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The Depths Ought To Be Explored! *PRIMER*

Commander / EDH Bracket 4 GU (Simic)

NV_1980

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Creature (28)

Sorcery (2)

Land (35)

Instant (9)

Commander (1)

Commander: Hakbal of the Surging Soul

Enchantment (13)

Artifact (12)

Welcome to The Depths Ought To Be Explored!

Hi there! Welcome to the primer of this Simic, Merfolk-tribe, counter/exploration deck; commanded by Hakbal of the Surging Soul. His enthusiasm for science, especially pertaining to the discovery and study of deep-see life, led him to depths heretofore unexplored by his kin. As a result, he found caves beneath the waves of unimaginable scale and beauty; places where his people could seek refuge from the Phyrexian invasion of Ixalan. So, he led them to these places of safety, that were also perfectly serviceable as bases from which the Merfolk could launch attacks against weaker positions of the enemy. Over time, the forces operating out of these caves became more numerous, as increasing numbers of Merfolk were motivated to join the successful campaign fought against the invaders. However, their success also brought a certain darkness with it. Isolationism, paranoia. Slowly, a realm that had once been open to outside influences transformed into a closed state that discouraged open diplomacy and trade.

This is where your story picks up. You have started to hear of planeswalkers disappearing. Sometimes, along with an entire legion of supporting forces. What all of them have in common: they were last heard from, venturing near the shores of seas, lakes or rivers. Stories have been told by a few survivors who reached sanctuary, after facing horrific onslaughts and ambushes. They faced hordes of seemingly unstoppable water-nymphs, that protected their territory with a zeal few could match. Their skill in battle and magical arts, were of the highest calibre. Some looked like lords, like princesses, like kings. They wielded deadly weapons and magic, and they suffered no strangers on the lands they were guarding. Is this why you have come; to disturb their peace and challenge their power? Then get ready for the fight of your life, because they will give you one! This deck is meant to be played casually. It’s not meant to be used in a competitive fashion, but of course anyone is welcome to try! Feel free to comment on anything you (dis)like throughout this primer; hope you will enjoy it!

His primary ability is arguably the strongest for Merfolk tribal, but also a strong contender for strongest tribal ability overall. First, the ability costs nothing. It simply happens at the start of combat and doesn’t require one to attack or damage opponents first. Second, it affects ALL Merfolk one commands, which in a tribal deck means it will get out of hand quickly. Third, the advantage it gives is almost unfair. Hakbal’s controller is likely to draw (several) additional lands every turn while Hakbal’s on the battlefield and simultaneously have his Merfolk army strengthened while also allowing him to filter through his deck. There’s more though, because all this is just Hakbal’s primary ability. His second ability, which requires him to attack first, allows one to either play one of the lands just drawn or draw an additional card. All of this sounds incredibly win-win.

The following parameters have been used to determine the strength of the deck. For each, a score of 5 (very good), 4 (good), 3 (mediocre), 2 (bad) or 1 (very bad) has been allocated; when totalized this score represents the power rating of the deck.

  • Mana: indicates the availability of mana sources within the deck.
  • Ramp: indicates the speed at which mana sources within the deck can be made available.
  • Card Advantage: indicates availability of filter- and draw resources represented within the deck.
  • Overall speed: indicates the deck’s potential for pace, based on resource availability and mana curve.
  • Combo: indicates the measure of combo-orientation of the deck.
  • Army: indicates the deck’s creature-army strength.
  • Commander: indicates how much the deck is commander-oriented/dependent (less dependency is better).
  • Interaction: indicates how much this deck can mess with opponents’ board states and turn-phases.
  • Resilience: indicates the measure in which the deck can prevent and take punches.
  • Spellpower: indicates the availability and strength of high-impact spells.

Mana: 2

Aside from four mana rocks and an enchantment that allows one to use any creature as a mana dork, this deck doesn’t contain additional energy sources.

Ramp: 3

This is where Hakbal of the Surging Soul truly shines. His primary ability allows one to (potentially) grab lots of lands from one’s library, so that they can be played (later). Aside from him, the deck contains six additional permanents that allow for multiple land entries per turn and one non-permanent option.

Card Advantage: 5

This is where Hakbal’s secondary ability benefits his controller. Fortunately, he’s not the only great CA-resource in here. A staggering twelve additional options provide direct draw, and ways to top-deck, tutor and even steal have been included as well.

Overall speed: 4

Low casting costs combined with plenty of card-advantage and ramping make this deck plenty fast. Due to its simple nature, it’s also easy to adopt an aggressive posture from early on in games.

Combo: 2

Just a few of these in here, but not the focus of the deck. There are a few excellent synergies that ought not be overlooked.

Army: 4

A force of twenty-eight combatants that for the most part synergize well with each other makes up the deck’s army. Aside from boosting combat power of their kin, utility powers included amongst their gifts include making Merfolk unblockable, providing Merfolk with protection from spells, bringing token Merfolk into the fight and providing draw based on Merfolk attacks and damage.

Commander: 4

The exploration component that Hakbal brings is insanely powerful and it would be a shame to not see it in action when this deck is brought to bear. However, tribal decks are usually built on redundancy, and so is this one. This makes Hakbal’s absence felt, but not as a showstopper to obtain victory.

Interaction: 4

It’s partly blue, so obviously at least several of the deck’s interaction options is going to be counterspell-related (five of them, to be precise). The remaining interaction consists of destruction of opposing permanents (three cards), some bounce, forced tapping and inhibition.

Resilience: 3

Some abilities and spells have been included to stop hostile magic from hurting this deck. When including literal counterspells along with ways that grant hexproof to one’s permanents, the deck holds eight of such opportunities. There are also some recursion options to choose from, in case one loses stuff due to opposing action OR when one decides to explore things into the graveyard with Hakbal. A slight bit of life-gain has been included as well.

Spellpower: 3

Most the deck’s hard spell-wielding capabilities ought to be sought amongst its enchantments. Capabilities like mass token generation, mass counter allocation and mass provision of additional card-draw can be found here.

Total power score: 35

Its speed, ramp capability, massive CA-potential and versatile army are superb. The deck is simple in structure and use and will suit players of most experience levels. It’s capable of holding its own against decks with stronger creatures and can get out of control for one’s opponents quickly if it’s allowed to build upon its momentum. It has low mana requirements and will usually kick-off strong. Its weaknesses are that it has trouble dealing with flyers and isn’t great at stopping spell-slinging or mill-strategies.

The most effective way to play this deck, is by aiming for an early Hakbal of the Surging Soul along with some earlier Merfolk. This enables quick benefits from the exploration granted by Hakbal to his kin, which accelerates the availability of land. This allows one to out-value the opposition. Speed is key so prioritize Merfolk (or other permanents if no Merfolk are available) that add resource-value. Next in line is everything that strengthens the Merfolk army. This includes granting them (more) +1/+1 counters, increasing their numbers through token-generation and making them unblockable. It is recommended to keep counterspells and/or mass-protection in reserve to destroy/negate incoming wipes.

At least three cards in the starting hand ought to be lands (or two lands and a cheap-to-cast rock like Arcane Signet, Sol Ring or Thought Vessel. It is highly recommended not to start a game without this hand (even if one has to mulligan down to three cards). Several lands combined with Burgeoning or Exploration works too. Perhaps even cards like Kiora's Follower or Stonybrook Banneret.

As with most EDH decks, it’s useful to start with some resourcing. Aside from the cards already mentioned for this, cards of specific interest for this include Cold-Eyed Selkie, Nicanzil, Current Conductor, Realmwalker or Thrasios, Triton Hero to provide draw, additional plays or to top-deck more Merfolk. Next in terms of priority are non-Merfolk cards that can accomplish some of these feats. These would include non-permanents CA-resources like Ponder and Preordain. Permanents are fine too of course. Especially the very popular Rhystic Study. If it’s possible to cast Cryptolith Rite early, it would be highly recommended too, as it will accelerate the starting phases of games in one’s favour. Should none of this be available, one can instead attempt to pre-emptively strengthen the deck’s ability to generate counters by adding Hardened Scales, Innkeeper's Talent or Ozolith, the Shattered Spire to the battlefield. In any case, try to cast Hakbal of the Surging Soul by turn four. Once he’s here, it’s time to enter the next phase of the gameplan.

With our esteemed commander in place, it’s time to have the deck’s forces do battle against one’s opponents. The more Merfolk the merrier, as Hakbal can grant more instances of exploration that way. Merfolk are notoriously slippery since islandwalk is their thing. Royalty like Lord of Atlantis and Master of the Pearl Trident can enable this for the whole army, while Harbinger of the Seas or Tidal Warrior ensure every opponent will have at least one island. With Hakbal and the exploration mechanic around, one can also use card:Herald of the Secret Stream to accomplish the same.

Other supporting Merfolk should now make their entrance as well. Some excellent ones include Emperor Mihail II, who doesn’t just allow for top-decking Merfolk but can generate token Merfolk too. Then there are Kopala, Warden of Waves and Svyelun of Sea and Sky who can ensure targeting the deck’s Merfolk with spell and abilities becomes an expensive affair. Along with the extended army, enchantments like Deeproot Pilgrimage and Deeproot Waters should really find their way to the battlefield, to significantly increase one’s army in size. Creating even more opportunities for draw, based on (successful) attacks would now be prudent too. Hence, spells and creatures such as Kindred Discovery, Seafloor Oracle and Tributary Instructor should make their appearance at this point.

From here on out, it’s a matter of just piling on ever more Merfolk and keep up combat pressure. The strength of the deck’s combatants can be significantly increased through the application of more counters with cards like Anduril, Narsil Reforged, Branching Evolution, Doubling Season and Sphere Grid.

Merfolk are great at working together:

  • Hakbal of the Surging Soul/Anduril, Narsil Reforged/Deeproot Elite/Innkeeper's Talent/Ozolith, the Shattered Spire/Sphere Grid + card:Herald of the Secret Streams: one’s creatures aren’t just getting stronger, they’re also becoming impossible to block.
  • Cold-Eyed Selkie/Lord of Atlantis/Master of the Pearl Trident/Thada Adel, Acquisitor + Harbinger of the Seas/Tidal Warrior: no opponent is safe from slippery, island-walking Merfolk when one can just generate islands on a whim.
  • Hakbal of the Surging Soul + Nicanzil, Current Conductor: any land one explores will be put onto the battlefield immediately (tapped though, but still). Very powerful, considering Hakbal has the potential of being supported by a significant Merfolk force, so this could potentially lead to a lot of land being played within a single turn.
  • Deeproot Pilgrimage + Intruder Alarm + Kiora's Follower: tap Follower to untap something. This triggers Pilgrimage to create a token Merfolk. When the token enters the battlefield, Alarm is triggered which untaps all creatures (including Follower). Rinse and repeat for infinite Merfolk tokens.
  • Deeproot Pilgrimage + Intruder Alarm + Kiora's Follower: tap Follower to untap something. This triggers Pilgrimage to create a token Merfolk. When the token enters the battlefield, Alarm is triggered which untaps all creatures (including Follower). Rinse and repeat for infinite Merfolk tokens.
  • Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca + Deeproot Pilgrimage + Intruder Alarm + one non-token Merfolk: activate Kumena’s first ability by tapping a non-token Merfolk. This activates Pilgrimage, which brings a token Merfolk onto the battlefield. The ETB of the token triggers Alarm, which untaps the non-token Merfolk. Rinse and repeat for infinite tokens. Note that with enough Merfolk on the field, one can also use Kumena’s second or third abilities to tap Merfolk in this combo, which results in infinite draw and +1/+1 counters as well.
  • Deeproot Waters + Intruder Alarm + Cryptolith Rite + Cloudstone Curio + several Merfolk on the battlefield and one Merfolk in hand: this is a bit of a convoluted combo. First, tap enough of the Merfolk on the battlefield to generate mana (via Rite) to summon the Merfolk in hand. This triggers Waters to generate a Merfolk token. When the non-token Merfolk and Merfolk token enter, Alarm and Curio trigger. Have Alarm resolve first, this untaps all creatures. Now resolve Curio and use it to return one of the other non-token Merfolk back to hand. Rinse and repeat for infinite Merfolk tokens.

Reliable sources of mana, and some utility:

The cards used to accelerate mana-availability:

  • Arcane Signet: dependable Simic mana in a neat little package.
  • Burgeoning/Exploration: additional lands one draws with Hakbal should be played at the earliest opportunity.
  • Conduit of Worlds: sometimes Hakbal might cause one to draw too much. This allowed one to discard such land cards and play them later. The recursion this card offers overall is also neat.
  • Cryptolith Rite: in a way, this gives all one’s creatures convoke, but even better considering creatures will be able to pay for colored mana.
  • Kiora's Follower: never underestimate the power of untapping; especially when it can be applied to any permanent.
  • Nicanzil, Current Conductor: she has seemingly perfect synergy with Hakbal, in that any land he causes his kin to explore can suddenly be played (albeit tapped). Even better, she gets stronger whenever a non-land is explored (which presumably will happen often, meaning she will become very large very fast).
  • Sapphire Medallion: considering the majority of the deck’s spells are blue, a discount on them is probably a good idea.
  • Sol Ring: such an overpowered card when it appears in one’s starting hand, that by itself it has significant influence on the outcome of games.
  • Stonybrook Banneret: the Merfolk tribe can come out to play for less mana.
  • Talisman of Curiosity: colorless and colored mana made available through the same rock. Paying a bit of life for colored can be a small price to pay for the added advantage this can bring.
  • Thought Vessel: this deck is expected to draw lots of cards, so any mechanisms one can bring to bear that prevent one from having to discard is welcome.

The mechanisms that provide card advantage:

  • Cold-Eyed Selkie: against any opponent with islands, this creature is guaranteed to generate draw for this deck.
  • Emperor Mihail II: the top of the deck now also belongs to one’s hand when it comes to options to cast Merfolk. Moreover, he ensures that any Merfolk cast can immediately join a member of their kin, should a bit of additional energy is spent.
  • Forerunner of the Heralds/Realmwalker: another opportunity to use the top of one’s deck to extend one’s hand when it comes to casting Merfolk.
  • Growth Spiral: a draw and ramp spell in one. Excellent spell to have in one’s starting hand (especially when there’s at least three lands accompanying it).
  • Kindred Discovery: Merfolk ETB’ing/attacking will always generate draw; a massive advantage in a Merfolk tribe deck.
  • Ponder/Preordain: draw/filter for a single blue mana; an excellent deal.
  • Rhystic Study: an enchantment that’s so good at providing CA, that it’s been considered as a ban-target for quite some time.
  • Seafloor Oracle: a must-have in a Merfolk tribe deck, as it guarantees such amazing draw opportunities; especially when one can deploy the means to have Merfolk bypass opposing blockers.
  • Seahunter: doesn’t just allow one to tutor for Merfolk but immediately deploy them to the battlefield at no additional cost. An extremely powerful ability.
  • Sensei's Divining Top: the ability to filter what one draws next can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
  • Svyelun of Sea and Sky: attacking with her grants one a reward in the form of new cards. The protection she can provide for her and her kin is also very useful.
  • Tatyova, Benthic Druid: with all the exploration going on, this deck is bound to drop lots of land. Why not benefit from that even more?!
  • Thada Adel, Acquisitor: can be used to steal powerful mana rocks or other key components to opposing strategies. The only downside she has is that the artifacts she steals must be played before the end of one’s turn.
  • Thrasios, Triton Hero: top-deck land or just draw a card. Both pretty sweet!
  • Tributary Instructor: with Hakbal granting counters left and right via exploration, most Merfolk on the battlefield will have them. When they die, this ensures one still benefits.

The deck’s army of powerful amphibian warriors.

That which makes one’s beasts stronger.

  • Anduril, Narsil Reforged: the sword that grants counters to every creature that one has, provided the sword’s wielder actually attacks.
  • Branching Evolution: doubles counters whenever they’re granted.
  • Doubling Season: doubles both counters and tokens.
  • Hardened Scales:/Ozolith, the Shattered Spire: an additional counter whenever one is granted. This is fantastic when one uses cards like Anduril, because an additional counter is granted per creature boosted by such cards.
  • Innkeeper's Talent: excellent counter distribution along with the option to ward modified creatures as well.
  • Sphere Grid: rewarding attacks with counters seems fair. Especially when they also grant reach and trample.
  • The Ozolith: one never has to lose counters permanently when this is around; they can just be transferred to another willing recipient.

  • Beast Within: allows one to transform any truly obnoxious permanent into something that’s not entirely harmless.
  • Cyclonic Rift: best bounce spell in the game as it can decisively end entire games in one’s favor.
  • Fierce Guardianship: once Hakbal has joined one’s cause, this can be cast to free (which means one has countering potential even when one’s tapped out).
  • Heroic Intervention: the army cannot be destroyed nor targeted by any hostile spells.
  • Mana Drain: depending on size of the spell one counters the colorless mana obtained by this can be used for one or perhaps multiple purposes.
  • Pongify/Rapid Hybridization: those horrifying (or just annoying) creatures over there are now slightly less so.
  • Swan Song: the counterspell that literally means: giving them the bird!
  • Vodalian Hexcatcher: has great synergy with merfolk token generators, in that it can make life more difficult for spell-slingers without significant cost; especially when they’re out of mana.

Everything that didn’t fit in the previous categories.

  • Cloudstone Curio: exchanging permanents on the board with those in one’s hand can be quite beneficial, especially when ETB-based combos or synergies are involved.
  • Intruder Alarm: since opponents will not be able to block most of the deck’s creatures anyway, might as well include this for combo purposes.
  • Roaming Throne: only one instance of exploration per Merfolk? How about two?

Appreciate the time you took to read this primer. Hopefully it was entertaining and useful to you. If so, feel free to leave a +1 and/or feedback of any kind in the comments below. Thanks again!

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