Explorers of the Deep by WallyGator

Format: Commander

Commander: Hakbal of the Surging Soul

Bracket: 2

DeckCheck Threat Index: 31

Deck overview

This deck is a Simic Merfolk tribal strategy led by Hakbal of the Surging Soul. It curves out with low-cost Merfolk on early turns, then deploys Hakbal on turn 4 to trigger explore triggers across the entire team at every combat. Exploring rapidly smooths land drops, fills the hand, and puts +1/+1 counters on creatures. Counter amplifiers like Branching Evolution and Topography Tracker accelerate this growth, while evasion enablers such as Herald of Secret Streams, Master of the Pearl Trident, and Mist Dancer ensure attacks bypass blockers. The deck wins primarily through overwhelming unblockable combat damage by turn 8, supported by an alternate win condition in Simic Ascendancy. It relies on protective spells like Ripples of Potential and Inspiring Call to shield its board against sweepers.

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