Merfolk have been a serious tribe for a long time, preying on other decks since the earliest days. Magic's very first tribal deck was a Merfolk deck, making its debut in Pro Tour Rome in 1998. Since then we've had several iterations of "Fish" decks (even though Fish is its own, separate creature type) that have dominated formats. These 10 Merfolk may not be the best Merfolk of all time, but they are my pick for the most interesting competitive cards, as well as the decks you're likely to see them show up in.

Honorable Mention: Aether Vial

While technically not a Merfolk itself, Aether Vial makes Merfolk decks ten times scarier. While they can flood the board (pun fully intended) with a lot of bodies, imagine being able to do it twice as fast? Aether Vial is a must-include in most competitive Merfolk decks, partially because the artifact gives them "flash" speed Merfolk interaction. Combat tricks are a lot harder to deal with when they come attached to a body.

10. True-Name Nemesis

Sometimes a card comes out in Commander that makes a splash in other formats and that's exactly what happened with True-Name Nemesis. Originally printed in the 2013 commander deck Mind Seize, it was designed for multiplayer. When there's four people at the table, having protection from one of them isn't such a big deal, but when it's a two-player game, this threat becomes unstoppable. It's not a wonder it was such a powerhouse in Legacy with players strapping equipment on it and steamrolling the opponent.

9. Svyelun of Sea and Sky

Targeted removal is a real pain for Merfolk, but this legendary creature printed in Modern Horizons 2 gives every Merfolk you have Ward 1 and is indestructible herself once you have two or more other Merfolk. While she won't stop a board wipe, Merfolk are usually able to close out games before that becomes a problem. In the early parts of the game, targeted removal could mean the difference between chipping in for more damage or not. Ward 1 is extremely useful to eat up your opponent's mana before they can deal with your threats.

8. Vodalian Hexcatcher

Remember those board wipes we were talking about? Hexcatcher allows you to work around that by sacrificing a Merfolk as an on-demand one-mana tax. Sometimes, all you need is to sacrifice that one Merfolk so you can get in damage the next turn and close the game out. Hexcatcher also has the bonus of being a Lord (+1/+1 to all Merfolk) even if it doesn't give you the extra islandwalk the ones I'll mention next do.

7. Two-Mana Merfolk Lords

Merfolk are usually tiny creatures, but they pack a hell of a punch when they have their lords with them. Cards like Lord of Atlantis and Master of the Pearl Trident not only present threats that make for lethal combinations with other Merfolk, but they also give their brethren islandwalk. As we've seen in some Spreading Seas decks all you need is to turn one of your opponent's lands into an island for every Merfolk you have to hit them every single turn.

6. Floodpits Drowner

Few things are as annoying in Standard than dealing with a Floodpits Drowner. It's one of the best tempo plays currently available to any deck running Blue, and the fact that it's a Merfolk means that it could easily slot into any of the tribal decks as a sideboard card if the need arises. It's also a key include against decks that have indestructible threats (like anything running Ketramose) since it can shuffle those sticky threats back into the opponent's deck. It's been running rampant in Standard since it was printed in Lost Caverns of Ixalan.

5. Tishana's Tidebinder

Another Lost Caverns of Ixalan print, this one sees play almost everywhere, because shutting off an activated or triggered ability can cause a huge tempo swing. Tidebinder sees play all through Standard as well as in a few Modern lists as a tempo play. If Pioneer develops a competitive Merfolk list, we may see it show up there as well.

4. Emry, Lurker of the Loch

Released for our first visit to Eldraine, Emry caused quite a stir in some competitive formats as a combo piece or just a way to get back your useful stuff from the graveyard. While she's useful in Commander for "putting your opponents on lochdown" she also has quite a useful interplay in Vintage and Legacy, where 0-mana rocks are still a thing. Even in some Modern decklists, she's shown resilience, able to recur a Mishra's Bauble turn after turn, like a budget Lurrus in Blue.

3. Harbinger of the Seas

Nonbasics are such a huge part of non-Standard formats that running a Harbinder of the Seas can lock an opponent out of playing Magic completely. It's especially useful against Domain decks or any three-color deck with a greedy mana base. Additionally, it makes those Merfolk lords that give your team islandwalk an added boost. And since he's not really a major, impactful Merfolk, most opponents don't prioritize its removal, making it a sticky threat. It sees play in a lot of Modern competitive lists since it's been printed.

2. Thassa's Oracle

Part of the infamous Demonic Consultation combo, Thassa's Oracle (also known as Thoracle) is one of the most unique wincons that Merfolk has, although she's technically better used in a straight-up combo deck. The combo doesn't see as much play now, but even so, Thoracle has had a showing in some Modern decks (like Inverter combo) and Standard decks during its run there as well. As far as high-impact, high-risk cards go, there are only a few better than Thoracle.

1. Champions of the Shoal

It's still a bit early to be passing judgment on the new Lorwyn cards, but this one has proven to be more than worth it. It's shown up in several Modern lists creating a snowball swing for the Merfolk deck while keeping the opponent's biggest threat tapped down. While we have yet (as of writing) to see how it works in Standard, it looks like it might be a massive threat that keeps putting pressure on opponents until they remove it.

Merfolk have always been a tribe in flux. Sometimes, they're super powerful and sometimes they lack that extra support. However, throughout Magic's competitive history, they've shown up time and time again, with renewed vigor as new sets drop, and this latest visit to Lorwyn might be just the spark needed to revitalize Merfolk competitively. Do you agree with my list, or do you think I left one or two out? I'd be glad to hear your top ten!