This is all initial thoughts.

This sounds like a fantastic sideboard card, regardless of Merfolk or Wizard. Good against both Oath and Dredge. With it being blue, this will be put in a lot of blue side boards, so you don't need to just run Tormod's Crypt or have black (or count on a Leyline in opening hand).

Though, Dredge has moved a lot towards Hollowed One in the sideboard, so it's not as effective coming from the sideboard as it could be. However, certainly a massive hoser still.

One important question. Why is this even in blue?

@mdkubiak said in [m19] mistcaller:

One important question. Why is this even in blue?

Because they wanted it to see play.

@protoaddct It's a valid question. Blue is known for countering, or bouncing. Exiling isn't really it's thing.

@oestrus said in [m19] mistcaller:

@protoaddct It's a valid question. Blue is known for countering, or bouncing. Exiling isn't really it's thing.

Blue is known for preempting. This preempts.

To me this is how you’d have to word a stifle for ‘a spell or ability that would put a creature into play’

Now what happens to the creature is separate. Do you say ‘it doesn’t’ like cage? I don’t think that would be a strong enough effect.

@protoaddct I would consider this more reactive, but regardless, this effect has been a white effect with Containment Priest and Hallowed Moonlight type cards (or artifacts). I have never seen blue stop creatures from entering the battlefield if they are non tokens if they weren't on the stack. Please, correct me if I'm wrong there if there are similar type of effects in blue, I just don't recall.

I'm not mad that this is in blue, I just wouldn't have expected it. This is, though, giving blue more tools than I would have expected.

@oestrus i believe their point was that it doesn't exile ichorid/bloodghast so much as make you decide to not resolve the triggers, so the cards are still there for next turn(as opposed to narcomoeba)

@mdkubiak said in [m19] mistcaller:

@protoaddct I would consider this more reactive, but regardless, this effect has been a white effect with Containment Priest and Hallowed Moonlight type cards (or artifacts). I have never seen blue stop creatures from entering the battlefield if they are non tokens if they weren't on the stack. Please, correct me if I'm wrong there if there are similar type of effects in blue, I just don't recall.

I'm not mad that this is in blue, I just wouldn't have expected it. This is, though, giving blue more tools than I would have expected.

Blue already has a litany of tools they should not have, and for the most part does everything every other color does in some shape and form, unlike say black which still really cannot directly deal with enchantments.

Even if the exact wording is different, exiling things has never been directly related to a single color. White had swords to plowshares, red had disintegrate, blue had counters that exiled, black had oubliette. All this is in effect is blue countering a specific effect in the most elegant way without the card having a ton of lines of text on it. I find it to be very much within their wheelhouse because it prevents/preempts the creature entering the battlefield, which also preempts ETB effects from triggering, akin to countering.

It probably shouldn't be blue for power reasons, let alone a merfolk wizard. Kinda reminds me of the argument that snapcaster should have been red (it should have.) Would much rather have seem them do a goblin or a vampire or something, but it fits thematically with the color pie since blues color pie has long been "we are the best color in magic that interacts favorably with the other best color in magic, artifact"

@blindtherapy

Narcomoeba is a may ability as well, so this basically just cuts Dredge off for a turn. You can just decide to not resolve Narco, Ghast, and Ichorid.

Realistically, you'd want to pop this guy in response to a Dread Return, but that would mean you'd need to have it already in play (telegraphing hard what you want to do) or find a way to get it in at instant speed (without flash inherent to the card this is much harder).

I don't know that this is terribly bad personally. Card only works for one turn. Sure, that single turn might be all they need, but it's not like Containment Priest that can just blow you out.

@volrathxp said in [m19] mistcaller:

@blindtherapy

Narcomoeba is a may ability as well, so this basically just cuts Dredge off for a turn. You can just decide to not resolve Narco, Ghast, and Ichorid.

Realistically, you'd want to pop this guy in response to a Dread Return, but that would mean you'd need to have it already in play (telegraphing hard what you want to do) or find a way to get it in at instant speed (without flash inherent to the card this is much harder).

I don't know that this is terribly bad personally. Card only works for one turn. Sure, that single turn might be all they need, but it's not like Containment Priest that can just blow you out.

In other formats you would Vial it out, but in vintage that seems much weaker than running null rod to me. This can totally shut down Oath if there is a way to recur it from the yard. Im not so up on my merfolk to know the answer to that though. Is there any sort of merfolk recursion engine I am not aware of?

@volrathxp said in [m19] mistcaller:

@blindtherapy

Narcomoeba is a may ability as well, so this basically just cuts Dredge off for a turn. You can just decide to not resolve Narco, Ghast, and Ichorid.

Realistically, you'd want to pop this guy in response to a Dread Return, but that would mean you'd need to have it already in play (telegraphing hard what you want to do) or find a way to get it in at instant speed (without flash inherent to the card this is much harder).

I don't know that this is terribly bad personally. Card only works for one turn. Sure, that single turn might be all they need, but it's not like Containment Priest that can just blow you out.

Excellent points I didn't immediately think about. I don't think it's terribly bad though. It still slows down Dredge and Oath (not stops them), which may be enough time. Having a sideboard option when you're not in white that can hit both isn't a bad thing. Still stronger to probably run Grafdigger's cage for that role most likely. But being a creature isn't nothing (but also a detriment).

I'm sure someone will try to play it, but I'm not sure why its any good. Seems more annoying than actually a good oath/dredge hate card, and its a Merfolk of the Pearl Trident in other matchups.

@vaughnbros agreed.

This creature delays Oath for a turn. Maybe that’s good enough in a Merfolk deck? I don’t play with or against Merfolk enough to know.

As a general blue answer to Oath, it doesn’t seem too threatening to me. Notably, it triggers Oath itself so you can’t even let it sit in play; you’re forced to sacrifice it immediately on the opponent’s upkeep.

@evouga There is a very real possibility that if you are playing against oath they already put a creature there for you. Yea you likely won't windmill this turn one as your only creature on the play, but on the draw if they had an opening oath/orchard this may be exactly the thing you want to play.

I mean, “exactly” is a stretch: as an Oath player I’m much happier seeing you play this guy than Containment Priest, Grafdigger’s Cage, Fragmentize, Nature’s Claim, etc. It’s better than nothing, you delay for a turn, but to be honest you’re much better off Repealing the token for the same mana cost.

@volrathxp narc is also a may, but the difference between a narc in the yard and a ghast/ich in the yard is that the former is effectively useless(but for troll and threshold count)

@blindtherapy super true to that point for sure.