and spreading seas). Vial gets sided out a lot and I think the only card that is never removed from the MD is Silvergill.

I love how all merfolk players are the epitome of what people think of when they think mtg players. Neck beards

The deck has more depth than you give it credit for. Did you not see the matchup advice where we recommend we side Vial out against attrition decks? And in the hands you don’t get Vial, you can choose to either play it straight aggro (curve out hard and try to finish early), classic tempo (commit threats early, use interaction to protect them and keep the way clear), or classic midrange (disrupt opponent early, then stick threats and put them on a clock). Underestimate the fish at your own peril.

Congrats on your result, and thanks for succinctly summarizing the reason why Vial goes out against BGx (I forgot to mention that targeted discard also makes Vial less potent, and I feel silly about forgetting it).

I love how Merfolk players think their deck is so advanced when basically the only tricks involve Vial. Vial in a Silvergill for a free draw, Vial in a Lord mid combat, Vial in Harbinger, Vial in a Lord with Master trigger on the stack, Vial in Cursecatcher to counter a spell, Vial in Kira in response to a spell, yawn. Yeah, super difficult to draw Vial turn 1 every game is about the extent of the deck.

Well said, and congratulations on your success by the way.

Hi, I’m the guy who finished 3rd with Merfolk at SCG ATL. You have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. The reason vial goes out against BGx is because it’s a tempo card when you’re trying to grind the opponent out. The only use for vial against the BGx is if they are on the play and turn 3 liliana and you have no mutavault. Abrupt decay is hardly the reason why anyone takes vial out, thoughtseize and inquisition are far better reasons. The reason you probably have this assumption is because the unfortunate lack of experience most merfolk players have. It’s similar to Affinity in many respects that it’s easy to pick up and difficult (but rewarding) to pilot well.

You side out your best card in the face of BG(x)’s 2-of Abrudt Decay (its not like it lacks other targets)… then you claim the deck is quick enough without Vial? Then say the games rarely go long when you can only play 1 spell a turn until turn 4? Everything you say is contradictory.

I looked at the primer on MTGSalvation, and see that it suggests taking out vial, but then i saw you wrote the primer…

Anyways, i stand by my comments, Fish is a stack of terrible cards that relies solely on Vial. You testing is awful if you only ran into GB(x) 5 times in 100 matches. In my playing experience, i’ve never lost to the deck unless they had a turn 1 Vial, then it is tough to beat, hence why it is a goldfish deck.

Anyways, out of all the aggro garbage people are playing now, i’m happy to see fish since it is probably the worst, unless there is a Vial.

GL with your build.

I’m glad someone said it

No, it’s pretty reproducible. Go to any Merfolk primer and they’ll suggest it. The fact that it can be popped by Abrupt Decay and it’s a horrible topdeck just make it not very good in that matchup. My deck and sideboard match up phenomenally with BGx right now (look up rothgar13 in the primer – I recently put up a 100-match trial, in which I played BGx decks 5 times and went 4-1), and I side Vial out every time. The key here is not that we out-grind them – it’s that we get off to a fast start and never let them turn the corner because of consistent pressure. The games themselves rarely go long, unless we’re losing.

There is zero way fish out grinds BG(x), siding out vials seems like terrible sideboard plans. Its a plan… but i doubt that is correct.

I’m transparently biased, but I disagree. Fish plays like a hybrid between aggro and tempo. Obviously, the deck is at is peak operation when it hits a T1 Vial (because then you can either be super-fast aggro or aggro and tempo at the same time), but it does fine overall without it. When facing the likes of BGx, I side out the Vials, pack in graveyard hate and Tidebinder Mages to hold down the likes of Goyf and Scavenging Ooze. Other Merfolk players side in Tectonic Edges to hate on their manlands (I carry mine mainboard in the form of Ghost Quarters). When faced with Burn, Infect, and combo decks, I reach for the counterspells in my sideboard and hold up mana for them. Does that sound like a Burn-esque goldfish deck to you?

For what it is worth, with a uw titan deck in the days of DRS Jund, I managed to have a good matches vs tron. The trick was to run 4 Ghost Quarter 2 Tectonic Edge, plus some mindcensors in the sb. Bx Eldrazi makes life tough though. Can’t say I see myself playing a grindy deck in Modern any time soon.

If you expect a lot of Abzan Company then absolutely. Otherwise there’s a good chance you’ll be boarding out either card against non-aggro decks.

The problem with Remand and Mana Leak is that both are bad against aggro and Eldrazi. Negate is ok against Scapeshift and Grixis but bad everywhere else, and casting Cryptic Command in this deck is a little too ambitious. Spell Snare has targets against nearly every deck so we stick with it, and it protects against losing to Grishoalbrand. Thoughtseize is not that bad against agro or burn, since it gains you more life than it costs, but I do side it out for Inquisition in those matchups. Painful Truths is similarly good especially when digging for Sorin or Dispel. Trading a Bolt for three cards after exhausting your opponent’s hand is surprisingly good even at low life since you usually find an answer or a clock to finish the game, which is important since Burn will beat you every time given time. I agree with you about Wrath, but I see a lot of Experiment One and Ezuri which require Wrath. I’ve gone back and forth between Firewalker and Timely because if this deck draws Timely late it struggles to get full value from it and Firewalker is very good against UR Prowess.

I’ve tried Brimaz and Resto before and while it did feel better the end result was the same, if the opponent can escape or ignore the soft lock you’re screwed. Pyroclasm is especially problematic because it’s so cheap. Your clock is just not very impressive compared to other Modern decks. DnT’s problem is that it doesn’t want to face fair decks. Wescoe’s GW Hatebears is better against fair decks but weaker to combo. If I knew that I’d be facing Grixis then this DnT list would be an excellent choice since they don’t run sweepers generally and frequently operate on 4 or fewer lands, which makes your taxes more effective. Thalia and Wingmare are very annoying for many decks, but most are able to survive long enough to play lands and free themselves. If we had a more broken or mana tight metagame it would be a much different story.