Overview:

This Hakbal of the Surging Soul Merfolk deck focuses on +1/+1 counters and tribal synergies, leveraging explore triggers to generate card advantage and board presence. The primary win conditions are combat damage via unblockable Merfolk (enabled by islandwalk and Herald of Secret Streams) and Simic Ascendancy. The deck operates as a mid-range value engine with moderate interaction and resilience.

Primer:

Core Strategy: Deploy Merfolk creatures early to trigger Hakbal's explore ability at each combat. Use +1/+1 counter synergies (Branching Evolution, Deeproot Elite) to grow threats exponentially. Key phases:

1. Setup Phase (Turns 1-4): Play mana dorks (Stonybrook Banneret), Merfolk lords (Lord of Atlantis), and token generators (Deeproot Waters).
2. Exploit Phase (Turns 5+): Attack with Hakbal to either ramp via land drops or draw cards, then close the game with evasive Merfolk buffed by Overwhelming Stampede or Herald of Secret Streams.
3. Alternate Win: Accumulate 20 counters on Simic Ascendancy through explore and counter-doubling effects.

Mulligan Priorities:

• Keep hands with 2-3 lands and at least one early Merfolk (e.g., Benthic Biomancer).
• Prioritize cards that enable multiple explores (Topography Tracker, Twists and Turns).
• Avoid hands without early creatures or Hakbal enablers.

Key Tips:

• Time Hakbal’s attacks to maximize land drops or card draw based on board state.
• Protect critical pieces like Herald of Secret Streams with Inspiring Call or Kopala, Warden of Waves.
• Use Intruder Alarm to untap Merfolk after casting tribal spells for repeated ETB triggers.

Weaknesses:

Critical

• Relies on board presence: Foldsto mass removal (Wrath of God) without Wrap in Vigor/Inspiring Call.
• No infinite combos: Wins through incremental combat damage, vulnerable to lifegain/stax.

Moderate

• Slow recovery: Limited recursion outside explore graveyard filtering.
• Weak to islandwalk hate: Burning Earth or Blood Moon negates evasion.

Minor

• Predictable strategy: Lacks surprise wincons beyond Simic Ascendancy.

Most Important Cards:

• Herald of Secret Streams
• Branching Evolution
• Simic Ascendancy
• Deeproot Elite
• Kindred Discovery
• Hardened Scales
• Intruder Alarm
• Thrasios, Triton Hero
• Svyelun of Sea and Sky
• Topography Tracker

Attribute Ratings:

Speed: 6/10

• Goldfish wins around T8-10 via combat or T10+ with Simic Ascendancy.

Resilience: 5/10

• Moderate protection (Shapers' Sanctuary, 5 counterspells) but struggles against repeated wipes.

Consistency: 7/10

• 8 Merfolk tutors (e.g., Merrow Harbinger) and explore-driven card selection.

Interaction: 5/10

• 6 targeted removals, 3 counterspells, and Cyclonic Rift, but lacks free interaction.

Rating Justification:

The deck is a focused Merfolk tribal build with strong synergy and redundancy but lacks the speed or protection of optimized lists. Its turn 8-10 win window and moderate resilience align with the "Focused" (6.0) to "Optimized Casual" (5.5) range.

Power level: 5.5 - 6.0