Merfolk by ChrisMcCann0

Format: Commander

Commander: Hakbal of the Surging Soul

Bracket: 3

DeckCheck Threat Index: 41

Deck overview

This Simic deck is a dedicated Merfolk typal and +1/+1 counter midrange strategy commanded by Hakbal of the Surging Soul. The game plan revolves around curving out cheap Merfolk creatures during the early turns, then deploying Hakbal on Turn 4 to immediately trigger explore across the entire board at the beginning of combat. This explore engine fuels rapid card velocity by placing revealed lands directly into hand and growing the Merfolk with +1/+1 counters. On subsequent turns, counter enhancers like Branching Evolution and Topography Tracker supercharge creature stats while evasion enablers such as Herald of Secret Streams and Master of the Pearl Trident ensure attacks bypass blockers. The deck features strong resilience through mass-phasing protection with Ripples of Potential and one-sided board clears like Wave Goodbye. It steadily overwhelms the table through unblockable combat damage and massive card advantage.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Aetherize
  • 1 Alchemist's Refuge
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Beast Within
  • 1 Benthic Biomancer
  • 1 Branching Evolution
  • 1 Cold-Eyed Selkie
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Commander's Sphere
  • 1 Coralhelm Commander
  • 1 Deeproot Elite
  • 1 Deeproot Historian
  • 1 Deeproot Pilgrimage
  • 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 Herald's Horn
  • 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 Harbinger
  • 1 Merrow Reejerey
  • 1 Metallic Mimic
  • 1 Mist Dancer
  • 1 Mosswort Bridge
  • 1 Myriad Landscape
  • 1 Namor the Sub-Mariner
  • 1 Nature's Lore
  • 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 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's Tidebinder
  • 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 Zegana, Utopian Speaker