Hakbal of the Surging Soul
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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.
What it does
Tagged as Card draw · +1/+1 counters — the jobs the deck report counts it toward.
Official rulings
- 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. (2023-11-10)
Printings & prices
Every set Hakbal of the Surging Soul has been printed in, with the art, the finishes and the market price of each — the headline price above is the cheapest of these.
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