By starting with a Mercator projection, you've already decided that there's nothing interesting at the poles.
http://www.cartographersguild.com/at...map-final3.png
http://www.cartographersguild.com/at...upload-001.jpg
http://www.cartographersguild.com/at...upload-002.jpg
http://www.cartographersguild.com/at...ewmap-copy.jpg
http://www.cartographersguild.com/at...porjection.png
http://www.cartographersguild.com/at...ectangular.jpg
By starting with a Mercator projection, you've already decided that there's nothing interesting at the poles.