diff --git a/claimtrie/node/noderepo/pebble.go b/claimtrie/node/noderepo/pebble.go
index 530a2271..8365931a 100644
--- a/claimtrie/node/noderepo/pebble.go
+++ b/claimtrie/node/noderepo/pebble.go
@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@ package noderepo
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
+	"io"
 	"reflect"
 	"sort"
+	"sync"
 
 	"github.com/btcsuite/btcd/chaincfg/chainhash"
 	"github.com/btcsuite/btcd/claimtrie/change"
@@ -77,9 +79,71 @@ func init() {
 	msgpack.Register(wire.OutPoint{}, opEncoder, opDecoder)
 }
 
+type pooledMerger struct {
+	values [][]byte
+	index  []int
+	pool   *sync.Pool
+	buffer []byte
+}
+
+func (a *pooledMerger) Len() int           { return len(a.index) }
+func (a *pooledMerger) Less(i, j int) bool { return a.index[i] < a.index[j] }
+func (a *pooledMerger) Swap(i, j int) {
+	a.index[i], a.index[j] = a.index[j], a.index[i]
+	a.values[i], a.values[j] = a.values[j], a.values[i]
+}
+
+func (a *pooledMerger) MergeNewer(value []byte) error {
+	a.values = append(a.values, value)
+	a.index = append(a.index, len(a.values))
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (a *pooledMerger) MergeOlder(value []byte) error {
+	a.values = append(a.values, value)
+	a.index = append(a.index, -len(a.values))
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (a *pooledMerger) Finish(includesBase bool) ([]byte, io.Closer, error) {
+	sort.Sort(a)
+
+	a.buffer = a.pool.Get().([]byte)[:0]
+	for i := range a.values {
+		a.buffer = append(a.buffer, a.values[i]...)
+	}
+
+	return a.buffer, a, nil
+}
+
+func (a *pooledMerger) Close() error {
+	a.pool.Put(a.buffer)
+	return nil
+}
+
 func NewPebble(path string) (*Pebble, error) {
 
-	db, err := pebble.Open(path, &pebble.Options{Cache: pebble.NewCache(32 << 20), BytesPerSync: 4 << 20})
+	mp := &sync.Pool{
+		New: func() interface{} {
+			return make([]byte, 0, 256)
+		},
+	}
+
+	db, err := pebble.Open(path, &pebble.Options{
+		Merger: &pebble.Merger{
+			Merge: func(key, value []byte) (pebble.ValueMerger, error) {
+				p := &pooledMerger{pool: mp}
+				return p, p.MergeNewer(value)
+			},
+			Name: pebble.DefaultMerger.Name, // yes, it's a lie
+		},
+		Cache:        pebble.NewCache(32 << 20),
+		BytesPerSync: 4 << 20,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, errors.Wrapf(err, "pebble open %s", path)
+	}
+
 	repo := &Pebble{db: db}
 
 	return repo, errors.Wrapf(err, "unable to open %s", path)
@@ -91,16 +155,22 @@ func (repo *Pebble) AppendChanges(changes []change.Change) error {
 	batch := repo.db.NewBatch()
 	defer batch.Close()
 
-	// TODO: switch to buffer pool and reuse encoder
+	enc := msgpack.GetEncoder()
+	defer msgpack.PutEncoder(enc)
+
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+
 	for _, chg := range changes {
 		name := chg.Name
 		chg.Name = nil // don't waste the storage space on this (annotation a better approach?)
-		value, err := msgpack.Marshal(chg)
+		buf.Reset()
+		enc.Reset(&buf) // do this every time through?
+		err := enc.Encode(chg)
 		if err != nil {
 			return errors.Wrap(err, "in marshaller")
 		}
 
-		err = batch.Merge(name, value, pebble.NoSync)
+		err = batch.Merge(name, buf.Bytes(), pebble.NoSync)
 		if err != nil {
 			return errors.Wrap(err, "in merge")
 		}