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Pojo's
Duel Masters Card of the Day
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Image from
Wizards Duel Master site
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Illusionary
Merfolk
Base Set
Card # DM32
Date Reviewed: 08.17.05
Constructed Average Rating:
Limited Average Rating:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 ... average.
5 is the highest rating. |
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Nimbly |
Hey Pojo
People! I don’t have a featured article this week,
on account of the fact that I’ll be on vacation for
the next 4-5 days, so I have no time to concentrate
on a topic. I’ll write a COTD for you guys though,
as this card has me curious on its use.
Well, how about another installment of “Old cards
that magically have use again!”. We have stuff like
Ghost Touch making its way back into the meta, and
this guy. Who’s a huge 4000 attacker with some draw
in it?
…
…
No, not Plasma Chaser!...Honestly…Plasma
Chaser?...What were you thinking…
Illusionary Merfolk
Civilization: Water
Type: Gel Fish
Mana Cost: 5
Power: 4000
Ability: If you summon this monster while a cyber
lord is on your side of the field, Draw up to 3
cards.
The Rundown
Yea, we all see this guy. Lots of play…especially in
blue…blah, blah, blah. With Emeral and Corile being
overly abused in Water decks, this guy makes perfect
use right?
The Positive Side
(March 2004) – And we go back in time. Remember when
we first encountered this guy? Yea, we all thought,
“Wow this card is crap. We have 1 cyber lord and
that guy sucks. Oooh, beware of the ever powerful
Tropico!
When we’ll see a decent cyber lord?...”
Yea. I remember being like that. So how long until
we got them cyber lords. 1 broken one comes in the
next set and another broken one comes another set
later. Yep. Good old Emeral and Corile.
It’s pretty obvious why this guy is great. Run 4
Emerals and Coriles, and this guy has a field day.
Drawing 3 cards is amazing. Period.
Water already has some strong draw power cards. We
have our over abused Aqua Hulcus, our under looked
Brain Serum and Energy Stream, and other things in
the current field.
Does Merfolk work? Yes…Yes it does. Most of the
time, you’ll always have a Corile or Emeral on the
field if you have them in good amounts (at least 3
of each). Not only do you get the draw, but you get
this 4000 beatstick that takes down plenty of
monsters. I mean, 4000 is a heavy monster to take
care of… And we all know that hand advantage will
win games.
So yea. That’s about it. There isn’t much to explain
about this card. It’s pretty simple. Play, draw,
beatdown. GG
The Negative Side
There are some bad things. The most obvious would be
its mana cost, but don’t get selfish. It does cost
5, so it doesn’t conveniently chain with anything.
But Look at what you get for 5 mana. 3 cards and a
4000 attacker. Oh yea, that sucks…
The more important thing I notice about this guy,
(and the reason why I don’t use it in my new R/U
deck), is that you pay 5 for the card, but you
really don’t get anything else out of it. Most of
the time, 5 mana basically takes up your turn. You
get the draw, but you have to make sure that you can
wait a turn to actually use them to your advantage.
See, if you’re shieldless, with no blockers, and you
have 5 mana, then you really don’t want to play
Merfolk, cause if your shieldless at 5 mana, you’re
probably facing some pyrofighters, so you’ll lose.
It’s complicated, but I see it more as an insurance
policy instead of a game changer. Drawing cards is
great, but if you don’t have time to use them, then
what good are they?
Finally here’s “What else could you use?”
- Corile, but you probably are already
- Emeral, but you probably are already
- Aqua Hulcus, but you probably…you get the point
If you got it, and you’re using around 6-8 cyber
lords, then you’ll be fine. It should be a help to
you.
The Limited Side
No. Just don’t. I mean a 4000 attacker is great in
limited, but wait a turn and you get a lot of great
double breakers. Plus, you won’t really get any
cyber lords, unless your lucky and play with Evo and
Rampage. Plus Plus, drawing doesn’t always help in
limited as much. Plus Plus Plus, the chances of you
having a cyber lord out with this guy is very
unlikely. Get it?
The Recap
Here’s our + and – Recap
Pluses
- Uber Draw power
- Cyber Lords well in use
- 3 Cards are good…
- 4000 beatstick too?!!!
Minuses
- 5 Mana is high, but still reasonable
- Not good in certain situations
- Doesn’t really “save” games
Constructed (with 6-8 CLs) – 3.5/5 – Great card to
use if you have the Cyber Lord Power. Use 2 on
average, but 3 max. 4 is asking for problems…
Limited – 1.5/5 – Draw can help, but 99% of the
time, you won’t pull of it’s effect. Even though
it’s got 4000 attack, that’s still low to our power
attackers in recent sets.
Art – 2.5/5 – Kinda like a floating Rabbit’s head
with tentacles…Seriously, what the hell is it? And
that thing makes you draw?...
That’s it for Illusionary Merfolk. If anyone has a
question, Comment/Concern/Complaint, a reply to a
review or article, or you just want to talk about
the game, E-Mail me at nimbly@gmail.com
Later Days…
Next article. Next week.
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Steven Cantrell |
Today’s card has surprisingly never
been reviewed. It was the source of plenty of
controversy several months ago, and continues to be
the single most powerful draw engine to date. Let’s
take a closer look at...
Illusionary Merfolk
Type: Creature
Civilization: Water
Race: Gel Fish
Mana Cost: Five (5)
Rules Text:
When you put this creature into the
battle zone, if you have a Cyber Lord in the battle
zone, draw up to 3 cards.
Flavor Text:
The Cyber Lords' devotion to beauty
is so extreme, they even designed their warrior race
to have a pleasant appearance.
Power: 4000
Rarity: Uncommon
Set: Base Set
Power/Cost:
Illusionary Merfolk fits right into the mid-cost
range. A return of 4k power is about what you can
expect for five mana. This ratio is nothing
spectacular, but it is enough to survive the
ever-popular Searing Wave. Merfolk is kind of in no
man’s land with enough power to tackle all weenies,
but not enough to get by Thrash Crawler, Barkwhip,
etc. Average score here.
Civilization/Race:
Water is the king of draw power, so it comes as no
surprise that Merfolk does just that. It would also
make sense that he shares a civilization with the
Cyber Lords, whom his effect depends upon. Merfolk’s
own race has no significance at all. While there are
many Gel Fish, fourteen to be exact, they have
minimal support at the moment.
Effects:
This ability is absolutely insane. Of
course the tremendous advantage comes with a
condition, though it not all that difficult to pull
off. There a number of excellent Cyber Lords
available to fulfill the effect requirement. I
honestly don’t know how WotC could possibly miss
nerfing such a powerful card. The prospect of three
free cards is just too good to pass up. Keep
thinking that over and over in your head. Three free
cards, three free cards...
Limited:
2/5
Tropico is the only Cyber Lord
available for drafting along with Merfolk, which
means you probably will not pull off the draw
ability. That leaves Merfolk as just a 4k creature
for five mana. Avoid him if possible.
Constructed:
4.5/5
In the regular format, his beauty
knows no bounds. Merfolk is currently one of the few
cards that can turn around an entire game in an
instant. Almost all decks with Water should run 2-4
copies along with some Corile and Emeral.
Steven Cantrell
Smcman7@aol.com
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Elk |
Illusionary
Merfolk
Hi everybody. It's Elk and I'm back. I haven't been
doing reviews because it was the summer time and I
was just blazing the forums.( You all know me, Elk,
the one who helped ALL of your decks, lol) But
anyways, I'm reviewing cards so I can have something
to do to take my mind off of school and the like.
Today I'm reviewing the all known Illusionary
Merfolk. As I have been seeing on the boards the use
of this card has declined in some control decks, but
it is still used a lot nonetheless. Lets look at the
stats.
Card Name: Illusionary Merfolk
Card Type: Creature
Creature Type: Gel Fish
Color: Water
Summoning Cost: 5
Power: 4000
Mana Value: 1
Effect: When you put this creature into the battle
zone, if you have a Cyber Lord in the battle zone,
draw up to 3 cards.
3 cards. How nice.
Back in the base set, the only Cyber Lord was
Tropico. Merfolk didn't see much play in the Base
Set. But in the Evo set, we got another one.
The most loved and most hated card called Corile. I
think he got played a little bit more when Evo came
out. Then in Rampage, we got another one. Emeral.
When he was released the use of Merfolk rised.
Then people used Merfolk in their B/U/x control
decks as their main draw method. But now with people
using 4 Hulci and 4 Streams, as well as the use for
Emeral decreasing, Merfolk's use has slowly been
declining.
Now lets look at the stats!!!
Type: Gel Fish
At the moment, Gel Fish have no support at all. But
I hope that in future sets we will see some Gel Fish
Evos and Support cards.
Civilization: Water
Of course this card belongs to the Water
civilization. Which other civi would let you net 3
cards?
Cost: 5
This is the perfect cost. By turn 5, if you have had
no shields broken and have been laying mana every
turn, as well as been making plays, your hand is
definately exhausted and you will have to make a
quick decision on wheter or not to put the card you
just draw into the mana zone, or battle zone.
Luckily, Merfolk will net you 3 cards off the top of
your deck on turn 5 or 6, giving you more options to
choose from, and that is always a good thing.
Power: 4000
Just the right power level. It has enough power to
survive the wave, and can kill the weaker creatures
if they are tapped.
Effect: What is their to say? 3 cards?
I have to go. My mom is rushing me >_<
Constructed 5/5
Limited 2/5
Art 3/5
My new email is imarealog@gamil.com
I'll be back
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Lee Sandow |
Greetings
from college! Steven brought it to my attention
that I wanted to review the cards he selected
for this week, and he was right. Pity I missed
Corile and Holy Awe last week, but other
reviewers said what needed to be said about them
anyways. And if you really want my opinion
about Corile, look for the Valentines Day
special. Moving swiftly on, today we are
reviewing a card I once hated more than
anything. Then Pyrofighter came along, and I
got over this card. This card is also
excellently countered by Friday's COTD.
Introducing the Cyber Lord loving...
Illusionary Merfolk
Cost: 5
Civilization:
Water
Card Type:
Creature
Race: Gel Fish
-
When you put this
creature into the battle zone, if you a Cyber
Lord in the battle zone, draw three cards.
Power: 4000
Mana Generated: 1
Rarity: Uncommon
Card Number: 32/110
Most cards slowly lose
playability after the set they are released in.
This guy, however, got BETTER. I'll discuss why
in a minute.
Civilization/Race: He's water, and he's
a... Gel fish? That race doesn't do much to
help him by itself, but he is blessed in being
part of the watr civilization. Water is loved
for it's ability to control and draw cards...
which is what this guy does best.
Cost: He
costs five mana. That's too expensive for his 4000
power. Throw in his effect, and it's MORE than
worth it. Bear in mind this is only good IF you
will be getting his effect. Let that be known.
Power:
Pyrofighter can't kill his 4000 power. Few things
that aren't evo's or spells can kill this. He's
great for flattening weenie creatures, and also good
for killing blockers. He's fun.
Abilities:
When you summon him, you get to draw three cards, IF
you have a Cyber Lord in the battle zone. First,
let's review what Cyber Lords see play that this has
synergy with. People use Emeral and Corile alot.
This gut plays VERY well with them. Now, on to his
effect. Drawing three cards gives you massive
advantage over your opponent. As ever, having more
resources than your opponent means you have more
ways to conceivably beat them. This guy is a very
popular combo, for good reason.
Ok, now that I've
reviewed these stats, let's see how they stack up.
Constructed overview: In a deck that has
enough Cyber Lords to conceiebaly pull of the
combo, this card is a beast. In a BUG deck like
Steven Cantrells, where an Emeral hits on turn
2, a BAT on turn 3, and this guy on turn 4, your
odds of winning lessen considerably. Try this
guy out. You'll probably like what you see.
4/5, IN THE RIGHT DECK.
Limited
overview: IF you are only drafting base set, I
need to remind you of a few things. There is ONE
craptacular Cyber Lord in the base set. So unless
you pull a Tropico, this guy will net you no
return. Most often, here, you will not get his
effect, so he's simply a 5 for 4000 body. You can
PROBABLY do better. 2/5
College rules! |
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