Ok, so my friend is a marine biologist and I recently got him into Magic over last Christmas so I wanted to make a deck that he would really appreciate to help strengthen his Magic bone. He's all about algae and loves marine life so I definitely gotta have those features.
I wanted to put in some really big, scary sea monsters but I also had to include to little ones to help give the deck more flavor and help round it out so that it's not all brute force. I have yet to playtest it but I think it will be fun!
Any flavor or strategy suggestions are most welcome =)
Big Guns
Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle: It's a 12/12 that taps for mana until it goes beast mode. 'Nuff said
Deep-Sea Kraken: Sure he may come in later but in a multiplayer game with everyone trying to cast spells he will come out sooner than you would expect. Plus, he can't be blocked! An unblockable 6/6 is always nice to have to keep the pressure on.
Inkwell Leviathan: The massive defense on this fella is super nice. It couples well with his trample to encourage more blockers to potentially die. Although blockers aren't much of a problem if I have Quicksilver Fountain or Stormtide Leviathan out. The shroud is helpful as well because I don't have much of a need to target my own creature.
Lorthos, the Tidemaker: Just as strong as Avacyn but with the ability to nearly tap an opponent's entire battlefield for a whole turn. That can really bring down the house when mana is available. (Plus, the flavor behind the whole card is just great. 8/8 at 8 mana with an 8-mana ability that taps 8 things! Love it)
Shipbreaker Kraken: 6/6 is already pretty tough but to be able to get stronger is even better. For only 2 more mana it can be a 10/10 and force-tap 4 creatures for as long as it's on the battlefield.
Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep: This guy already looks pretty intense and so much so that for 2 extra mana it will scare away all opposing enemy creatures. On top of that it's an 8/8.
Stormsurge Kraken: A hexproof 5/5 isn't too bad to deal with but what about a 7/7 that draws cards for you? That's what this baby can do if Volrath, the Shapeshifter is out on the battlefield.
Stormtide Leviathan: This big guy can be a double-edged sword because it helps out my islandwalk creatures immensely, but it also hinders mine that don't have it. It also slows down aggression by stopping those without flying.
Tromokratis: This guy is super useful for getting damage through or forced players to defend with creatures they might not defend with, which can allow me to pick off the annoyances and/or problematic ones. Plus being an 8/8 is pretty tough to deal with alone as it is.
Wrexial, the Risen Deep: Island and swampwalk are both great when paired with Quicksilver Fountain, Stormtide Leviathan, and/or Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. On top of being able to probably get through defenses it has a strong ability to allow you to freely cast and then exile an instant or sorcery card from your victim's graveyard. Commander can have some pretty interesting and powerful sorcery cards so this is definitely a strong point of this card.
Keep them at Bay!
Colossal Whale: Being able to exile defenders before blockers are declared can really help limit my opponent's defending options, remove some meddlesome creatures, and potentially win allies by removing requested creatures. This removal system doesn't come cheaply at 7 mana, so there's that.
Giant Oyster: While only able to hold down one creature, it slowly constricts them to death. This is useful against mana dorks or other physically weaker cards that have good abilities. It can shut down Kaalia of the Vast and prevent her from cheating in monstrous threats.
Lorthos, the Tidemaker: 8 mana is pretty steep but it costs 8 to summon this guy so when he is cast you know you have enough to use his ability. The fact that it takes place before blockers are declared is crucial because you can shut down all of the blockers and use the remaining taps to force-tap your opponent's lands. This can be very helpful when fending off two players or especially useful for 1v1. Because the opponent is unable to untap during their next turn that allows you time to use that 8 mana for something else your next turn. So alternating between force-tapping and casting is the key.
Mesmerizing Benthid: So this one is limited to reactionary play only, but that can be good because the creatures in this deck are big and fierce and they will be doing the heavy lifting. Being able to chump block and force-tap is pretty good to me.
Scourge of Fleets: The later the game the more powerful this "Enter the battlefield" trigger becomes. Sure it's a one-time thing but if I can flicker or bounce it back with Cryptic Command or Mystic Confluence for more triggers then it can be worth it. Also functions as a beatstick.
Shipbreaker Kraken: Force-tapping is pretty great! They remained tapped until the beefy kraken is taken out, which might take a minute.
Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep: Good for clearing the board but leaving behind all the monstrous creatures you control.
Stormtide Leviathan: One of the enablers, opening up my islandwalk creatures to becoming unblockable and dealing massive damage. This card also shuts down non-flyers, which is good for filtering out attacks I may receive. There is a draw back that I've discussed: It also shuts down 22 of my creatures. But, out of those 22 only 16 of them are used for attacking. Haha thinking about it he might be cut and replaced, but I'll have to playtest and see how it actually works.
Counterspell: Easy enough to understand but knowing when to use for maximum effect takes experience.
Cryptic Command: The options are awesome and can be used effectively for defense or offense. Force-tapping your opponent's creatures and drawing a card or returning their commander or a troublesome enchantment can help disrupt their flow. Returning your own cards such as Mesmerizing Benthid, Scourge of Fleets, Thassa's Oracle, and Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep might be handy too depending on how the game is going and how much extra mana you have.
Disallow: Same concept as Counterspell.
Mystic Confluence: Same concept as Cryptic Command.
Rewind: Same concept as Counterspell but this card lets you untap the land you used for countering. So as long as you have the mana to counter you can do so and not be at a mana disadvantage and be ready to bluff another counter or actually counter again.
Spreading Algae: Paired with Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth this card can destroy any land. The only caveat is that the land has to be tapped in order to be destroyed, so choose the most versatile or most useful land your opponent controls. This card is best in early game.
Tangle Kelp: For holding down those pesky creatures that won't leave you alone.
Whelming Wave: Awesome removal of everything not important to this deck.
Card Draw/Filtering
Sigiled Starfish, Thassa's Oracle, Thassa, God of the Sea, Thrasios, Triton Hero, Bident of Thassa, Brainstorm, Cryptic Command, Mystic Confluence, Mystic Remora, Rhystic Study, Halimar Depths, Mikokoro, Center of the Sea, Drawn from Dreams, and Ponder.
These cards all allow me to keep the cards coming and see what I'm gonna get. Quest for Ula's Temple pairs well with scrying and the card drawing helps me keep my hand full (or at least more so than my opponents) and play a land every turn. Chasm Skulker takes advantage of the card drawing, too, by beefing himself up while producing annoying little islandwalk creatures when he dies. Nadir Kraken also takes advantage of this. Similar to Chasm Skulker but without the dying clause.
Utility
Birds of Paradise, Chromeshell Crab, Empress Galina, Lighthouse Chronologist, Spiny Starfish, Thada Adel, Acquisitor, Thassa, God of the Sea, Thrasios, Triton Hero, Wrexial, the Risen Deep, Bident of Thassa, Mirage Mirror, Quicksilver Fountain, High Tide, Kiora Bests the Sea God, and Minamo, School at Water's Edge.
These cards all have cool features that make the deck a little bit more rounded out. Mirage Mirror really should be inside of every EDH deck in my opinion because it is so versatile and can escape almost all types of removal and can use your opponent's permanents against them.
