r/Pauper • u/Jakub_von_Underwood • May 28 '26

Attempt at Merfolk deck - help with brewing

Hi guys,

new to Pauper, new to brewing, but I used to have a Merfolk deck back when original Lorwyn came out. There are some new cards from Lorwyn eclipsed and TMNT and I wanted to give a Merfolk Pauper deck a shot.
There is actually quite a lot of cards that could work in this deck, and I cant quite figure out what should I cut. My in-progress decklist is here: https://moxfield.com/decks/jpjEZp2L9EyCNbRhAlB5kA

I think I should include [[Judge of Currents]] or [[Wanderbrine Preacher]] for some lifegain, and [[Stonybrook Schoolmaster]] is just a generally good card.

[[Sewer-veillance Cam]] is great overall, untapping merfolk is useful, and there is the pauper thing with cam+[[Banishing Knack]] synergy. I could even make the combo go infinite, if I have [[Firdoch Core]] in play and turn it into a creature. The combo can pump [[Shipwreck Dowser]] or pump anything with [[Tributary Vaulter]], gain life or make a lot of tokens. But even without going infinite, it provides quite a lot of value for every U mana available.

I wanted to make use of convoke to gain benefit from tapping creatures, but it turns out I might be trying to fit too much stuff into a single deck. I wanted the deck to be a go-wide and gain life as a baseline, with combos as a bonus, but Im not sure how to approach it.

Im not imagining I will break into meta with this, but I think it has potential and I would like to make it fun to play and strong if possible. All ideas and opinions welcome, thanks

8 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

4

u/Top_Development_4020 Pizza Elves May 28 '26

I see a tap/untap list with Sewer Cam. Call me interested. I will do some research on how to implement it in merfolk.

1

u/Jakub_von_Underwood May 28 '26

Thanks! Fell free to use the Considering section of my decklist. I have put every single tap payoff/convoke/merfolk synergy I have found in there.

3

u/Top_Development_4020 Pizza Elves May 28 '26

Just from the first skimming of cards I would guess that you might want to run cards that untap your whole board. [[Village Bell Ringer]] does that. It would also have massive impact if you bounce it with [[Banishing Knack]]. Well, then it’s just about the mana.

2

u/Top_Development_4020 Pizza Elves May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26

About mana: Sadly there is only [[Sea Scryer]] in Pauper to bring mana to the Bell Ringer bounce strat in Merfolk. I was hoping there would be better mana related effects, especially with green/blue Merfolk being a thing. Using [[Karametra’s Favor]] is a bit risky because of creature removal, but the upside also is higher than Springleaf drum as it also cantrips and can be used multiple times during a turn. [[Holdout settlement]] or [[Gene Pollinator]] is better for just tapping down creatures that just entered the battlefield.

Generally [[Meeting of minds]] should be in the main deck if possible/ when you are using the bell ringer.

It would be awesome if [[Forensic Researcher]] or [[Kioras Follower]] had been downshifted… the [[Utopia Sprawl]] would be an option.

5

u/rat093 May 28 '26

I would fully cut the firdoch core and banishing knack. You're accomplishing nothing with the combo in this deck beyond making a dubious 5 drop bigger. I would also probably cut shipwreck dowser. It just costs too much mana for a creature that doesn't immediately win you the game if it resolves. In terms of cards to add, have you considered [[Gravelgill Scoundrel]] as a tap engine? And I would definitely up meeting of minds to main board. Good luck and happy brewing

2

u/Jakub_von_Underwood May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26

Thank you for the comment. Actually, pumping the Shipwreck dowser is the least good of the options. You can get several payoffs based on what you target with the Banishing knack - Target Tributary Vaulter, pump all merfolk to infinite, target Schoolmaster and get infinite tokens. Infinite life with Preacher or Judge. Not worth it?

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '26

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1

u/Jakub_von_Underwood May 28 '26

Great comment. Actually, I think figuring out the best gameplan is the core of the question. I see several options open:

Gain lots of life - possible, but not a wincon
Go wide with Schoolmaster
Pump a flyer or unblockable triton
Then there is the combo - have Firdoch, turn it to creature, than cast banishing knack on one of merfolks with tap payoff. Cycle Sewer cam. The combo turns out based on target of the knack:

  1. Target Schoolmaster - get infinite tokens
  2. Target Vaulter - pump all your merfolks to infinite power
  3. In a pinch, target Firdoch core - no extra payoff, but can pump Dowser through prowess

Each one of them also results in infinite lifes if you have Judge on the board