Drafting with a new set is always a lot of fun. The whole Internet is talking about the tribes of Lorwyn, and the buzz everywhere is about Merfolk being the best tribal archetype in draft. So why not go with the flow and swim with the fishes and dip into the waters with the hot and sexy Merfolk?

Some Internet writers like to list cards in a pick order for drafting. Others try to rate every single card in the set. These approaches may be useful if you want a quick and easy way to start drafting, but I think that every draft deck has a lot of requirements to meet, and therefore you have to know not just what cards to take, but how those cards fit into the deck's strategy. With that in mind, I will go over the common and uncommon cards that I like to build my deck around, and mention a few other cards that will fill in the rest of your deck.

Let's start with the top uncommon cards, because these are the cards that usually steer you into a draft archetype. If you open a pack and you choose one of these cards, you could decide to force the Merfolk tribal archetype. If these cards come to you later than third pick, it may be a sign for you to draft in this direction.

Merrow Reejerey

First up is the new Lord of Atlantis. Obviously the +1/+1 bonus is very effective and makes all of your creatures efficient for their cost. But don't underestimate the second ability. You can effectively lower the mana cost of your Merfolk spells whenever you play more than one spell in a turn. And you can tap opposing blockers to go for the kill, or at least force your opponent to think carefully before attacking with too many creatures. If you get two of these in play, every Merfolk you can cast threatens to tap out your opponent's defenses. Don't forget that Instant spells with Changeling trigger this too.

Drowner of Secrets

Millstone decks have many fans, as the popularity of cards like Glimpse the Unthinkable shows. Once in a while, a draft format can support a deck that uses library death as its main strategy. Since you are playing creatures, you can definitely win by attacking, and Merrow Reejerey is the best card for that plan. But the Merfolk can also put up a formidable defense and stall opposing attackers long enough for the Drowner of Secrets to win the game even if it gets killed after a few activations. And even one activation can be pivotal when your opponent wants to draw the top card because of a Clash or a Harbinger. Of course you want to maximize the number of cards it mills, so this is something that really improves when you build a deck to abuse it. Merrow Commerce is tailor-made to accelerate the ability of Drowner of Secrets, and can even tap for it.

Summon the School

Sprout Swarm in Future Sight frustrated many players with its endless supply of Saproling tokens. Summon the School can do almost the same thing, and there are just as many combos to make it better. And unlike Sprout Swarm, discard spells or countermagic won't stop Summon the School. It takes a while to build up a sizable army, and you could be in trouble if too many Merfolk die and you can't bring back this card. Still, when it works, there are not many cards that can stop the growing school of fish. With Judge of Currents in play, you can get your life high enough so that even something like Nath's Elite can't finish you off. You just have to watch out for mass removal like Hurly-Burly, Thundercloud Shaman, or Final Revels.

 

Harpoon Sniper

Here's another card that really gets better when almost all your creatures are Merfolk. For this and many other reasons, you want your Merfolk deck to have very few non-Merfolk creatures, and you have to prioritize drafting a good curve of Merfolk and Shapeshifters. Yes, this is very good even if you control only two Merfolk. It becomes insane when every creature you have is a Merfolk.

Ethereal Whiskergill

Here's one non-Merfolk creature that works best in a Merfolk deck. Three common cards can give your opponent Islands: Streambed Aquitects (a mid-to-high draft pick), Tideshaper Mystic, and Aquitects's Will (two late draft picks). Four flying damage a turn is quite good in any format, and very hard to get in Lorwyn. The three toughness isn't much, but that's what Silvergill Dousers are for. And when this can't attack, it's a flying defender that can stop some of the creatures that could give you problems.

Fallowsage

This isn't a very high draft pick, but I mention it here because you have to build around it to make it really good. Obviously Drowner of Secrets and Summon the School will let you draw cards for the very small price of tapping this creature. There are several other ways to abuse the Fallowsage's low-cost card drawing. Even Springleaf Drum, a card I hate to play most of the time, can be worth putting in your deck if you have enough useful effects like this. And sometimes you won't mind activating your Goldmeadow Harrier or Stonybrook Angler to draw cards. Of course you can just attack and keep it alive either by using Islandwalk or by protecting it from damage.

The Best of the Common Crowd

There are many other uncommon cards worth mentioning, and you should know when to draft them and play them: Veteran of the Depths is one Merfolk that can attack quite well on its own, and it can use all the same tricks that Fallowsage can. Benthicore is one more way to tap your Merfolk, and it comes with a big body for combat. Familiar's Ruse is one way to protect your army from mass removal, and it lets you reuse effects such as Silvergill Adept, another cost-effective creature for your mana curve. I already mentioned Merrow Commerce. Merrow Harbinger is fine when you really need to find that one Merrow Reejerey or Drowner of Secrets. Turtleshell Changeling is a useful blocker that can attack as a 4/4 (or bigger, with any Merfolk-pumping effect) when you have enough mana. Other cards not specific to the Merfolk tribe such as Changeling Hero and Crib Swap should still be taken whenever you see them.

While getting multiples of uncommon cards takes a lot of luck, there are many common cards that you can try to collect aggressively to take advantage of their effects in multiples. Merfolk have the some of the best of these kinds of cards in all of Lorwyn.

Silvergill Douser

This is one of the few creatures that works well with two different tribes, so it may be difficult to draft multiples. But when you do get two or more in play, the effect is impressive. Your opponent will probably have to remove them to have any chance of doing damage in combat.

Streambed Aquitects

This one of the key components of the Merfolk deck, especially if you don't have the Merrow Reejerey. By itself it can block as a 3/4 creature. Helping your other Merfolk in combat is crucial, and making them unblockable is icing on the cake. You could even deny your opponent a color of mana from time to time.

Stonybrook Angler

At first glance, this looks decidedly inferior to Goldmeadow Harrier. But besides the 2 toughness and a better creature type, it has a lot of additional uses. You can reuse the effects of Silvergill Douser, Streambed Aquitects, or Harpoon Sniper. You can turn any two available mana into extra life with Judge of Currents. You can splash a Garruk without any forests using Tideshaper Mystic.

Judge of Currents

This is the junkiest-looking key common ever. And that's exactly what it is: a key common Merfolk. One of these in a focused Merfolk deck will gain you more life than a Soul Warden could. Two of them in play can put your life total all but out of reach.

The rest of the common Merfolk also have a place in the deck: Paperfin Rascal, Inkfathom Divers, Deeptread Merrow, Aquitect's Will, Tideshaper Mystic.

Not all common cards are tribal. Oblivion Ring, Neck Snap, Whirlpool Whelm, Ponder, and Glimmerdust Nap do belong in the deck if you can get them. Shapeshifter spells fit just as well as the pure Merfolk do: Wings of Velis Vel, Amoeboid Changeling, Avian Changeling. Some cards are just good in any deck: Pestermite, Mulldrifter, Aethersnipe, Goldmeadow Harrier, Plover Knights, Kithkin Healer. And a few cards like Surge of Thoughtweft, Faerie Trickery, and Dawnfluke are good for protecting your fragile creatures.

You might even have a second color other than white, or a third color. Black lets you team up with Faeries. Red has Smokebraider for quicker Aethersnipes and Mulldrifters. Green can fill your higher curve with big Treefolk.

Here's an actual deck I drafted with most of the good Merfolk cards:

Tap Tap Tap Tap (Bring it Back)

2 Amoeboid Changeling
1 Silvergill Douser
1 Judge of Currents
1 Wizened Cenn
2 Merrow Reejerey
2 Avian Changeling
1 Mirror Entity
1 Harpoon Sniper
1 Drowner of Secrets
1 Streambed Aquitects
1 Veteran of the Depths
1 Fallowsage
1 Ethereal Whiskergill
1 Cloudgoat Ranger
1 Inkfathom Divers
2 Aethersnipe
1 Summon the School
1 Neck Snap
1 Surge of Thoughtweft
9 Plains
8 Island

I drafted a Forced Fruition and wanted to play it, but I decided to leave it in my sideboard to keep the deck focused and use it as a surprise when my opponents had no Oblivion Rings. I also had a second Surge of Thoughtweft and a Faerie Trickery that came in from the sideboard.

Next tribe: Giants