Merfolk

Merfolk of the Pearl Trident card art

Last time was Zombies; today I look at mono-blue Merfolk.

Merfolk are slippery, and so it is no surprise that their strength in Magic is being unblockable. Some creatures, as we shall see, have this ability natively. Others get it through combos (granting islandwalk and turning opponents' lands into islands) or other means. Whatever the case, most merfolk decks I have seen leverage this mechanic.

Arena options for Merfolk are quite limited. Most options came out of the Ixalan/Rivals of Ixalan block, which featured blue and green merfolk. Keeping it to mono-blue, here are two options:

Merfolk (1)

3 Tempest Caller (XLN) 86

2 Seafloor Oracle (RIX) 51

1 Riverwise Augur (RIX) 48

2 Watertrap Weaver (XLN) 87

4 Merrow Reejerey (LRW) 74

2 Library Larcenist (M21) 55

1 Kopala, Warden of Waves (XLN) 61

4 Deeproot Waters (XLN) 51

2 Thassa's Oracle (THB) 73

3 Silvergill Adept (RIX) 53

4 River Sneak (XLN) 70

4 Mist-Cloaked Herald (RIX) 43

3 Merfolk Trickster (DAR) 56

4 Opt (M21) 59

21 Island (SLD) 102

River Sneak and Mist-Cloaked Herald are natively unblockable. Plus them up with Merrow Reejery and generate an army with Deeproot Waters.

Merfolk (2)

3 Tempest Caller (XLN) 86

2 Seafloor Oracle (RIX) 51

2 Riverwise Augur (RIX) 48

3 Watertrap Weaver (XLN) 87

4 Merrow Reejerey (LRW) 74

4 Deeproot Waters (XLN) 51

4 Silvergill Adept (RIX) 53

4 River Sneak (XLN) 70

4 Mist-Cloaked Herald (RIX) 43

4 Merfolk Trickster (DAR) 56

4 Opt (M21) 59

1 Svyelun of Sea and Sky (MH2) 69

21 Island (SLD) 102

This second iteration isn't much different. Same general concept. To let your other (non-unblockable) Merfolk through, use cards like Tempest Caller, Watertrap Weaver, and Merfolk Trickster. Seafloor Oracle can provide some nice card draw, especially when multiple creatures get through.

Other Cards/Ideas

Merfolk decklists  outside of Arena don't vary much for mono-blue, either. These two decklists highlight just how similar such builds tend to be:

- TappedOut

- MTGGoldfish

Merfolk lords (Lord of Atlantis, Master of the Pearl Trident, Merfolk Sovereign) pump your creatures and make them unblockable (if you can turn your opponents' lands into islands).

Speaking of island creation . . . Reef Shaman, Spreading Seas, Aquitect's Will, and Streambed Aquitects are helpful options.

Various creatures help you get merfolk out of your deck and onto the battlefield more quickly, either through card draw, limited deck search, or other abilities:

Several merfolk creatures help with card draw:

And some help protect your aquatic army:

Finally, instants like Spell Pierce, Vapor Snag, and Deprive are common choices to protect your team or mess with your opponents':

Ultimately, it's not hard to make a decent merfolk deck using some combination of the above cards. It is a fun tribe to play.

Zombies

Hobbling Zombie card art

Last time was Goblins; today, I look at mono-black Zombies.

Zombies are death reanimated, so I have been seeking a deck that reflects this concept. On Arena, the options are limited (based on the cards available on that platform). 

Zombies (1)

2 Ayara, First of Locthwain (ELD) 75

4 Cryptbreaker (EMN) 86

4 Death Baron (M19) 90

4 Diregraf Ghoul (M19) 92

4 Gempalm Polluter (LGN) 70

4 Graveyard Marshal (M19) 99

4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel (THB) 99

2 Heartless Act (IKO) 91

4 Lazotep Reaver (WAR) 96

3 Midnight Reaper (GRN) 77

2 Murderous Rider (ELD) 97

19 Swamp (IKO) 268

4 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241

My first iteration has some 'mainstays' (cards you'll see in almost all iterations that follow) like Cryptbreaker and Death Baron:

Cryptbreaker is a must for zombie decks, as it grants the always-valued card drawing ability. Death Baron is a 'zombie lord' (it pumps other zombies) and gives them deathtouch.

This version was focused more on 'devotion to black' than zombies specifically (due to Ayara and Gray Merchant of Asphodel). I wanted something more 'flavorful.' But before I dropped those two cards, I tweaked this design a bit . . .

Zombies (2)

2 Ayara, First of Locthwain (ELD) 75

4 Cryptbreaker (EMN) 86

4 Death Baron (M19) 90

3 Gempalm Polluter (LGN) 70

4 Graveyard Marshal (M19) 99

4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel (THB) 99

3 Midnight Reaper (GRN) 77

3 Murderous Rider (ELD) 97

4 Foulmire Knight (ELD) 90

2 Champion of the Perished (MID) 91

4 Shambling Ghast (AFR) 119

19 Swamp (IKO) 268

4 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241

I added Champion of the Perished, Foulmire Knight, and Shambling Ghast. Graveyard Marshal also bears mentions a frequent staple in zombie decks.

I still wasn't happy, though.

Zombies (3)

2 Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia (MID) 108

4 Cryptbreaker (EMN) 86

4 Lord of the Accursed (AKR) 114

3 Gempalm Polluter (LGN) 70

4 Graveyard Marshal (M19) 99

4 Gray Merchant of Asphodel (THB) 99

2 Midnight Reaper (GRN) 77

2 Murderous Rider (ELD) 97

3 Foulmire Knight (ELD) 90

2 Champion of the Perished (MID) 91

3 Shambling Ghast (AFR) 119

2 Tainted Adversary (MID) 124

1 Zombie Infestation (JMP) 288

1 Ghoulcaller Gisa (JMP) 236

19 Swamp (IKO) 268

4 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241

This time, I put in Jadar for 'auto'-zombie generation (and guaranteed zombie death, with the 'decayed' mechanic). But I'll highlight Lord of the Accursed (another zombie lord) and Gempalm Polluter (who was used for its cycling ability).

Zombies (4)

2 Cryptbreaker (EMN) 86

4 Lord of the Accursed (AKR) 114

2 Midnight Reaper (GRN) 77

2 Murderous Rider (ELD) 97

2 Champion of the Perished (MID) 91

4 Shambling Ghast (AFR) 119

2 Tainted Adversary (MID) 124

3 Deadly Dispute (AFR) 94

1 Ghoulcaller Gisa (JMP) 236

3 Archghoul of Thraben (VOW) 93

4 Headless Rider (VOW) 118

2 Eaten Alive (MID) 99

2 Innocent Blood (JMP) 244

2 Doomed Dissenter (VOW) 106

2 Morbid Opportunist (MID) 113

19 Swamp (IKO) 268

4 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241

Here, I added Archghoul of Thraben and Headless Rider among other cards. The Former sees a lot of play in the zombie meta. This version focused the most on death, with plenty of cards (the aforementioned cards, Midnight Reaper, Morbid Opportunist, and more) that required sacrifice or provided benefit when a creature of mine died.

Zombies (5)

4 Cryptbreaker (EMN) 86

4 Lord of the Accursed (AKR) 114

2 Champion of the Perished (MID) 91

4 Shambling Ghast (AFR) 119

3 Tainted Adversary (MID) 124

3 Ghoulcaller Gisa (JMP) 236

3 Archghoul of Thraben (VOW) 93

4 Cemetery Recruitment (JMP) 217

3 Death Baron (M19) 90

3 Fleshbag Marauder (J21) 53

4 Siege Zombie (MID) 121

19 Swamp (IKO) 268

             4 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241

The final iteration to date included Ghoulcaller Gisa, which is where I'm trending. Her ability, when sacrificing a zombie pumped by the zombie lords, can produce a ton of zombie tokens and ratchet Champion of the Perished up quickly, as well as providing Cryptbreaker with plenty of creatures to tap for card draw. Cemetery Recruitment, Siege Zombie, Tainted Adversary, and Fleshbag Marauder also proved useful. This is probably my favorite zombie deck on Arena.

Other Cards/Ideas

There are lots of zombie cards out there. For cards outside of Arena, we turn to the Internet to give us some ideas. There are, naturally, a bunch of options. Here are select decklists for budget modern mono-black Zombies:

- MTGGoldfish

- TCGPlayer

- TappedOut1

- TappedOut2

- Zombie decks from MTGDecks

-- MTGDecks1

-- MTGDecks2

In many of these, you'll see cards already mentioned (Cryptbreaker, Graveyard Marshal, Death Baron, Lord of the Accursed, Champion of the Perished, Headless Rider, etc.). Some new options unavailable on Arena include:

- Promising Options:

Gravecrawler, Lord of the Undead, Geralf's Messenger, Undead Warchief, Undead Augur, Cemetery Reaper, Carrion Feeder, and Relentless Dead. Gravecrawler, Geralf's Messenger, Undead Augur, and Relentless Dead will be options I try in paper. Zombie lords (Lord of the Undead, Undead Warchief, and Cemetery Reaper) may also get a nod. Carrion Feeder is less useful in my current deck, but is included often in the zombie deck meta.

- Additional Creature Options:

Festering Mummy, Butcher Ghoul, Shepherd of Rot, Mire Triton, Diregraf Ghoul, Stitcher's Supplier,  Putrid Goblin, Sepulcher Ghoul, Plague Belcher, Highborn Ghoul. Many of these have a flavor more aligned with my initial hope for the deck: death. 

- Instants/Sorceries:

Unearth, Ghoulcaller's Chant, Bone Splinters, Village Rites, Fatal Push, Dark Salvation, Zombie Apocalypse, Ghoulish Procession, Geth's Verdict. Most of these are thematically sound and have the graveyard (going to or coming back from) in mind.

I haven't yet found my ideal zombie deck, but some combination of the above cards should get me there.