fisherthems by Thornloaf

Format: Commander

Commander: Hakbal of the Surging Soul

Bracket: 3

Deck overview

The deck is a focused Merfolk tribal build helmed by Hakbal of the Surging Soul, leveraging the explore mechanic to ramp lands and fuel +1/+1 counter synergies. The primary game plan involves deploying Hakbal early, using his combat-triggered explores to put lands onto the battlefield and stack counters on your creatures, then turning your board sideways with evasion effects like Herald of Secret Streams or islandwalk. The deck wins through overwhelming combat damage, not infinite combos, relying on redundancy in lords and counter-doubling effects (Hardened Scales, Branching Evolution) to accelerate the clock. Secondary value comes from Kindred Discovery and Tatyova, Benthic Druid for card advantage, and Genesis for recursion. It is a classic "go tall and wide" midrange strategy that grinds out opponents with growing, unblockable threats.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 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 Counterspell
  • 1 Court of Bounty
  • 1 Cultivate
  • 1 Deeproot Elite
  • 1 Deeproot Historian
  • 1 Deeproot Pilgrimage
  • 1 Deeproot Waters
  • 1 Dreamroot Cascade
  • 1 Emperor Mihail II
  • 1 Evolution Sage
  • 1 Flooded Grove
  • 1 Forerunner of the Heralds
  • 7 Forest
  • 1 Genesis
  • 1 Growth Spiral
  • 1 Hakbal of the Surging Soul
  • 1 Hardened Scales
  • 1 Herald of Secret Streams
  • 1 Heroic Intervention
  • 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 Master of the Pearl Trident
  • 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 Nature's Claim
  • 1 Nicanzil, Current Conductor
  • 1 Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
  • 1 Path of Ancestry
  • 1 Pongify
  • 1 Quandrix Command
  • 1 Rampant Growth
  • 1 Rapid Hybridization
  • 1 Realmwalker
  • 1 Reflections of Littjara
  • 1 Reliquary Tower
  • 1 Ripples of Potential
  • 1 Rogue's Passage
  • 1 Seafloor Oracle
  • 1 Seahunter
  • 1 Secluded Courtyard
  • 1 Simic Ascendancy
  • 1 Singer of Swift Rivers
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Stonybrook Banneret
  • 1 Surgespanner
  • 1 Svyelun of Sea and Sky
  • 1 Swan Song
  • 1 Swiftfoot Boots
  • 1 Tatyova, Benthic Druid
  • 1 Thieving Skydiver
  • 1 Thought Vessel
  • 1 Tishana, Voice of Thunder
  • 1 Titan of Littjara
  • 1 Topography Tracker
  • 1 Unclaimed Territory
  • 1 Vineglimmer Snarl
  • 1 Vodalian Hexcatcher
  • 1 Wave Goodbye
  • 1 Yavimaya Coast
  • 1 Zegana, Utopian Speaker