Today's list is one that I've been toying with for a couple of years now. Initially, the idea came to me when I found Merfolk Thaumaturgist and Chilling Trap in a set of bulk. The combination of the two resulting in a removal spell that also drew a card felt both powerful and fun, so I threw together a list with this interaction in mind. It didn't take long to find Stream of Unconsciousness, which streamlined the deck even more. Originally, I was set on making the deck Mono-Blue, but I've since settled on a light White splash because of what the color allowed us to accomplish while still maintaining its merfolk roots.

Azorius Merfolk P/T Swap | Casual | James Heslip

• Creatures (26)
• 2 Sygg, River Guide
• 4 Judge of Currents
• 4 Merfolk Thaumaturgist
• 4 Silvergill Adept
• 4 Silvergill Douser
• 4 Stonybrook Angler
• 4 Stonybrook Schoolmaster

• Instants (10)
• 2 Stream of Unconsciousness
• 4 Chilling Trap
• 4 Twisted Image

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Step Through

• Lands (22)
• 5 Plains
• 9 Island
• 4 Idyllic Beachfront
• 4 Port Town

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Cost: $13 at the time of publication

The Core

The Backup

Chilling Trap and Stream of Unconsciousness have already been mentioned. They are basically Silvergill Douser, but in spell form. Paired with Thaumaturgist, they kill anything with power four or less and also draw us a card! Twisted Image is rarely seen outside of combos related to Nomads En-Kor or Tireless Tribe, but here it serves the same general purpose as Trap and Stream. Instead of mimicking Silvergill Douser, though, it acts as a spell version of Thaumaturgist and works best when Douser is already in play. With both parts of our "combo" being found in creature and spell form, the hope is that we are not too reliant on one card type over the other, and that the overall redundancy of effects will keep the deck consistent. The draw power afforded by each "removal" spell helps, too.

With all this tapping and untapping occurring, you best believe we're playing Judge of Currents and Stonybrook Schoolmaster. The former is perfect for keeping our life total high until we assemble our soft lock, and the ladder makes for a perfect on-theme win condition.

Rounding things out, Silvergill Adept is another form of card draw that also keeps our Merkolk and Wizard counts high for the cards that care about these types. Step Through simply improves consistency by searching out either of our Merfolk Wizard pieces as needed. Finally, Sygg, River Guide is a necessity. Because our deck relies so heavily on the assembly of a creature-based combo, we need to be certain we can protect said combo. Sygg prevents removal from targeting these creatures, and can be tutored out with Step Through.

Tips and Tricks

Stream of Unconsciousness,Chilling Trap, and Twisted Image are best paired with their creature counterparts, but that shouldn't stop you from using them to stall the game as originally intended. They replace themselves on resolution, so if you need to use them to dig for one of your key creatures while also staying alive, do it.

Stonybrook Angler is in the deck mostly to pair with Thaumaturgist or Douser, but he has other uses. I often found myself using him to tap down opposing creatures that were too big for my combo to kill until I was able to assemble enough merfolk to make the Thaumaturgist /Douser combo lethal. Simply put, Angler is great at stalling out the game.

Even if the opponent has an empty field, you can still activate your various merfolk abilities targeting your own creatures (in ways that don't result in them dying) if for no other reason than to trigger our White merfolk's effects. Against an empty field, Schoolmaster can simply attack to generate followers, but if this isn't feasible, you can always pair him with Angler to build up an army. Note this can be done at instant speed for some interesting combat tricks.

Additional Options | James Heslip

• Creatures (20)
• 1 Augur of Bolas
• 1 Brinebarrow Intruder
• 1 Crookclaw Transmuter
• 1 Cursecatcher
• 1 Deepwater Hypnotist
• 1 Merrow Harbinger
• 1 Riptide Pilferer
• 1 Rishadan Dockhand
• 1 Sage of Fables
• 1 Scroll Thief
• 1 Sejiri Merfolk
• 1 Serendib Sorcerer
• 1 Stonybrook Banneret
• 1 Threnody Singer
• 1 Vedalken Aethermage
• 1 Vedalken Mesmerist
• 1 Warkite Marauder
• 1 Wistful Selkie
• 1 Kopala, Warden of Waves
• 1 Talrand, Sky Summoner

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 1 Dovin Baan
• 1 Mu Yanling, Celestial Wind
• 1 Mu Yanling, Sky Dancer

• Instants (6)
• 1 Arcane Subtraction
• 1 Beyeen Veil // Beyeen Coast
• 1 Invert // Invent
• 1 Ovinize
• 1 Twisted Reflection
• 1 Wizard's Retort

• Enchantments (3)
• 1 Chant of the Skifsang
• 1 Merrow Commerce
• 1 Pin to the Earth

• Artifacts (1)
• 1 Belbe's Armor

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Because this deck sort of became a wizard deck as much as a merfolk deck, I wanted very much to include Wizard's Retort as an answer to non-creature cards. Alas, I couldn't really find much room for it. I guess we could cut Stream of Unconsciousness and Step Through, but I liked them more so than the counter spell when I played with friends.

Merrow Commerce, on the other hand, was only kept out of the main deck because of cost. At close to $5 a pop, I was sad that I couldn't justify playing it on our measly budget. That being said, if you own it, or don't mind spending the cash, I think the Tribal Enchantment could be absolutely bonkers in the deck.

The various planeswalkers available to us were quite interesting, and each has their own merits to seeing play. I like Mu Yanling, Sky Dancer for the ability to create 4/4 creatures, but Dovin Baan's extra life gain and card draw is difficult to beat. Again, if included, I would replace Stream of Unconsciousness or Step Through.