Hakbal by user6292822

Format: Commander

Commander: Hakbal of the Surging Soul

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 35

Deck overview

This Simic deck executes an aggressive Merfolk tribal strategy led by Hakbal of the Surging Soul. It leverages low-cost Merfolk creatures to establish early board presence before deploying Hakbal on Turn 3 or 4. Once active, Hakbal triggers explore for the entire Merfolk team at each combat, providing massive card advantage by drawing revealed lands and growing creatures with +1/+1 counters. The deck compounds this growth with counter multipliers like Branching Evolution and token generators like Deeproot Waters. It translates high board stats into a decisive win through evasive effects such as Herald of Secret Streams, Islandwalk lords, and one-sided sweeps via Wave Goodbye. While the deck features strong card flow and board recovery, its combat-centric plan is vulnerable to repeated board wipes and lacks hard counterspells.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Aetherize
  • 1 Alchemist's Refuge
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Beast Within
  • 1 Benthic Biomancer
  • 1 Branching Evolution
  • 1 Bygone Marvels
  • 1 Cold-Eyed Selkie
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Commander's Sphere
  • 1 Commit // Memory
  • 1 Coralhelm Commander
  • 1 Curse of the Swine
  • 1 Deeproot Elite
  • 1 Deeproot Historian
  • 1 Deeproot Waters
  • 1 Emperor Mihail II
  • 1 Evolution Sage
  • 1 Explore
  • 7 Forest
  • 1 Growth Spiral
  • 1 Hakbal of the Surging Soul
  • 1 Hardened Scales
  • 1 Herald of Secret Streams
  • 1 Hinterland Harbor
  • 1 Inspiring Call
  • 13 Island
  • 1 Karn's Bastion
  • 1 Kindred Discovery
  • 1 Kiora's Follower
  • 1 Kodama's Reach
  • 1 Kopala, Warden of Waves
  • 1 Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
  • 1 Llanowar Reborn
  • 1 Master of the Pearl Trident
  • 1 Merfolk Cave-Diver
  • 1 Merfolk Mistbinder
  • 1 Merfolk Skydiver
  • 1 Merfolk Sovereign
  • 1 Merrow Reejerey
  • 1 Metallic Mimic
  • 1 Mist Dancer
  • 1 Mosswort Bridge
  • 1 Myriad Landscape
  • 1 Nicanzil, Current Conductor
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Prime Speaker Zegana
  • 1 Quandrix Command
  • 1 Rapid Hybridization
  • 1 Ravenform
  • 1 Realmwalker
  • 1 Reflections of Littjara
  • 1 Reliquary Tower
  • 1 Ripples of Potential
  • 1 Rogue's Passage
  • 1 Ruinous Intrusion
  • 1 Sage of Fables
  • 1 Seafloor Oracle
  • 1 Secluded Courtyard
  • 1 Simic Ascendancy
  • 1 Simic Growth Chamber
  • 1 Simic Signet
  • 1 Singer of Swift Rivers
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Stonybrook Banneret
  • 1 Surgespanner
  • 1 Svyelun of Sea and Sky
  • 1 Swiftfoot Boots
  • 1 Tatyova, Benthic Druid
  • 1 Temple of Mystery
  • 1 Temple of the False God
  • 1 Thassa, God of the Sea
  • 1 Thieving Skydiver
  • 1 Tishana, Voice of Thunder
  • 1 Topography Tracker
  • 1 Tributary Instructor
  • 1 Unclaimed Territory
  • 1 Vineglimmer Snarl
  • 1 Vorel of the Hull Clade
  • 1 Wave Goodbye
  • 1 Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood
  • 1 Zegana, Utopian Speaker