Nicanzil, Current Conductor
Legendary Creature — Merfolk Scout
Whenever a creature you control explores a land card, you may put a land card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped.
Whenever a creature you control explores a nonland card, put a +1/+1 counter on Nicanzil.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- GU
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
- Price
- $0.18
- EDHREC rank
- #5160
Nicanzil, Current Conductor puts a +1/+1 counter on each Merfolk you control whenever a land enters under your control — in a Merfolk deck that's already ramping hard, that translates to a board-wide pump every single turn. Hakbal of the Surging Soul runs it in 97% of decks for good reason: the two together turn every explore trigger and land drop into a scaling threat.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Hakbal of the Surging Soul
Hakbal of the Surging Soul's explore engine guarantees land drops every turn, and Nicanzil, Current Conductor converts each of those lands into a +1/+1 counter on every Merfolk in play — the two cards form the core growth loop that makes the deck's board state snowball.
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 |
Nicanzil, Current Conductor is legal in every major constructed format but sees almost no play outside Commander — a three-mana 2/3 with a tribal payoff simply doesn't compete in Legacy or Modern, where Merfolk decks are leaner and faster. In Pioneer and Standard the card is playable in theory, but Merfolk isn't a serious archetype in either format right now, so it stays on the shelf. Commander is where Nicanzil, Current Conductor earns its keep: tribal synergy, multiplayer game lengths, and repeated land drops across a full table all make the counter-generation meaningful rather than marginal.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.18 bulk tier
At $0.18, Nicanzil, Current Conductor is deep bulk — a penny-bin pickup even if you're building on the tightest budget. Near-universal inclusion in Hakbal of the Surging Soul decks hasn't pushed the price, so it should stay in this range indefinitely.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.