Hakbal of the Surging Soul
Tracked across real Commander games played through TurnZero HQ.
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What it does
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.
Combos with Hakbal of the Surging Soul
The lines this card is part of, what it needs alongside it, and what the cards do together. An infinite result is the one that moves a deck's bracket.
- Agatha's Soul Cauldron Crystalline Crawler Hellkite Charger Infinite
- Infinite +1/+1 counters on certain creatures
- Infinite colored mana
- Infinite combat phases
- Agatha's Soul Cauldron Crystalline Crawler Aggravated Assault Infinite
- Infinite +1/+1 counters on certain creatures
- Infinite colored mana
- Infinite combat phases
- Infinite mana creatures you control can produce
- Infinite untap of creatures you control
Combo data from Commander Spellbook, the community-maintained database of Magic combos. Mirrored nightly.
Rulings
8 official rulings, in the order Wizards published them.
- 2023-11-10
If you control multiple Merfolk, you choose the order in which they explore. Make sure it's clear which Merfolk is exploring before you reveal any cards.
- 2023-11-10
Once an ability that causes a creature to explore begins to resolve, no player may take any other actions until it's done. Notably, opponents can't try to remove the exploring creature after you reveal a nonland card but before it receives a counter.
- 2023-11-10
If an ability instructs a creature to explore, its controller reveals the top card of their library. If it's a land card, they'll put it into their hand. Otherwise, they'll put a +1/+1 counter on that creature, then choose to either leave that card on top of their library or put it into their graveyard.
- 2023-11-10
If no card is revealed, most likely because that player's library is empty, the exploring creature receives a +1/+1 counter.
- 2023-11-10
In some unusual cases, noncreature permanents may explore. For example, if the creature card returned by Defossilize is somehow not a creature once it's on the battlefield, it can still explore. You'll take all the same actions, and you may end up putting a +1/+1 counter on the permanent. (Note that some effects target a creature, and those effects would still require a legal target to have it explore.)
- 2023-11-10
Some spells or abilities might cause a creature to explore multiple times in a row. If you reveal a nonland card when a creature explores and leave it on top of your library, then the creature explores again immediately afterwards, you'll reveal the same card again.
- 2023-11-10
If a resolving spell or ability instructs a specific creature to explore but that creature has left the battlefield, the creature still explores. If you reveal a nonland card this way, you won't put a +1/+1 counter on anything, but you may put the revealed card into your graveyard. Effects that trigger "whenever a creature explores" trigger as appropriate.
- 2023-11-10
Each of your Merfolk creatures will explore during the resolution of Hakbal of the Surging Soul's first ability. Players won't be able to respond between the explores.
Rulings are Wizards of the Coast's own, mirrored from Scryfall and refreshed nightly.
As a commander
Decks built with Hakbal of the Surging Soul in the command zone.
Published decks
Decklists players have published with Hakbal of the Surging Soul in the command zone, newest first. A deck that has been played carries the win rate it earned in real tracked games.
- Hakbal 0 games —
- Explorers of the Deep 0 games —
Hakbal of the Surging Soul price history
The The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander #3 printing, as Scryfall reports the TCGplayer market. Updated nightly. Click any version below to chart its price.
Every recorded price change
| Date | Non-foil | Foil |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 3, 2026 | $0.43 | $0.36 |
| Oct 2, 2026 | $0.43 | $0.36 |
| Oct 1, 2026 | $0.43 | $0.37 |
| Sep 30, 2026 | $0.43 | $0.38 |
| Sep 29, 2026 | $0.42 | $0.38 |
| Sep 28, 2026 | $0.39 | $0.38 |
A row is recorded only on nights the price moved, so each price held until the row above it.
Every version of Hakbal of the Surging Soul
4 printings, newest first. Prices are the market figures Scryfall publishes, refreshed nightly. A printing with no figure shows a dash rather than a zero, because Scryfall publishes none for some of them. Click a card's art to chart that version's price above.
Etched
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander
- Etched
- $0.24
Showcase
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander
- Normal
- $3.59
- Foil
- $17.64
Extended Art
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander
- Normal
- $2.22
- Foil
- $3.29
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander
- Normal
- $0.43
- Foil
- $0.36
Prices from Scryfall, which tracks the TCGplayer and Cardmarket markets. They move daily and are a guide rather than a quote. Search TCGplayer for Hakbal of the Surging Soul. It runs a name search across every version, which covers the printings TCGplayer publishes no direct link to.
Aggregated from Commander games tracked in TurnZero HQ. Every figure counts decks and games only. No individual deck list, player or playgroup is identified. Win rates are withheld below 5 completed games, where the sample is too small to mean anything.
