World ShaperWorld Shaper | Art by Raymond Swanland

Welcome back to Wombo Combo, the long-running series chronicling Commander's best combo cards, as determined by EDHREC and Commander Spellbook data. Today, we're taking a dive into one of Magic's most popular aquatic types: Merfolk!

Merfolk are the characteristic species for blue, meaning they'll show up in nearly every set at various rarity levels. Many planes have their own variants of Merfolk, with Shadowmoor having some black Merfolk, and Ravnica (among some other planes) having blue/green Merfolk. With regular creature types, there are more than 30 years of cards to sort through with varying amounts of utility, and an undoubtable treasure trove of combo cards that awaits. Let's jump in!

#10: Vodalian Wave-Knight

Number of Combos: 67

Deck Inclusions: 24,473 decks (1.08%)

If you want a card that can serve multiple creature types at once, Vodalian Wave-KnightVodalian Wave-Knight can do just that. As you draw cards, you get +1/+1 counters on each other Merfolk and Knight you control. This marks a good way to turn card advantage into a beefy board. It also enables combos with O'aka, Traveling MerchantO'aka, Traveling Merchant and Pensive ProfessorPensive Professor among other cards. Because Vodalian Wave-Knight has the type restriction, unlike Lyla, Holographic AssistantLyla, Holographic Assistant and other cards, you may need a Maskwood NexusMaskwood Nexus or other type-changing effect to make combos work.

#9: Benthic Biomancer

Number of Combos: 71

Deck Inclusions: 29,325 decks (0.6%)

Benthic BiomancerBenthic Biomancer takes +1/+1 counters placed on it and lets you loot as a result of the counters. This effect mirrors Vodalian Wave-Knight's effect, and the two create a simple two-card infinite combo, letting you place a good number of +1/+1 counters and loot your library. Benthic Biomancer can also work to dredge cards (such as Life from the LoamLife from the Loam) back to your hand, which in turn triggers The Wise MothmanThe Wise Mothman. The Locust GodThe Locust God is also a solid pairing, and counters can be placed on Benthic Biomancer by Cathars' CrusadeCathars' Crusade-style effects.

#8: Thassa's Oracle

Number of Combos: 96

Deck Inclusions: 279,753 decks (5.71%)

You knew this was going to be here, didn't you? Thassa's OracleThassa's Oracle is one of Commander's most notorious cards, and has ended countless games with its extremely strong ability. Winning with Thassa's Oracle is generally easy for decks revolving around mill and/or card draw. Some of the simplest combos involve LevelerLeveler or Demonic ConsultationDemonic Consultation to exile your library, and DoomsdayDoomsday to reduce your library enough for Thassa's Oracle to still win the game. Thassa's Oracle is also a perfect payoff for any combo on Commander Spellbook that results in infinite card draw or self-mill. Admittedly, Thassa's Oracle can be used in far more combos, but its tendency to be a payoff card results in it not being added to most infinite card draw and self-mill combos.

#7: Leech Bonder

Number of Combos: 107

Deck Inclusions: 2,415 decks (0.05%)

The notorious untap symbol rears its head again, this time on a hidden Merfolk combo gem. Leech Bonder's ability to untap itself is a strong effect for combos. Tapping Leech Bonder for mana with a Paradise MantleParadise Mantle effect while Kinnan, Bonder ProdigyKinnan, Bonder Prodigy is on the battlefield results in infinite colored mana, and infinite activations of Kinnan's ability. Even without Kinnan, you can move +1/+1 counters around, and with a Hardened ScalesHardened Scales or similar effect get more counters each time. Leech Bonder can also remove +1/+1 counters from undying creatures or -1/-1 counters from persist creatures, respectively, allowing them to be recurred again.

#6: Lullmage Mentor

Number of Combos: 123

Deck Inclusions: 16,317 decks (0.33%)

If you're looking for more control pieces, then Lullmage MentorLullmage Mentor may not be a bad option. You can tap seven Merfolk with it to counter a spell, and when you counter that spell, you get a Merfolk token back. While seven Merfolk is admittedly a significant number to tap for a single counterspell, you can always abide by the old mantra: when in doubt, throw token doublers at the problem. If you control three token doublers (like Doubling SeasonDoubling Season, Primal VigorPrimal Vigor, etc.), then the Merfolk token that Lullmage Mentor would create will instead result in eight Merfolk being made. That's enough to counter the next spell that's cast, giving you a complete lock on countering any spell you wish.

#5: World Shaper

Number of Combos: 195

Deck Inclusions: 106,911 decks (2.33%)

World ShaperWorld Shaper is a strong inclusion for mill decks, allowing you to both mill and grab all land cards from your graveyard when it dies. This effect pairs perfectly with commanders like Hearthhull, the WorldseedHearthhull, the Worldseed or Muldrotha, the GravetideMuldrotha, the Gravetide. Emeria ShepherdEmeria Shepherd can also recur World Shaper when the lands enter, or you could copy its effect by using The Mycosynth GardensThe Mycosynth Gardens if World Shaper is an artifact. Your standard recursion pieces, like Muldrotha, Chthonian NightmareChthonian Nightmare and/or Kenrith, the Returned KingKenrith, the Returned King can all work great as well.

#4: Kiora's Follower / Forensic Researcher

Number of Combos: 197

Deck Inclusions: 100,315 decks (4.53%)

Both Kiora's FollowerKiora's Follower and Forensic ResearcherForensic Researcher have a simple yet useful effect: you can tap them to untap another permanent you control. In practice, this effect could untap lands for more mana, or give you a second usage of useful tap abilities (like Araumi of the Dead TideAraumi of the Dead Tide's, for example). What's interesting about this effect is if you have two of them at once, you can use them to infinitely untap each other. This normally wouldn't benefit you, but there are certain cards that take advantage of this quirky interaction. Deeproot PilgrimageDeeproot Pilgrimage will generate Merfolk tokens, Hawkeye's BowHawkeye's Bow can deal infinite damage, and Unctus, Grand MetatectUnctus, Grand Metatect will let you loot your library. Another simple option is to untap Kiki-Jiki, Mirror BreakerKiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker to make infinite tapped creature tokens.

#3: Salvager of Secrets / Shipwreck Dowser

Number of Combos: 242

Deck Inclusions: 15,211 decks (0.31%)

Salvager of SecretsSalvager of Secrets and Shipwreck DowserShipwreck Dowser both fall into a group of creatures that provide a RegrowthRegrowth-style effect — the most notable of this group being Eternal WitnessEternal Witness or ArchaeomancerArchaeomancer. This effect is commonly used in Ghostly FlickerGhostly Flicker lines to return it to your hand. Extra turn combos also love this, using a once-per-turn blinker (like Conjurer's ClosetConjurer's Closet) to blink the creature and return Time WarpTime Warp or another extra turn spell. You can also copy either Salvager of Secrets or Shipwreck Dowser (or both, if you can!) with DoppelgangDoppelgang, allowing you to also copy mana-producing permanents to fund the combo.

#2: Adrix and Nev, Twincasters

Number of Combos: 784

Deck Inclusions: 8,704 as commander (#304); 102,781 as card (4.64%)

I talked about token doublers earlier, and there is a Merfolk option available in Adrix and Nev, TwincastersAdrix and Nev, Twincasters. Besides making your friends hate you with the aforementioned Lullmage Mentor lock, token doublers have a plethora of utility in many decks and are responsible for thousands of combos being possible to execute. Everything from Springheart NantukoSpringheart Nantuko to Miirym, Sentinel WyrmMiirym, Sentinel Wyrm to Nuka-Cola Vending MachineNuka-Cola Vending Machine can use Adrix and Nev for infinite combos, or to just give you more tokens to play with. Adrix and Nev being a Merfolk gives Merfolk decks a great option for more tokens, like those created by Deeproot WatersDeeproot Waters and other cards.

#1: Emry, Lurker of the Loch

Number of Combos: 824

Deck Inclusions: 6,717 as commander (#418); 212,358 as card (4.33%)

Emry, Lurker of the LochEmry, Lurker of the Loch's simple prowess at recurring artifact cards earns it the top spot on the list. There are far too many artifacts to list here that work well with Emry, but some highlights include MindslaverMindslaver, Lotus PetalLotus Petal and The One RingThe One Ring. Another top choice is to recur CoretapperCoretapper once a turn, putting counters on Magistrate's ScepterMagistrate's Scepter for infinite turns. Untapping Emry isn't an issue, as cards like Mirran SpyMirran Spy and Chakram RetrieverChakram Retriever get the job done easily. You'll want cheap artifacts, as you do need to pay the cost to cast them, but Krark-Clan IronworksKrark-Clan Ironworks and Crime NovelistCrime Novelist can help pay the mana costs as well.

Honorable Mentions

If these Merfolk didn't wet your whistle, have a few more options:

1. Vorel of the Hull CladeVorel of the Hull Clade: An easy way to double counters on a permanent, including Crystalline CrawlerCrystalline Crawler for easy mana.

2. Pestered WellguardPestered Wellguard / Stonybrook SchoolmasterStonybrook Schoolmaster: Creates a creature token when tapped. Perfect for Intruder AlarmIntruder Alarm combos, or to make use of infinite tap triggers.

3. Namor the Sub-MarinerNamor the Sub-Mariner: Allows repeatable blue spells to spiral into a wide board state. The tokens can also be sacrificed to a mana outlet (e.g., Phyrexian AltarPhyrexian Altar) to cast further spells.

Thank you very much for reading this edition of Wombo Combo, and don't forget to check out Commander Spellbook for more Commander combos and visit the Commander Spellbook Discord to submit your own Commander combos. Until next time, happy comboing!