The Shape of Water by Tonenheimer

Format: Commander

Commander: Hakbal of the Surging Soul

Bracket: 3

Deck overview

Simic Merfolk +1/+1 counters deck built to weaponize Hakbal's combat-explore trigger. The primary plan is to flood the board with cheap Merfolk and tokens, let Hakbal explore every combat to grow them and hit land drops, then swing through unblockable enablers (islandwalk or Herald of Secret Streams) with lords and Coat of Arms. Secondary paths: Emperor Mihail II plus Deeproot Waters generate a token army, Kindred Discovery/Cold-Eyed Selkie refill, and Seahunter/Merrow Harbinger/Forerunner tutor flexible linchpins. There is no true hidden commander; Kumena and Emperor Mihail are value lieutenants that smooth the midgame if Hakbal is removed. The build is a mid-speed combat deck with no infinite combo.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Alchemist's Refuge
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Barkchannel Pathway // Tidechannel Pathway
  • 1 Benthic Biomancer
  • 1 Botanical Sanctum
  • 1 Branching Evolution
  • 1 Breeding Pool
  • 1 Burgeoning
  • 1 Coat of Arms
  • 1 Cold-Eyed Selkie
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Deeproot Historian
  • 1 Deeproot Pilgrimage
  • 1 Deeproot Waters
  • 1 Dreamroot Cascade
  • 1 Eclipsed Realms
  • 1 Emperor Mihail II
  • 1 Evolution Sage
  • 1 Exotic Orchard
  • 1 Flooded Grove
  • 1 Forerunner of the Heralds
  • 3 Forest
  • 1 Genesis
  • 1 Germination Practicum
  • 1 Hakbal of the Surging Soul
  • 1 Hardened Scales
  • 1 Herald of Secret Streams
  • 1 Herald's Horn
  • 1 Hinterland Harbor
  • 1 Inspiring Call
  • 6 Island
  • 1 Karn's Bastion
  • 1 Kindred Discovery
  • 1 Kiora's Follower
  • 1 Kopala, Warden of Waves
  • 1 Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
  • 1 Lord of Atlantis
  • 1 Master of the Pearl Trident
  • 1 Merfolk Mistbinder
  • 1 Merfolk Skydiver
  • 1 Merfolk Sovereign
  • 1 Merrow Commerce
  • 1 Merrow Harbinger
  • 1 Merrow Reejerey
  • 1 Metallic Mimic
  • 1 Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11
  • 1 Mist Dancer
  • 1 Mosswort Bridge
  • 1 Mutational Advantage
  • 1 Nature's Claim
  • 1 Nature's Lore
  • 1 Nicanzil, Current Conductor
  • 1 Omo, Queen of Vesuva
  • 1 Overflowing Basin
  • 1 Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Raise the Palisade
  • 1 Rejuvenating Springs
  • 1 Reliquary Tower
  • 1 Ripples of Potential
  • 1 Rogue's Passage
  • 1 Seafloor Oracle
  • 1 Seahunter
  • 1 Secluded Courtyard
  • 1 Secret Tunnel
  • 1 Simic Charm
  • 1 Simic Growth Chamber
  • 1 Singer of Swift Rivers
  • 1 Sodden Verdure
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Springleaf Parade
  • 1 Steely Resolve
  • 1 Stonybrook Banneret
  • 1 Summon: Leviathan
  • 1 Svyelun of Sea and Sky
  • 1 Swiftfoot Boots
  • 1 Teferi's Veil
  • 1 Temple of Mystery
  • 1 Thieving Skydiver
  • 1 Three Visits
  • 1 Titan of Littjara
  • 1 Topography Tracker
  • 1 Turbulent Wilderness
  • 1 Unable to Scream
  • 1 Unclaimed Territory
  • 1 Vineglimmer Snarl
  • 1 Vodalian Hexcatcher
  • 1 Waterlogged Grove
  • 1 Wildgrowth Walker
  • 1 Willowrush Verge
  • 1 Witness Protection
  • 1 Yavimaya Coast
  • 1 Zegana, Utopian Speaker