You can reproduce any repository state that you (or anyone else) have stored. You can do it simply, reliably, and quickly. That is not in doubt. Merge is not a

You can reproduce any repository state that you (or anyone else) have stored. You can do it simply, reliably, and quickly. That is not in doubt. Merge is not a tool for reproducing a canonical state, it's a tool for combining two or more of them, an entirely different topic. Any other straw men you'd like to hold up real fast?