Hakbal of the Surging Soul Commander Deck Guide

Hakbal of the Surging Soul | Illustration by Tyler Walpole

Merfolk is a creature type that’s pretty flush with great commanders. That means when a new one comes out, it really has to have a unique angle to make it worth considering. Luckily, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan precons gave us a pretty cool option in Hakbal of the Surging Soul.

It’s true that Hakbal does sort of fall into the stereotypical role of Simic commanders revolving around drawing cards and playing extra lands. However, I think the explore angle does enough to make this commander stand out. This gives you a lot of control over the type of cards you draw, and buffs your creatures significantly.

If this decklist looks slightly familiar at first, it is because I used the “Explorers of the Deep” Lost Caverns precon as a base. That way, if you want to build this deck for yourself, you can pick it up and then just add the updates instead of making the deck from scratch. This deck also plays similarly, so if you wanted to test out this build for cheaper, you could grab the precon and see if you even like this style of play before going all in.

The Deck

Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood | Illustration by Campbell White

This is a creature-heavy build that takes advantage of your commander’s natural talents. The more merfolk you have, the more exploring you can do. Because of that, I tried to cram in as many useful merfolk as possible. I paid special attention to merfolk that helped others like Lord of Atlantis. I also added generally good merfolk like Empress Galina, who’s especially good in Commander.

Support for +1/+1 counters also works well in this deck. The Ozolith is an example of a good addition so all the counters you store up don’t get wasted if your creature(s) gets removed.

Evasion’s also very important for this deck. This gives you ways to get your buffed creatures past opponents’ blockers. This can be in the form of bounce spells like Wave Goodbye or evasive abilities like flying from Mist Dancer.

The Commander

Hakbal of the Surging Soul surprised me a bit by how powerful it could be. Even just a few merfolk on the field alongside it gives you some serious advantages. Exploring is a pretty versatile mechanic, allowing you the chance to buff creatures as well as filter through your draws.

Hakbal’s attack trigger synergizes well with its explore ability. You’ll likely have some extra lands hanging out in your hand, and even if you don’t you get to draw so there’s no real downside. With the evasion built into this deck, it’ll be easier to get the attack trigger off.

Merfolk

There are a lot of merfolk in Magic, so sorting through all of them can be quite the task. Luckily, I knew the general types I wanted to add based on what was already there for me in the precon. When looking at the merfolk anthem creatures in this deck like Merfolk Mistbinder, I figured I should also include a Lord of Atlantis. This card is very similar to Master of the Pearl Trident since both give your creatures a form of evasion as well as being anthems.

While you do have to worry a little bit with Lord of Atlantis, it isn’t super likely that one of your opponents will also be playing a merfolk deck. If they are, you can also try to work out a deal since your creature would be helping them as much as it is you.

Other good merfolk for this deck are ones that make it easier to do damage to your opponents. Mist Dancer gives your creatures ways around blockers, while Zegana, Utopian Speaker can force damage through with trample.

Cards like Seafloor Oracle and Cold-Eyed Selkie let you cash in on your evasive abilities by drawing cards as well as dealing damage.

I won’t list every single one, but most of the merfolk here either grant some sort of benefit to your other creatures or pay off one of the strategies you’re already working with. This makes sure that your creatures work well together as well as giving you more explore triggers from Hakbal.

Kindred Support

A lot of your merfolk creatures already support one another, but you have some other options for kindred support in this deck. For example Deeproot Waters will give you extra bodies any time you cast a merfolk.

Kindred Discovery and Reflections of Littjara aren’t merfolk-specific but they work good in basically any kindred deck that includes blue in its color identity.

Protection

Decks like this that rely on establishing a big board state can be a little scary to play. With three opponents and a whole host of board wipes to look out for, you want to make sure you don’t lose momentum.

Cards like Mithril Coat and Swiftfoot Boots can help keep some of your more important creatures safe. This way, even if you lose a few, you aren’t starting from scratch.

Instant speed spells like Inspiring Call are another good way to keep your creatures safe. Ripples of Potential can protect any of your creatures with counters on them, which will likely be a lot of them in this deck. It also gives you the option to phase out or not, meaning this can be used as a protective spell or just to give yourself a few extra counters.

The Mana Base

As a 2-color deck, the mana base for this build isn’t too complicated. I picked some of the better Simic dual lands for Commander, like Dreamroot Cascade or Rejuvenating Springs. I also included a Misty Rainforest to help with mana fixing, as well as a Breeding Pool to grab with it.

Apart from dual lands, there are also plenty of kindred support lands that work well in this deck. Cards like Secluded Courtyard and Unclaimed Territory can help you cast your merfolk spells which make up a large portion of your spells in this deck. Cavern of Souls does the same, while also giving you the peace of mind to cast a creature and not worry it will be countered. Path of Ancestry is especially helpful in this deck, since scrying works well with Hakbal’s explore ability. If you really want to buff all your creatures, you can try to make sure a nonland card is the first one you see during combat.

Reliquary Tower isn’t always a necessary utility land, but this deck does tend to draw a lot of extra cards. It’s nice not having to discard, especially since I didn’t include a ton of land recursion here.

Rogue's Passage isn’t the best source of evasion in this deck, but it’s nice to have a repeatable option if your others get removed. It can also be good for punching through with some commander damage to finish off one of your opponents.

The Strategy

The strategy for this deck isn’t really that complex. You’ll mostly just want to get as many merfolk on the field as you can at the same time as your commander. This means more explore triggers, so more of a chance to either draw some extra cards or buff your creatures.

You’ll want Hakbal of the Surging Soul out early, preferably with some sort of protection. Your commander should be your main target for equipment like Mithril Coat or Swiftfoot Boots because it’ll become a big removal target once your opponents realize how powerful it is.

While there isn’t really a bad time to play cards like Mist Dancer or Lord of Atlantis that can help you evade blocks, you may want to hold them back if you’re close to finishing someone off. That way you can use it as a surprise, instead of having it removed prematurely. It’s worth just doing something else for a turn and then taking your opponents by surprise when you can.

When you have chances to give individual creatures evasion with cards like Merfolk Sovereign, you should prioritize your commander. This way you can keep getting Hakbal’s attack trigger off. This can help you get ahead on lands or at least will keep your hand full of cards.

Combos and Interactions

There are no infinite combos in this deck. While it’s stronger than the preconstructed version and plays more smoothly, it isn’t built for cEDH. That said, there are a few interactions I want to touch on just to make sure you’re taking full advantage of them.

The first is the interaction between Sylvan Library and Hakbal of the Surging Soul. Sylvan Library will give you a pretty good chance to ensure that a nonland card ends up on top of your library. If you really need a few extra counters on your creatures that turn, this is a good way to make sure you get them. Alternatively, if you draw a few lands, you won’t have to pay the extra life for them. You can just put them back on top of your library and grab them with your explore triggers from Hakbal.

Another thing to remember is that when triggers go off simultaneously, you get to choose the order they go on the stack. Therefore, if you have Kindred Discovery on the field as well as Hakbal of the Surging Soul, you’ll want to resolve the Kindred Discovery triggers first. This will give you more of a chance of having land in your hand. This might not be the biggest deal, but small things like this can sometimes make a big difference in a game.

Rule 0 Violations Check

I highly doubt anything in this deck would constitute a Rule 0 violation with any play group. It’s always worth it to check, just in case, but I can’t think of anything here that would violate any of the normal rules that playgroups typically establish.

Budget Options

Most of the expensive cards in this deck are the ones that I added to the precon. The most expensive are Cavern of Souls and The Ozolith. There are a lot of other lands in this deck that do similar things to Cavern of Souls, so you could always cut it and replace it with either another dual land or even just a basic.

The Ozolith is a little harder to replace, but if you want another way to stop your counters from going to waste you can always use Simic Ascendancy. This alternate wincon isn’t quite as handy as The Ozolith but it can still be a good payoff for counters. Better, it comes in the precon, so you won’t have to pay anything extra for it. Just don’t replace it.

Other Builds

Hakbal of the Surging Soul is a pretty specific commander. This means there isn’t too much variety in how you can build it. No matter what, you’re going to want a merfolk-heavy build, otherwise there just isn’t really a point to playing this commander over similar Simic options.

The one big change I could see is to switch up the exact merfolk that you choose. With a big creature type like this, it can be hard to squeeze in all the good creatures. If you have some favorites, they definitely have a home here. Some that come to mind are Vodalian Hexcatcher and Deepfathom Echo.

Commanding Conclusion

Kindred Discovery | Illustration by Lake Hurwitz

If you’ve ever wanted to try out a merfolk deck, now is probably the right time to hop on board. Even if you don’t fully recreate this build, you can get a good base from the Hakbal of the Surging Soul precon deck that I used to guide this deck tech. You can be safe in knowing that merfolk show up a lot in Magic sets, so this is a deck that’ll likely continue to get useful tools in the future.

Do you think Hakbal is an interesting new commander? Which merfolk commander is your favorite? Let me know in the comments or on Draftsim’s X (formerly Twitter).

Thank you for reading and I look forward to seeing you on the next article!