monoblue Fish...may even take it to regionals...

[Sammy Dead-O]

I'd appreciate it if y'all could give me a bit of advice on this version of Fish. I always have a *lot* of trouble narrowing down card choices; that's why I've ended up with so many doubles.

4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Arctic Merfolk
4 Vodalian Merchant
2 Merfolk of the Pearl Trident
2 Shoreline Raider (there seem to be enough Kavu around to make it worthwhile)
2 Jolting Merfolk
4 Cloudskate
2 Dream Thrush

4 Counterspell
4 Exclude
2 Foil
2 Wash Out
2 Gush
2 Fact or Fiction

20 Island
1 Tower of the Magistrate
1 Rath's Edge

I don't have any Ports or Bowls. The Tower can be great against Idols, though. Dream Thrush takes on the roll that Tidal Warrior had in some older Fish decks.

Right now, all I'm pretty much sure I'll include are the Lords, Arctics, and Cloudskates (there's some good synergy between the last two).

Do I have enough land? Should I use Brainstorm and/or Opt over Gush/FoF? Are 10 counters enough?

Cards that I have considered: Spiketail Hatchling, Cloud Sprite (yup), Faerie Squadron (yup again...I like the versatility), Repulse, Brainstorm, Opt, Rethink.

Thanks for looking!

 

[FoundationOfRancor]

I would go more for this...

Creatures (20)
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Rootwater Theif (Handy abiltie...might come in handy...)
4 CloudSkate
4 Vodalian Merchant
2 Shoreline Raider
2 Dream Thrush

Spells (21)
4 Opt (Good 1st drop, good cycling...)
4 Parralax Tide (Good stall to find the Lord)
4 Boomerang (Bounce any threats you cant deal with)
3 Withdraw
2 Fof
4 Counterspell

Land (21)
21 Island

Why:
I think your original deck has too many counters per creatures, and its a very bad thing to try to coordinate. I cut some of your Jolting dudes for the Theifs simply because I think the Theifs are a good utility card. It gives you a use for late game mana, and can whittle away the main threats that could potentially hurt you.
I thought that more stall and draw was needed for your deck. It really doesent have that many ways to deal with threats (besides counter, but I talked about that earlier). The Ideal play would to be bounce major stuff back to there hand then drop a tide, and begin the beatings.

I think this deck woulkd benefit *greatly* from the addition of black, with Vodalian Zombie and the curious-fear cloak.

 

[Sammy Dead-O]

I will definitely lower the counters some.

Some questions, then, for anyone who reads this:

What would be an ideal combination of Boomerang/Withdraw/Repulse to run?

If I run black, I'm hampered by owning zero Underground Rivers and a single Salt Marsh (although I might be able to get some more of these). Will this be a big enough strike against me that I just shouldn't include black?

 

[jcredberry]

Yes, I like black adition for just 3 cards... Undermine which will help you make the kill faster, Recoil which is the best card for it's job and Vodalian Zombie for it's anti-blastoderm ability...

I think you won't have any problems playing without Underground Rivers... Just use your Salt Marshes and it'll go just fine... But test it first... A lot... The choose the combination of Recoil/Boomerang/Repulse/Withdraw that better suits your deck... I like 4 Recoil and 4 Boomerang...

 

[yyc83]

y not try some sea hunter?
tat helps to get ur merfolk out
a lot faster
ensnare may work better than 2 exclude
just a little bit of my mind

 

[CaineFate]

another decent reason to add black(in my opinion) would
be for doomsday specter. not the best critter in the world
but you have a lot of critters to bounce so that wouldn't
hurt you and if you can get rid of their combo cards with
it and the thief you are one step better. plus if you added
sleeper's robe that's some nice card advantage.

 

[Duel]

Ignore them, run black for 3 reasons: Recoil, undermine, and WARPED DEVOTION.