MTG Explorers of the Deep Merfolk EDH Deck Features Superfriends Staple!?

Merfolk are one of several factions represented in The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. Ever since the very first set of Magic, Merfolk have had a lot of support and Caverns only continues that. The blue and green deck Explorers of the Deep is a Merfolk typal deck with explore and +1/+1 counters sub-themes. Let’s take a look at the commanders and some of the new cards.

A Very Solid Looking Commander

Wow, this card is straight up good! Hackbal of the Surging Soul does something right away and generates both value and synergy. While there is no shortage of +1/+1 decks for Commander, this one is easily very thematic and does allow you to make some different choices. For example, the deck includes both Merfolk Skydiver Merfolk Skydiver Flying
When this creature enters, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature you control.
{3}{G}{U}: Proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.) and Evolution Sage Evolution Sage Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, proliferate. (Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there.) because proliferate is obviously great with +1/+1 counters. However, Sage is an Elf, not a Merfolk unlike Skydiver, so there are decisions to be had. Will you build it into a proliferate deck or continue to play mostly Merfolk? Hakbal, though, really wants you play as many Merfolk as possible so that’s the route most will likely take.

The other alternative commander Xolatoyac, the Smiling Flood is certainly different. Slapping a Wilderness Reclamation Wilderness Reclamation At the beginning of your end step, untap all lands you control. on a 6/6 body that takes a considerable amount of time to work does not seem very strong, especially for this deck. Sure, you have Master of the Pearl Trident Master of the Pearl Trident Other Merfolk creatures you control get +1/+1 and have islandwalk. (They can't be blocked as long as defending player controls an Island.) to give all your creatures Islandwalk but you also have Herald of Secret Streams Herald of Secret Streams Creatures you control with +1/+1 counters on them can't be blocked. among other, easier, ways to be unblockable. Furthermore there are plenty of other legendary commanders you could use in the deck itself but Hackbal seems untouchable for how the deck is structured.

Commander Staples and new Staple Like Cards

The last couple of years have shown that Wizards has improved the formula for pre-cons. If you look at the deck list for Explorers of the Deep there are eight super staple cards in the EDHRec top 100. On top of that, the land base has been continually improving for pre-cons with better dual lands like Hinterland Harbor Hinterland Harbor This land enters tapped unless you control a Forest or an Island.
{T}: Add {G} or {U}. . Furthermore, you get a nice reprint in Kindred Discovery Kindred Discovery As this enchantment enters, choose a creature type.
Whenever a creature you control of the chosen type enters or attacks, draw a card. which doubles everything you are doing Merfolk wise while also getting double counters from another excellent and valuable re-print Branching Evolution Branching Evolution If one or more +1/+1 counters would be put on a creature you control, twice that many +1/+1 counters are put on that creature instead. ! Doubling is a powerful strategy no matter how you do it.

On top of that, newer pre-cons always feature board wipes, board wipe protection and at least one wipe that is one sided. Wave Goodbye Wave Goodbye Return each creature without a +1/+1 counter on it to its owner's hand. is the one sided wipe in this deck and it’s clearly very good. Damning Verdict Damning Verdict Destroy all creatures with no counters on them. is seeing a fair amount of play, costs five mana, and is a little easier to dodge so Goodbye is just way better.

More is Better

Once you have a couple of Merfolk in play alongside Hakbal, Nicanzil is your next best draw. Not only is it going to be a huge creature almost instantly, it will also ramp you considerably. All this for only two mana is too good in this deck and is an invaluable piece of the deck’s engine.

Even More is even Better

Of course with Hakbal and Nicanzil in play you’ll really want to have Topography Tracker Topography Tracker When this creature enters, create a Map token. (It's an artifact with "{1}, {T}, Sacrifice this token: Target creature you control explores. Activate only as a sorcery.")
If a creature you control would explore, instead it explores, then it explores again. . Having double explore and free land drops together is criminally powerful and this deck is built with these combinations in mind. You also have Merfolk Cave-Diver Merfolk Cave-Diver Whenever a creature you control explores, this creature gets +1/+0 until end of turn and can't be blocked this turn. that can deliver one huge, unblockable, knock out punch once you explore enough. The Merfolk will quite literally stream out of your deck once you assemble this value engine. But do you need to fear board wipes if you over commit? Nope!

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Wipe Protection with a Massive, Unintentional Upside

The next piece of the puzzle is Ripples of Potential Ripples of Potential Proliferate, then choose any number of permanents you control that had a counter put on them this way. Those permanents phase out. (To proliferate, choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there. Treat phased-out permanents and anything attached to them as though they don't exist until their controller's next turn.) which is an incredibly powerful protection spell that offers you wipe protection, single target removal disruption and also an end of turn pump up effect all in one card for only two mana. This card combos with a gazillion things! Forget merely saving your creatures, this will become a new staple in Super Friends decks. Protecting all your walkers for just two mana while also getting an extra loyalty counter is crazy powerful. This is nowhere near the end of how useful this card is, though, and we’re going to see it in a lot of decks in the future.

Power on top of Power

Ever felt the need to do even more damage, and fly? Mist Dancer Mist Dancer Flying
Other Merfolk you control get +1/+0 and have flying.
Encore {5}{U}{U} ({5}{U}{U}, Exile this card from your graveyard: For each opponent, create a token copy that attacks that opponent this turn if able. They gain haste. Sacrifice them at the beginning of the next end step. Activate only as a sorcery.) has you covered. But the real ability is the fact this card has Encore. Giving all your other Merfolk +3/+0 and flying for a final attack is definitely going to be enough to win a lot of games. As is, the card is a little expensive on the mana side, but as a finisher from beyond the grave it’s just right.

It is a Blue Deck After all…

We all know blue likes to sit there with mana open, threatening counter magic or a response. With Singer of Swift Rivers Singer of Swift Rivers Flash
When this creature enters, put a shield counter on another target creature you control. (If it would be dealt damage or destroyed, remove a shield counter from it instead.)
You may cast Merfolk spells as though they had flash. you can play the deck exactly like that. A save spell that also gives all your Merfolk flash for only three mana, this is a very decent include. Additionally, it leans into the proliferate angle of the deck because you can get a pile of shield counters on what you want to protect the most.

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…but also Green!

As far as large green monsters goes, this deck does not really do that. However, Tributary Instructor Tributary Instructor Mentor (Whenever this creature attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on target attacking creature with lesser power.)
Whenever a creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it dies, draw a card. is one of your larger bodies that will help grow someone else. It also greatly improves your odds of rebuilding if your board does happen to get reset and is worth a slot in the deck as is.

Some Interesting Recursion

Alongside another new card, Byegone Marvels, Deeproot Historian Deeproot Historian Merfolk and Druid cards in your graveyard have retrace. (You may cast cards with retrace from your graveyard by discarding a land card in addition to paying their other costs.) gives you easy recursion for any Merfolk or Druid. It’s an interesting card to include and the cost is a bit high, but it will allow you to get back all of your best creatures by discarding a land. Useful, but maybe not necessary.

The same can be said for Byegone Marvels. It’s a very interesting card for a different deck, but here, it seems like spending two mana to get back up to three Merfolk is not where this card will be best utilized. However, as a triple strength [toolrips]Regrowth[/tooltips] effect, it will surely see play in other decks to make combos happen.

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Missing Cards

Doing a quick search, you find three different Merfolk that explore with Jadelight Ranger Jadelight Ranger When this creature enters, it explores, then it explores again. (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 this creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard. Then repeat this process.) being the strongest of them. Why is it missing from Explorers of the Deep? The mana base for the deck is reasonable, so a double green costed three drop should not be too hard to cast. I can understand both Tishana’s Wayfinder Tishana’s Wayfinder When this creature enters, it 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 this creature, then put the card back or put it into your graveyard.) and [/tooltips]Merfolk Branchwalker[/tooltips] simply doing too little, but a double explore trigger seems too worthwhile to not include. This is a bit perplexing of a non-include to be honest.

Many others will likely comment on Wildgrowth Walker Wildgrowth Walker Whenever a creature you control explores, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature and you gain 3 life. being absent from the deck. Sure, it will get big really quickly in this deck and does have nice synergy as an alternate win condition but, at the end of the day, it’s not a Merfolk, and it won’t be unblockable. The deck does include Zegana, Utopian Speaker Zegana, Utopian Speaker When Zegana enters, if you control another creature with a +1/+1 counter on it, draw a card.
{4}{G}{U}: Adapt 4. (If this creature has no +1/+1 counters on it, put four +1/+1 counters on it.)
Each creature you control with a +1/+1 counter on it has trample. , so you could have a supersized Walker with trample fairly easily.

I think Abundance Abundance If you would draw a card, you may instead choose land or nonland and reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal a card of the chosen kind. Put that card into your hand and put all other cards revealed this way on the bottom of your library in any order. will be a very powerful card for the deck because it will enable you to improve your explore odds throughout the course of a game. Sure, explore is not a draw trigger, but many of the cards in the deck are, and there is obvious big synergy to be had here.

On a relatively obvious note, there are plenty of Merfolk lords that could have been included. The thing is not as many work with the +1/+1 or explore theme so being left out does make some sense. Many players will simply modify their deck though.

A Very Decent Looking Deck

Found above are 89 of the 90 reprints for the MTG Explorers of the Deep deck. Merfolk Cave-diver, a new Explorers of Ixalan card from the main set, rounds out the missing card. All four of the Commander preconstructed decks this time around have some fantastic reprints.

On the surface it looks like Explorers has a decent mana curve, a good commander, and a very synergistic game plan. The deck includes the common Commander staples you would expect it to have to function on its own and to interact with other decks. There is plenty of value in reprints from Branching Evolution, Kindred Discovery and even Metallic Mimic Metallic Mimic As this creature enters, choose a creature type.
This creature is the chosen type in addition to its other types.
Each other creature you control of the chosen type enters with an additional +1/+1 counter on it. . At around $40 as a pre-order, this is an easy purchase if you’re looking for a deck with Merfolk or proliferate synergy.

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