Lv85+ Spell setup

Well im kind of a noob when it comes to Blue Mage but ive made it to 85 so far and im starting to get the hang of somethings. Ive been reading things about different spells and different triats I can set but I cant seem to figure out what would really be "Good" I guess. Im trying to mainly go Blu/Thf for the time being, but im really not sure what spells will be a necessity. All I know is I want Goblin Rush, Frenetic Rip, Hysteric Barrage, and Blazing Bound/Quad Cont./Animating Wail for Dual Wield.

Other than that, I mainly just set spells that give me +Str and +Dex as I have no idea what im doing.

That and Plenilune Embrace and Cocoon.

Edit- Something else ive been wondering, when I merit Blue Magic skill levels, will that help with learning spells? Or do Merits have no effect on getting the spells at all?