The Wave by DataPriest

Format: Commander

Commander: Hakbal of the Surging Soul

Bracket: 4

Deck overview

This deck is a highly synergistic, Simic (G/U) Merfolk tribal strategy helmed by Hakbal of the Surging Soul. The primary game plan revolves around deploying a critical mass of Merfolk and leveraging Hakbal's ability to trigger the explore mechanic across the entire board at the beginning of combat. This generates immense value by ramping lands directly onto the battlefield, drawing cards, and rapidly growing the team with +1/+1 counters. The deck eschews infinite combos in favor of an overwhelming combat damage strategy, utilizing counter multipliers like Doubling Season and Branching Evolution alongside token generators like Deeproot Pilgrimage. To ensure damage connects, the deck relies on islandwalk enablers and unblockable effects. It plays as a resilient, snowballing midrange deck that protects its board state with a dense suite of efficient and free counterspells.

Decklist (100 cards)

• 1 Adrix and Nev, Twincasters
• 1 Barkchannel Pathway // Tidechannel Pathway
• 1 Branching Evolution
• 1 Breeding Pool
• 1 Cavern of Souls
• 1 Champions of the Shoal
• 1 Chronicle of Victory
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Deeproot Champion
• 1 Deeproot Pilgrimage
• 1 Deeproot Waters
• 1 Double Major
• 1 Doubling Season
• 1 Dreamroot Cascade
• 1 Dreamtide Whale
• 1 Elixir of Immortality
• 1 Elven Chorus
• 1 Evendo, Waking Haven
• 1 Farseek
• 1 Fierce Guardianship
• 1 Flare of Denial
• 1 Flooded Grove
• 1 Force of Will
• 8 Forest
• 1 Gathering Stone
• 1 Ground Seal
• 1 Growth Spiral
• 1 Hakbal of the Surging Soul
• 1 Harmonized Crescendo
• 1 Harmonized Trio // Brainstorm
• 1 Hedge Maze
• 1 Herald of Secret Streams
• 1 Innkeeper's Talent
• 10 Island
• 1 Kiora's Follower
• 1 Kopala, Warden of Waves
• 1 Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
• 1 Lord of Atlantis
• 1 Lotus Petal
• 1 Lullmage Mentor
• 1 Master of the Pearl Trident
• 1 Merfolk Cave-Diver
• 1 Merfolk Mistbinder
• 1 Merfolk Sovereign
• 1 Merrow Reejerey
• 1 Mist Dancer
• 1 Mist-Cloaked Herald
• 1 Misty Rainforest
• 1 Naturalize
• 1 Negate
• 1 Nicanzil, Current Conductor
• 1 Novijen, Heart of Progress
• 1 Obscuring Haze
• 1 Orysa, Tide Choreographer
• 1 Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
• 1 Path of Ancestry
• 1 Pongify
• 1 Quicksilver Fountain
• 1 Rapid Hybridization
• 1 Reflections of Littjara
• 1 Rejuvenating Springs
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Rhystic Study
• 1 Ripples of Potential
• 1 Rivendell
• 1 Roaming Throne
• 1 Sakashima of a Thousand Faces
• 1 Seahunter
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Spectral Denial
• 1 Stonybrook Banneret
• 1 Svyelun of Sea and Sky
• 1 Swiftfoot Boots
• 1 Tatyova, Benthic Druid
• 1 Three Tree City
• 1 Tishana's Tidebinder
• 1 Topography Tracker
• 1 Vodalian Hexcatcher
• 1 Waterlogged Grove
• 1 Wave Goodbye
• 1 Willowrush Verge
• 1 Yavimaya Coast
• 1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth