{"ops":[{"insert":"🌊🐟 Hakbal of the Surging Soul 🧭🌿"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"[[Hakbal of the Surging Soul]] leads a Simic Merfolk kindred deck built around "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"exploring with an entire school of Merfolk every combat"},{"insert":". Each explore either finds a land or puts a +1/+1 counter on the creature, so simply developing a wide board steadily improves your draws, fills the graveyard, grows your creatures, and keeps land drops flowing. Hakbal adds even more value when he attacks by either putting a land from your hand directly onto the battlefield or drawing a card, allowing the deck to snowball quickly once several Merfolk are in play.\n\n🧭 Explore the Depths"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The deck gets particularly nasty when it starts multiplying the value of each explore. [[Topography Tracker]] makes every creature explore twice, while [[Nicanzil, Current Conductor]] turns those explores into additional +1/+1 counters or extra land drops depending on what you reveal. [[Evolution Sage]] and [[Karn's Bastion]] then proliferate the counters you've accumulated, and [[Branching Evolution]] and [[Hardened Scales]] increase how quickly those counters pile up in the first place. Even seemingly small Merfolk can become legitimate threats after only a few trips through combat.\n\n🐟 Strength in Numbers"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"This is still very much a Merfolk kindred deck, and the tribe provides plenty of ways to turn a wide board into a dangerous one. [[Lord of Atlantis]], [[Master of the Pearl Trident]], [[Merfolk Mistbinder]], [[Merfolk Sovereign]], [[Merrow Reejerey]], [[Deeproot Elite]], and [[Metallic Mimic]] strengthen the school, while [[Deeproot Waters]], [[Deeproot Pilgrimage]], [[Reflections of Littjara]], and [[Emperor Mihail II]] help produce even more Merfolk. [[Roaming Throne]] can amplify many of the tribe's triggered abilities, while [[Herald's Horn]], [[Stonybrook Banneret]], [[Realmwalker]], and [[Three Tree City]] help support the sheer volume of creatures you want to deploy.\n\n📈 Ride the Current"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Once the counters start accumulating, several cards turn that growth into additional value. [[Herald of Secret Streams]] makes creatures with +1/+1 counters unblockable, [[Zegana, Utopian Speaker]] gives them trample, and [[Tributary Instructor]] makes opponents think twice about removing them by drawing you cards when your counter-bearing creatures die. [[Vorel of the Hull Clade]] can double the counters on an especially threatening permanent. [[Simic Ascendancy]] even gives all that counter accumulation an alternate route to victory.\n\n📚 Keep the School Moving"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The deck has plenty of ways to turn connecting with opponents into even more cards. [[Bident of Thassa]], [[Kindred Discovery]], [[Seafloor Oracle]], and [[Cold-Eyed Selkie]] reward attacking, while [[Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca]] converts spare Merfolk into cards, counters, or unblockability. [[Prime Speaker Zegana]] and [[Tishana, Voice of Thunder]] can provide enormous refills once your battlefield is established, while [[Tatyova, Benthic Druid]] turns Hakbal's extra lands and your normal ramp package into still more cards and life.\n\n🌊 Crash Through"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The deck usually wins by letting incremental value become overwhelming combat damage. Islandwalk from [[Lord of Atlantis]] and [[Master of the Pearl Trident]], unblockability from [[Herald of Secret Streams]] and [[Merfolk Sovereign]], and utility from [[Rogue's Passage]] make it increasingly difficult to stop your growing creatures. [[Raise the Palisade]] can clear opposing creatures out of the way while leaving your Merfolk untouched, and [[Wave Goodbye]] can punish boards that haven't accumulated counters the way yours has. What begins as a handful of modest Merfolk can very quickly become a huge, evasive army.\n\n🎣 Playing the Deck"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Spend the early turns establishing several Merfolk rather than worrying about making any one creature enormous, because [[Hakbal of the Surging Soul]] rewards you for having as many bodies as possible when combat begins. Once Hakbal comes down, every additional Merfolk represents another explore each turn, so cards that double explores or amplify counters should be especially valuable. Keep attacking to trigger Hakbal and your combat-damage draw engines, protect a developed board with [[Inspiring Call]] or [[Ripples of Potential]], and use your interaction to prevent opponents from disrupting the engine before the growing tide becomes impossible to contain.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Build the school. 🐟🐟🐟"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Explore the depths. 🧭🌊"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Then drown the table in Merfolk. 🌊🔱"},{"insert":"\n"}]}