Dominaria United is sowing the seeds of a Merfolk deck coming to Standard later down the road with a new Tatyova and one of the best lords in any Magic: The Gathering tribe.
Merfolk decks look to flood the board with cheap Creature cards, often with evasion, that grow when other Merfolk enter the battlefield. These decks commonly rely on lords, Creature cards that give their tribe +1/+1, to build a formidable force and win the game.
One aspect that makes Merfolk decks strong is their ability to lean into a control gameplan. With access to Blue cards, some Merfolk decks are heavy on counterspells and interaction.
Regardless of the strategy you lean into, the two new Merfolk cards in Dominaria United will be crucial building blocks for the eventual Standard archetype.
Tatyova, Steward of Tides
- Mana value: GGU
- Type: Legendary Creature Merfolk Druid
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Stats: 3/3
- First ability: Land Creatures you control have flying.
- Second ability: Whenever a Land enters the battlefield under your control, if you control seven or more Lands, up to one target Land you control becomes a 3/3 Elemental Creature with haste. It’s still a Land.
Tatyova will be a popular choice in Commander and could be a solid three-mana Creature in Standard.
The ceiling on this card is great. In the mid-game, Tatyove will consistently generate evasive threats that will help close out the game. In a Green ramp deck hitting seven Lands on the battlefield is easy.
There is a major downside to running Tatyova, however. Because the Lands become Creatures and stay that way permanently, removal spells hurt even more. If an opponent wraths the battlefield, it also will destroy your Lands. It’s important to not overdo it with Tatyova’s ability.
There’s no need to turn every Land into a Creature. Do just enough to apply pressure and close out the game, unless there’s a line that will result in a guaranteed win.
Vodalian Hexcatcher
- Mana value: 1U
- Type: Creature Merfolk Wizard.
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 1/1
- Keyword: Flash
- First ability: Other Merfolk you control get +1/+1.
- Second ability: Sacrifice a Merfolk: Counter target noncreature spell unless its controller pays one mana.
Vodalian Hexcatcher is pretty bad in Standard at the moment, but it will get better as the format ages. Looking forward to future sets on Dominaria, a plane with a strong Merfolk presence, more support will come for the tribal strategy. Even further into the future is The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, which will fully support tribal decks including Merfolk.
In a Modern or Pioneer Merfolk deck, Vodalian Hexcatcher is fantastic. A two-mana lord with flash that can shut down noncreature spells is a lot of value packed into one card.
This should be an automatic inclusion into any Merfolk deck and should be a major card in Standard a year from now. Remember this MTG card.
Dominaria United releases on Magic Online and Magic Arena on Thursday, Sept. 1, before the full-blown tabletop release from Friday, Sept. 9.
