Yesterday, we had a look at the Dinosaur forces that Huatli brings into battle; which was, surprisingly, a rather weak showing despite the fact that there prehistoric lizards everywhere. Part two for Ixalan Planeswalker Decks features a familiar face with Jace, the token Blue planeswalker, this time being paired with a force of Merfolks that bring some Green to the mix. Just like with the Dinosaurs, you would think that it is rather hard to screw up a Merfolk tribal deck, right? Well, WotC wants to have a word with you, because instead of going Blue-Green Control with powerful Merfolks milling, countering, and overall making the opponent’s life miserable, we have a deck with +1/+1 counters and evasion abilities as its main focus. Oh boy, let’s see where this is going. Here is the decklist for the Planeswalker Deck featuring “Jace, Ingenious Mind-Mage”: Creatures (24): 2x Jungle Delver (G) 2x Kumena’s Speaker (G) 3x Jace’s Sentinel (1U) 2x Shaper Apprentice (1U) 2x Deeproot Warrior (1G) 2x Vineshaper Mystic (2G) 2x Shapers of Nature (1UG) 2x Headwater Sentries (3U) 1x Herald of Secret Streams (3U) 2x Jade Guardian (3G) 1x Tempest Caller (2UU) 2x Air Elemental (3UU) 1x Fleet Swallower (5UU) Spells (10): 3x River Heralds’ Boon (1G) 4x Castaway’s Despair (3U) 2x Grasping Current (4U) 1x Jace, Ingenious Mind-Mage (4UU) Lands (26): 11x Island 11x Forest 4x Woodland Stream The creature line-up of Planeswalker Deck “Jace, Ingenious Mind-Mage” seems a bit whack, to be entirely honest. I mean, I appreciate having some one-drops to work with, but “Jungle Delver” did not get the memo of one-drops actually having an impact on the early game, being a 1/1 that can get a +1/+1 counter … for four mana. Even later in the game, ramping this guy to reasonable stats will take a huge amount of mana, which you probably do not to waste on your little guy. “Kumena’s Speaker” is a little better by comparison: A 1/1 for one mana, that becomes a 2/2 if you control another Merfolk or an Island, both of which are very much possible on turn two when this guy is allowed to swing. “Jace’s Sentinel” is primarily a blocker as a 1/3 for two mana, but with a Jace planeswalker on the field it can actually threaten the opposing life total since it gains +1/+0 and becomes unblockable. And evasion is also the angle that “Shaper Apprentice” took, being a 2/1 for two mana that gains Flying as long as you control another Merfolk, with the entire tribal thing becoming a bit of a theme in this deck. Not that the options are all that great, seeing as the last two-drop in form of “Deeproot Warrior” is simply a 2/2 that gains +1/+1 when blocked; and is therefore rather underwhelming. In fact, Planeswalker Deck “Jace, Ingenious Mind-Mage” seems to be Merfolk tribal light, since the Merfolks have some absolutely disgusting options at their disposal, none of which can be found here. I mean, sure, “Vineshaper Mystic” is a 1/3 that boosts Merfolks since it puts a +1/+1 counter on up to two of them when entering the battlefield; but that hardly does anything. “Shapers of Nature” is a 3/3 for three mana that actually tries to do something with the +1/+1 counters that crop up here and there, either giving one to a target creature for four mana or removing on while also paying three mana to draw a card; neither effect being particularly good. “Headwater Sentries” is a Merfolk, yes, but as a 2/5 vanilla for four mana it is more of an insult than an actual option I would consider playing. It is then that I understand why there are some many whacky options working with Merfolk and +1/+1 counters in the deck: “Herald of Secret Streams” is a 2/3 for four mana that simply states that creatures you control that have a +1/+1 counter on them cannot be blocked. Forget all that “Flying when you control another Merfolk” or “Unblockable if you control a Jace planeswalker”, this guy alone can turn a trashy board into an instant-kill scenario; which is why it fetches a rather hefty price as a single on the secondary market. With “Herald of Secret Streams“, everything now has its focus shifted towards the card that can make your deck function. “Jade Guardian” might be underwhelming as a 2/2 with Hexproof for four mana that also gives a +1/+1 counter to a Merfolk you control, but when that creature also becomes unblockable things get much more interesting. Now, “Tempest Caller” is actually a pretty solid plan B, since this 2/3 for four mana simply taps all opposing creatures when it enters the battlefield, which in turn means that you get to attack the opposing face without much resistance. There are some copies of “Air Elemental“, which are 4/4 Flying and normally not that impressive but should pull their weight in a Preconstructed Deck like this one. And then there is another card that likes to attack, with “Fleet Swallower” being a 6/6 for seven mana that also happens to mill half the opposing deck upon attacking. Why would you need a random mill card in a deck that has absolutely nothing to do with such a strategy? I don’t know, but WotC included it anyway. At the helm of the deck, we have one self-proclaimed ingenious mind: “Jace, Ingenious Mind-Mage” is a planeswalker for six mana and enters the battlefield with five loyalty counters. Instead of going for lengthy effects, this version of Jace makes things short and sweet: +1 loyalty simply allows you to draw a card, -1 loyalty untaps all creatures you control, and -9 steals control of up to three creatures. Seeing as the entire idea of the deck is playing multiple Merfolk which then attack with evasion and additional +1/+1 counters for more damage, “Jace, Ingenious Mind-Mage” does a decent job helping the deck out. Drawing cards is nice, the -1 loyalty effect allows you to commit to an attack and then end up with everything ready again, and you not only bolster your forces with up to three creatures using the last effect but as is always the case with control changes you also get rid of potential blockers, which certainly helps an Aggro-centered deck. Now, unfortunately this is like polishing a turd, because no matter how shiny it might get it is still shit underneath. There are simply too many weak creatures in the mix while the deck is, at least in my opinion, way too dependent on “Herald of Secret Streams” to get anything done. And there are not that many non-creature spells to change that. “River Heralds’ Boon” places one +1/+1 counter on target creature and one on a target Merfolk specifically, which means two +1/+1 counters for two mana; which would be good if the creatures were actually able to perform. “Castaway’s Despair” basically fills the function of a Blue “Pacifism“, but for four mana which is pretty expensive; and of course that one comes as a playset, as if that saves anything removal-wise. In fact, the only real removal spell in the deck comes with the two copies of “Grasping Current“, which cost five mana and bounce up to two creatures; on top of also searching for “Jace, Ingenious Mind-Mage“. So, if the opponent has only one creature that you need to get rid of, you have to pay five mana to see it being played during the next turn again; and to add insult to injury, the card is a sorcery which makes it impossible to react to opposing plays with. I am going to be blunt: The Planeswalker Deck “Jace, Ingenious Mind-Mage” is a stinker. The idea of boosting creatures with +1/+1 counters and then attacking with evasion to inflict more damage does not need to be bad, but this deck certainly does not deliver on the premise. There are way better support cards for +1/+1 counters, and there are much better Merfolk card in the game, which makes the deck at hand really just a pile of shame. Well, there is the exception of “Herald of Secret Streams“, but that card alone cannot save the deck. And it seems that the sellers on Cardmarket agree with me: You can get this entire deck, plus two boosters if I understand the deal correctly, for a tenner; and there are still not that many takers. In all honesty, there is no reason to buy the Planeswalker Deck “Jace, Ingenious Mind-Mage” since you can get a much better deck working from scratch; which you would need to do anyway seeing how many cards need to be exchanged in this.