Simic Merfolk tribal built around Hakbal's combat-step explore trigger. Every Merfolk on the board explores each turn, so it either pulls lands into hand or grows with +1/+1 counters while filtering the top of the library. Counter doublers, proliferate and lords turn that into a wide, oversized and largely unblockable team, and land drops from explore and Hakbal's attack trigger feed landfall card draw. How it wins: It swarms opponents with pumped, evasive Merfolk, drawing cards as they connect, and can alternatively win by stacking twenty growth counters on Simic Ascendancy from the constant flow of +1/+1 counters. Key roles: - Explore amplification: These cards make each explore trigger from Hakbal of the Surging Soul hit twice, reward every land or nonland reveal, and make explorers unblockable. (Topography Tracker, Nicanzil, Current Conductor, Merfolk Cave-Diver) - Counter growth and multiplication: These cards double, add to and proliferate the +1/+1 counters that explore and mentor hand out, turning modest Merfolk into huge threats and fueling an alternate win. (Hardened Scales, Branching Evolution, Simic Ascendancy) - Lords and evasion: Anthem effects, islandwalk, flying and unblockability for countered creatures push damage through crowded boards. (Master of the Pearl Trident, Herald of Secret Streams, Mist Dancer) - Tribal card advantage: Merfolk entering, attacking or dealing damage refills the hand, alongside casting Merfolk from the top of the library. (Kindred Discovery, Seafloor Oracle, Emperor Mihail II) - Landfall value: Lands put into play from Hakbal's attack trigger, Nicanzil and ramp spells draw cards and trigger proliferate. (Tatyova, Benthic Druid, Evolution Sage, Growth Spiral) - Counter-asymmetric tempo: Mass bounce spares the deck's own countered creatures, and untap effects reset counter-laden permanents for defense or reuse. (Wave Goodbye, Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood, Vorel of the Hull Clade)

Explorers of the Deep decklist

• Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood
• Mist Dancer
• Ripples of Potential
• Wave Goodbye
• Bygone Marvels
• Deeproot Historian
• Topography Tracker
• Tributary Instructor
• Singer of Swift Rivers
• Benthic Biomancer
• Commit // Memory
• Coralhelm Commander
• Curse of the Swine
• Emperor Mihail II
• Herald of Secret Streams
• Kindred Discovery
• Kopala, Warden of Waves
• Master of the Pearl Trident
• Merfolk Sovereign
• Reflections of Littjara
• Seafloor Oracle
• Surgespanner
• Svyelun of Sea and Sky
• Thassa, God of the Sea
• Thieving Skydiver
• Branching Evolution
• Deeproot Elite
• Hardened Scales
• Realmwalker
• Ruinous Intrusion
• Cold-Eyed Selkie
• Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
• Prime Speaker Zegana
• Quandrix Command
• Simic Ascendancy
• Tishana, Voice of Thunder
• Vorel of the Hull Clade
• Zegana, Utopian Speaker
• Metallic Mimic
• Alchemist's Refuge
• Hinterland Harbor
• Karn's Bastion
• Mosswort Bridge
• Temple of Mystery
• Vineglimmer Snarl
• Merfolk Cave-Diver
• Aetherize
• Deeproot Waters
• Merrow Reejerey
• Rapid Hybridization
• Ravenform
• Sage of Fables
• Stonybrook Banneret
• Beast Within
• Nicanzil, Current Conductor
• Evolution Sage
• Explore
• Inspiring Call
• Kodama's Reach
• Growth Spiral
• Kiora's Follower
• Merfolk Mistbinder
• Merfolk Skydiver
• Tatyova, Benthic Druid
• Arcane Signet
• Commander's Sphere
• Simic Signet
• Sol Ring
• Swiftfoot Boots
• Command Tower
• Llanowar Reborn
• Myriad Landscape
• Path of Ancestry
• Reliquary Tower
• Rogue's Passage
• Secluded Courtyard
• Simic Growth Chamber
• Temple of the False God
• Unclaimed Territory
• 4× Forest
• 3× Forest
• 7× Island
• 6× Island