Deepfathom Echo
Creature — Merfolk Spirit
At the beginning of combat on your turn, this creature explores. Then you may have it become a copy of another creature you control until end of turn. (To have this creature explore, 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.)
- CMC
- 4
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- GU
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
- Price
- $0.29
- EDHREC rank
- #9221
Deepfathom Echo copies every Merfolk you play while it's on the battlefield, turning each creature spell into a two-for-one and snowballing board presence faster than opponents can answer it. The cost is real — five mana is a significant ask — but Hakbal of the Surging Soul decks will consistently recoup that investment inside two attack steps.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Hakbal of the Surging Soul
Hakbal of the Surging Soul triggers on every Merfolk that enters the battlefield, and Deepfathom Echo means each Merfolk you cast triggers that ability twice — the token and the original both count, so your explore engine doubles in output the turn Echo lands.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Deepfathom Echo is a Commander card through and through — the payoff scales with the number of creatures you cast over a game, and a 40-life multiplayer table gives you enough runway to recoup the five-mana investment. In competitive 1v1 formats like Modern and Pioneer, five mana for a delayed doubling effect is too slow without a dedicated Merfolk shell to back it up, and even then the tribal payoffs in those formats tend to be more aggressive than this. Legacy and Vintage have the raw speed to make any five-drop look clunky by default. Oathbreaker sits closer to Commander in its gameplay structure, so a Merfolk-heavy signature spell package could make Deepfathom Echo functional there as well.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.29 bulk tier
At $0.29, Deepfathom Echo sits firmly in bulk territory, making it a near-free inclusion for any Merfolk Commander build. Bulk rares at this price tend to stay flat unless a new commander or set mechanic spikes demand, so buy in for the effect, not the speculation.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.