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Hakbal of the Surging Soul
Legendary Creature — Merfolk Scout
At the beginning of combat on your turn, each Merfolk creature you control explores. (Reveal the top card of your library. Put that card into your hand if it's a land. Otherwise, put a +1/+1 counter on the exploring creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.) Whenever Hakbal attacks, you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield. If you don't, draw a card.
3 / 3
$0.44Buy on TCGPlayer
“Merfolk explorer pumping your army while ramping and drawing cards.”
Midrange
Intermediate
Combat damage, Tokens swarm
Tribal, Landfall, Tokens
Strategy
Hakbal turns your Merfolk army into a card-draw and mana-acceleration engine. Every combat phase, your Merfolk explore, which either thins your deck for lands or pumps your creatures with +1/+1 counters. The second ability is the real payoff: each attack lets you either ramp into a land from hand or cantrip if you're flooded. This means Hakbal rewards you for playing a Merfolk-focused deck with both tempo and selection, letting you build a board while fixing your mana and hand.
Your gameplan revolves around establishing early Merfolk like Kumena's Speaker or Tide Shaper, then using Hakbal to amplify them while generating card advantage. You're not trying to win on turn 4; instead, you're building a resilient mid-game board of increasingly large creatures, tutoring lands as needed, and drawing gas when you've got enough mana. With evasion like Merrow Reejerey or lords like Master of the Pearl Trident, your Merfolk grow both in size and utility.
Strategy generated by Tapped Decks AI. Not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.
Key Synergies
Budget Build
Skip pricey dual lands like Misty Rainforest; use basic lands, Evolving Wilds, and budget signets instead. Swap Counterspell for Spell Pierce and Mystical Reflection for Harmless Offering.
Most-Played Cards
Nicanzil, Current Conductor
Master of the Pearl Trident
Svyelun of Sea and Sky
Emperor Mihail II
Kopala, Warden of Waves
Merrow Reejerey
Stonybrook Banneret
Merfolk Sovereign
Deeproot Waters
Topography Tracker
Herald of Secret Streams
Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
Inclusion = % of Hakbal of the Surging Soul decks running this card. +lift = percentage-point boost over the format average.
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Art Variants
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